Well, today we are coming to the conclusion of Hebrews chapter 11, the Great Hall of Faith chapter. And I was curious enough to go back and look and see when we began. Our study in this chapter. And it began in January 2025. It is by far the most carefully examined portion of the book of Hebrews.
A number of the chapters we made our way through in the matter of three, four, maybe five sermons. But Hebrews chapter 11 is so filled with Significant truth. That we took our time, went through it slowly, and hopefully gleaned from it what the Lord had. has placed in it for our benefit. It is the Hall of Faith chapter.
It helps us understand The nature of biblical faith. what it is and what it does. It reveals to us that what biblical faith is, is believing the revelation of God and acting according to it. And what biblical faith does is obtains the promises of God. and upholds us.
in serious trials all the way through until the time of God's appointed deliverance, whether in this life or in the life to come. What it does is honors God by trusting Him implicitly.
Some divine promises believed by faith are fulfilled. immediately or very quickly after we lay hold of the promises.
Some Just as Shirley believed are delayed. They are deferred. Their fulfillment does not come immediately, sometimes does not come in this lifetime. But we can be sure that if it's a promise of God, it will be fulfilled, and so. The point of Hebrews 11 is is hold on to your faith, continue to believe.
God cannot lie. His promises will be fulfilled.
Sometimes our faith is tested by having to endure for a long time. until we receive the fulfillment. But know that that is the way that God deals with his children. and continue to trust him. And so our text today speaks about Delayed promises.
as well as a fulfilled promise. And our text is Hebrews 11, verses 39 and 40. And all these, and all these, rather. All these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive The promise. God, having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart, from us.
Promises fulfilled. and delayed. Faith obtains some divine promises immediately. But faith continues to believe even when God does not immediately Grant. what we have requested, even when it is His promise.
I see three parts. in my text of two verses today. Number one, a people commended. Number two, a promise delayed. And number three, the promise fulfilled.
First we consider a people Commended. And all these Having obtained a good testimony through faith. There's God's commendation upon a group of people. But the question is: who exactly is being commended in this text? All these.
having obtained a good testimony through faith. Who are these? Who are the all? These. that the writer of Hebrews is talking about here.
And we look back in the immediate context, and we see that there has been reference to suffering saints. starting in the middle of verse thirty five. Others were tortured. Not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings.
Yes, and of chains and imprisonments, They were stoned. They were sawn in two. We're tempted. were slain with the sword. They were or they wandered rather About in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute.
afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the faith, and all these Having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. Are those the ones that are primarily in view? In this commendation about These who have had a good testimony. through faith.
And the answer is: obviously, it must refer to them, but is it limited to them? That's the question. Is that the all? That the these referred to Or is the all bigger than that. And I I'm convinced that it's bigger than that.
The all refers to the suffering saints, yes. But it also refers to victorious saints. And it's pretty hard to separate the suffering saints from victorious saints. In the syntax, that is the The um The layout of the language. the way that it is put together, the sentence structure.
and so forth, because They are joined together. In verse 35. Even though they are vastly separated as to what is said about one group. Who achieved great victories through faith in another group who suffered great trials. in spite of their faith or As we learn looking at it more carefully, also in keeping with their faith.
But what I'm saying is, it's pretty hard to distinguish those two groups linguistically, grammatically. in the text. And so Let me back up to verse 32 and read again. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and of the prophets, who through faith.
subdued kingdoms, worked righteousnesses, obtained promises, Stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of the fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle. turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured. not accepting deliverance.
that they might obtain a better resurrection and so forth.
Now I say linguistically, it's very difficult to separate the group that achieved great exploits through faith. And the group that suffered great trials and persevered through those trials still. trusting God. And therefore, because of that observation and the context. It would seem to me that the All these refer not just to the suffering saints, but also to the victorious saints.
And all these. In both categories, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise.
Now, it is important that we point out that the ones who suffered and were not Rescued From pain from torture, even from martyrdom. Are as much commended as those who believed God and obtained great victories, as we would view it. It might be better to view it as those who persevered. in faith All the way to death without giving up their faith, they were actually more victorious because that was a greater trial. And I think that would be a proper way to look at it, but.
