if we boiled down the temptation and struggle
for the Hebrew Christians in the most minimal
sense, I think we could boil it down to this.
The Hebrew Christians could either please men
and find approval with men, or they could please...
God by faith. The Hebrew Christians were the
recipients of ongoing pressure to revert back
to the Jewish system. I think they were being
pressured under these terms. Listen, if you want
to please God, if you want to find approval with
God, then you have to do it through sacrifices.
You have to do it through the human priesthood.
You have to do it through the old religion, in
a sense. But that wasn't the only option in front
of them. The author of Hebrews also presents
them with the reality that they can really be
approved of God. They can really please God.
They can receive a good testimony from God. But
it's only one way. By faith. It's by faith that
they would be approved. And the author goes on
and shows that this has always been the case.
Not just for New Covenant Christians, but it
was the case for Old Covenant saints as well.
The Word of God is so relevant for our lives,
brothers and sisters. Never forget that. There
are so many struggles in our own lives that they
could be boiled down to this. Pleasing men and
being in favor with men. Or, pleasing God by
faith. That's such a struggle within our hearts
and our minds. It's something that's so relevant
to our thinking and the very fabric of our lives.
Why? Because we are around people so much. We're
around unbelievers so often. We're in the world,
but not of the world. It's a constant, ongoing
struggle in the life of the believer. But, there's
only one option for the Christian that is glorifying
to God. And that is by faith, pleasing God. By
faith, receiving a good testimony from him because
of the faith that he has given to us. Today we're
going to consider the individuals who received
a good testimony, or we could say the individuals
who were approved of by God, the men of old.
We see this in verse 2. For by it, the men of
old gained approval. So who were these men? What
were they like? Why does the author bring them
up? But we're also going to consider the good
testimony they received or the nature of this
approval that is spoken of in verse 2. For by
it men of old gained approval. And we'll see
alternative translations for this as well. And
the last thing we will consider. is the basis
for this approval, or the basis for this good
testimony from God. Notice verse 2 says this,
For by it, men of old gained approval. What is
it? Faith. For by faith, men of old received
a good testimony from God. They gained approval.
So beginning with the first, the individuals
who received a good testimony from God. Who is
the author speaking of when he says, for by it
the men of old gained approval? This is actually
the word for elder in the New Testament. The
Greek word is presbyteros. It means an officer
of the church. But is that what he's talking
about? No. He's not talking about pastors and
elders. He's talking about the men of old. Old
Testament saints. Neither is he speaking in particular
about old men. He's speaking about saints and
the old covenant. From beginning to end. He's
talking about Old Testament believers. Who possessed
faith. The people we see throughout Hebrews chapter
11. And who are these individuals? We see Cain
and Abel. Or Abel offered up to God a better
sacrifice. We see Enoch. We see Noah. We see
Abraham. We see Sarah. We see Moses. We see Isaac.
We see so many other people. And what is the
author doing? He's progressively working his
way through the Old Covenant. So he's talking
about the Old Covenant saints, the Old Covenant
believers. And Hebrews chapter 12 refers to these
Old Covenant believers in this way. Therefore,
since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding
us. So, the Old Testament saints that are being
referred to are approved witnesses for us. Meaning,
these Old Testament saints, brothers and sisters,
according to the author of Hebrews, has something
to say to you and has something to say to me.
They have a message for us today. They have something
they want to bear witness to for us. They want
to testify to us in a sense, brothers and sisters.
This is who the author of Hebrews is talking
about, the saints. Of old. The author knows.
And he is leveraging. The power. Of example.
He knows. That there is something special. About
truth. Embodied. And lived out. A life wrapped
up. In the truth. That it claims to believe.
