We may learn a great deal about the mystery of faith by studying what the writer to the Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 11.

1. Nature of Faith—verses 1, 1

Faith is the substance or ground of things hoped for; it is not a feeling or a hunch, but it is the evidence of things not seen. Jacob exercised his faith when he valued his birthright and sold the stew. He laid hold of the promise, and made no provision for his flesh, and so by faith he obtained a good report. Faith always gives a good report of God and gains a good report for the believer. I believe, and therefore I have spoken.

2. Knowledge of Faith—verse 3

The world says, “Seeing is believing.” But the Word of God says, “Believe and you will see.” By faith we understand that Christ has died, that sin has been dealt with, and that we have eternal life. Unbelief cannot grasp this and the natural man cannot understand the things of God. Faith comes from the Word of God; it was written so you may know!

3. Worship of Faith—verse 4

If you want to come to God, you must believe. God is a spirit, and in order to enter into fellowship with Him you must have faith and believe. There are three musts in Scripture:

• You must be born again, John 3:7
  
• You must believe, Hebrews 11:6
• You must worship in spirit, John 4:24

4. Translation of Faith—verse 5

Enoch was “taken from this life,” or he was “translated.” We often talk about justification by faith, a wonderful doctrine, but we seldom speak of translation by faith! Every believer has been translated by faith into the kingdom of God, Colossians 1:13.

We have been brought into this kingdom and we are seated with Christ in heavenly places, far above any disturbance in the world. Faith is the victory that overcomes the world!

5. Preciousness of Faith—verse 6

Faith is precious because it pleases God. There are two great things that please God:

• the precious blood of Jesus. Are you pleased with that?
• faith in that blood. God is pleased with that!

These are two great truths, lay hold of them by faith, then all things are possible: (1) believe that He is, and (2) that He is what He says He is–a rewarder. Many believe God exists, yet deny His gracious character.

6. Testimony of Faith—verse 7

Just like Noah, the works of every single believer should “condemn” the world. It took Noah an astonishing 120 years to build his ark; this was his everyday work! Every swing of his hammer said, in effect, my house shall be saved, but the echo whispered condemnation to the world. Every conversation and every transaction of the Christian should have his testimony.

7. Obedience of Faith—verse 8

Faith does not question, it follows. To the Israelites, God said, “Go forward!” They obeyed and the Red Sea parted with their every step. God always makes a way for His faithful ones. The Lord called Peter to walk on the water, and Peter obeyed and he did take a few steps onto the troubled water, until he took his eyes of Christ and began to sink.

8. Walk of Faith—verse 9

Every believer has been called out from the world to be a sojourner with God in the land that is His (Leviticus 25:23). With a traveling companion like that, you have nothing to worry about!