Success by Faith Hebrews 11

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7, NASB).

Hebrews chapter 11 gives us a list of persons that did some amazing things by their faith. The writer says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval” (Heb. 11:1-2). The first verse is quite familiar with those that attend church on regular bases. It is often coupled with the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 7:7-10 and Luke 11:9-13. The conclusion is that we can be successful in life if we have faith. Yet there are many people that confess their faith in God, but, at the same time they experience little or no success. How do we resolve this seemly conflict of principles?

We often say that God answers our prayers. We say that sometimes God answers with a “yes,” and sometimes He answers with a “wait,” and sometimes He answers with a “no.” Why does God act so differently to different people in different situations? Why does God say yes to the one person that is sick and say no to another person that is sick? Both people have faith. Both people want and need the same things. Why does God heal the one person and not heal the other person. After all does not the bible say that God is no respecter of persons? In this article I want to address the issue of success by faith.

The word faith means simply to believe. There are two ways in which we need to look at this word faith. All people have faith. But the object of faith is different for different people. The atheist has faith just as the Christian does. The difference is that the Christian has faith in God while the atheist has faith in themselves. People that are atheist have just as much success in life as the Christian, and sometime they have more success than their Christian neighbors. Why is this true?

Faith motivates us to do what we need to do to obtain a level of success. Faith gives us patience, endurance, and perseverance. Faith keeps us going when we feel like giving up. The object of our faith informs us how to obtain success. Do we follow the teaching of Jesus or do we follow the ways of the world? People of both camps find success, and in some cases people of both camps find failure. The fact that ungodly and wicked people sometimes gain success at the expense of the godly, just, and righteous person raises the age old question of theodicy: “Why does allow the unjust to gain at the expense of the just?” This dichotomy of results has caused many who have stated their faith in God to abandon their faith. They conclude that there is no God, or they may conclude that what is taught about faith recorded in the Bible is no longer true for this day and time. How do Christians resolve these questions of faith? How do we make sense of the words of Jesus stated in the Matthew, Luke, and John texts listed above?

The texts listed must be studied in the context in which they were spoken. The persons listed in Hebrews 11 are not listed because they achieved success according to world standards. Rather, Hebrews 11:2 tells us that they achieved great success for God. Moses left success according to world standards, but later he achieved success for God’s purposes. Moses was raised in the Pharaoh’s house. After achieving success Moses learns that he is the son of Hebrew slaves. While visiting his Hebrew brothers he kills an Egyptian. He has to flee for his life.The successful prince of Egypt is now a runaway murderer. He goes from success to failure. Yet, the writer of Hebrews commends him for his success because God calls him on the mountain and commands him to return to Egypt to lead the Hebrew slaves out of Egypt into the Promised Land. Moses heeds the call of God and by his faith he leads God’s people from slavery in Egypt to freedom. The object of Moses’ faith has changed from the gods of Egypt to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Ex. 3:6, 15, 16). The persons listed in Hebrews 11 are not being commended for their success. Rather, the writer gives us examples of people that did great things for the purposes of God by their faith. There is a process that one must go through to achieve success in the things of God. Let us examine this process.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that doing great things for God happens when God gives us His approval. God’s approval begins when we have faith in Him. He writes, “For by it the men of old gained approval” (Heb. 11:2, NASB). The writer gives us a second principle. He says that a person must please God to be with God. He writes that Enoch was pleasing to God because of his faith. He explains saying, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (v. 6, NASB).

Now let us return to the issues raised at the beginning of this article. How does God answer our prayers? Why does God sometimes say yes, sometimes wait, and sometime no? Remember, there is a difference between success according to the world’s standards and success in achieving the things of God. I want to examine two texts that I believe will help us.

The first text is found in the Gospel of John. In John 15 Jesus instructs His disciples to go into the world to bear fruit. What fruit is Jesus talking about. When we examine the text we discover that Jesus is instructing the disciples to carry the Gospel to the entire world so that people can be saved from their sins. Jesus tells the disciples that in order to bear fruit that they must abide in Him just as the branches abide in the vine. If the branches become disconnected from the vine they will not receive nourishment from the vine, and subsequently they will die. If the disciples continue to be connected to Him the will have life in Him because they have the Holy Spirit living in them, and their prayers will be answered. They will receive whatever they need to bear fruit. Notice here that Jesus does not promise them success according to world standards. He does not promise them success in achieving their own desires for their own purposes. Rather, when we are connected to Christ we are nourished by the Holy Spirit that gives us the spiritual qualities and power so that we may be successful in doing what God calls us to do.

The second text is found in the book of James. James writes, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures” (Jas. 4:1-2, NASB). This text calls for us to examine ourselves; and especially our prayer life. When we pray do we ask God for the things that we want for our own pleasures? What will I do with the extra money that I receive when I get a pay raise on my job? Why do I want a new car or new house? Will I use these things to elevate my status in the world, or will I use them to help others in need? How will I use what God gives me to advance His kingdom? Do I want success for myself or do I want success so that I can use my success to help make Jesus known in the world?

When we examine Hebrews 11 and other texts throughout the Bible we discover that God approves persons that believe in Him and act on His behalf. I believe that the Scriptures makes clear that the persons highlighted in Hebrews 11 received blessings from God so that they could use the blessings to bless others. We are blessed to bless others by meeting their needs; and most importantly their need to know Jesus as their redeemer. Through Jesus we are reconciled to God. God answers our prayers. He always says Yes when we are motivated by our relationship with Him; when or prayers are concerned about the kingdom of God.