And adhere to. The author knows that there's
something peculiarly special and powerful and
persuasive about truth embodied. In a sense,
I think the author knows, brothers and sisters,
that the best way to bear witness or one of the
best ways to bear witness to the truth is to
embody the truth in your life. And the author
knows that these men and these women of old actually
did this. They are prime examples for new covenant
believers to look back upon and to learn from
so that we can emulate their faith. So that we
can persevere as they persevered. So that we
can know God as they knew God. So that we can
labor and work and be useful for God as they
were, brothers and sisters. He's setting forth
their example for us. And that requires humility
in each one of us if we are to learn from somebody
else. Brothers and sisters, if you are to learn
from Hebrews chapter 11, It must begin with each
one of us humbling ourselves in our hearts and
being willing to learn from Abel. From Noah.
From Enoch. You don't have all the answers. I
don't have all the answers. You are not perfect.
I am not perfect. These men were not perfect,
but... If we are to learn from them, we must
be willing to humble ourselves and to receive
the message and the instruction that God has
given to them for us today. This must be the
starting point. If we are to learn from their
examples. But the author is also showing us the...
Unity and the continuity of God's purposes throughout
redemptive history. Think about that, brothers
and sisters. And we've alluded to this and mentioned
this several times with regards to Hebrews already.
They are the same kind of men and the same kind
of women as you and me. Abel. was just like me,
just like you. How so? He was a man with flesh
and blood. He needed to live by faith, just as
you need to live by faith. Noah was a man just
like you and just like me. You know why? Because
he struggled with sin in his life. He had a remnant
of sin in his life that was a pain in his side
all the days of his life. Abraham was a man like
you and me. Brothers and sisters, we are like
them, and they are like us. We have such a tendency
to think, well, I live in the current century.
We have technology. We really know about the
world and the nature of the world. how things
work today, we today have it all figured out.
We aren't anything like the men of old. We're
more intellectual. We're smarter. We have access
to more information. In reality, we are nothing
like those men of old, but we are brothers and
sisters. What changes? Not people. The nature
of man stays the same. Our circumstances, our
situations, our environment, our culture, those
things change, but we stay the same. And the
same problem they have is the same problem that
we have, the need to persevere in faith. We can
relate to these examples so easily, brothers
and sisters. But we can also relate to them because
we have the same kind of faith as they did. They
believed the same promises that we do. God gave
them justifying faith which worked and was effective
in their life. And God has given you and I justifying
faith as believers in Jesus Christ. which effectively
works and operates in our lives. And what promises
do we believe? Brothers and sisters, we believe
the same promises as the old covenant saints.
It's just we have greater clarity with regards
to what those promises actually are because the
scripture is canonized and closed and Christ
has come in time and history. The same kind of
people, the same kind of faith, brothers and
sisters, and the same promises. So listen up
whenever we learn from these brothers and sisters.
Listen to these men and these women and their
lives. Be eager to hear from them in the word
of the living God. Come with open ears and open
hearts. to hear from Father Abraham. Come with
open ears and open hearts to hear from our forefather
Enoch who walked with God for 300 years, brothers
and sisters. Come with open ears and open hearts,
brothers and sisters, to learn from the prophets
who suffered and the prophets who conquered.
Put your pride aside and humble yourself and
hear from the Word of God today. That's the starting
place, brothers and sisters, for the Word of
God to benefit you. That's the starting place
for the Word of God to benefit me. One of the
most difficult things every day when you come
to the Word of God in prayer is to put the flesh
and submit to what God requires of you. We have
to put the pride and pomp aside and humble ourselves
before God and His Word. Then, we will really
be benefited from the Word of God. Now, this
is who they were. But what about the testimony
that they received, or the nature of this approval
that the text speaks about? Because the text
says this, For by it the men of old gained approval.
Now, this phrase, gained approval, I don't believe
it's rendered the best in the New American Standard
Bible. Listen to a couple other translations.
We have the ESV saying this. For by it, the people
of old received their commendation. Do you see
the difference? The NASB is building on this
idea that the men of old gained, they took hold
of something. But in reality, this is something
passive that they received, that they are the
recipient. Now listen to the NET, and I think
the NET has it. It's hit the nail on the head.
