The Hall of Faith

Hebrews 11:1-10

Main Idea: Our Old Testament forefathers received the salvific blessings of God by faith. New covenant believers receive these blessings by faith as well and so must emulate the faith of those who came before.

1. An Invested Assurance (11:1-2)
2. Abel’s Faith (11:3-4)
   1. Walking by faith
   2. A faith that still speaks
3. Enoch’s Faith (11:5-6)
   1. Enoch’s example
   2. Faith’s impossibilities
   3. Reason for faith
4. Noah’s Faith (11:7)
   1. Noah’s reverence
   2. Justified by faith
5. Abraham’s Faith (11:8-10)
   1. Faith of a foreigner
   2. Faithful living for a promised future

Hebrews 11 is one of the most familiar passages in the entire Bible; it’s the so-called hall of faith. While familiarity with certain passages in Scripture is wonderful, it can also be dangerous. We may become so accustomed to the words of a chapter that we lose sight of their meaning and function within the section’s larger context.

Hebrews 11 comes after a repeated series of warnings to the original audience. The author has been reminding his congregation not to take the gospel lightly and not to have a superficial understanding of sin (10:31). Indeed, he even warns them what is in store for those who spurn the Son of God and set aside the gospel (10:29).

Hebrews 10:32-39 connects the admonitions and exhortations of chapter 10 to chapter 11. “Remember the earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings” (10:32). These are words we need to remember as we enter into chapter 11 . We must remember the “hard struggle” that the audience is called to endure in the midst of persecutions and trials. As the author reminds them, “We are not those who draw back and are destroyed, but those who have faith and are saved” (10:39). Notice the theme here: perseverance. Perseverance is the demonstration of faith. Faith is grounded in what God has done for us in Christ. The author expresses confidence that his audience’s endurance of persecution for the sake of Christ is a demonstration of their faith. This leads us right into the main subject of Hebrews 11.

Additionally, as I have already mentioned many times, one of the author’s primary goals is to teach us how to read the Old Testament. Christians must read the Old Testament Christologically. God embedded in the history of redemption types and shadows that pointed forward to Jesus Christ. Thus, from Genesis to Revelation the Bible tells one story—the story of the grace of God found only in Jesus Christ.

Yet, we must also remember that reading the Old Testament Christologically does not mean we are imposing something on the Old Testament that is not already there. In fact, one of the most important hermeneutical observations we can glean from Hebrews 11 is that the true people of God in the Old Testament (those with circumcised hearts) understood that the old covenant and all of its attendant features pointed forward to a Messiah. This was something they received by faith. In other words, just as by faith we look back to the cross of Christ and his resurrection to receive the salvific grace of God, so too did the Old Testament saints look forward, through the types and shadows of the old covenant, to the Messiah. They thereby received the salvific blessings of God by faith.

An Invested Assurance

Hebrews 11:1-2

“Approval” does not just refer to temporary material blessings. Rather, this is the final eschatological approval—an eternal commendation instead of an eternal condemnation. It is important to remember that these are the only two options: commendation or condemnation. There is no third alternative. On the day of judgment, we will either be approved in Christ or we will be condemned without him.

How did the people of old win God’s approval? In other words, why were the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel commended? This is not just an important question theologically; it is a particularly important question for the writer and for the original audience. In light of what has come before in this epistle, it would be natural for these Jewish Christians to be thinking, So what about Abraham? What about Moses? How were they included in this story of God’s grace to us in Christ? The author plainly answers that these men and women received their approval because they exercised faith.

Paul makes this same point in Romans 4:1-12. Abraham was counted righteous before God because of his faith (see Gen 15:6). These passages demonstrate the consistent and clear New Testament teaching that the redeemed from Israel who lived before the death and resurrection of Christ were saved because they trusted God to be faithful to his promises. Their faith was a messianic faith. They had an assurance that they invested in the promises of God. They hoped in things yet unseen, in a deliverer that had been promised but had not yet come.

