To Live by Faith (믿음으로 산다는 것)

Hebrews 11:1-3

1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

God has mercifully given us a new year. What is your goal and mission for 2023? It seems customary and even ritual that people make a new year’s resolution, even if it is already forgotten before January winds down. However, it is a different matter for Christians. God has given us a new year. How would you take it before God?

We can tell that 2023 is not going to be an easy year. In many ways it is a continuation of 2022, if not worse. We are not experts but know that much. Economy is not going to get better anytime soon; we still have a war in Ukraine; the world is divided into many pieces and fights one another. What about your personal life? Your family, children, health, and so on.

There are many reasons and issues that cast a cloud over us. I want to remind you again that we have a calling to fulfill as the people of God. We are weak and powerless but called to the ministry of God in this world. We want to put His interest first before ours. We pray our interest be realized in His, just as we witness through the life of John the Baptist. How would you prepare a way for the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, if John the Baptist was alone for the first coming? What would be your specific ministries in preparation for his second coming? Would you be still after your own interest? Would you be still of this world?

Our life is an eschatological life to live before God. We should always look forward to his return. How real is it for you that Christ will return? It is very interesting that the ancient civilizations manifest evidence that they believed in the existence and return of their gods in the distant future. Even the scientists who study the origin of the universe, the relative theory, quantum mechanics, and Blackhole admits that they cannot conclude decisively whether the universe is coming to an end or the beginning of another. It may not be a coincidence that people talk about the end of one and the coming of another. It is vague ideas for them, but we do know with certainty that the Kingdom of God has come.

What would you plan to do this year to realize the Kingdom of God in your own sphere of life? You must have faith that everything you do is to materialize the Kingdom in the form of flesh. That your life is God’s glory reflected upon you must be an engine that drives your life. Whether a teacher, a doctor, a financial consultant or even a soldier! It must be a Kingdom life, and the Kingdom life is an eschatological life. 

We need an eschatological perspective to get through this season of hardship. We need a spirit that is powerful enough to empower us through the year! It is, in a biblical language, faith! Faith seems to be a most basic language in the church that is not special at all. Indeed, it is true and most basic. The only way to live for Christians is to live by faith according to the New Testament. The righteous shall live by faith (Rom. 1:17). In that sense faith is an eschatological life. Faith is a power that moves you. Faith is a strength that perseveres you through. Faith is a shield that protects you from all evils.

Speaking of faith, I would like to mention a few things from Hebrews 11. Unlike what many Christians say, Hebrews 11 does not define faith, even though it sheds much light on it. The whole chapter is about faith and gives us much helpful insights.

The first thing I would like to highlight out of Hebrews 11 is the object of faith. The verse 1 illustrates what to believe. “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Many Christians make a mistake on this verse regarding the nature of what they believe. Particularly, the Korean translation can be misleading, because of the habit of language. The Korean language does not have a passive voice. Or I should say that a passive voice in the Korean language is different from the western languages. So, the verse 1 is often taken to be “faith is the assurance of things we hope for, the conviction of things we do not see.” Do you see the difference? Faith is not about what we hope for or what we want to see. The mystery of faith is with its object, that is, the object hoped for and not seen yet. If the object is what we hope to see, then faith in reality depends on how hard we believe what we want to believe and what we want to see. However, the object of faith is not of ourselves but rather something objective. It is illustrated by a passive voice taken to support an objective reality that is hoped for and remains to be seen. It is an objective reality apart from us that must be received and trusted as is without compromise. It may not be seen and can be only hoped for but real and objective. So, the author of Hebrews emphasizes that faith may be illustrated in terms of “assurance” and “conviction” about the object that is real and true. What is it? Jesus Christ our Lord and all the revelation and gospel about him in the Bible. The first thing to remember about faith is the object of faith, and it is Jesus Christ our Lord.