For by it, the people of old received God's commendation.
That's it. This text wants to emphasize the fact
that God has given something, and that the people
of God, have received something from God. It's
not something that is taken. It's something that
is given graciously and freely by God Himself
to His people. So what is it talking about when
it talks about this approval or this commendation?
Well, it's a positive, active, testimony, commendation,
recognition, or attestation from God regarding
a person and their life. That's what it's talking
about. We have a good example of this whenever
the author speaks of Abel and Enoch. Listen to...
what it says in verse 4 about Abel. And I think
in a sense he is illustrating the nature of this
approval, this good testimony that the old covenant
saints received from God. By faith, Abel offered
to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through
which he obtained the testimony. That he was
righteous. God testifying about his gifts. And
through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
What does God say about Abel? What does God testify
about Abel? What is the nature of this commendation,
this testimony from God regarding Abel? It is
that he is righteous. God testifies about his
gifts, meaning his sacrifice, I believe, and
the quality that he gave from faith. So there's
a testimony, a commendation, a recognition, an
attestation, a good report from God regarding
Abel. And then we read this about Enoch. By faith,
Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death.
And he was not found because God took him up.
For he obtained the witness that before his being
taken up, he was pleasing to God. And then listen
to what verse 6 says. 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. Do we know exactly
what God's testimony was to Enoch? No. It could
be that God took him away and that is the testimony.
He disappeared. Some people, theologians, scholars,
pastors, some people think that the testimony
that God gives is actually experiential in the
nature of assurance, something that the Spirit
of God actually immediately and directly gives
to a believer through their faith. Others tend
to think that it's an explicit statement of God's
pleasure regarding that person. Contained in
scripture. I don't know exactly. Where I land.
On each of those issues. But we do know this.
That the word is clear. That God. Gave a good
testimony. Regarding. Enid. That God gave a good
testimony. Regarding. Abel. And why? Was it because
Abel was such a good man? Was it because Enoch
was such a moral person? No. It's because of
faith. It's because they possessed faith and
they lived in faith and they acted in faith.
And we'll see that faith is the basis. of God
giving a good testimony to anyone. Now, this
testimony is recorded in Scripture regarding
Abel and several others, but there are others
we don't have a record necessarily of God. bearing
witness that he is pleased with those Old Testament
individuals and saints. John Owen gives a brief
argument with regards to how to understand this.
Because I believe that all of the Old Testament
saints received this divine testimony from God.
I think that's pretty clear from the text. It's
universal in the life of Old Testament believers,
and I believe it's also universal in the life
of every New Covenant believer today. So, what
does John Owen say about this? For those who,
we have to conclude, God gave a good testimony
to them. Because there is not an explicit recorded
testimony regarding every Old Testament saint,
we can conclude this. Because the Scriptures
have principles and certain absolute logical
rules within it, then we can conclude that they
were in fact pleasing to God. For instance, in
verse 6, we read this, And without faith, It
is impossible to please him. Think about those
words, brothers and sisters. That is an absolute
law in the economy of redemption and salvation.
That is unbreakable. You cannot, I cannot please
the living God who is holy without faith. An
absolute law, an absolute rule that is required
of every single human being that is living and
has breath in their lungs. What can we conclude
based off of that argument? If someone has faith,
then it follows that God is pleased with them.
If someone does not have faith, then God is what?