Those who defeated armies, those who saw loved ones raised to life from the dead, and so forth. We look at that and we say, wow, that is a wonderful exploit. Through faith. That's faith. That's the achievements of faith.
And then we look at the ones who were tortured and imprisoned. And were banished into exile and who suffered martyrdom. And we look at them and we say, well, They must not have had as much faith. That's not what the Bible says. We know for sure that the second group is included in the phrase all these.
That has to be. Contextually. If anyone is certainly included in the commendation, it's the ones who suffered trials, even martyrdom. And did not receive victory from those in this world. They are commended.
All these having obtained a good testimony through faith. That's what God says. We must. adjust our thinking to Conform to his thinking, but the question is. Does the commendation limit itself to those?
And I have pointed out no.
Okay. Still. Syntactically, according to the syntax, It must include at least that group. of victorious ones that I read starting in verse thirty two. But then the question is, well, if you include those, then why not the rest of them in the chapter, most of whom also achieved great exploits like these did.
In fact, When you come to verse 32, it's clear this is just a continuation. Of a list of people that have been given, but because time is running out, we can't give as many details.
So it's all part of the same category.
So, with that in mind, we say all these must go all the way back to the beginning. of chapter 11, and I did I think that is the correct answer. All these that are commended are who? The suffering saints? Yes.
The victorious saints, Yes. All the saints listed in Hebrews chapter 11, yes. All the saints in all Of time who have trusted God perseveringly to the end. Yes, that would be us as well if we will endure to the end. All these Having obtained a good testimony.
Through faith. So that answers the question, who is commended? All those. Who exercise faith? perseveringly.
But number two, why are they commended? And of course, the answer. has already been given. It's very clear. They are commended for their faith.
All these, having obtained a good testimony, Through Faith. The New American Standard says, having gained approval. Through Faith. Why are they commended? because they believed the revelation of God.
Why are they commended? Because without faith, it's impossible to please him, but with faith, we can and do please God. They were approved by God for their faith. Which causes me to pause and say, How about you here today? Does God approve of your faith?
Are you included among those? who are commended. because of their faith. You say, well, surely anyone who would Go to church has got faith?
Well, not necessarily. I wish it were so, but it's not so. But then I say I wish it were so, but I'm actually glad when those who are outside of Christ will come among us. Observe us in our worship and hear the Word of God, because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.
So back to the question: Are you here today without true saving faith? And if that be so, then may God Enlighten your mind and enliven your heart and enable you to truly trust in Him this very day so that you will be included. among those who are commended. A people. Commended.
But secondly, we notice A promise delayed. Continuing in verse 39. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, Did not receive The promise. How is that possible? Keep listening.
I'll try to help you understand.
Now, the big question in the last part of verse 35 is: what is The promise. All of these, having obtained a good testimony through faith. did not receive And it doesn't say did not receive promise as plural. It does not say did not receive a promise or all the promises of God. But there seems to be one particular promise in view.
They are believers, having believed the word of God. And they have no doubt, no doubt, obtained some promises from God, but there is one promise which they did not obtain in their lifetime. It was not fulfilled during their lifetime. And what would that promise be? That's the big question.
There's some that think, and I'm not one of them, but I understand why they think. That the promise that's referred to here as the promise of a better resurrection, going back a couple of verses until you come. Uh to that That phraseology in verse 35. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.
And there we see that the resurrection to which they aspired and what they believed in, and that which caused them to cling in their faith even all the way to death. was a resurrection they did not obtain. In this lifetime, they died a martyr's death, looking forward to a time when. THE resurrection. The final resurrection the glorious resurrection.
would come. I can understand why some would think that is the promise in view. But I don't think so because it to me that doesn't seem to fit the context. As neatly and fully as I think it should. That would then divide the two groups that I referred to earlier.
Those in verses 32 through 35a. are those who received the promises. And then those in verses 35b and following would be those who didn't receive the promise. But then that wouldn't seem to fit. the category of those who did receive.
the promises and There's no reference to their looking for another promise that they didn't receive. You understand? I hope you understand what I'm trying to say there. I don't think that fits the context. I think this reference to a better resurrection applies.
directly to those who held on in spite of trials. Persecutions. deprivations. and in some cases martyrdom. And they were able to do so because they In particular, we're looking for a better resurrection.
