Faith in God looks beyond this life
What have you been most looking forward to? Whatever that may be, it’s likely to affect how you live now. For most of us who’ve been looking forward to the end of covid restrictions, that’s affected how we’ve been eagerly waiting these few months. If it’s holidays or a big break, that end goal pushes you to keep on going at Uni or work. That’s an important question to consider because when living for Jesus gets hard, what we’re looking forward to can determine if we endure or shrink back from our faith in Jesus. This could be when your faith puts you in difficult positions with others that hold conflicting views, or when suffering comes in the form of a serious health condition or loss of a love one. That’s the choice the Jewish Christians were facing when the letter of Hebrews was written: abandon their faith in God for what seemed like a better life in Judaism or continue enduring in their faith amidst uncertainty and hardship. So, the writer of Hebrews warns them (Hebrews 10.39) not to shrink back and encourages them to have faith and preserve, which is one of the big messages in Hebrews. With that in mind, Hebrews 11 dives deeper into what faith acted out looks like through people from the past. We should consider what they did in faith but more importantly, draw closer to the person of God who gave them confidence to respond in that way. It would be great if you could have your bibles open to today’s passage in Hebrews 11.17-22 where we see that faith in God looks beyond this life.
1. Faith in God’s power to raise the dead (Hebrews 11.17-19)
The first example we get from Hebrews 11.17-19 is Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, which shows faith in God’s power to raise the dead. There’s a lot that could be said from this full story in Genesis, but here the author focuses on what Abraham did (sacrifice his only son) and why Abraham was able to. We see what he did from Hebrews 11.17:
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son.
God had promised to bless the nations through Isaac, and now tested Abraham’s faith. By giving up what was closest to heart, his only son, Abraham acted on his faith in God’s power and promise. Hebrews 11.19 explains why Abraham could act in faith:
He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
He considered that the only way for God’s promise to continue through Isaac, was if he were to bring him back from the dead after the sacrifice. Abraham’s costly actions were not based on his own strength and willpower, or blind following, but on God’s power to raise the dead, which he pondered on. Those familiar with the story know that God offered a lamb as a substitute right before Abraham could sacrifice Isaac, which is how Abraham figuratively received him back because at that moment, Isaac was as good as dead. Coming back to the immediate context in Hebrews, how was this relevant to the original readers? Well, we know they had already been through suffering as Hebrews 10.32 says:
they endured a hard struggle with sufferings, publicly exposed to reproach and affliction…plundering of property.
If that wasn’t hard enough, the deeper suffering Abraham faced was indicating there very well may be times to come where worse suffering and sacrifices need to be made in faith. Hebrews 12.4 reinforces that they have only experienced the tip of the iceberg in their suffering:
In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
They needed to be ready to suffer for Jesus. But knowing worse suffering will come doesn’t actually help people get through suffering, if anything it could make it less appealing. And that’s when we look back to why Abraham was able to make such sacrifices and endure such suffering, because he had faith in God’s power to raise the dead. So, no matter what persecution the Christians were facing at that time, they could have the same faith in God’s power to raise them from the dead to be with him in heaven. This enables and prepares them to make big sacrifices for God if the moment came, even if that meant dying for the Lord. So, they needed to be ready to face death too. Likewise, for us we need to be prepared to make big sacrifices for God. In some parts of the world today like Nigeria and North Korea, martyrdom is a reality many will face. We should be praying that our brothers and sisters there continue to have faith in God’s power over death. For most of us here, that may not be a reality we expect to face, although who are we to say. However, we do know for sure that all of us will face death and need to be prepared whenever it comes by knowing that it’s not the worst thing in life nor is it the end.
But having faith in God’s power to raise the dead also extends to other areas of our lives where we can be making smaller sacrifices. If we believe in God’s power to change hearts but don’t share the gospel because we think our friends won’t believe, then we’ve sidestepped suffering in the form of rejection. Or if we believe in God’s power to provide for our needs but rely only on our efforts, we’ve not sacrificed our security. Are we prepared to make sacrifices for our faith in God?