God is not pleased with them. Now, there's other
areas and other principles we can consider. For
instance, we read in Romans and previously in
chapter 10 of Hebrews that the just shall live
by faith. That is a principle. That is an absolute
law. It is not possible for someone to have faith
and to not have faith and to be counted as righteous
in the sight of God. But, if someone does have
faith, saving, justifying, legitimate, credible,
God -given faith that is the grace of God, then
every single time they will be just. The just
shall live by faith. If someone is justified
in the sight of God, if someone has had the righteousness
of Christ imputed to them, they will live by
faith. That is a principle that cannot be broken.
that cannot be bent. It is an absolute law with
regards to the economy of redemption and God's
salvation and how He works in the life of His
people. So, if someone in the Old Testament does
not have an explicit statement, what must we
conclude if they lived by faith? If they believed
the promises. Brothers and sisters, if men and
women in the Old Testament obeyed God's word,
what must we conclude? What necessarily and consequently
follows that God was in fact pleased with them?
There is a testimony in Scripture concerning
these individuals. And the same can be true of
each of us. If we live by faith, if we possess
saving, justifying faith, if you believe the
promises of God, then brothers and sisters, you
can have an assurance that is backed by the very
word of God, that God, the maker of heaven and
earth, is pleased with you. That he commends
you in your life. That he receives your deeds
of faith, the good works that come by faith to
him, your sacrificial service unto him, your
offerings of praise and worship to him. He receives
these. He is pleased with those that are in possession
of justifying faith, which operates and is effective
in their life. Now, there's a big distinction
between the approval of a holy and a righteous
God and the approval of a carnal, unbelieving
world. There's a big chasm between that approval
of God and the approval of carnal. Men and women.
Around us. What does the Christian. Singularly.
Look upon. And have as their aim. And their goal.
And their focal point in life. The smile. Of
their great God. Which is redeemed them. The
good pleasure. Of their father. In heaven. There
is a great difference. But I think we also see
evidence in this text that those who are in fact
commended by God and approved by God, those who
have the approval of a holy and righteous God
because they're living by faith, will often be
the recipients of the disapproval of carnal and
unbelieving men. The two will coexist very often.
Don't we see that in Hebrews 11 so clearly? That
Abel was pleasing to God, but he was not pleasing
to his brother. What about Noah? He was pleasing
to God, but what about the world around him through
which his actions condemned? the whole rest of
the world. What about Abraham and the surrounding
kings? Don't we see time and time again that
there's a certain hostility and antipathy towards
the patriarchs? What about Jacob and Esau, brothers
and sisters? What about so many other figures
from the old... the two will often coincide.
The Christian lives in a world in a constant
state in which they are the subject of contradictory
verdicts upon them and their life. The world
and unbelievers and the culture are saying this
about you, believer. The world and the unbelieving
Culture is saying this about you, man or woman
of God. And all the while, the verdict of God
stands as well. We live and walk in a world,
in a life, where we constantly have contradictory
verdicts upon our life. In the final analysis,
brothers and sisters, there's one. That matters.
One verdict. That ought to determine. Your joy
in life. One verdict upon you. And your faith.
And your life. And your deeds. Which should determine.
Your holiness and godliness. Your zeal. Your
love. One verdict in your life. Which ought to
orient your whole being. And your whole. and
your whole family and everything about you. And
it's not the verdict of unbelieving men. It is
the verdict of a holy and a righteous God that
has sent His Son to die for sinners. That's the
verdict which matters most to the believer. That
God gives a good testimony to those with faith.
That's what matters. most to the believer. It's
not ultimately what your friends and your family
say. It's not ultimately what your boss, your
co -workers, it's not even ultimately what your
husband or your wife says. It's not ultimately,
brothers and sisters, what the television preaches
to you. What those closest to you say is good
and right and true and who you are and what you
are like. What matters most? How God sees you.
How God views you as a person. How God views
you and your life and your deeds and your actions
and your character. It is His burdens that we
long for. And it is his verdict that we rest
in brothers and sisters. In a sense, the Christian
ought to be able to let go of seeking the approval
of the world. And unbelieving and carnal men,
do you know why? Because we already have a good
testimony from the living God. Because he has
given us justifying faith, which always works
in our lives. Praise be to his name. Now we know
the nature of this testimony, this approval.
But what is the basis of this approval in a person's
life? We might think, naturally, the natural
response may be, well, just be a good person.
