THE STRENGTH OF FAITH

Faith gives assurance to the people, who may possess this. It gives communion with God and Christ, it opens an invisible world. This is no imagination, but it is reality, it is true, it is experienced. By faith we receive a taste of the promised good. So we read in John 8 that Abraham rejoiced to see the day of Christ: and he saw it and was glad. But Abraham lived two thousand years before the birth of Christ! Therefore faith is called the telescope of faith. When faith is in exercise, which is also a gift of the Lord, then we may see sometimes what has been hidden before; that are moments we see so much magnitude and glory in God that our heart is filled with Him. No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. In his light we may see light. When the bright morning star and the Sun of righteousness may rise, then all the clouds will disasppear. This knowledge is only in beginning, but there we may see God in the glory of His Divine attributes. In the light of His virtues, we see our sins and unrighteousness. Far be it from God, that He should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that He should commit iniquity. It is such a great wonder of the Lord, that our attributes, which were tarnished by the sin, are restored in principle by Christ, and we may rejoice in the Lord. So Simeon may say: “Mine eyes have seen thy salvation.” At such moments the eyes of faith are so clear that they may see the King in His beauty, which is as well in His deep humiliation as in His infinite exaltation. When the Holy Spirit glorifies Christ in the heart of elect sinners, then they may see Him as the express image of His Person. (Hebr. 1:3) What a blessed gift when we may be full of that beloved Mediator. Full of Him means empty of ourselves; there we lay under and He takes the first place, as the Spouse said: “Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.” He is the greatest revelation of God’s love and with Him we can overcome all problems in our life. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. The world cannot understand it, but God’s people may experience it and get knowledge of things which cannot reach our mind in the normal way, only by faith. So the church is promised eternal life, even when they must go through death. Job may testify by faith: “And though after my skin worms destroyed this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” So they may see over death and grave, what is prepared for them. The Lord has promised the resurrection to eternal life, but first they must undergo corruption. In Christ all members of His body shall be made alive. On earth it is a church militant, but at God’s time they will be discharged and enter into eternal glory. But faith is rightly called the substance, the confidence, the ground of things, which are still objects of hope and evidence of things not seen. This faith gives evidence that there is a God, that the soul exists, that we are created for eternity, that there is a hell and a heaven. We know that nearly all these things, which cannot be seen by the natural eyes, are denied in our days and therefore a warning is proper, as the late Rev. Kersten did: “Unbelief is promoted in the schools, in shops, in factories, and in offices; we may say in the whole society. It is our duty to fight with all our strength against unbelief which draws us away from God and religion. This is a great responsibility for parents and all other educators or teachers. I doubt that enough attention is given to this problem. Wake up, parents, to the welfare of your children. Make yourself ready for the battle: in the house, the church and the school the zeal for the truth must revive”. So far Rev. Kersten, who wrote this in 1927. After about 50 years this need has increased, because more than ever before God and His Word are denied. So many of our young people are in doubt about these things that they read about. So often little or nothing is done to help our young people in their problems. It is the mission of ministers and consistories, according to their promises before God and congregation to fight against the prince of darkness, who seems to be stronger than ever before. But the Lord is the Almighty. That we may speak and teach our children as we have promised, parents, because we must give account of this too, before God. We exert our strength to help our children through this world, but more important is how they will leave this world; it is not the most important that they will die as a millionaire, praised by many people, but that they know by faith, that God is their God for time and eternity. So the invisible things are proved by faith; by the same faith the visible things and their coming to existence is explicable, as we can read in this text, which is the second part of this meditation.

2) FAITH GIVES UNDERSTANDING

The description of faith is now enlarged, as we can read in verse 3: “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.” The apostle could not choose a better example to confirm the previous text. Creation is a fundamental truth, which is of great importance for the Believers. We know that a lot of people never think about the origin of all things. We seek reasons for rain or drought, for sickness or sudden death, but we are too busy to think about the origin of heaven and earth. Some say that the world is eternal, others say that it came into existance from rotating planets or from the dust out of interstellar space. The evolution theory, takes this literally: theory, it is not for sure even not for the men of science; in evolution they speak about a gradual development out of eternal dust; little by little it came to a higher form of life. From bacteria and other small forms of life came forth plants, which became animals; from these we get the monkeys and at the end, man. This is a rejection of the everlasting Word of God, which testifies so simply and understandably: in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. He spoke and it was done; He commanded and it stood fast. We cannot open our eyes or we see the works of the Lord. We are stone blind if we don’t see the hand of the Lord in them! Psalm 19 tells us: “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork.” All over it is visible: “Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” When Calvin speaks about creation, he uses the example of a pair of spectacles or glasses. He compares God’s Word with a pair of glasses, which is given to us. Who needs glasses? Those whose eyes are not good. The Lord comes to us by His Word, to teach that He is the Creator of heaven and earth. The Lord still has the same power. No, we don’t believe that the Lord creates new worlds, but the Lord recreates, regenerates; men resist this work of God with all their strength, but the Lord overcomes them by Word and Spirit. Therefore the wonder of recreation is greater than the work of creation. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. By this work of recreation we put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.

