The Heavenly Vision of Faith

Or, The Connection between Faith and Works

What is faith?  A definition is given in the following excerpt from the famous 11th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews:

Hebrews 11:1-2  Now faith is the substance [or, assurance] of things hoped for, the evidence [or, conviction] of things not seen.  For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

This famous passage speaks of faith as an assured conviction that the future fulfillment of the as yet unseen promises of God will certainly come to pass.

This chapter includes the great litany of the faith of the ancient saints and all their exploits and sufferings which they endured for the sake of these promises.

• By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain...
• By faith Enoch was taken away...
• By faith Noah ... prepared an ark...
• By faith Abraham obeyed ... and he went out..., and he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
• They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword.

In the context of this chapter, it's clear that these exploits and works of daring perseverance and endurance were a product of true faith, a living thing and gift of God in our souls, a vision of the city of God that makes us able to stand for the gospel in mighty exploits and sufferings.  This living faith is not a work, nor is it a mere lifeless assent to truth, which flees from us in sins and tribulations.  It is soul-rest in the certainty of God's promise of the heavenly city, which we enter through the work of our faithful high-priest and mediator, Jesus Christ.

See end of the story told in this Epistle about the Israelite apostasy in the wilderness:

Hebrews 3:18-19  And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

The problem with them was not that they did not add works to their faith.  The problem was that the ones who apostatized had no real faith at all.  Of course, at one point, they said that they did.  But testing proved the claim false.

So, how do we prove ourselves to be faithful, like those ancient worthies who have gone before?  By trust in God's promise, in spite of the temptations and distractions of sin, even in the face of death.  This faith is not a work, but a soul-rest in God's saving power.  This conviction of truth moves us to stand for the gospel.  Sanctification is a direct consequence of confidence in the saving and delivering promise of God.

And, by the way, it's best to describe this true and living faith in Scriptural terms.  It's just "faith."  The so-called "faith" of those who profess faith but then fall away from the Lord's call, is a complicated and devious pseudo-faith, so evil that it can't be unraveled, discerned, understood or explained by the mind of man.  Those who hold it are self-deceived.

Real faith is just simple, not complicated -- like the faith of a child.  You rest in it.  God's promise is certain.  Christ's work is done.

Rest all your weight and destiny on the Rock Christ.

He is holding on to you!  And, nothing can pluck you from his hand.