Sermon: The foremost component (Heb 11:6)

WHAT IS FOREMOST?
The Foremost Component (Heb 11:6)
pdf
Dr. Paul Manuel—2011

(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to
each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted.)

People often make things more complicated than they actually are or actually need to be.

A SS teacher decided to have her young class memorize one of the most quoted passages in the Bible: Ps 23. She gave the children a month to learn the six verses. Billy was excited about the task but just couldn't remember the Psalm. After much practice, he could barely get past the first verse. On the day the kids were to recite their memory passage, one at a time, in front of the congregation, Billy was nervous, but he had been practicing. When it was his turn, he stepped up to the microphone and said proudly, "The Lord is my Shepherd...and that's all I need to know."

People often make things more complicated than they actually are or need to be, especially about some of the truths in scripture, like The Foremost Component.

The Bible consists of sixty-six books, written by several individuals over hundreds of years.

• For some books, the author is identified (e.g., many psalms by David and epistles by Paul).
• For other books, a reliable tradition identifies the author (e.g., Song of Songs to Solomon, the epistles of Peter to Peter).
• For still other books, the author is unknown (e.g., Job, Esther).

Even when the author is in question, the authority of the book, if it is in the Canon, is well-established and well-accepted. The book of Hebrews falls into that last category, where the author is unknown. Support for the book's Canonicity comes, in part, from its agreement with other books. What the author of Hebrews writes goes right along with what appears elsewhere in scripture, especially in the epistles of Paul. One example is an important biblical principle...

VI. The Foremost Component

...which maintains...

• The prerequisite of God (Heb 11:6)

Please turn to...

Heb 11:6 ...without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

In a good relationship, one party will look for ways to please the other: a husband will want to please his wife, a child will want to please his parents, an employee will want to please his boss...a devotee will want to please his God.¹ This last relationship is a common thread in Paul's epistles.

• In a letter to the church at Thessalonica, he writes...

1 Thess 4:1a [W]e instructed you how to live in order to please God....and urge you...to do this more and more.

• In a letter to the church at Ephesus, he exhorts his readers...

Eph 5:10 [F]ind out what pleases the Lord.

• In a letter to the church at Colosse, he explains two ways they can accomplish that...

Col 1:10a [Y]ou...may please him [by] bearing fruit in every good work [and] growing in the knowledge of God,

• In a letter to the church at Corinth, he notes how this will be an ongoing task for God's people even beyond this life...

2 Cor 5:9a [W]e make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

• In a letter to the church at Rome, he indicates how that will not happen...²

2 Rom 8:8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.

The author of Hebrews makes a similar observation: "without faith it is impossible to please God." Later in the chapter, he lists several Old Testament examples of faith, illustrating how this quality has been the determinant of a proper relationship with God—of being saved—since the very beginning. The writer's point is that there is one sure way to please God, and there has never been any other way, not good deeds, not animal sacrifices, not even obedience to God's law. It has always been (by God's grace) through faith alone.

It is also important to understand that faith is not complicated. You do not need a college degree or formal training in theology. What God requires is quite minimal and, again, it has always been so. That is the apostle Paul's point as he writes to the church in Rome, a point he supports with an Old Testament illustration.

Rom 4:3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." ...5 [For] the man who...trusts God...his faith is credited as righteousness.

This crediting of righteousness is what counteracts the condemnation of sin and enables man to be saved. What does a person need do to make that happen...simply turn to God, trusting His willingness and ability to accomplish it. How easy is that?

The Geico insurance company runs several TV ads with different themes.³

• Those featuring the Geico gecko.
• Those beginning with the question, "Could switching to Geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance?" (My favorite in that series is the one with Charlie Daniels.)
• Those claiming that switching to Geico is "so easy, a caveman could do it."

Despite the sophistication of the cavemen in those commercials, turning to God is also very easy.

After noting the significance of faith, the author of Hebrews goes on to explain the simplicity of faith: "anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." What does 'saving faith' entail? First...

1. Your belief must be in God's existence.⁴

Paul says this as well, noting how such information has always been available.