Do what you ought to do in life. Be who you ought
to be in life. Be nice to folks. Help folks when
you get the chance. Give here and there. Be a
good man, a moral and upright. Brothers and sisters,
what is the basis for this divine approval in
the life of a believer? It is faith. Faith as
we have already defined in verse 1. Faith is
the assurance of things hoped for. The conviction
of things not seen. In verse 2, where it's speaking
about the approval or the good testimony the
saints of old received, what does it say? For
by it, meaning by faith, the men of old received
their commendation from God. The author of Hebrews
wants to be really, really clear. The commendation
that he speaks of, the fatherly pleasure that
he speaks of, the good testimony from God, the
good word from God regarding a person's life
is not performance -based. The testimony the
saints of old received, it was not based in their
actions. It wasn't based in whether they did
what was right or what was wrong. It wasn't based
in their merit. It was based on their faith.
Now, we do know that faith always, when it's
justifying, saving, legitimate faith, always
what? Operates and works effectively in the life
of the believer. Isn't that true, brothers and
sisters? So we think again about Abel. Abel.
By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice.
Then Cain, better sacrifice than Cain, I apologize,
through which he obtained the testimony. that
he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts,
and through faith, though he is dead, he still
speaks. The Hebrew Christians, as we've stated,
were under severe pressure to revert back to
the Judaistic system of sacrifices. I'm sure
there were good Jews. That we're telling the
Hebrew Christians, listen, you can't be pleasing
to God if you're not giving sacrifices. And what
does the author of Hebrews say loud and clear?
No man has ever been pleasing to God. No sinner
has ever been pleasing to God. based on making
sacrifices according to the Mosaic system of
law. Why was any sacrifice ever pleasing to God?
Because faith is the one that motivated and compelled
the individual to give the sacrifice. God was
pleased with the faith, therefore he accepted
the sacrifice of Abel, brothers and sisters.
The same is true of the Christians' good deeds,
good works in this life. God doesn't accept our
good works because they're so lovely, brothers
and sisters. He accepts the Christians' good
works because of their faith in Christ and His
great work on the cross. Because they are trusting
in a righteousness outside of themselves that
is accounted to them. Their righteousness is
found in Christ. And because of that, God receives
their good works, their good deeds. Though, as
our confession talks about, there is such a mixture
within them that he would have every right to
cast them aside if it were not for Christ. God
never accepted men based on the sacrificial system.
God... only ever approved anybody that was a
sinner and in need of Christ on the basis of
faith. That's what the author wants to make sure
his recipients know. What is the one criteria
for pleasing the living God? Faith, brothers
and sisters. That's it. Fairly. Simple and straight
forward. Faith alone pleases God. It's very important
for us to remember that the Christian life begins
with faith. When a person comes to Christ, they
trust in the Lord Jesus, and they are justified
through that faith. They are given His righteousness.
The Christian life begins in faith. Every Christian
that ever existed started with faith. But, brothers
and sisters, it's also very important that we
recognize, as the author of Hebrews is putting
forth, the Christian life doesn't just start
with faith. The Christian life must continue
by faith. We must continue to live by faith.
We must continue to walk by faith in our lives.
And then, we will die in faith, just as so many
others have. But brothers and sisters, one day,
we will receive all the fullness of the promises
and the perfection that Christ has promised to
us in the culmination of all things, in the new
heavens and the new earth, when the Lord Jesus
Christ returns for His people. The great men
and women that are listed throughout Hebrews
chapter 11, these men and women of renown, we
might say, These individuals who we still think
about, who still speak to us today, brothers
and sisters, they are not known for their worldly
success. They are not known for their power and
their pomp. They are not known for their beauty
or their looks or their personalities. They are
not known for them per se. But why are they known?
Because of their faith. in the promises of God,
brothers and sisters. That is worthy of our imitation
today, brothers and sisters.