The Strand Study Bible

HEBREWS HEBREWS * it communicates to God that we are willing to take Him at His Word based on His track record ( Psa 138:2 ) Faith communicates to God that we understand His track record ( For by it the elders obtained a good report – vs 2). * it communicates to God that we understand His natural attributes ( Rom 1:20b – point #4) Faith communicates to God that we understand (through faith we understand) what He can do ( that the worlds were framed by the word of God – vs 3). * it communicates to God that we believe He exists (Rom 1:18-22) Faith communicates to God that we understand that we are responsible for our actions ( for he that cometh to God must believe that he is – vs 6). Our faith in God and His Word displays to an unbelieving world the assurance, reality (substance) and proof (evidence) of God’s existence. Thus, God uses our response to His Word (faith) as proof of His existence… and He likes that! Simply put, when a man obeys God whom he cannot see, he gives the only possible evidence that in his heart he believes God. * it communicates to God that we understand His moral attributes ( Rom 1:20b – point #5) Faith communicates to God that we understand His Person, the fact that He is good ( that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him – vs 6) and faithful and holy and loving and kind and just and truthful and merciful; and that our faith in what He says leads to His grace, mercy and peace upon our lives (Eph 2:8-9). * it communicates to God that we understand what faith is ( Heb 11:1 ) Faith is action; it is man’s response to God’s commands ( By faith Abel offered – vs 4; By faith Enoch… pleased – vs 5; By faith Noah…moved – vs 7). Faith communicates to God that we understand His ability to do what He said He would do. Faith is not believing in spite of the circumstances; faith is obeying in spite of the consequences. * it communicates to God that we understand what faith does ( Heb 5: 12- 14 ) Faith matures us; it communicates to God that we understand the eternal perspective ( By faith Abraham… looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God – vs 8-10). Abraham looked past this life and stayed focused on the next life. He not only gained the eternal perspective, he maintained it ( II Cor 4:18 ). 11:11 What makes what Sarah did all the more impressive was her ( Sara herself ) “willingness” to obey God and to lay with Abraham at the age of 89. Faith has nothing to do with how we feel and everything to do with what God says. 11:13 Faith sees things not as they are ( not having received the promises ), but as they will be ( but having seen them afar off ). 11:25 THE ADAGE IS TRUE: If it’s not right (sin) , it won’t last (for a season) 11:26 This word ( esteeming ) is the Greek word ‘ K γησαμενος ( hegesamenos ) and signifies “ to lead; to lead before the mind, to consider and evaluate. ” Thus, hegesamenos is a bookkeeping term that deals with accounting (II Pet 3:15). The whole idea behind your education was to get you to think… not what to think, but how to think. Unfortunately, that probably didn’t happen. Parents, teachers, and pastors alike were supposed to teach you how to evaluate every thought that you were taught by comparing it with the ultimate thought (God’s Word). Regrettably, they probably didn’t do that. Why? Because they wanted you to know what to think, and forgot to teach you how to think. According to Hebrews 11:24-26, God is not afraid for you to think. I mean, He did allow Moses to be raised in the most secular worldly institution of his day. It’s ok to think and to ask questions ( Exo 2:11a ). It’s even ok to think differently than those who think differently than you. What’s not ok... is for you not to continue to weigh what you’ve been taught with what God thinks. The difference between Moses and most of us is that God could count on Moses to weigh everything he was being taught with the ultimate thought (The Word of God). Moses evaluated ( esteemed ) his situation and all that he had learned and decided it was better to have favor with the KING OF KINGS , who is eternal (Mic 5:2 and I Tim 1:17 & 6:14-16), than with the king of Egypt, who was temporal. Smart thinking! Charles P. Steinmetz in Making the Most of Your Life notes: No man really becomes a fool until he stops asking questions. 5 God is not afraid for us to think or to ask questions (He did make our minds, you know). All He asks is that we compare ( evaluate ) what we are being taught and what we think with what He thinks; because what He thinks happens to be superior to what we think. Parents would be wise to: Teach your children why you believe what you believe. Don’t ask them to accept your beliefs blindly. Don’t be afraid to teach them to think for themselves. God’s Word can withstand the test. Parents would be wise to teach their children how to think for themselves by learning to weigh ( evaluate ) everything they are being taught with the ultimate thought –God’s Word. Meaning: It’s ok for children to know the difference between what the world thinks as long as they are willing to compare it with what God thinks. If we are not allowed to know the other side, how can we evaluate and thus defend what we believe ( Phil 1:17 )? How can we learn how to think if all we know is what to think? Just ask the people (such as, Josh McDowell and countless others) who have gone out with an open heart and an honest approach to disprove the Bible, only to become believers ( Exo 2:10b ). NOTE – Everyone has the right to think for himself. When it comes to God (II Tim 1:12), I think I’m right. If I thought I was wrong I would think something different. 2074

1 White, John. The Fight . Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press. 1976. Print. 2 Strobel, Lee. The Case For Faith . Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. 2000. Print. 3 Lewis, C.S. The Weight of Glory. Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 2001. Print. 4 Chafer, Lewis Sperry. Major Bible Themes , Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1926. Print. 5 Charles P. Steonmetz and T. Webb Ewing. Making the Most of Your Life , Ray Long & Richard R. Smith, Inc, 1932. Print.