AND WITHOUT FAITH
IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE HIM: choris de pisteos adunaton euaresthesai (AAN):
() (3:12,18,19;
4:2,6;
Numbers 14:11;
20:12;
Psalms 78:22,32;
106:21,22,24;
Isaiah 7:9;
Mark 16:17;
John 3:18,19;
8:24;
Galatians 5:6;
Revelation 21:8)
Faith
(4102)(pistis)
is synonymous with trust or belief and is the conviction of the truth
of anything, but in Scripture usually speaks of belief respecting
man's relationship to God and divine things, generally with the
included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and joined with
it.
It is notable that only the book of
Romans surpasses the book of Hebrews (click
to study the uses of pistis in Hebrews)
in the number of uses of
pistis
(Romans = 35, Hebrews = 31, out of 243 NT
uses)
Click
for links to all 243 uses of pistis (NAS) which is translated: faith, 238; faithfulness, 3; pledge, 1;
proof, 1.
As pistis relates to God, it is the conviction
that God exists and is the Creator and Ruler of all things well as the
Provider and Bestower of eternal salvation through Christ. As faith relates
to Christ it represents a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus
is the Messiah, through Whom we obtain eternal salvation and entrance into
the Kingdom of Heaven. Stated another way, eternal salvation comes only
through belief in Jesus Christ and no other way.
See related studies on the
specific phrases (1) "the
faith" and (2) the "obedience
of faith". See also study on
pistos
True faith that saves one's soul includes at
least three main elements
(1) firm persuasion
or firm conviction,
(2)
a surrender to that
truth and
(3) a conduct
emanating from that surrender. In sum, faith shows itself genuine by a
changed life. (Click
here for
W E Vine's similar definition of faith)
Respected theologian Louis Berkhof
defines genuine faith in essentially the same way noting that it includes an
intellectual element (notitia), which is
a positive recognition of the
truth”; an emotional element (assensus), which includes “a deep
conviction of the truth”; and a volitional element (fiducia), which
involves “a personal trust in Christ as Savior and Lord, including a
surrender … to Christ.” (Louis
Berkhof, Systematic Theology. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1939)
Faith is relying on what God has done rather than on one’s own efforts.
In the Old Testament, faith is rarely mentioned. The word trust is
used frequently, and verbs like believe and rely are used to
express the right attitude to God. The classic example is Abraham, whose
faith was reckoned as righteousness (Ge 15:6). At the heart of the
Christian message is the story of the cross: Christ’s dying to bring
salvation. Faith is an attitude of trust in which a believer receives
God’s good gift of salvation (Acts 16:30,31) and lives in that awareness
thereafter (Gal 2:20; cf. Heb 11:1).
J. B. Lightfoot discusses the concept of faith in his commentary on
Galatians. He notes that in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, the definition of the
word for faith
"hovers between two meanings:
trustfulness, the frame of mind which relies on another; and
trustworthiness, the frame of mind which can be relied upon...the senses
will at times be so blended together that they can only be separated by some
arbitrary distinction. The loss in grammatical precision is often more than
compensated by the gain in theological depth...They who have faith in God
are steadfast and immovable in the path of duty."
Faith, like grace, is not static. Saving faith is more than just
understanding the facts and mentally acquiescing. It is inseparable from
repentance, surrender, and a supernatural longing to obey. None of those
responses can be classified exclusively as a human work, any more than
believing itself is solely a human effort.
Faith is manifest by not believing in spite of evidence but obeying in
spite of consequence. John uses the related verb pisteuo to demonstrate the
relationship between genuine faith and obedience writing...
"He who believes (present
tense = continuous) in
the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see
life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (John 3:36)
Charles Swindoll commenting on faith and obedience in John 3:36
concludes that...
In 3:36 the one who “believes in the Son
has eternal life” as a present possession. But the one who “does not obey
the Son shall not see life.” To disbelieve Christ is to disobey
Him. And logically, to believe in Christ is to obey Him. As I
have noted elsewhere, “This verse clearly indicates that belief is
not a matter of passive opinion, but decisive and obedient action.”
(quoting J. Carl Laney)...Tragically many people are convinced that it
doesn’t really matter what you believe, so long as you are sincere. This
reminds me of a Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown is returning from a
disastrous baseball game. The caption read, “174 to nothing! How could we
lose when we were so sincere?” The reality is, Charlie Brown, that it takes
more than sincerity to win the game of life. Many people are sincere about
their beliefs, but they are sincerely wrong!" (Swindoll,
C. R., & Zuck, R. B. Understanding Christian Theology.: Thomas Nelson
Publishers) (This book is
recommended if you are looking for a very readable, non-compromising work on
"systematic theology". Wayne Grudem's work noted above is comparable.)
