by faith

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11.1 KJV)

This is the opening verse of the great faith chapter of the Bible. You could think of this chapter as a hall of faith for the Old Testament saints.

However, we shouldn’t take verse one as a complete definition of faith. We must read it in context, which includes chapter 10. The latter half of chapter 10 gives us the assurance for our faith, that Christ died for sinners. It ends with the declaration that

my righteous one shall live by faith… (Hebrews 10:38)

Chapter 11 then shows us how the Old Testament believers lived by faith, and chapter 12 will encourage us to do the same. And chapter 11 defines faith, relative to the subject at hand, righteous living.

Faith is the substance, the foundation, of the things hoped for, that is, the promises of God. Faith makes the promises visible, it gives them substance, it provides evidence that the promises are true.

Read through chapter 11, the OT believers lived the way they did, they took the actions they did, because of their assurance that God is faithful to keep his promises. Their faith gave substance to the promises. Even though they were looking forward to Christ and did not receive the things promised (Hebrews 11:13), they were sure of them, by faith.

And things didn’t always work out well for the saints, some of them suffered horribly, by faith. Their firm belief that God is true to his promises, even in the face of suffering and death, gives evidence that those promises are true.

Believing God with such conviction that it leads you to live your life differently, to value Christ above all else, even in trial, suffering, or death . . . that is living “by faith”. When God’s people live by faith, it gives the promises of God substance, and gives evidence to the watching world that God is faithful and true.