The next thing that I would like to bring to our attention is the verse 6, where it says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”  The verse 6 should be understood in the light of Enoch in verse 5, where it says, “he was commended as having pleased God.” Our interest is to find out how Enoch was pleasing to God. The answer is given in v. 6 that “without faith it is impossible to please him.” Enoch’s life by faith is further qualified by v. 6 that he believed that God exists and that God rewards those who seek him. In addition to what we have just learned from v. 1 we are again supported by v. 6 that God alone is the sovereign Ruler and Judge who either justifies or condemns. He alone is absolute and sovereign. We, therefore, must remember what pleases God is when God is pleased in the way He should be pleased. It is decided by the absolute and sovereign God alone, and we may please God by faith alone. So, we learn now how important and crucial it is to have the knowledge of the object of faith. If you define the object of faith on your own, it merely becomes a projection of your mind. Therefore, it is an idol that you just created. A violation of Ten Commandments! The object of faith is revealed in the Bible. It is God himself. The Bible reveals who the object of faith is. Therefore, we conclude that we can please God by faith alone, that is, we can please God only when we have the knowledge of the object of faith. 

The next thing that draws our attention is the verse 8, where it says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” This is a powerful illustration for what faith is not, that is, faith is not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). The way of faith is without seeing. Abraham is known for obedience when he could not see where he had to go. This reminds us of what we just have discussed in v. 1. Faith is the conviction and assurance of what is not seen. That which is not seen is in God’s plan, and God knows it better than Abraham and us. God’s promise and plan for our life is not shown to us yet. The only way to find out is to go all the way till the end. It takes obedience. Here, in v. 8 faith is coupled with obedience in addition to the conviction of what is not seen. When we think about obedience, it often comes in the form of contradiction. Not so reasonable and rational to follow it. However, you obey because you have faith. Faith makes you obey. This year 2023, in particular, needs faith to get through. You don’t know what to expect or see any of it. You can only find out when you have lived it till the end whether you had faith or not. No one sees the future. The future is not a matter of seeing unlike some argues as if you must get rid of faith first to see it. Deception and lie! It is by faith not by sight that Abraham went out not knowing where to go. Do you have faith in the will of God? Then, you must proceed even though you don’t see it.

The last point that I would like to highlight is the whole chapter 11 of Hebrews. In fact, the whole chapter is an illustration of the ancestors of faith. Starting from Abel all the way down to the no-named figures, the chapter in essence includes all believers of the Old Testament. The purpose of that is to encourage the readers of Hebrews that there were numerous people of faith before them who had to suffer from the torture and persecution to live the life called by God. It is scary and frightening to read as the chapter goes on. However, they were encouraged not to doubt or despair because of what they see in their own lives. They are reminded of the faith of the ancestors. Their faith served as evidence for the first century believers. Seeing and hearing of the faith of fellow believers is always encouraging, and that is the purpose of this chapter. Perhaps, we might need it as we proceed with 2023. What we experience this year can be in a sense similar with their experience. But we are rather encouraged not to lose our heart over what we see with our eyes. Therefore, we would want to be in service to one another as being the examples of faith. That is what the church is; we are encouraged and edified by one other. More than any other years before we might want to build up one another’s faith. Or, perhaps, we might need a help and support from the fellow Christians.

Thus far, I have covered a few points about faith based on Hebrews 11. First, we want to clarify what you confess to believe in the name of faith. The verse 1 tells us that we do not believe what we want to believe. The object of faith is the objective one, namely Jesus Christ and the gospel. Second, we also want to remember that it is impossible to please God without faith. We have a fuller understanding from the verse 6 that our faith must include the confession that God is the sovereign Lord and that we depend on him in every aspect. So, the knowledge of God is essential to please God. Third, faith is not by sight. Faith is not by your ability to see or do on your own. It often appears to be contradiction. Therefore, it takes obedience. Obedience is a form of faith when things appear to be unreasonable or contradictory. Fourth, the faith of Christians serves to edify the faith of one another. The whole chapter of Hebrews 11 is an illustration of the faith of ancestors. Their names are listed so that the readers of the Bible will remember how the ancestors fought the fight of faith. 

As we take on the challenges particularly brought by 2023, we must remember that our battle is not against flesh and blood. It is not against what we see with our naked eyes like all those distractions and temptations of the present age. Make no mistake! We live in the present world and have ministry to do in this world. However, at the same time we must see far and beyond what we see with our own eyes. We are called to live an eschatological life because we are already in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom has come. We are called to the Kingdom ministry. John the Baptist lived the Kingdom life, and it was solely his interest.

How shall we live the Kingdom life here on earth? The answer from the Bible is always clear and definite. The righteous shall live by faith! It is not I who live but the Lord who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). It is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of the Lord (Zech. 4:6).  

May God bless you abundantly in this year 2023. May your knowledge of God continue to grow and get deeper as the days go by. May you please the Lord through all things throughout the year.