Subjectively faith is firm
persuasion, conviction, belief in the truth, veracity, reality or
faithfulness (though rare). Objectively faith is that which is
believed (usually designated as "the faith"), doctrine, the received
articles of faith.
Click
separate study of "the
faith (pistis)"
True faith is not based on empirical evidence but on divine assurance.
Spurgeon wrote that...
Faith is the foot of the soul by which it
can march along the road of the commandments.
When
missionary
John Paton was translating the
Scripture for the South Sea islanders, he was unable to find a word in their
vocabulary for the concept of believing, trusting, or having faith. He had
no idea how he would convey that to them. One day while he was in his hut
translating, a native came running up the stairs into Paton's study and
flopped in a chair, exhausted. He said to Paton,
“It’s so good to rest my whole weight in
this chair.”
John
Paton had his word: Faith is resting your whole weight on God. That
word went into the translation of their New Testament and helped bring that
civilization of natives to Christ. Believing is putting your whole weight on
God. If God said it, then it’s true, and we’re to believe it.
Nothing before, nothing behind,
The steps of faith
Fall on the seeming void, and find
The rock beneath -- Whittier
Without “confidence” in God - in
his fidelity, his truth, his wisdom, his promises. The essence of
faith consists in believing and receiving what God has revealed, and
may be defined as that trust in the God of the Scriptures and in Jesus
Christ whom He has sent, which receives Him as Lord and Savior and
impels to loving obedience and good works (Jn 1:12; Ja 2:14 - 26).
Clearly faith is a key word in Hebrews. Study the 31 uses of
pistis
in Hebrews
in context (click the Scripture links to go to the notes on each verse)...
Hebrews 4:2
- For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but
the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith
in those who heard.
Hebrews 6:1
- Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press
on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works
and of faith toward God,
Hebrews 6:12
-so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith
and patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews 10:22
- let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having
our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed
with pure water.
Hebrews 10:38
- BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONE SHALL LIVE BY FAITH; AND IF HE SHRINKS BACK, MY SOUL
HAS NO PLEASURE IN
Hebrews 10:39
- But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those
who have faith to the preserving of the soul.
Hebrews 11:1
- Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things
not seen.
Hebrews 11:3
- By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of
God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
Hebrews 11:4
- 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.
Hebrews 11:5
- 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.
Hebrews 11:6
- 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.
Hebrews 11:7
- By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence
prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned
the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to
faith.
Hebrews 11:8
- By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which
he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he
was going.
Hebrews 11:9
- By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign
land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same
promise;
Hebrews 11:11
- By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the
proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.
Hebrews 11:13
- All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen
them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that
they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Hebrews 11:17
- By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had
received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
Hebrews 11:20
- By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.
Hebrews 11:21
- By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and
worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
Hebrews 11:22
- By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons
of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.
Hebrews 11:23
- By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his
parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid
of the king's edict.
Hebrews 11:24
- By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of
Pharaoh's daughter,
Hebrews 11:27
- By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured,
as seeing Him who is unseen.
Hebrews 11:28
- By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that
he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
Hebrews 11:29
-By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing
through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.
Hebrews 11:30
- By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for
seven days.
Hebrews 11:31
- By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were
disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
Hebrews 11:33
-who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained
promises, shut the mouths of lions,
Hebrews 11:39
- And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive
what was promised,
Hebrews 12:2
- fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the
joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down
at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 13:7
- Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and
considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.
Impossible
(102)
(adunatos
from a = without + dunatós = possible, able, or powerful
from dunamai = to be able or have power by virtue of inherent
ability and resources. Note the stem duna- or dyna-
conveying the basic sense of ability or capability, power, strength,
might) means impossible, incapable of being or of occurring, incapable
of being done. Adunatos is used twice to convey the idea of one
who is impotent, has no strength or lacks capability in functioning
adequately, once in a literal sense (Acts 14:8 = powerless) and once
in a spiritual sense (see note
Romans 15:1
= of those who do not "strongly" believe).
"Impossible" is a strong word picture!
One will note
the obvious concentration of "impossibilities" in the book of Hebrews!
There are 5 uses of adunatos in Hebrews, far more than any other book
in the NT...
Hebrews 6:4
(ESV) For it is impossible to restore again to
repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the
heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, (Note: the
NASB places "impossible" in
Hebrews 6:6)
(Note also that commentators and some translators take adunatos
to mean "difficult" but clearly from the other NT uses and
specifically the uses in Hebrews this is inappropriate and leads to a
thoroughly incorrect interpretation of this stern warning passage.)
