May Class Notes

Theology for Daily Living: A Class for Women

Session Five: Faith
Today we looked at the three compentents that make up the theology of faith- faith that saves, grows/acts, and unites us to Christ

“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith,” Hebrews 12:1-2

Faith Saves (Hebrews 11:1-6)
Faith tells us that God is: although we do not see Him we know Him. Through faith we know Him and we trust Him. Through faith we are connected personally and intimately to God.

1. What is Faith?
Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” And Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”

Baker’s defines faith as “belief, trust, and loyalty to a person or thing. Christians find their security and hope in God as revealed in Jesus Christ, and say ‘amen’ to that unique relationship to God in the Holy Spirit through love and obedience as expressed in lives of discipleship and service.”

2. Knowledge vs. Belief
Faith is more than simply acknowledging the person and work of Christ. There are men in the bible who knew Jesus and still did not believe. Knowledge is not enough; we can “believe” all we read in the gospels and lack faith. Faith is trust in the promises of God, that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He said He would do. Both Cain and Abel knew God, but it was Abel who had faith (Hebrews 11:4, cf. Genesis 4).

3. pro nobis
Faith is personal. Faith hinges on the distinct idea that Christ’s death and resurrection was for each of us. Martin Luther refers to this as pro nobis, that Christ was born for us individually and accomplished for us the work of salvation. This is where belief overcomes knowledge, where we move from darkness to Light (John 11:26), death to life (Romans 6:11) – when we trust that Jesus’ work on the cross was for us, personally. Faith believes that God’s word applies to each one of us (Hebrews 11:3, 6).

Faith begins, as CS Lewis said, in a point where we recognize who we are, our moral bankruptcy, and who God is, His complete supremacy – even if we could give a perfect existence to God, it would only be His due. We come to Christ empty, but faith doesn’t end there. Faith acts. Faith works. Faith grows.

Faith Grows (Hebrews 11:7-40)
In this section, the author of Hebrews runs through an Old Testament “hall of fame” of sorts. It’s all the famous heroes of the bible, men and women of faith. We see that their faith was composed of trust and obedience; their faith was one that worked, acted and grew (as our faith should – 1 John 2:3-6; James 1:21-27).

1. Trust (11:7-16)
Faith is about trusting in the promises of God. Noah trusted God when He said He was going to flood the earth (Genesis 6). Abraham trusted God when God told him to leave his home (Genesis 12). Sarah trusted God would give her a son (Genesis 21).

Hebrews 11:13-16 describes them as thinking of a “better country.” They trusted in God to work in His time and they kept their focus on what God said was real. CS Lewis describes this aspect of faith as “the art of holding onto things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes…” Remember the psalmist in Psalm 73 (from the first class)? We have to fall upon who God says He is, especially in the face of our emotions.

2. Obedience (11:17-29)
Obedience is faith in action. In every example of faith there is an overarching theme of obedience. Abraham is credited as a man of faith because he obeyed (Genesis 22). The author of Hebrews shows how Abraham’s obedience blessed and affected his generations (11:20-22), and the apostle Paul calls him the father of our faith (Galatians 3:7-9, cf. Romans 4:11).

In Deuteronomy Moses, after laying before the Israelites blessings (through obeying the law) and curses (through disobeying the law), exhorts the people to choose life, to choose to obey. “Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him,” Deuteronomy 30:19b-20.

Obeying God is a choice we make, it’s about our heart. Through faith we choose to trust Him and know that He is a rewarder of those who trust and obey (Hebrews 11:6, cf. Genesis 22:15-18). In Hebrews 11:24-29 we see that the choices Moses and his parents made were made out of faith. They “endured,” they saw Him “who was unseen” and in faith, they obeyed.

3. Work (11:30-40)
Philippians 2:12-13 exhorts believers to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you.” Faith must be cultivated, it grows or fades – it is not stagnant. Abraham grew in his faith. “Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God…” Romans 4:19-20.

Hebrews 11: 33-38. Our faith is manifested in our actions. What we believe isn’t in what we say but in what we do. The people in this section of scripture endured suffering and apparent defeat in death.

4. Right Action, Right Belief
Faith acts. Faith’s actions are born from trust and obedience. Jesus rebuked his disciples for lacking faith when they were fraught with worry, anxiety, distress and confusion (Matthew 6:30, 8:26, 14:31 and 16:8). Our lives look different when we live out our faith.

Habakkuk 2:4 says “Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; but the righteous will live by his faith.” And the actions of faith are born and exist in the union we have with God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit dwelling within each of us.

Faith Unites Us to Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2)
The power of faith unites us to Christ. As John 11:46 says, we have moved from darkness into Light. Faith is what moves us from a life of sin and death (darkness) to a life in Christ (Light). Paul stresses this fact with the use of the phrase “in Christ” (i.e. Romans 6:11, 23).

Luther described faith as the wedding ring which unites us to our bridegroom, Christ. He said faith “unites the soul with Christ, as a bride is united with her bridegroom.” Peter, in writing an exhortation to a church in the midst of a painful time, said of the enemy, “but resist him, firm in your faith.” Growing in our faith is like building a firm marriage; Christ is our bridegroom, our wedding ring is our faith, and we are to be faithful brides.

Hebrews 12:1-2 is both an exhortation and an instruction. Becoming ever more firm in our faith builds our relationship and is our protection in this life – like the examples of faith in Hebrews 11, who were ‘looking for a different country,’ (11:16) and ‘saw Christ as greater than riches’ (26) and ‘gained approval through their faith’ (11:39). And we live faith by putting aside sin (11:25), fixing our eyes on Christ (11:16, 12:2).


Discussion Questions
1. Habakkuk 2:4 tells us “the righteous shall live by faith.” Why is that verse so key? What does it mean to live by faith? ** the idea being that to live by faith combines right action (live) with right belief (faith).

2. The author of Hebrews says Moses “chose to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,” Hebrews 11:25. How does the idea of an “eternal perspective,” (see 11:13-16 and 11:24-27) effect the way we should live out our daily lives? How does the idea of obedience play out here? *remember Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 30:19, we have to choose life, obedience is always a choice we make…

3. After all these great examples of powerful acts of faith, chapter 11 ends with “and all these, having gained approval through their faith did not receive what was promised.” What does it say about our faith when we pray or look to God for some thing or event that doesn’t happen and we get distressed? or angry? How should we respond to seasons (or even lives) of waiting? *for example, Abraham had been waiting decades before he was blessed w/ a son…

4. What does it mean to say there is a difference between faith and knowledge? Does it make sense to you that the puritans promoted faith as something that had to occur within the whole person?

5. Martin Luther really promoted the analogy of faith as the wedding ring that unites the believer (bride) to Christ (bridegroom). What does it mean to be in union with Christ? How does Ephesians 5:25-32 impact your view of your union with Christ?