But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6
Even though it was not written to non-Christians, our text is often directed very effectively at those who are not Christians. It is a good Gospel text, reminding sinners that their religion and good works are meaningless to God. Directed at believers, our text reminds us that our faith is contingent on our belief in the existence and the power of God, and in our knowledge that God delights only in those who seek Him. To turn the verse around, our assurance in God’s mighty power and in His response to our approach to him is possibly only through faith. Faith not only saves us, but it also changes us.
Faith gives us persistence. It is only faith that enables us to continue praying for lost loves ones for years, that enables us to continue living in decency and honesty amid our godless and rotten surroundings, that keeps us reading and trusting the Word of God despite the devil’s savage attacks against it. If we are to persist in the things of God, we must by faith lay hold on God to enable us to do so.
Faith gives us a responsiveness to God. The world doesn’t believe the Bible, so it does not obey the Bible. But we must be the opposite. If our faith in God is unshakeable, and our faith in the integrity of the Bible is absolute, we will desire nothing more nor less than to obey God and His Word. It is our faith that gives us the desire to learn God’s will and direction for our lives, and for the little moments that make up our lives. And that same faith will enable us to do what God tells us to do.
Faith also makes us sacrificial. Just as faith enabled the great martyrs to willingly lay down their lives and enables missionaries to give up everything to follow God’s leading, so faith enables us to sacrifice. Because we know that God’s reward is greater than that of man, faith enables us to value and pursue God’s commendation even if it means losing our time, our possessions, our comfort, and our desires to do so. Only faith can enable us to say amen to the words of the martyr Jim Elliot who said, ‘He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
Faith also gives us courage. This is what enables Christian young people to stand up to the incredible peer pressure that leads so many young folks into destructive habits and immoral behaviour. This is what transforms nervous and shy men who used to fear the sound of their own voice to stand and boldly worship God and testify of His saving power before large crowds of people. This what enables any of us to live a good testimony before the world.
Most important of all, faith makes us dependent on God. Remember what the apostle Paul told the Christians in Philippi, ‘I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (Philippians 4:13)’. There must never come a time in our Christian experience when we feel we can continue our service for God in our own strength and under our own wisdom and direction. The more we depend on God for everything that we do and are, the less we will need to depend on anyone else, including ourselves.
Oh, what a powerful force faith is! How dramatically it would transform us if we would lay hold on God and seek His commendation and rewards! -Jim MacIntosh