Abel’s Faith

Hebrews 11:3-4

In verse 3 the author indicates that just as we begin our Christian lives by faith, we also embrace the Christian worldview through faith in the Word of God. We were not eyewitnesses to creation. Simply put, we were not there to experience it. We affirm the divine creation of the cosmos because by faith we receive it from Scripture and affirm with Scripture that everything exists to display God’s glory. Even more, as Calvin reminds us, creation is the theater of God’s glory in the drama of redemption. We know this by faith.

Walking by Faith

Hebrews 11:4 begins the catalog of biblical characters who function as exemplars of faith. This catalog is interesting on numerous accounts, if nothing else because it provides a great deal of information that we would not know merely by reading the Old Testament. The introductory words by faith not only introduce the main theological point of the chapter but also structure the text and provide a powerful rhetorical device for getting our attention.

Furthermore, repeating by faith also teaches us to avoid the error of moralizing the Old Testament stories. This happens quite often among evangelicals, particularly in children’s Sunday school curricula: “Be like Moses, not like Pharaoh.” While the Old Testament narratives do indeed contain moral lessons we ought to learn, the author reminds us that these moral lessons are not the main point. We must remember that the moral lessons of the Old Testament come within the context of the storyline of the gospel. The writer draws some hortatory applications from these individuals, but he does so while reminding us that the reason these men lived as they did was because they walked by faith—looking to a Redeemer.

A Faith that Still Speaks

The first “by faith” story mentioned is that of Abel. In Genesis 4 Moses indicates that Abel offered a sacrifice from his flock whereas Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. There is of course nothing wrong with offering a sacrifice from a harvest. As a matter of fact, God demanded the firstfruits of the harvest in his statutes given to Israel later in the Old Testament. So why did God accept Abel’s sacrifice but not Cain’s offering? Genesis does not answer that question. The rest of the Old Testament, however, provides a few hints as to why Abel’s offering was accepted. For example, earlier in Hebrews we saw that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Heb 9:22). We see then that Abel’s sacrifice was in some sense foreshadowing the entire sacrificial system of the Old Testament and thus the sacrifice of Christ. Abel understood that his greatest problem was that he was under divine judgment, and he needed a propitiatory sacrifice. His blood sacrifice pointed to his own sin and to his hope in God’s provision of a sacrificial Savior. This is why Abel’s sacrifice was “acceptable” to God: it was offered “by faith” in God’s promises (Gen 4:4).

The final statement, “even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith,” is both tremendously interesting and encouraging. Think about it this way: what will be said at your funeral? What words are going to make up the content of your eulogy? How will your life be summarized in fifteen minutes of reflection? Hopefully, we will all leave the type of testimony left by Abel: though he was dead, his life bore witness to the grace and mercy found only in a substitutionary sacrifice. Christians should aspire to leave behind a legacy of faith. They should aspire to leave their eulogists a wealth of material that testifies to the saving power of Jesus Christ, just as Abel did. His faith testified to the greatness of Christ even beyond the extent of his life.

Enoch’s Faith

Hebrews 11:5-6

The Old Testament characters the author chooses to highlight in this chapter are remarkable. We would expect to find many of them. Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and many of the other Old Testament figures mentioned are major Old Testament characters. But sometimes the author of Hebrews highlights a minor character, someone we might never expect to see in the Bible’s own “hall of faith.” This is certainly the case when we read about Enoch in verse 5.

Enoch’s Example

We know little about Enoch. In fact, he is mentioned in only a few verses in Genesis:

Enoch was 65 years old when he fathered Methuselah. And after he fathered Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and fathered other sons and daughters. So Enoch’s life lasted 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was not there because God took him. (Gen 5:21-24)

The account of God “taking” Enoch is not very descriptive. In other words, here we have recorded a remarkable end to the life of Enoch, yet we know almost nothing about him and the extraordinary event that ended his life. The only other time in the Old Testament where something similar happens is with the case of Elijah, who was taken to heaven by a fiery chariot.

The author does, however, tell us something important about Enoch: the miraculous end to his life here on earth was a result of his faith. Enoch’s faith honored God; thus, God commended Enoch so that “he did not experience death.” Faith honors God and God honors faith. Enoch is the prime example of this reality. His faith was a pleasing aroma before God.

