"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

Faith Introduced

We've got one life to live, one shot at living by faith. We won't need faith in heaven. There, with God, we'll walk by sight. But the author of Hebrews knew endurance required faith living. Because of this, he had quoted the prophets, "But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him" (Hebrews 10:38). He then added, "But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls" (Hebrews 10:39).

Faith, in the mind of the author, is an essential ingredient for perseverance in the Christian life. But it has always been this way, even before the cross. God's people, the ones who have believed in and moved in obedience to him, have always done it by faith. The righteous always live by faith.

Because of this truth, the author of Hebrews dug into a robust cloud of witnesses, a collection of Old Testament saints who rocked the world by faith. They trusted God, great things happened, and God commended them for their faith. Their faith is explained and extolled in Hebrews 11.

Faith Defined

In introducing this topic, though, the author gave a bit of perspective about faith. He wanted to add some color. He said, "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Like Hebrew poetry, it says a similar thing twice, in two slightly variant ways. Both lines point to the same truth. Faith is the assurance of hope. Faith is also the conviction about things unseen. Or, to put it this way, faith shows itself with assurance and conviction about things hoped for and not yet seen.

I will admit I have struggled with some confusion about this sentence. My confusion begins with his statement, "Faith is..." After that, I want a theological definition of faith. I want to hear about renunciation of the old life, reliance upon God, and reception of his gospel message. I want to hear about trust, leaning the full weight of my being upon Christ and his cross. I want to hear about saving faith and how salvation is not of works.

But the author doesn't go there. Instead, he tells me what faith produces. This line is less of a theological definition and more of an explanation of what grows from faith. The person of faith walks this earth with assurance and conviction. They live in the light of a reality we cannot see with our eyes of flesh. Their whole being is shaped and moved by the hoped-for kingdom of God and the unseen God who sits on an unseen throne. Though the kingdom is still hoped for, and the King is yet unseen, faith people walk around with confidence and conviction. Their lives serve as evidence of all that is yet unseen.

Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants grow. Here is a definition: "the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water." But if I were to describe for you the results of photosynthesis, I'd say something much different. I would describe growth, green leaves, and luscious fruit.

So it is with faith. When it happens in the life of a believer, the fruit which grows is a confident assurance of the coming kingdom and King.

In a sense, this is what occurs when a person lives in the light of God's character and truth. He has revealed himself, most pointedly in Jesus, and as we consider who he is, believe it and trust him, this conviction begins to arise. Real faith is so closely intertwined with this outworking of assurance that it is an actual definition of faith.

The Need for Faith

Remember, the original readers of Hebrews were Hebrew-Christians. This letter taught them Christ was their better high priest who offered a better sacrifice and went into the better Holy of Holies. They were told they could go to the real and actual throne room of God to find grace and mercy to help in their time of need. No longer did they have to appeal to the sacrifice of the Day of Atonement, they had Jesus. No longer did they have to send a high priest into the Holy of Holies once each year, Jesus was perpetually in God's actual presence. No longer did they have to hope for God's presence here on earth, by faith they could go into God's presence in heaven.

But, though all those heavenly realities are better, they are unseen. These Hebrew Christians needed faith to help them develop assurance and conviction that their invisible High Priest was inviting them into the unseen throneroom of God.

This understanding should dispell some popular notions about faith. It is often thought of as self-will, blind optimism, manufactured hope, or superstitious positive thinking. It is none of these, however. As Thomas Schreiner writes, "The author doesn't ask the readers to look to themselves and to summon up all their energy to persevere until the end. What it means to endure is to keep trusting God until the end. Endurance comes when we look to God for strength and put our trust in his promises. Faith means we put our trust in what God has promised, even if those promises seem impossible to us. Chapter 11 reminds us that we are not the first to take this journey; many have walked this path ahead of us, and thus we are not alone in our journey of faith" (Thomas Schreiner, Commentary On Hebrews, page 341). ​

A Reaction

So faith is a reaction to God and his stated purposes and promises which leads to trust. That trust, in turn, leads to assurance and conviction, which develops into action. At the point of action, faith is demonstrated for all to see.

And what about you? There is an unseen King who has a hoped-for Kingdom. Do you walk around on earth with strong assurance and conviction about him? Do you want to build your life upon his character and promises? He's said his kingdom will last forever, would you like to live life today in the light of his forever tomorrow?

I know I want to see an increase in real faith in my own heart and life. I want to live out a conviction and assurance in Christ and his kingdom. I know I will have questions and doubts and fears, for they are inevitable. But, in general, I want a life that is filled with a strong conviction that the God who has revealed his love to humanity in the cross is alive in me, establishing his kingdom for eternity, and calling me to live out his nature and promises today. I want to walk around with this assurance and conviction. I want my life today to make sense tomorrow. I fear a life that makes sense today, but not in God's tomorrow. I want a life that only makes sense if the hoped-for kingdom and unseen King are a reality. ​