That enabled them. to persevere in faith even to death. They are in view in the better resurrection. But it doesn't seem to fit, in my mind, the context of those who achieved great victories through faith. And it doesn't.
wouldn't include The contrast here between those who did not receive the promise. And those who did receive the promise. as we'll get to in a moment. In other words, We are told here that Old Testament saints, or we might say Old Covenant saints. did not receive the promise, but New Covenant saints did.
But new covenant saints have no more received the fulfillment of the promised future resurrection. Than the Old Testament saints, right? They were looking for a better resurrection.
So are we. They did not have the better resurrection fulfilled in their lifetime. Neither have we. We're going to go to the grave. Our souls with the Lord.
Still awaiting the better resurrection, just like they were awaiting the better resurrection.
So I don't think that. explanation for the promise fits The text. As it should be Should.
So again, what is the promise? That's the big question. And I would simply point out on my way to answering that question, and I'll get there eventually. As we go throughout chapter 11 and look at some of the others, we realize... that there were many other promises which the saints of God did have fulfilled in their lifetime.
For example, verse 7, Noah. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household. There's a saint of God who believed a promise that was fulfilled. In his lifetime. I don't know that we could exactly say it was fulfilled immediately, but that wouldn't be too.
Too far afield to say it that way. In his case, it was 120 years between the time the promise was given and it was fulfilled when he entered the ark, which it took. At least 70 years minimum to prepare to build, according to the estimate of the people. at the Art Museum in in uh Covington. Kentucky.
And the Bible, of course, mentions that span of 120 years. But Noah believed God concerning a very significant promise, and it was fulfilled in his lifetime. Likewise Abraham Believed God concerning some promises that were fulfilled in his lifetime, such as. The birth of a sun that it was impossible, biologically speaking, To happen, but it did happen. That miracle happened.
Abraham believed the revelation of God and he had the fulfillment during his lifetime, but. Abraham also had the promise. Of A A territory, a land, a promised land that would be given to him, but. He individually didn't receive that. He died without...
Obtaining that promise. Likewise. His son Isaac died without obtaining that promise, and Jacob died without obtaining that promise, and Joseph died without obtaining that promise. That promise was fulfilled in the. Children The lineage of Abraham, but there were.
several hundred years between the giving of the promise and the fulfillment of that promise. And so, some promises are fulfilled almost immediately when we believe them by faith. Other promises are delayed.
Sometimes a long, long time, even though they are just as much believed as the others. Which is really the point. of this whole chapter, I think. And we'll get to that in our conclusion.
Well, let me just cut through the fog and say what I think this promise is. The promise that the Old Testament saints believed in but did not find fulfilled is the promise of a Savior. It's the promise of the Messiah. It's a promise that God would send someone who would deal with their sin problem and what they needed to be reconciled righteously with a righteous God. And they believed it and they died without seeing that promise being fulfilled.
And that's why it fits because. That's the difference between the old covenant saints and the new covenant saints. They believed the promise and died before they saw it fulfilled. New covenant saints believed the promise and lived to see it fulfilled. And so I think that's the promise that fits.
the passage. That's the best answer. And we find hymns in that direction throughout the earlier portions of chapter 11. Because we are reminded that Some of these Men, some of these men and women, believed the promises of God. That were fulfilled in their lifetime, but all of these really had a far more important dimension to them that referred to a future time.
Future salvation Which they Did not exactly receive during their lifetime, even though they were saved, as I will. make clear a little bit later. But for example, Noah. who believed the promise about the flood and received the fulfillment of that promise immediately. Nevertheless, we read going back to verse 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, but this, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
Yes, he believed God's promise about rescue from the flood, but what that was Ultimately, was believing the promise of God's rescue from condemnation. Rescued from eternal judgment. By believing the promise of God, he obtained righteousness. Which is, we are reminded here, according to faith. Just like Abraham who believed God and it was counted to him according to righteousness.
Abraham believed God. And some promises he had fulfilled immediately, like the promise. of a son Other promises were delayed for several generations, like the promise of a land. But going back, and I won't take time to read it, but in this chapter, it makes clear that what Abraham was really looking for is what is called in one verse. that city.
