Hebrews 11:6 - Faith is a Relationship with God. (part 1)
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) And without faith it is
impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to
him must believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who earnestly seek him.
INTRODUCTION
Faith is confidence in God that leads to
obedience to God. True faith is based on what God says
and is demonstrated in what we do. People with
faith do things for God, and God does things for
them.
Faith is not a luxury; it is a necessity.
It is for common people and not just great
leaders. We need faith for worshiping (v. 4) as well
as for working (v. 7), walking (vv. 8-9),
waiting (vv. 10-12), and warring (vv. 30-34). In any
area of life where you ignore faith, you will sin
(Rom. 14:23).
The phrase "still others" (v. 36) reminds
us that we can live by faith and appear to be
defeated. Not everybody who trusted God was delivered
or protected (vv. 36-40). But the important
thing is not God's deliverance; it is God's
approval (v. 39). Faith in God gives you the ability
to endure when others are giving up.
Where does this faith come from? Read
Romans 10:17 and 12:3. [Chapter by Chapter Bible
Commentary by Warren Wiersbe mod]
WORD STUDY
Without Faith. Whereas the Creator is
infinite, His creatures are irrevocably finite, and
there are, accordingly, things which they must
take by faith. Indeed, to take God at His word is
the most exalted exercise of which the human
mind is capable. Indeed, he must take God at His
word if he is to fill perfectly the place
designed for him in a perfect universe, for a
realization of the love of God culminates in faith. In
the divine-human person of the Saviour, Godlike
love and human faith met together for the first
time. [SDA Bible Commentary]
Impossible To Please Him. There is no room
in a perfect universe for a created being who
lacks faith in the Ruler of the universe. The only
alternative to faith in God is fear and resentment, and
ultimately, despair. [SDA Bible Commentary]
Cometh to God. Professes allegiance to Him.
[SDA Bible Commentary]
Believe That He Is. Belief that God really
exists is the ultimate foundation of the Christian
faith. Through nature, through His Word, and
through His providential leading God has provided
men with all the evidence of His existence that
intelligent beings need and can make use of (cf. Rom.
1:20). The writer here rules out such distorted
concepts of God as those held by pantheists. [SDA
Bible Commentary]
A Rewarder. The awful prospect of someday
standing before the great Judge of the universe is
undeniably a powerful incentive to right living. To be
sure, great fear of the fires of hell will never
save any man, but it may be a factor"a potent
factor"in shaking him out of his lethargy. The
infinite love of God as revealed in Christ Jesus
provides man with the ultimate and only effective
incentive to salvation. [SDA Bible Commentary]
Diligently Seek Him. To seek God is to
endeavor to understand more fully His infinite
character and His will for men. The writer does not
imply that God has deliberately made it difficult
for men to find Him, but stresses the need of an
earnest desire to understand God and to become like
Him both in mind and in character. [SDA Bible
Commentary]
COMMENTARY PEARL
When Jesus walked this earth, He healed a
lot of people. But did He heal everyone? Could
He have healed everyone? Jesus could have said,
Everyone will be healed on the count of three. One
two three and boom! Everyone,
everywhere has been healed. He wouldnt have needed
to touch people. He wouldnt have needed to
even see them.
Jesus could have done that, but He
didnt. He responded to people who called out to
Him, like Bartimaeus, the blind man who heard
Jesus passing by and shouted, Jesus, Son of
David, have mercy on me! (Mark 10:47 NLT).
The only place where Jesus wasnt able
to do miracles was in His hometown of Nazareth,
and it was because of their unbelief. I find
that really interesting. Jesus wanted to heal
them. But He wouldnt heal them because of their
unbelief.
The circumstances of our lives are no
problem with God. Its our unbelief that is the
problem. Like the father who wanted healing for his
demon-possessed son, we, too, need to say, I do believe,
but help me overcome my unbelief! (Mark 9:24
NLT).
Faith can make the difference between
something happening and not happening, because without
faith, Hebrews 11:6 tells us, its impossible to
please God. You dont have to have super faith.
You just have to have faith.