Hebrews 6:18
in order that by two
unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie,
we may have strong encouragement, we who have fled for refuge in
laying hold of the hope set before us.
Hebrews 10:4
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take
away sins.
Hebrews 11:6 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.
Barnes comments that
And this is as true in other things
as in religion. It is impossible for a child to please his father
unless he has confidence in him. It is impossible for a wife to please
her husband, or a husband a wife, unless they have confidence in each
other. If there is distrust and jealousy on either part, there is
discord and misery. We cannot be pleased with a professed friend
unless he has such confidence in us as to believe our declarations and
promises. The same thing is true of God. He cannot be pleased with the
man who has no confidence in him; who doubts the truth of his
declarations and promises; who does not believe that his ways are
right, or that he is qualified for universal empire. The requirement
of faith or confidence in God is not arbitrary; it is just what we
require of our children, and partners in life, and friends, as the
indispensable condition of our being pleased with them.
FOR HE WHO COMES TO GOD
MUST BELIEVE THAT HE IS: pisteusai (AAN) gar dei (3SPAI) ton
proserchomenon (PMPMSA) to theo hoti estin (3SPAI):
(7:25;
Job 21:14;
Psalms 73:28;
Isaiah 55:3;
Jeremiah 2:31;
John 14:6)
(Romans
10:14)
Comes (4334)
(proserchomai from prós = facing + érchomai = come)
means literally to come facing toward and so to approach or come near. To
come to visit or associate with. It describes the approach to or entry into
a deity’s presence. In the
Septuagint (LXX)
proserchomai was the verb used to describe the approach of the
priests to Jehovah for worship and to perform of their priestly (Levitical)
functions. But here in Hebrews, under the
New covenant, all seven uses of proserchomai refer to believers
possessing the privilege of access to God the Father
through Christ the Great High Priest.
Here are the seven
uses of this proserchomai in Hebrews...
Hebrews 4:16 (note)
Let us therefore draw
near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy
and may find grace to help in time of need. (Comment: "Let us..."
emphasizes that this privilege is always available to those under the New
Covenant. Do we really comprehend and avail ourselves of the profundity of
this privilege?)
Hebrews 7:25 (note)
Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near (present
tense = emphasizes
continual activity) to God
through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 10:1 (note)
For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not
the very form of things, can never by the same sacrifices year by year,
which they offer continually, make perfect those who draw near.
Hebrews 10:22 (note)
let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies
washed with pure water.
Hebrews 11:6 (note) And without faith it is
impossible to please Him, for he who comes (drawn near) to God
must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
Hebrews 12:18 (note) For you have not come
(drawn near) to a mountain that may be touched and to a
blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind,
Hebrews 12:22 (note) But you have come
(drawn near) to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels
Proserchomai describes disciples approaching Jesus after He spoke parable
of soils to multitude (Mt 13:10). Heb 12:18,22 4:16 7:25 10:1,22 11:6
12:18,22
In OT the ones chosen to draw near to the Holiness of God were the
PRIESTS. (Dt 21:5 "Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come
near") Believers today are PRIESTS (Rev 1:6;5:10, 1Pe 2:10, etc)
Jameison draws
attention to the aorist tense of the verb which signifies "once for
all". The belief called for is a "moral necessity".
As Robertson says
this is even true "in business also (banks, for instance)".
Witness
the "run" on banks when one's "faith" in their integrity becomes
shaken. He goes on to add that "The very existence of God is a matter
of intelligent faith."
Vincent says
"An essential obligation. In the nature of the
case...Faith in God involves belief in his existence although he is
unseen."
MacArthur comments that
"Genuine faith does not simply believe that a
divine being exists, but that the God of Scripture is the only real
and true God who exists. Not believing that God exists is equivalent
to calling Him a liar."
AND THAT HE IS
(literally "becomes") A REWARDER
(renderer of reward): kai tois ekzetousin (PAPMPD) auton misthapodotes ginetai (3SPMI):
(26;
Genesis 15:1;
Ruth 2:12;
Psalms 58:11;
Proverbs 11:18;
Matthew 5:12;
6:1,2,5,16;
Matthew 10:41,42;
Luke 6:35
)
Literally God "becomes a rewarder."
Rewarder (3406) (misthapodotes from
misthós = reward + apodídomi = render)
is the only NT example of this word which means "recompenser."