Did you learn this, how corrupt we are and that only a wonder can save us? David understood this, when he prayed: “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” The same God to whom David cried is still alive. People with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, let it be to your comfort.

The Lord is the creator of heaven and earth; it is His possesion and He has them at His disposal. The heaven and the earth are neither of America, nor of Russia; when the world powers say: “The universe is ours;” the Lord shows: “I am the legal owner.”

So the Word teaches the origin of the world. In god’s providence we are born or brought under the Truth and receive an historical knowledge of the Word, which is such a great blessing, and which we cannot miss to salvation, but it also gives a great responsibility as we must give account of all things, also what we have done with the preached Word. For our eternal welfare, we must seek more than a historical knowledge and faith; we need the true saving faith, which is given in regeneration. Our creator can also recreate man, and therfore supplicate the Lord that He may look in mercy upon us. Never forget that we are stewards of all what we do and possess, and that we must give account of our stewardship!

In Adam we have left our post in the Garden of Eden, but the Lord will call us: “Where art thou?” Then the eternal difference between well and woe. By faith we may know the Lord as a righteous and holy God, but also merciful in the Son of His eternal love. This is possible because He did not leave His post and He wrestled in the garden of Gethsemane, but He overcame. In Him it is possible to be saved. What a wonder that the Creator reveals Himself as the recreator in our life. To know Him is life eternal. With such people you don’t have to speak about all kind of theories about creation, because God’s Word is sure, which tells us that the Lord has made it all by the Word of His power. He governs the world, but also the life of His children. Of the church is spoken in verse 2: “For by it the elders obtained a good report.” This is a testimony that they pleased the Lord, as it is literally written of Enoch: “Before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Such approving testimony of the Lord Himself is of the greatest importance, because He only knows our heart. What is the profit that men say that we have such a strong faith? There are people who were praised by men, that they were true believers, but that it became evident later on, that it never had been true, that they had not even the smallest beginning in the life of grace. It is not all gold which glitters! Often gifts are misinterpreted as grace. It will be terrible if we make a ground of that good report of men for eternity, while it is not known by the Lord. Let us be careful in laying on hands, because we can so easily mislead a person, who has only one soul for that great eternity.

What is the profit if we give a good report of ourselves? In our days there are so many people, who know a lot of good things of themselves. Let us be careful with it, because God’s Word teaches us so differently: “Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever.” The heart of men is deceitfull above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I am afraid that there is so much self-deceit in our days, because we consider ourselves so soon to be a believer, because we don’t live in the world. Our hope must be founded on the Word, because the Word and faith are bound together. All things which are not according to the Word, are not from the Lord. Also our experience must be according to the Word. There are few biblical Christians.

Here it says: “For by faith the elders obtained a good report.” What kind of testimony is this? Faith closes the eyes and opens the ears to listen what the Lord has to say to us. The favor, the blessing of the Lord is felt in our life. So it is with the saints which are mentioned in this chapter. First of all that their names are recorded in the Word and given as examples of faith. Of Enoch is written that he pleased the Lord. It is by faith that Noah is saved. It is by faith that Sarah received Isaac, and by faith Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son. And so it is with all the men and women, which are mentioned here. There are also names of people who are not faultless at all, think of Rahab. Such sinners were pleasing to the Lord? No, not in their sins; therewith the Lord can have no communion. The Lord has reproved them of their sin; at the bar of their own conscience they are convicted to be a condemnable sinner. They have missed their mark for which they are created. But they may flee to the Lord with all their sins, they will experience that the Lord is merciful for a needy sinner, but also righteous. What a wonder that the Lord will not despise us. In the condition of life we can experience this favour of the Lord, when He comforts us, when He speaks to us. How long is it ago that the Lord has spoken to us, or that we received a sign of his love? The heart of God’s children can long to hear His voice again. It is righteous when they must miss Him, because their sins are manifold, but they cannot miss Him. Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Blessed moment, when He comes leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills. Here they may come to the assurance of faith, what the Lord has promised: “I will be your Father and ye shall be my sons and daughters.” Where this is applied, we may testify by the leading of the Holy Spirit: “Abba Father.” Is this not one of the greatest signs of God’s favour? So it is written in our text: “For by it, (which is faith,) the elders obtained a good report.” Norwich

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