Hebrews 11 has been described as the Faith Hall of Fame or the Faith Chapter because it is filled with many who have believed God and stood on His promises no matter what they had to encounter. The verses talk of men and women “who by faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouth of lions, extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devouring of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle, routing alien hosts” (11:33-35a) It also talks of “women receiving again their dead by resurrection, and others tortured to death with clubs refusing to accept release offered on the terms of denying their faith. Of men and women who had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment, being stoned to death, tempted by offers to renounce their faith, sawn asunder, slaughtered by the sword, wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats destitute, oppressed, and cruelly treated roaming over the desolate places and the mountains living in caves, caverns, and holes in the earth” (11:35b-38). These were amazing individuals and yet there are those today who endure the same affliction and suffering as well as believe God’s promises to be true.
The author of Hebrews, a pastor encouraging his congregation not to give up and lose faith in God, appears to have revealed two types of faith in the list above. A faith that created activation and a faith that stood strong. In verses 33-35a, he talks of those who’s faith activated God to move on their behalf subduing kingdoms, administering justice, and closing the mouths of lions. While in verses 35b-38, he talks of those who had the faith to stand alongside of Jesus and suffer as He did for their belief in Him. As Christians it is important that we employ both types of faith, the kind that moves mountains and the kind that stands up for what is true.
This pastor saw his congregation wavering in the light of the suffering they were encountering and reminded them of those who had gone before them and the hope they found in believing God. Today, many things are happening in our country, our perfect and easy world appears to be crumbling around us. Life is getting harder and we all are feeling the effects. There is uneasiness in the world that is creating as sense of fear and anxiety. Our generation has not had to face the effects of war and devastation that other generations have had to endure. Life has been easy for us and we have been blessed. I feel most people wonder more about the unknown and whether they will be as strong as those who lived before them to endure whatever may occur.
I imagine this pastor’s congregation was experiencing some of the same fears. They had lived in relative peace for several years but things had begun to change and they were beginning to feel the effects of those changes. This sermon appears to have been written sometime around 64 A.D. during the rule of Nero in Rome. Nero was not a very popular ruler and the people of Rome were angry at him because they believed he was responsible for starting a fire that destroyed a large part of their city. Although he made a concerted effort to rebuild the city the people still believed he started the fire for his own political gain without any thought to their lives. So, Nero, in order to take the attention off himself, made scapegoats out of the Christians, spreading rumors that blamed them for the fire. Their friends, neighbors, and church members were being rounded up and taken before the magistrate in order to be tried and convicted. The Roman people who were already angry found it easy to take their anger out on the Christians who they already thought to be inferior. The pastor seems to have brought this message at just the right time as it wasn’t long before Christians were being tortured and killed by their neighbors and friends not for the fire but because it became the popular and accepted thing to do. I cannot imagine what it must have been like to be a small house-church when all of Rome and its government were against those who called themselves Christian. The catacombs then became the Christians’ new homes and martyrdom became common place among the Christian population.
As we look at the list of men and women here it is hard not to admire them for their courage, boldness, and faith to stand and believe in the midst of so much hardship. We are a nation founded upon God and His Word and we have a hope that cannot be shaken. Haggai 2:6 -7 speaks of the shaking that is going to come to the nations in order that the Lord’s house will be filled with splendor. God wants the nations to come to Him and in order for that to happen things must be shaken. In Hebrews 13:26-27, the pastor reminds his congregation that this shaking must take place “in order that what cannot be shaken may remain and continue.” This is our hope, our faith to move the mountains in our lives, our faith in God to stand no matter what the hardship, and our belief that God is in control of the shaking in order to bring the fullness of His kingdom here on earth.
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