IBS Application of Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Why is it so easy for me to say I have faith, then act in a manner contrary to what a faithful life should look like? After all, the author of Hebrews teaches us that a faithful life is an assured life. Other translations of Hebrews 11:1 translate the word “assurance” as “substance,” which suggests to me that this sort of assurance is something more than just a promise or an idea. It seems to suggest that it’s something more tangible than that. Faith is also defined as being the “conviction” or the “evidence” of things not seen. Again, something beyond simply being evidence. Something real and known enough to warrant conviction in someone.

The simple answer as to why we fail to walk in faith is sin. It keeps us from doing what God made us to do. But God sent His Son to intercede on our behalf to make the remission of sins possible for all people everywhere. The hope that the author of Hebrews is referring to in this verse is the promise of eternal life, bought with the blood of Christ at Calvary, on top of the fulfillment of God’s promises to humanity dating all the way back to the Fall of Man. So for all of this good that has been done for us, how could anyone possibly mess this up? Well, we, the very people that get to benefit from this promise are the ones who can fail to reap the benefits of this promise, simply by doing nothing in response to it.

The author writes concerning those who neglect to do anything with or outright refuse to respond to the knowledge and promise of faith in chapter 6, verses 4-8, saying, “For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come, and the have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.”


Now, I myself have a problem with cowardice. I let fear get in the way of doing the right thing, because I want to do the right thing in the right manner. But if I can’t trust God to be God in and through me, I will fail to accomplish anything, even if I do act in spite of my cowardice. In short, I fail to live without assurance or conviction. If I am to overcome my fear and actually do good works to further the Kingdom, I need to be willing to let the Holy Spirit work through me in times when I need discernment. Today, in order to begin working towards a faith-filled walk with God, I will pray that God would break down the walls in my heart that prevent me from seeking His guidance rather than trying to do something on my own whenever I think about this problem. And I will allow the Spirit to lead me as I go about my day; so if I feel led to share the gospel and my testimony with someone who hasn’t heard the good news today, or to help fill the needs around me, I will minister to the people around me in whatever way I need to, as it is dictated by the Spirit.

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