Faith’s Impossibilities

The author uses Enoch and Abel as his Old Testament proofs of the theological assertion found in verse 6: “without faith it is impossible to please God.” These words teach us two important theological truths. First, without faith it is impossible to be commended. While works of external righteousness and general morality may commend us before men, these things are not sufficient to commend us before God. Humanitarianism, religiosity, morality, and following the most scrupulous personal ethical codes cannot bring us God’s approval on the day of judgment. Without faith it is impossible to please God. There is no divine commendation for anyone who walks uprightly (by the world’s standards) without placing faith in Jesus Christ.

Second, with faith it is impossible to be condemned. This, of course, is the glory of the gospel. The righteousness of Christ is credited to us such that even our worst sins and most atrocious deeds cannot separate us from the love of God. By faith in Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice and resurrection, we can have confidence that we cannot be condemned. As Paul says in Romans 8:38-39,

I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Reason for Faith

This leads us directly to the final clause of verse 6: “the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Faith is that which unites us to the blessings of God. It trusts the promises of God and recognizes that he is not a greedy miser; God is a gracious giver, a “rewarder” of those who trust in his goodness.

This clause makes two primary affirmations: first, we accept the existence of God by faith, and second, we accept the promises of God by faith. Of course, to say that we accept the existence of God by faith is not to claim that we accept the reality of God’s existence against reason. As the history of theology and philosophy has shown, there are many good reasons to believe in the existence of God and even more reasons not to be an atheist. Some of the best and most time-tested arguments for theism are what we call the “classical proofs” for God’s existence (the teleological argument, the moral argument, the cosmological argument, and so on). Yet the author of Hebrews reminds us that the ultimate reason we accept the existence of God is because we believe that he has revealed himself in Jesus Christ and that he has spoken in Scripture (1:1-2).

This should not scare Christians. All convictions on ultimate authority are based on faith commitments. Norman Geisler and Frank Turek hint at this in the title of their book, I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist. In other words, it is not that Christians are people of faith and atheists are people of reason. Everyone has an ultimate intellectual starting place, a system of beliefs that are basic to their worldview. Atheists operate from a worldview that is based on a set of assumptions and presuppositions that they have received by faith: secular naturalism and materialism. The Christian, however, accepts the biblical worldview as his ultimate intellectual starting point—again, not against evidence and reason but in concert with them.

The second assertion, “that he rewards those who seek him,” reminds us of the grace of the gospel. God is a “rewarder” because he gives grace and mercy to those who trust in his promises. In the gospel, God makes promises of salvation and declarations about the goodness of his character. When we trust those promises and believe those declarations, he fulfills his word and rewards us with his kindness. What a glorious truth! How does one enjoy the blessings of God? By believing that God will make good on his word to shower us with grace if we come to him with the empty hands of faith.

Noah’s Faith

Hebrews 11:7

Noah exemplifies the theological assertion in the final clause of verse 6. How did Noah survive the judgment of God? The answer is not simply that he built a big boat. What motivated the construction of the ark? Noah believed the word of God. His actions flowed from the fountain of faith.

Excursus: Theological Observations about Noah

For some reason, many evangelicals underestimate the importance of the story of Noah in redemptive history. Perhaps the reason is because we have often only encountered this story as it is trivially retold in literature designed for little children. Or it might be the case that we simply lose the importance of the flood because it stands between the two theological mountains of the creation and fall narrative (Gen 1–3) and the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12; 15; 17).

In light of this reality, it is important that we pause to make a few theological observations about the Noah story. First, the Bible is absolutely clear that this was a universal flood. The biblical text clearly indicates that the flood was a global judgment on all of humanity. Further, the geological features of the earth testify to this reality—from remnants of marine life in the middle of Colorado to the formation of the Grand Canyon.

Second, the flood’s origin is divine, not natural. In other words, this was not just a natural disaster like any other. Noah’s flood was a divinely orchestrated, supernatural judgment on humanity.