You may look at the stories of men and
women in the Bible and think, I dont know if
that could ever happen for me in this day in
which I am living. The work of God isnt
limited to one particular time in history. The Bible
says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8 NLT).
God is not limited by your circumstances.
He is limited by your unbelief. [By Greg Laurie
from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
COMMENTARY
BELIEVING THAT GOD EXISTS IS ONLY THE
BEGINNING; EVEN THE DEMONS BELIEVE THAT MUCH (JAMES
2:19, 20). GOD WILL NOT SETTLE FOR MERE
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF HIS EXISTENCE. HE WANTS A PERSONAL,
DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU THAT WILL TRANSFORM
YOUR LIFE. THOSE WHO SEEK GOD WILL FIND THAT THEY
ARE REWARDED WITH HIS INTIMATE PRESENCE. [Life
Application SB]
"Pleasing God" has two presuppositions here:
(1) People must believe that he exists and then
(2) endeavor to have a personal relationship
with him. Drawing from the example of Enoch, in
11:5, we see that Enoch pleased God because he had
a personal relationship with him. Before this
relationship could happen, Enoch obviously had to believe
that God exists. However, believing that God
exists is only the beginning; even the demons
believe in God's existence (James 2:19-20). God will
not settle for mere acknowledgment of his
existence. He wants a personal, dynamic relationship
with you that will transform your life... (Life
Application Commentary)
Your relationship with God is largely
determined by your faith. When you come to Him, you
must believe that He exists and that He is
exactly who He has revealed Himself to be in
Scriptures. You must also believe that He will respond
to you when you earnestly seek Him. Without
this kind of faith, you cannot please God.
Regardless of the morality of your life, the good works
you perform, the words you speak, or the
sacrifices you make for His sake, if you do not have
faith, you will not please Him. It can be tempting
to substitute religious activity for faith in
God. Christians may claim they are being good
stewards of their resources when, in fact, they are
wanting to walk by sight rather than by faith (Heb
11:1). They may refuse to do what God tells them
unless they can see all the resources in place
first.
You may say, I love God, but I just
have difficulty trusting Him. Then you are not
pleasing to Him. You cannot struggle at the core of
your relationship with God and still enjoy a
vibrant fellowship with Him! Faith does not
eliminate problems. Faith keeps you in a trusting
relationship with God in the midst of your problems.
FAITH HAS TO DO WITH YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD,
NOT YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES. Some may say, Im
not much of a person of faith. I am more of a
practical person! Yet you will never do anything
more practical than to place your trust in the
Lord! Nothing is more secure or certain than that
which you entrust to God. [Experiencing God Day by
Day by Henry and Richard Blackaby]
It will take faith to achieve and
maintain the total health that God desires for you.
Part of that faith is the conviction that life is
about trusting God's unlimited power instead of
your limited willpower. People Of Faith Are Those
Who Admit They Can't Do It On Their Own.
Humility Is An Essential Ingredient Of Their Lives.
You've already begun to embrace your
powerlessness and God's strength. Continue to trust him,
surrendering all of your goals and desires to him and
asking him to bring to fruition what he has planned
for you.
Perfect Performance Isn't What Pleases
God. What Warms His Heart Is Total Surrender And
Faith In His Power And His Promises. Author and
theologian Brennan Manning said, "to live by grace
means to acknowledge my whole life story, the
light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow
side, I learn who I am and what God's grace really
means.''
What do you need faith for today?
Pleasing God is as simple as trusting him
as your Savior and Lord, letting him guide your
steps. [The Daniel Plan 365-Day Devotional]
CLOSING THOUGHT
It seems so basic. Anyone who wants to
seek God must believe He actually exists. But
since most people - and probably all of those in
the original readership of the letter to the
Hebrews - have believed God exists, the statement
hardly seems necessary. Add that the statement is
made to those who want to come to God, and it
seems even stranger. Those who come to God
wouldn't be coming if they didn't believe in His
existence.
