Verse of the Day 12/14

Verse of the Day 12/14

Hebrews 11:6

Holman Christian Standard Bible

6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God, for the one who draws near to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him.

Hebrews 11 begins with a definition of what faith is, in the New King James Version it states faith is the "substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen".  I like those two words.  Our faith is of substance, it is tangible we can see it put on display and we have seen it put on display by others, it is real and it is not "wishy-washy".  Evidence is forensic, we can see the results of faith and attest to it's validity.

Today's verses show us the importance of faith in the lives a Christian.  We cannot please God strictly on our own.  We don't earn His approval.  At the core of faith is believing that God exists and as the old King James Version states "He is a rewarder".  It is part of who God is, a "Rewarder", not of the works themselvers but in the faith that produces works.  The rest of chapter 11 gives example after example of that from the Old Testament.

Putting it in his own words, John Piper writes, ". God is pleased by us when two things about him are reflected in our relation to him. One: that he is real; and the other: that he is rewarding.

Behind these two assertions about God are two great facts:

1. God exists absolutely. He did not come into being and will never go out of being. He is not becoming or growing or changing. He said, "I am who I am" (Exodus 3:14). That is his name. He absolutely is. Therefore, he is pleased when this absolute existence is known and embraced. He is pleased when what he is is reflected in our lives.

2. Behind the assertion that God is rewarding is the fact that God is so full and so completely self-sufficient that he overflows. Rather than needing our service, he is like a never-ending Spring of life and energy and joy and beauty and goodness and power. Therefore it pleases God when we come to him in a way that affirms this and delights in it - when we come to him as a Rewarder. 

Going back to chapter 10, the writer of Hebrews states, "my righteous one shall live by faith".  Those who are right before God are those that believe in Him and act, live by faith believing also that He is a rewarder, counting on His blessings.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV

Hebrews 11:1-7

New King James Version

By Faith We Understand

11 Now faith is the [a]substance of things hoped for, the [b]evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

Faith at the Dawn of History

4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.