Third, the story of the flood is an essential element of biblical theology. The flood is the archetypal example of God’s judgment and the catastrophe of human sin. In fact, throughout Scripture we see that the flood typologically points to God’s final eschatological judgment.

Noah’s Reverence

With this in mind, let’s consider what the author of Hebrews tells us about Noah. First, Noah believed God’s warning of a coming flood—an event “not yet seen.” This highlights once again the nature of true faith by reminding us of verse 1 (emphasis added): “Faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen.” In other words, Noah believed divine revelation even in matters of predictive prophecy.

This passage also tells us that Noah constructed the ark “motivated by godly fear.” Noah recognized the holiness of God. He knew, as Hebrews states, that “God is a consuming fire” (Heb 12:29). Reverent fear is the only appropriate response to the justice of God. He is wonderfully gracious, but that grace is only truly known against the dark backdrop of his justice and wrath against sin.

“By faith he condemned the world.” How did Noah condemn the world? It’s not that Noah sat in an official capacity as judge over the antediluvian people. Rather, whenever an individual lives in obedience to God against the immorality of the world, that individual condemns the rest of the world in its unrighteousness. Think of it this way: What happens when you put a light in a dark room? The light stands out from the darkness, and what had previously been unseen is revealed for what it truly is. Often we do not even recognize how dark our environment has become until someone shines a light in it. By the same token, the obedience of a righteous man both reveals and condemns the disobedience of the world.

Justified by Faith

The final phrase of verse 7 is quite remarkable: “By faith he . . . became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” We find then in the last phrase of 11:7 the glorious doctrine of justification by faith alone. This phrase shows us that the Old Testament saints were imputed the righteousness of Christ (retroactively) when they believed (see Gen 15:6), just as Christians receive that same righteousness by faith alone.

From a biblical-theological perspective, the ark and those in it stand as a picture of the church. Noah is the exemplar who exercises faith and is saved from God’s watery judgment. Even in the midst of the Old Testament’s most horrific display of God’s wrath, we find an extraordinary display of the grace of God. Noah and his family are saved, not because they are more righteous than others, but simply because “Noah . . . found favor [i.e., grace] with the Lord” (Gen 6:8).

Abraham’s Faith

Hebrews 11:8-10

The inclusion of Abraham in the hall of faith is expected but nonetheless significant. Abel, Enoch, and Noah are figures who come before the formation of the nation of Israel. In other words, they are just as much a part of the story of all humanity as they are a part of Israel’s story. But Abraham is the fountainhead of the nation. If Abraham lived by faith in the promises of God and in a coming Messiah, then the implication is that all Jews should do the same. If the readers of Hebrews think that to reject Christ is to embrace Abraham, they are mistaken. Embracing Christ is, in fact, to walk in accord with Abraham.

Faith of a Foreigner

Verse 8 can seem fairly complex on first reading, but the point of the sentence is rather straightforward. Abraham’s faith is seen in the fact that he left his home country of Haran in Mesopotamia in obedience to God, even though at the time he had no idea exactly where he was going. Of course, this may not strike us as a remarkable act of faith, but that simply proves how unfamiliar we are with the culture of the ancient Near East. The Mesopotamian world could be quite dangerous. Physical protection was often the result of being closely knit to one’s kin and community. Travel was particularly hazardous since it separated a person from his place of protection and exposed him to marauders and thieves. In this light, the fact that Abraham left Haran and traveled to a land that he did not know is indeed a remarkable act of trust in God.

Verse 9 indicates that even though the Lord promised to make Abraham a great nation and that his descendants would possess the land, Abraham himself lived his entire life as a foreigner in the land of Canaan; he was not a resident. By faith he beheld something that was coming, but he never saw the fulfillment of those promises of fruitful land and vast descendants. This verse also indicates that the covenant promises were passed through Abraham to Isaac and Jacob. These three individuals form the patriarchal foundation of the nation of Israel. They too were “coheirs [with Abraham] of the same promise.”

