Being Certain
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel … By faith Enoch … By faith Noah … By faith Abraham Hebrews 11:3,4,5,7,8
Why does the writer of Hebrews talk about how our world came into being before introducing his heroes of faith?
There are probably many reasons but one we must not overlook comes out of verse 1: ‘Now faith is being … certain of what we do not see.’ There are two interlocking parts to the meaning of ‘being … certain of.’ The first part is a ‘proof.’ This is objective. Something is proven to be true (whether I believe it or not). The second part is subjective and describes a conviction, something I’ve come to believe personally. So together ‘being … certain’ means something is objectively true in itself and I’ve come to believe that it’s true personally.
Each of our heroes of faith lived in a world they believed God had created. They had before them a proof of God’s reality. Each had taken that ‘proof’ to heart and made it their personal conviction.
God spoke and the universe ‘was formed’ (Genesis 1). The writer is drawing heavily on the Genesis narrative. Believing this is part of the root belief of both Jews and Christians about creation and judgement. Because God is the Creator, He has not only the authority but the responsibility to hold the world accountable for its wrongdoing.
Believing this is also part of the root belief of both Jews and Christians about resurrection. God loves the physical world He made and so intends to renew the earth and “remake” humanity to fulfil His original intention for us.
Do you find it hard to trust God? If your answer’s “yes” then do this. Take a look at the natural world around you. Research the amazing factors that make life on earth perfectly possible but utterly impossible anywhere else.
Look at the stars at night. Remember God knows each by name (Isaiah 40:26; Psalm 147:4). This is your God. If He made the universe by speaking it into existence, I think He can be trusted; don’t you?
To listen to this message, download in MP3 here