Who has foundations, whose builder and maker is God? Abraham wasn't looking primarily for. A home on earth, he was looking beyond that for a home in heaven. And what I'm just showing you is that even in these fulfilled promises, There is so often an explicit mention of a saving dimension. An eternal dimension, a spiritual dimension to these promises that are.
more temporal in their granting and believing and fulfilling. And that's what the big promise is: the promise of a Savior. That takes me back. to the text in 1 Peter 1 that I read earlier. And it's only a couple of pages away, so turn there for a moment.
And let's look at a little bit of what Peter said, because it is. not only parallel, I think, to what we find in our text for today. but it expands and explains it more fully.
So let's look at it. 1 Peter 1. We'll look at verses 10, 11, and 12. Before verse 10, there's a reference to salvation, and then we read in verse 10. of this salvation The prophets, Old Testament prophets, have inquired and searched carefully.
who promised of the grace That would come to you. They were prophesying. about a promise that would not be fulfilled in their lifetime. But it would be and has been, says Peter, fulfilled to the people I'm writing to. who are new covenant believers.
who have trusted Christ after he came. Old Testament prophets were looking forward to that day and prophesying concerning it, but they knew that it wasn't coming in their lifetime. Verse 11. Searching what? Or what manner of time?
We might say What Exactly, is the Savior that's promised going to do to bring about salvation? That wasn't necessarily clear to them. What manner of time? When would this promised Savior come? That was not clear to them.
So, searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ. which was in them was indicating, when he testified beforehand, the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow. Verse 12. To them it was revealed that not to themselves. But to us.
Yeah. They were ministering the things. which now have been reported to you. Peter says, to those he's writing to. New Testament believers.
Through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Things which angels desire to look into. That's such an interesting thought. This great salvation that God has. Prepared for us was prophesied by the Old Testament prophets.
Snippets given to them. A few hazy details revealed to them But so much was not clear to them, but they understood that It wasn't coming during their lifetime. They weren't prophesying about something that would happen. To them, And to the people they were preaching to. But what happened, Peter says to us, The people who came along after the coming of Christ.
They understood that. Even angels were trying to figure it out. Look what Isaiah wrote. He's talking about a coming Savior, the promised Savior, the one promised clear back in Genesis 3. in the proto-evangelium.
That there will be the seed of the woman that will Crush The serpent's head It's going to destroy. the destroyer, destroy Satan and his sinful desires. And we learn more about it through the Old Testament scriptures. And Isaiah, maybe more than anybody, but also the psalmists and others who have given information about the promised Messiah. The prophets were scratching their head and saying, Now, what exactly does this mean when Isaiah wrote?
All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. and we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him.
And with his stripes we are healed. Wonderful, wonderful. But now, what does that mean exactly?
Okay. And even angels in heaven. are as it were Looking Down And Reading What the prophets have written. and trying to figure out what does this mean. Angels desire.
to look into this.
So, the prophets, the Old Testament saints, the Old Testament prophets didn't fully understand it. The Old Testament saints certainly didn't understand it. Even angels don't fully understand it, but we do. The promise that was made to them has been fulfilled to us. That's the whole point.
That's the promise. The promise. of a coming Saviour. Old Testament saints such as those listed in Hebrews 11, received many promises. But they did not receive the fulfillment of the promised Savior.
They were saved. Listen to me. They were saved by the atoning sacrifice of the promised Savior. And they were saved by faith, believing that promise of God. But they did not receive the fulfillment of that promise in their lifetime.
You say, well, then were they not saved in their lifetime? No, they were saved in their lifetime. They were saved by believing the promise of God, but it took the Savior coming and dying on the cross to. secure what Has been promised in both Old and New Testament in regard to salvation.
So they did not receive the fulfillment of that promise in their lifetime. They therefore did not have the understanding about the Messiah, who he was. what he would be like. his life and his work. They didn't have the understanding we have.
But they believed the word which they had, and that was sufficient to them for salvation. Faith is believing the revelation of God. Those who believe it? Please God. Sinners can't please God.
They have to be made righteous to please God. Those who believe the revelation of God please God. And like Abraham, Their faith is counted to them for righteousness. They're saved. By faith.
