The Bible says in Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to
go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and
he went out, not knowing whither he went.” One thing that is similar with the faith of all of the
individuals mentioned so far here in Hebrews chapter eleven (Abel, Enoch, Noah,
and Abraham) is that their faith affected their actions. “Faith without works is dead.” If a person has true faith, then they
will have works to prove their faith. There is no such thing as having faith,
but not having any good works that follow after the faith. When a person came
to faith in Christ, at the time of their salvation their faith involved
repentance from sin. And repentance from sin always involves a desire and an
intention to start serving Christ. If a person has never done anything to serve
Christ, then that person could not possibly be saved. Of course, some fall away
after being saved, but at least for a short time before falling away they
followed Him. Such people need to learn to confess their sins each day so that
they can stay in fellowship with Him and continue to follow Christ even after
they have failed. It says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Abraham had faith in God, and so Abraham “went out, not knowing whither he went.” It is important to note that Abraham
did not choose just any place to go to. Abraham was “called.” God decided where Abraham should go, and then God called
Abraham. God communicated with Abraham and God let him know where he wanted
Abraham to be. Because Abraham had faith in God’s Word and in God’s will,
Abraham followed God’s leading. Abraham obeyed. Abraham got up and went where
God wanted him to go. At the judgment it will be revealed that some of the
greatest failures made by believers will be the failures to do things God’s way
according to God’s revealed will. How many people has God called who have not
gone God’s way? They did not have the faith to trust that God’s way was the
best way. They went their own way instead of God’s way, and how great was their
loss. Abraham went God’s way, and Abraham is called the father of faith.
Abraham believed God, and Abraham’s actions proved that he believed.
Concerning the faith that Abraham had, the
Bible says in Hebrews 11:9-10, “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange
country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of
the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God.”
The fact that Abraham went to the promised land by faith is symbolic of how the
rest of humanity will get to the ultimate land of promise: heaven. God is
calling you to come to His kingdom: the kingdom of heaven. Have faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ and He will take you to the promised land because of your
faith in Him. Abraham went to the land of promise in spite of all the dangers
and uncertainties. Many things could have gone wrong traveling to a new country
in those days thousands of years ago: thieves, accidents, storms, floods,
disease. But none of them happened. When God calls, God opens the door and God
provides the way. It was God’s idea, and God kept His Word. The statement made
in verse 10 had a direct spiritual application to how a person gets to heaven.
It says, “For he looked for
a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Those who look for heaven will find it
through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God made promises to Abraham concerning a
land, and God also made promises concerning Abraham’s descendents. The problem
was that when the promises were made, Abraham and Sarah had no children, and
they were old. It says in Hebrews 11:11, “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive
seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged
him faithful who had promised.” It is important to notice that at least part of the
reasons for the things that God did in the lives of Sarah and Abraham had to do
with Sarah’s faith as well as Abraham’s faith. In the ideal world both husband
and wife will have faith in the Lord. It does not always happen this way, but
it would be better if it did. If you know the Lord and you are seeking a
spouse, make sure that you are seeking someone who knows the Lord and loves the
Lord. “Be ye not unequally
yoked together with unbelievers.”
Concerning Abraham, it says in Hebrews
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:13, “These all died in faith, not having
received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of
them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims of
the earth.” Please note that
these died “not having
received the promises.” Many
of the promises of Christ apply to the next life. They will be fulfilled in the
next life. Those who believe will be rewarded in the next life. People who were
nailed to a cross or cast into a dungeon were not rewarded in this life. They
lost everything in this life. People who suffered such things for Christ were
rewarded in the next life and only in the next life. Beware of those who teach
that you will definitely be rewarded in this life for money that you give to
them or for anything else.
Believers are “strangers and pilgrims of the earth.” Those who have more faith understand
this better. Jesus said, “My
kingdom is not of this world.”
The devil is called the god of this world because the systems of this world are
under his control. Government, education, religion, entertainment, and all of
the other organized affairs of man are in some way controlled and used by the
forces of evil to fool mankind and to ruin mankind. Believers are of a
different spirit than the unbelieving people of the world. Since unbelievers
are a vast majority, the believers are outside of the spirit of the world of
organized human systems. That is why we are strangers and pilgrims here. That
is why we are not satisfied with the decisions that are made or the
philosophies that are emphasized. We serve Christ, and we will only be
satisfied when we are with Him in His kingdom. Unbelievers live as though this
world is permanent. It is all that they have. But those who have faith like
Abraham know that they are “strangers
and pilgrims of the earth.”
We are not so overly troubled about what might or might not happen on this
earth. We are strangers here: we are only passing through.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:14, “For they that say such things declare
plainly that they seek a country.” Something important to notice about this verse is the word that
is translated “country.” It means literally “one’s fatherland.” It emphasizes the close attachment that
a person has to only one country. For the believer who lives by faith that
country is the
It says in Hebrews
The Bible says in Hebrews
It says in Hebrews
One of the promises that God gave to
Abraham is found in Hebrews 11:18. It says, “Of whom it was said, That in
Isaac shall thy seed be called.”
The promise was very clear to Abraham, and he believed the promise. Abraham’s
reaction to his son being at the point of death is found in Hebrews 11:19 that
says, “Accounting that God
was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him
in a figure.”
Abraham was tried. He was taken to the
point of losing his only son. But Abraham was willing to lose his own son, if
that was God’s will. How could Abraham be so willing? Abraham had faith in the
promise of God. Abraham was living for God. Abraham’s first priority was to
believe and trust God. Obviously Abraham knew that “the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away”; and Abraham was willing to trust that
the Lord knew what was best. If Abraham’s son was taken away, could not the son
also be given back again? Because Abraham had faith, that is exactly what
Abraham thought. How have you reacted to the loss of your dreams? Hopefully you
have reacted with faith, knowing that God can even raise someone from the dead,
if it is his will. Of course, this is God’s will: life is temporary. Have faith
in Christ, and you will have the life that is permanent. Have faith in God and
you will be comforted even in the face of the greatest sorrows that this life
can bring.
___________________________________________________
Copyright; 2007 by Charles
F. (Rick) Creech
All Rights Reserved