“What does Faith look like?”

Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the Elders obtained a good report. Through Faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

Hebrews 11: 1-3

The eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews, is often referred to as the Hall of Faith. The Apostle Paul, the writer of Hebrews, tells us of an impressive list of heroic figures from the Old Testament. Accounts of kings, prophets, patriarchs of Faith and ordinary people, walking in Faith. Some accomplishing great tasks, by Faith. Moses,forsaking the pleasures and position of Egypt, performed miracles, then parting the Red Sea , leading Israel to freedom, by Faith. David slaying Goliath, Gideon's victory in a seemingly impossible situation. Rahab, a harlot and her family, were saved from Jericho's destruction, by Faith. The list can go on and on.

Then, there were those who were not successful.... by the world's definition. They suffered persecution, poverty, imprisonment, torture and death, horrible suffering. They endured, walking in Faith, not by what they saw happening around them, but Faith in the Promise of the One to come. All of those received a good report, by God, not because of accomplishments or sufferings, but by their Faith. The Scriptures are full of accounts of Faith. All these testimonies of the Old Testament saints, provided a foreshadow of the One to come, whom they were in anticipation of. The One who provided a better Covenant, Jesus. Faith in His Finished Work on the Cross. What does Faith look like in this New Covenant?

Under the Old covenant , faith rested on Ordinances (Law) and a Sacrificial System, Ordained by God. The atonement, when the High Priest would enter into the Holy of Holies, with the blood sacrifice, only covered the sins of Israel, and was done once a year. Hebrews 9: 11-15 tells that Jesus paid the price as the perfect sacrifice for our atonement, taking away sin, once and for all. He is the Mediator of the New Covenant, and all the perfect promises and benefits. Faith, in what He did on the Cross for us, is all that is required. "For by Grace are you Saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the Gift of God: Not of works , lest any man should boast. ( Eph 2: 8-9)

The Greek word used for Saved in Ephesians 2:8, is sozo. It implies that the Grace we received, is also an ongoing process, that includes, salvation, deliverance, healing,prosperity and strength. We are able to walk in these benefits, because of Jesus. I have said before, that Faith is to our Spirit, what air is to our physical bodies, we can't survive spiritually with out it. Faith is, primarily, what the devil seeks to "steal, kill and destroy". Without Faith we cannot please God, above all we must believe that He is God, above Whom there is none. The Name above all names, Jesus. The enemy of our soul, uses many schemes, and lies to deceive us, and undermine our faith. Fear is one of them.

Fear that paralyzes us, gets us to doubt God, is the most extreme fruit of unbelief. In our present world, we have seen how fear has caused the way we conduct life, worldwide, to be changed...drastically. Social,economical, governmental, educational institutions, are redefining how we conduct business, and gathering together, even in our places of worship, because of the disease of fear in the world today. The threat is real, the disease is here, But how we, as believers respond to the threat,will be a great witness. Some may be delivered, and not go through it, some might have to press through it, and some might even succumb to it. Any way we face this real challenge, it needs to be by Faith. We need to remember, that when threatened with covid, that we serve the Son of David, and when we hear about the variant of delta, we listen to the Alpha and Omega, and we need not fear omicron, because we stand with the Omnipotent One, Hallelujah! Let's together, no matter what comes our way, always show this world and those we have contact with, what Faith looks like!