But they're saved by faith in the coming Messiah. And that brings us then to my third point. The promise fulfilled in the last part of verse 40.
Well, the whole of verse 40. God having provided something better for us. That same phraseology that was used in Peter. Of what God has done for us, Peter writing to the New Testament saints. And here the writer of Hebrews writing to New Testament saints.
God has provided something better for us. That we should not be made perfect, or they should not be made perfect, rather. Apart. from us. What is this?
God provided something better for us. If you've been paying attention throughout the book of Hebrews, you have. remembered, even though it's now been quite a while since this word appeared. But you remember, no doubt, that the word better was very prominent in the early chapters, and the word better is really. One of the major themes of Hebrews.
The whole point of Hebrews is to make Jewish believers in Christ. Assured that what they have in the new covenant is better than what they had in the old covenant before they left it to embrace the new covenant, and better than what their forefathers had in the Old Testament, the old covenant. New Testament believers have, for example, a better hope. than Old Testament, Old Testament believers. Hebrews 7.10.
New Testament believers have a better covenant. than the old covenant And that's told us in Hebrews 7, 22 and Hebrews 8, verse 6. New Testament believers have better sacrifices. Really, just a better sacrifice, one, but the reference there. is to all of the many sacrifices of the old covenant.
But now there is A better sacrifice than all of those. CHAPTER nine, verse twenty three. And now we're told. that God has provided something Better. For us.
And so this is A better provision. It is, beyond that, a perfecting provision. God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made Perfect. Apart from us.
Now perfect can carry various definitions and connotations. And here I think the word perfect should be understood in the sense of complete. They In their salvation, Those saved. Could not be complete in their salvation. apart from us.
They could not Yeah. Enter into a completed salvation until Christ came and completed it. Lived a perfect life, died a substitutionary death. cried out from the cross, it is finished, but it wasn't finished till then. And then it was finished.
Then salvation was Complete. In the Old Testament, saints couldn't enjoy a completed salvation. Until We were joined. to that work by the coming of Messiah. And those who come after him.
Our salvation is complete in the finished work of Christ. And so is theirs now that Christ has come. Until he came, their salvation. was still promised. But not complete.
But Christ has come.
Now it's complete. God provided something better for us. But they get to enter into it too. It's only better for us in the sense that we have had the privilege of seeing the completion of it, and they didn't see that. Except by faith believing.
It is a perfecting provision. It is, I would mention, a passing unifying position that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Old Testament saints and New Testament saints Are completed in salvation together. They had to wait until we came along, until Christ came along, and we came along, and then old and new completed together in the same vicarious act of atonement on the cross of Calvary. There's a great unifying theme in this.
Christ made Old Testament and New Testament believers Equal participants in the perfect sacrifice That he made for sins that satisfied the justice of a holy God.
Now, I'm going to read a paragraph. I don't usually read this much. Of a quote, but I think I must read this one because it summarizes all of this so well. If you haven't understood what I'm saying up until now, And it is a bit complex. Listen to this summary by John MacArthur.
And I quote. Old Testament saints knew little about the nature Time. and meaning of God's salvation. But They knew it was coming. And it was the basis of their faith.
Their salvation was not completed until Christ came. Their salvation was based upon what Christ would do. Ours upon what he has done. Their faith looked forward to the promise. Ours looks back to Historical fact.
It's no longer a promise. The promise has been fulfilled. The Saviour came. He did it. His atoning work.
They looked forward to the promise. Ours lurks back to the historical fact. But he concludes by saying this: they believed. all of God's word which they had. And that's important.
Pleasing God requires that we believe all the revelation that He has given. If we have more revelation than they did, then we have a responsibility to believe more than they did. You can't expect them to believe what they had not received, but God has every right to expect us to believe what we have received. And he's given us more.
Now, let me wrap it up. with a few lessons. First of all, about immediate fulfillment and delayed fulfillment. For Old Testament saints, many victories were promised and believed and fulfilled, but the promise of the Messiah was delayed. For us, Salvation is fulfilled because the Messiah has come.
But there are still future promises to us. Heaven. has not yet been fulfilled. Final redemption. Which is the g Resurrection of the glorified body has not yet been fulfilled.
