By faith

Today's reading Hebrews 10:37 - 11:3

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Today’s blog

“My righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” (Hebrews 10:38)

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In some Bibles, “By faith” is the chapter heading for Hebrews 11. In 11:4-40 this phrase “by faith” occurs 22 times! Before we go on to look at that great passage, it’s important to see that its first occurrence is not in chapter 11 but here in 10:38, following on directly from the call to persevere (10:36).

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The opposite of perseverance is giving up and turning back. The verse quoted here from Habakkuk warns that God will be displeased with any who "shrink back”, just as Jesus had said in regard to those who set out to follow him but who then look back and abandon their discipleship (Lk.9:62). In contrast to that, God’s righteous ones “will live by faith” (Hab.2:3-4). This same quotation points to the basis of our justification (Rom.1:17; Gal.3:11) but here the point is that faith enables us to keep going when we are tempted to abandon our hope.

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And that’s what the writer is confident his readers will do – they won’t shrink back, and that’s because they are “of those who believe”, those who have faith (39. “believe” and “have faith” are the same word in Greek). Faith looks beyond what we can see, and by relying on the word of God is able to take hold of “what we hope for” (11:1; 6:18; Jn.20:29). It’s because “he who promised is faithful” (10:23) that we can live “by faith”, trusting that God will keep his promises. And because of that, we will not give up, however costly following Jesus might prove to be.

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(To dig a bit deeper into Hebrews 10:37 – 11:3 click here for some commentary notes.)