The first thing I notice in that verse, is the word "now." It is in the present that faith works! The past is gone, and we may never have another day in this life, so faith only works now! In this chapter, there are many examples of Bible characters who believed God: Abel (v. 4), Enoch (v.5), Noah (v. 7), Abraham (v. 8), Sara (v. 11), Isaac (v. 20), Jacob (v. 21), Joseph (v. 22), the mother of Moses (v. 23), Moses (v. 24), Joshua (v. 30), and Rahab (v. 31). I find it amazing that the writer of Hebrews mentioned Rahab, but "did not have time" to give the details for such famous people such as Gideon, Samson, David, and Samuel! Truly, God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34)!
"Faith," according to the dictionary, means "to trust in, or believe in someone or something." Our verse tells us that faith is not merely wishful thinking, but it is "substance." To the believer in Christ, He is real! He came physically to die on a literal cross. He was literally taken down from that cross and buried in a borrowed tomb. And three days later, He was seen alive; His Father had raise Him from the dead (1 Cor. 15:1-10)!
The fact that I believe in Jesus Christ, according to the verse, also testifies to the reality of my relationship with God. He has changed my life! He has given me peace! He has demonstrated that He can be trusted to do what He says He will do! My very faith is "evidence" to His reality.
Does that mean those who believe in false gods, the gods of religions, prove their gods exist? Well yes, in a way it does. Their gods exist in their minds; they really believe they are real. In the Bible, the prophet Elijah had an encounter with 450 prophets of Baal (1 Kg. 18:1-40). They really believed their god could and would demonstrate his power; he did not. That is the difference: the One in whom I trust has revealed Himself. Over and over in the Bible, God has foretold what He would do, and hundreds, perhaps even thousands of times, He has done exactly what He said He would do! There are more than 300 prophecies about the earthly life of Jesus, which were fulfilled to the letter, by His First Coming!
So, I would ask you: "If God literally fulfilled all that He said concerning Christ's First Coming, isn't it a virtual certainty that He will do the same for the Bible's prophecies concerning His Second Coming?" Because He has proven Himself to me, I KNOW that what lies ahead will be exactly what He said would occur! I KNOW that I am now a child of God, and that one day real soon, I will be miraculously transformed into the likeness of His dear Son (1 Jn. 3:2)! I can't wait!
Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!
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