So, yes, they had promises. Delayed? More promises delayed than we do because the big promise of the Messiah was delayed for them. and now fulfilled for us. But we have promises that are delayed, and we have every reason to and expectation of believing them.
even though they haven't yet been fulfilled. They will be. Wait. For us, some promises are fulfilled now, just like for them. Others are delayed.
We pray for the salvation of a loved one.
Sometimes we receive the fulfillment. Of that prayer request now.
Sometimes it is delayed.
Sometimes it is delayed until after we are with the Lord and God saves them when we're in heaven. We pray for relief from pain and suffering.
Sometimes God answers that prayer. and gives us relief.
Sometimes it is Permanent relief?
Sometimes it is A partial relief, a relief that lasts for a few weeks or months or even years, but then eventually comes back. But we know That When we are with the Lord, there will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more suffering. Really, the fulfillment of that promise, and there are promises about this in the Word, the fulfillment of that promise will come. But it can come in different stages and different ways. But if it's God's revelation, we believe it, right?
And if God has promised it, He will fulfill it. But we must be willing to yield to Him the time and the manner of the fulfillment. That is not our call. We're asking him to do what only he can do, but we're saying, do it my way and on my timetable. Whoops, back up.
We humbly ask him to do what only he can do. and we gladly yield to him the right to do it. According to his way. and his timetable That's faith. In regard to persevering faith.
For Old Testament saints, the promise of the Messiah was delayed beyond their lifetime. but they continued to believe. until they died. Never having received that promise, looking for it. When will he come?
When will he come? When will he come? It's been years, it's been centuries. When will he come? And then, in the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son.
Made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. He came. according to God's perfect time. Those who believed God, even though they didn't see it during their lifetime, they honored God with their faith. Those who doubted did not receive God's approval.
They did not exercise persevering faith. That's the message to the Hebrew Christians, some of whom are wavering because of the persecution. It would certainly be easier to go back to the old covenant. The writer of Hebrews says no, no, no, for many reasons, no. Number one, because there's no salvation there now.
Your forefathers found salvation in that covenant because it promised a coming Messiah. But now that he's come, you can't go back before his coming. And trust the promise as if it has not yet been fulfilled, that has already been fulfilled. You've got to believe the revelation that God has given to you. Don't turn back.
Don't turn loose. It's fatal if you do that. Keep persevering. And the same is true for us. Many promises have been fulfilled.
but somehow are yet to be fulfilled. Keep trusting, keep believing. And finally, just a few thoughts about the faith that pleases God.
Okay. The faith that pleases God believes whatever revelation God has given to you. We cannot pick and choose. We cannot pick and choose. So many do that.
We cannot pick what we will believe and what we won't. We cannot pick what we would like to believe and what we're not willing to believe. That's not faith. That's not faith. Faith believes whatever revelation God has granted to you.
Some will have more understanding than others, in a sense we could say more revelation than others. To please God, we must believe whatever revelation He has granted to us. even as we seek for greater understanding. And Here's a danger that I warn you about.
Sometimes people say, Well, God, if you'll just make this clear to me, then I'll believe. And God says, if you don't believe what I have already revealed to you, why should I reveal more to you? Why should I make something clear over here when you haven't believed what I've already made clear here? Why should he? Indeed.
Why should God give you more understanding? If you will not believe, what he has already given. Are some of you here? Here, like that today?
Well, God, if you'll just make this clear, God, if you'll just explain this, God, if you'll just tell me why you do this, then I'll believe. No, no, no, you've got it backwards. Faith believes whatever God has given. Whatever God has revealed. He may or may not reveal some of these mysterious elements in our lifetime.
But it's our responsibility to believe what he has revealed. Those who do please God. Their faith is accepted by God. Those who do not. Do not please God.
What they call faith is not really faith because True faith doesn't have any contingencies. It doesn't have any limits. It doesn't say, I'll exercise faith this far, but now, God, if you don't do this, then. I have every right not to believe any further. Yes, if you want to go to hell.
But If you want to Be saved. You must honor God with a faith that believes whatever he has revealed. May God help us to do so, shall we pray? Father, thank you for this great chapter on faith and how helpful it has been. Oh Lord, by your Spirit.
Apply it. to the needs of every heart. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