But the statement may be more insightful
than we assume. For all our belief in God, many
of us have lived as practical atheists - people
for whom God is a rock-solid concept in our
minds but who has no practical relevance to our
daily lives. Many think about God, pray to Him
sometimes, and assume He expects good moral behavior,
but HIS SPIRIT DOESN'T ENTER INTO THEIR
MOMENT-BY-MOMENT DECISIONS, THEY DON'T HEAR OR EVEN LISTEN
FOR HIS VOICE, AND THEY DON'T LIVE IN HIS
STRENGTH RATHER THAN THEIR OWN. So though God exists,
He doesn't exist in any way that's meaningful
to them. And that doesn't lead to any kind of
meaningful experience with Him.
The first foundational truth in
experiencing God's Presence in a real way is to believe
that He exists in practical terms - as an
accessible, relatable personality. That's the first
step, but it's so simple that we often forget it.
God drifts to the back of our minds, and before
we know it, He's an idea, a quiet piece of
background music to our lives. We have to continually
bring Him back to the forefront - the object of
our worship and the Person we relate to
constantly. When we do, we begin an adventure into His
very real Presence.
Lord, I not only believe You exist, I
believe You want to be an integral part of every
minute of my life. Let me not forget like many do;
give me reminders of Your Presence moment by
moment. [The One Year Experiencing Gods Presence
Devotional by Chris Tiegreen]
ONE LINERS
The faith that is required is not a mere
assent to doctrines; it is the faith that works by
love and purifies the soul. Humility, meekness,
and obedience are not faith; but they are the
effects, or fruit, of faith. [5T437, 8]
Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 5T437, 8
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Seek to please Me above all else. As you
journey through today, there will be many
choice-points along your way. Most of the day's decisions
will be small ones you have to make quickly. You
need some rule of thumb to help you make good
choices. Many people's decisions are a combination of
their habitual responses and their desire to
please themselves or others. This is not My way for
you. Strive to please Me in everything, not just
in major decisions. This is possible only to
the extent that you are living in close
communion with Me. When My Presence is your deepest
delight, you know almost instinctively what will
please Me. A quick glance at Me is all you need to
make the right choice. Delight yourself in Me
more and more; seek My pleasure in all you do.
(John 8:29; Heb. 11:5, 6; Psa. 37:4) [Jesus
Calling by Sarah Young]
LINK FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS TOPIC
Hebrews 11:1 - FAITH.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210618-1018.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Most Important Decision in Life:
http://www.youtube.com/embed/WGnEuGwvXqU?rel=0
Steps to Peace by Billy Graham:
https://stepstopeace.org/
A Man without Equal by Bill Bright:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiVa7UoruIo
Seeking God Made Real:
http://vimeo.com/31489782
Prayer Made Real:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tc8VdMV26VE
Importance of Choice:
http://creationhealth.com/CREATION-Health/Choice [click on video]
Medical Seminar on Healthful Living by David
DeRose, MD, MPH:
https://www.smartlifestyletv.com/lifestart
LINKS FOR BIBLE STUDIES
Lifting Up Jesus Bible Studies:
http://www.liftingupjesus.net/
Amazing Facts Bible Studies:
http://www.amazingfacts.org/bible-study/bible-study-guides.aspx
Hope Awakens Bible Study Guides:
https://www.hopeawakens.study/lesson-header;id=2
Glow Tract Video Bible Studies:
http://www.bibleresearch.info/
LINKS FOR BIBLE PROPHECY SEMINARS
Panorama of Prophecy with Pastor Doug
Batchelor: https://www.panoramaofprophecy.com/
[BEGINS October 15, 2021]
Islam and Christianity in Prophecy, The
Third and Final Conflict by Tim Roosenberg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSJB-fuHLU&list=PLWhQIHGTHlkaGg5Cwe3NDzWtFX8vNSpsE
Unlocking Bible Prophecies by Cami Oetman of
Adventist World Radio: https://www.awr.org/bible
Hope Awakens by John Bradshaw of IIW:
https://itiswritten.tv/programs/hope-awakens
Prophecies Decoded by Pastor Ron Clouzet:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1A435C5373550657