2. Faith in God’s future blessing (Hebrews 11.20-21)
Moving on down the passage, the author draws from the example of Isaac and Jacob to show faith in God’s future blessing. (Hebrews 11.20-21):
By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph…
At the end of their lives, both Isaac and Jacob trusted in God’s promise to continue growing his people and bring them to the promise land. Even if that was in the distant future, they knew God’s future blessings far surpass any present blessings. Again, how was this relevant to the original readers? When faced with the temptation to join Judaism for security and prosperity, Christians back then had to question if their faith was in God’s future blessings, or the present blessings Judaism offered? So, the writer warns them here that God’s blessing to his people are primarily future eternal blessings, not present temporal blessings.
The challenge for us today is similar; to put our faith in God’s future blessings over the present blessings the world offers. Going back to the question we asked at the beginning, ‘what have you been most looking forward to?’ for me it’s married life as I plan to get married next month, God willing. This passage has made me think carefully, ‘If I met Jesus in heaven before the wedding, either my time on earth ending or Jesus returning to judge all (both of which will happen), would I be ready and excited to join Jesus in heaven or disappointed he didn’t return after the wedding?’. At times I’ve lost sight of eternity looking forward to marriage here more than heaven, and that’s when I’ve misplaced my faith in God’s present blessings instead of his future blessings. I wonder what that might be for you that causes you to want Jesus to return later. ‘If I met Jesus in heaven before blank, I would be disappointed he didn’t return after blank.’
We’re reminded in Ephesians that God has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1.3). All our spiritual blessings are in Christ himself and last beyond this life into heaven. The blessing of knowing Jesus and being able to dwell fully in his presence for the rest of eternity far surpasses anything on earth that might not even last till the end of life. That should cause us to turn back to God to put our faith in his future blessing. And don’t get me wrong, I still am looking forward to married life, and the wedding, but it can’t be more than the ultimate marriage we share with Jesus in heaven. So, let us not be misled by present blessings but look to eternal blessings beyond this life.
3. Faith in where we truly belong (Hebrews 11.22)
Lastly, we can have faith in where we truly belong. Hebrews 11.22:
by faith joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.
Instead of being buried and remembered in Egypt at the end of his accomplished career, Joseph wanted his bones to be carried to the promised land, where he had faith in God’s promise to bring his people to. By faith, he recognised that Egypt was not his true home, but that his destiny lay in the promised land. (A citizenship that changes our focus) Joseph showed true conviction that his citizenship in God’s kingdom had an impact on where he invested his life even after death, and he wanted others to know too. How was this relevant to the original readers? Those who faced rejection from society and destruction of property for following Jesus would have been desperately looking for refuge and comfort. From all that could have been said about Joseph, the writer mentions the end of his life to encourage them not to settle on this earth but ultimately seek refuge in God’s heavenly kingdom. Knowing and trusting in their heavenly citizenship would encourage them to make God’s people a priority again by growing his kingdom and continuing in their faith.
For us, having faith in where we really belong (God’s kingdom) influences the decisions we make. Looking beyond this life to an eternal kingdom should compel us to invest our resources to build the church now; by being honest about what we invest our time to accomplish here on earth, by being intentional about spending time with God’s people to build each other up and investing in friendships with those who don’t yet know Jesus. This doesn’t mean we have to drop all earthly commitments for God, but especially amidst thriving careers and prominent positions, our sights are shifted from a temporal home to an everlasting kingdom that we’re already apart of now and will fully be realised when Jesus comes again. So, let’s have faith in where we truly belong, by investing in God’s kingdom today.
Conclusion
As we look at these examples of faith acted out, it’s possible that we share a similar response as the Christians back then who were likely thinking, ‘these are faith superstars that we can’t emulate. We’re not like them.’ Well first we need to remember only Jesus perfected faith, everyone else had moments of doubt. Secondly, it was the person of God who their faith was in and who their faith came from. It was in God’s power that Abraham could act in faith, and it was in God’s future promise that Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph could act in faith too. So, we can be encouraged when facing suffering or temptation to follow the world, because we too share that same faith in the same God. And as we put our faith in God, it’s not up to us to conjure up stronger feelings of faith about life after death, but in God himself who gives us the strength and confidence to endure in our faith now as we look to future promises beyond this life.