Jameison comments that on "reward" that this is what
"God proved to be
to Enoch. The reward is God Himself diligently "sought" and "walked
with" in partial communion here, and to be fully enjoyed hereafter.
Compare Ge15:1, "I am thy exceeding great reward."
Vincent comments on the difference in the simple verb "Is", noting
that it does not mean
"simply exists, but comes to pass as; proves to
be, habitually, so that he who approaches God has, through faith, the
assurance that his seeking God will result in good to himself."
Wuest adds that
"The one who comes to God, must believe two things,
first that He exists, and second, that He rewards those who diligently
seek Him. The first verb “is” is the translation of estin which speaks
of existence. The second verb “is” is the translation of ginomai. The
idea is not merely that God exists as a rewarder, but that He will
prove Himself to be a rewarder of that person who diligently seeks
Him."
OF THOSE WHO
SEEK HIM: kai tois
ekzetousin (PAPMPD): (1 Chronicles
28:9;
Psalms 105:3,4;
119:10;
Proverbs 8:17;
Song of Solomon 3:1-4;
Jeremiah 29:13,14;
Matthew 6:33;
Luke 12:31;
2 Peter 1:5,10;
3:14)
Lit. "unto them that seek him out". Those who
seek Him out are continuously (present tense) diligently seeking Him.
Seek (1567)
(ekzeteo
from ek = out or to intensify the meaning + zeteo
= to seek) means to seek out, to look for, to search diligently for
anything lost. This verb implies that the seeker exerts considerable
effort and care in learning something.
The "Linguistic
Key to the Greek New Testament" (Rienecker) notes that the preposition
"ek" in this compound
"always seems
to denote that the
seeker finds, or at least exhausts his powers of seeking."
could have used the root verb zeteo but instead he chose
ekzeteo which speaks of making diligent investigation or
determined search for something. The idea is to exert effort to find
out something.
For example,
Peter uses ekzeteo to describe the efforts of the OT prophets
writing that
"As to this salvation, the prophets
who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful
search (ekzeteo) and inquiry seeking to know what person or time
the Spirit of Christ
within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ
and the glories to follow." (see notes
1 Peter 1:10;
1:11)
In other words,
the OT prophets studied their own writings in order to know more about
the promised salvation. Though they believed and were personally saved
from their sin by that faith (through the sacrifice God would provide
in Christ), they could not fully understand what was involved in the
life and death of Jesus Christ.
So as taught in
Hebrews 11:6, God here gives mankind a very clear, logical motive to
seek diligently for Him (reward), men still do not seek Him! Esau in
some ways typifies men's seeking for God, Hebrews recording that
"that even afterwards, when he
desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no
place for repentance,
though he sought (ekzeteo) for it with tears." (Hebrews
12:17)
In other words
Esau desired God’s blessings, but he did not want God! He regretted
what he had done, but he did not repent.
Ekzeteo,
in contrast to the rare use in the NT, is used 105 times in the
Septuagint.
For example, the psalmist writes
"With all my heart I have
sought (ekzeteo) Thee. Do not let me wander from Thy
commandments...And I will walk at liberty, for I seek (ekzeteo)
Thy precepts...I am Thine, save me; for I have sought (ekzeteo)
Thy precepts." (Ps
119:10, 45, 94)
In a use that
parallels Paul's use in Romans, the psalmist writes that
"Salvation is far from
the wicked, for they do not seek (ekzeteo) Thy
statutes." (Ps
119:155)
And yet even in
the OT God was pleading with faithless Israel to
"Learn to do good; Seek (ekzeteo)
justice, Reprove the ruthless; Defend the orphan, Plead for the
widow." (Isa
1:17)
In Jeremiah God
spoke to Israel saying
"and you will seek (ekzētéō)
Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jer
29:13)
And in Amos God
says
"to the house of
Israel, "Seek (ekzētéō)
Me that you may live." (Amos
5:4)
Zechariah
prophesies that the day will come (in context a reference to the
Millennium) when Gentiles from one of the world's cities
"will go to another saying, "Let us
go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek (ekzētéō)
the LORD of hosts; I will also go. So many peoples and mighty nations
(the Gentiles) will come to seek (ekzeteo) the LORD of hosts in
Jerusalem and to entreat
the favor of the LORD." (Zech
8:21-22)
Zechariah's use
of ekzētéō parallels James' quotation of
Amos 9:11-12 in arguing his case for
the fact that Gentiles could be saved without becoming Jewish
converts, declaring
"In order that the rest of mankind
may seek (ekzētéō) the Lord and all the Gentiles who are
called by My name." (Acts
15:17).