Hebrews 11 Lesson

Faith in Jesus gains approval from God.  

Think about that statement as you read the following scripture:

• “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  For by it the men of old gained approval.” – Hebrews 11:1-2.

If men of old gained approval because of their faith, so can we.   Nothing has changed with respect to that.  

When we understand the importance of faith to God, we should feel compelled to seek faith, obtain it, and put it into action.  

To do this, we need to act by taking the following three steps:

1. Studying the Bible,
2. Praying for increased faith,
3. Acting on our faith.

We will look at each of these during today’s lesson.

STUDYING THE BIBLE

If you search on GOOGLE, “How can I increase my faith,you will get more than 150 million results!   There are a lot of opinions about what we are supposed to do to increase our faith.   But what does the Bible say about increasing one’s faith?

Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans:

• “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” – Romans 10:17.

When we read the Bible, we are exposed to all the wisdom of God.   As we read it more and more, will be filled with hope as we hear stories about spending eternity in Heaven with God, Jesus, and all the saints. 

If we want to increase our faith, the first thing we need to do is commit to studying God’s word.  

PRAYING FOR INCREASED FAITH

In Luke 17, Jesus is warning His disciples to be on guard and to look out for stumbling blocks.   Jesus said to His disciples:

• “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.  And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” – Luke 17:3-4.  

The apostles heard what Jesus said.   They responded:

• “Increase our faith.” – Luke 17:5.

If we want to increase our faith, the first thing that we need to do is study the Bible.   The second thing that we need to do is to follow the example of those that were closest to Jesus, His apostles.   The apostles understood the importance of asking God, through Jesus, to increase their faith.

ACTING ON OUR FAITH

You can have all the faith in the world, but if you never act on that faith, is it really faith?   True faith compels us to act!   Consider the following passage from the book of James:

• “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him?  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so, faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” – James 2:14-17.

As the above scripture so powerfully points out, we can have all the faith in the world, but faith alone will not help that person that needs a meal taken to them, or warm clothes.   God needs workers in the field to do His will!

CONCLUSION

Having faith in Jesus gains us approval in the eyes of God, and therefore we need to take our faith seriously.   If we do not have faith, we cannot please God.   Consider the following verse:

• “And without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” – Hebrews 11:6.

Knowing how important our faith is to God, we should constantly be working to grow our faith.   We do this by reading the Bible and praying for God to increase our faith.  

Working on our faith is a three-step process:

1. Studying the Bible regularly,
2. Praying for increased faith,
3. Acting on our faith.

When we do these three things, the Bible teaches us that our faith will grow, and God will be pleased.  

We will end today’s lesson with the following Bible verse.   It reminds us that faith should guide our actions, not the things of this world.  

• “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” - 2 Corinthians 5:7.