Verse 10 explains the content of Abraham’s faith and the motivation for his obedience. “He was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.” The imagery of a “city” in contrast to Abraham’s nomadic experiences is quite powerful. Abraham lived in tents. Tents do not rest on “foundations.” Foundations imply permanence.

Faithful Living for a Promised Future

There are two important points in this passage. First, the city that God builds is an eternal city. The city that God builds will not be like the cities of Mesopotamia, Egypt, or even ancient Rome, which once called itself “the eternal city.” These places have come and gone. They have been sacked, marauded, plundered, and pillaged. All that now remains of them are ruins. But the city that God is building is truly the eternal city. It is entirely secure, unshakable, and cannot be destroyed. By tracing the theme of “city” through Scripture, we find that this promised city is the “new Jerusalem” described in Revelation 21:9-27.

Second, Abraham walked in faith by setting his hope on the fact that God would act and bring about eschatological salvation. Abraham was not just looking forward to inheriting the land of Canaan; he was looking beyond Canaan to what it foreshadowed—the city of heaven coming to earth and God’s restoration of creation. Abraham framed his entire existence by living in anticipation of the fact that God would be faithful to his promises. In other words, Abraham was faithful in the present because of his confidence in what God would do in the future.

Let’s be candid. If you do not have any assurance of joy in the life to come, then it makes sense to pursue all the pleasure you can in this life. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:32, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” As Christians, however, we cannot place our ultimate satisfaction and hope in the promises and pleasures that this world has to offer. We must live by faith, recognizing that one day we will experience a joy that is greater than any joy we can know here in this life. The joys of this world are fleeting and passing. But the joys of heaven are eternal, abundant, and never-fading. If we live for those joys, we will set our affections on eternity, live meaningful lives for Christ, and endure suffering in his name as we look for the joy that awaits us in God’s heavenly city.

Our cities, our homes, and the comforts of this life are fleeting. This is not an eternal city, but Christians know that there is a city where Christ is King. Faith in Christ is what grants us citizenship in that city. Abraham saw that city even while he was a wandering tribesman in the middle of the desert; that is what faith looks like. We may not be wandering tribesman in the desert, but all Christians are pilgrims in land that is not our own. The sandcastles of this world must not distract us from the heavenly city that awaits. In that city we put our hope.

Reflect and Discuss

1. How does the end of Hebrews 10 connect to Hebrews 11? What does perseverance have to do with faith? How does faith motivate our perseverance?
2. How does the author once again teach us in Hebrews 11:1-10 how to read the Old Testament? How did people in the Old Testament look forward to the Messiah and receive salvation from God?
3. Explain in your own words how the people of old received their commendation or approval from God. In what did they place their faith? How is their faith the same as our faith? How is it different?
4. What is the danger of merely moralizing the characters we encounter in the Old Testament? How does the phrase by faith help us avoid the error of moralizing Old Testament stories?
5. How does Abel still speak, though he is dead? After considering the manner of your life right now, what would be said about you in your eulogy? What might you need to change so that your faith continues to speak even after you’ve passed?
6. Why shouldn’t Christians fear placing faith in the biblical worldview? How do all worldviews—whether atheistic or theistic—necessitate some degree of “faith”? How does this passage help us see that faith and reason are not opposed to one another, but actually work in concert? What is the ultimate reason Christians accept the existence of God?
7. In what way(s) does Noah demonstrate the assertion the author makes about faith in verses 1 and 6? What does God’s holiness have to do with our reverence for him? How does Noah’s faith “condemn the world”?
8. How does Noah’s faith demonstrate the doctrine of justification by faith? How does this demonstrate the similarity between Old Testament saints and new covenant believers? How does the ark picture the church?
9. How does the certain reality of a future and everlasting kingdom encourage you to press on by faith? How did this reality motivate or encourage Abraham? How does our present faithfulness relate to God’s future faithfulness?
10. In what ways can this world and all that it offers interfere with our faith in God and his future promises? What comfort do you find in knowing this world is not our home? How can you, like Abraham, frame your life in a way that anticipates the fact that God will be faithful to his future promises?