Rom 1:20 [S]ince the creation of the world [His] divine nature [has] been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

To have the kind of faith that pleases God, your belief must be in God's existence.

Second, according to the author of Hebrews...

2. Your belief must be in God's benevolence.

"that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Again, Paul says this as well, noting how the information is readily available. Addressing a crowd in Lystra, he states...

Acts 14:17 [God] has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons....

To have the kind of faith that pleases God, your belief must be in God's benevolence.

To establish a relationship with God, you do not have to prove yourself to Him, that you are good enough or smart enough or charming enough. All you need is faith.... How easy is that?

Surely there is more to faith than believing in God's existence and benevolence. What about believing in Jesus? Is not that required as well?⁵ ...Did Abraham believe in Jesus? ...There is no evidence that Abraham even know about Jesus. What the Bible says is "Abraham believed God," and that faith in God "was credited to him as righteousness." Biblical faith is ultimately in God the Father.⁶ For some people, the specifics of that faith are more detailed. For example, the apostles knew more about Jesus' role in God's plan of redemption than did the patriarchs, but both groups were justified and saved by their common faith in God.

Just as God accepted the faith of those who lived before Jesus and were uninformed about him, so God accepts the faith of those living after Jesus, if they are uninformed as well. Paul alludes to this in Rom 2. After stating that God will condemn those who turn from Him, rejecting the revelation available to all men in nature,⁷ Paul states that God will accept those who turn to Him, acknowledging that revelation and seeking to know Him better.

Rom 2:7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

This describes those today who, like Old Testament saints, have never heard the gospel but have responded positively to what information is available to them. Are there such people?

Don Richardson, a long-time missionary to the tribal people of Western New Guinea (Indonesia), writes about how evidences of God in nature and culture—what he calls "redemptive analogies"—have turned otherwise 'unreached people' to God and have prepared them for the fuller story of the gospel. After documenting an analogy from his own experience in his book Peace Child, Richardson collects examples from other cultures in a book entitled, Eternity in Their Hearts:⁸ Startling Evidence of Belief in the One True God in Hundreds of Cultures Throughout the World. While such belief knows nothing about Jesus, it may know enough about God to meet His basic expectation of faith.

How does this all fit together in God's program for man's salvation? Remember that what He has done for you is no different from what He has done for others, including those who lived long before you. The plan and the process have never changed.⁹

• The motivation for salvation is and always has been God's grace;¹⁰
• The basis for salvation is and always has been Jesus' death, "the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world" (Rev 13:8b), whether or not people were aware of it;
• The requirement for salvation is and always has been man's faith;¹¹
• The object of faith is and always has been (ultimately) God the Father; but
• The content of faith varies.¹²

You recognize how Jesus' sacrifice is essential to your salvation, and that information is part of your belief system. Old Testament saints did not have a detailed understanding of God's redemptive program, including the role of the messiah, but God honored their faith, granting them the same justification and salvation He has granted you.

Likewise, there are people today who are uninformed or misinformed¹³ about the fullness of God's program. Not everyone has the same information about God, but how a person responds to the information he has reveals an important condition, a condition God is able to discern, because "the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Sam 16:7b).¹⁴ If an individual earnestly desires to know God and uses what information he has to seek God, God will honor that faith, however imperfect it may be.¹⁵ When all is said and done, and you stand before God in heaven, you maybe surprised at who else is there.¹⁶

While there are other elements of "A Response Acceptable to God,"¹⁷ in addition to belief in His existence and benevolence, the author of Hebrews highlights The Foremost Component, the sole prerequisite of God, which is simply faith in Him. Keep in mind that it is not the content of faith that saves but the object of faith. Put another way: It is not the (doctrinal) position one is holding but the (devotional) direction one is heading that determines a person's salvation, movement that must be toward God not away from Him.... In which direction are you moving?

Having considered The Foremost Component, we will look next at The Foremost Communion, which reflects the preference of God, in Gal 6:9-10.

For the Bibliography and Endnotes, see the pdf here.

(This sermon is part of Dr. Manuel's sermon series: "What is Foremost?" Links to each of the sermons in the series will be found here as they are posted)