The Triumphs of Faith

Richard Thetford

In the sports world we know that the individuals that excel in their individual sport may someday enter the "Hall of Fame". Well, Christians also have their heros that are solidly planted in the "Hall of Faith". The Hebrew writer defines faith as "...the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Heb 11:1). The eleventh chapter of Hebrews shares some beautiful examples of those God fearing individuals from long ago that excelled in goodness and are now entered in the "Hall of Faith" in this chapter. In verse 4 we see where "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain...". Do we give God the best we have each day of our lives? We read of great names such as Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel. Look at those names. Great names in Old Testament history for us to grow and learn from today. Over time, this was a great line up of God's people. They are now entered in the book of Hebrews because of their great faith in God. Of all of our heros today there is none better than these. These are the ones that we need to pattern our lives after. Worldly heros can not help us get to heaven but the names in this chapter are ones that if we showed the kind of faith in our daily lives like they did would surely help us get there. But all these great people "died in faith without receiving the promises..." (Heb 11:13). We have the greatest gift of all - Jesus Christ our Lord! God has promised us that if we do his will that we will receive life everlasting (Matt 7:21). Have faith - and do God's will!