Today we come to that wonderful 11th chapter of Hebrews—the faith chapter. If you review back over what we’ve covered so far, there’s an interesting question that arises: Why does Paul embark on this discussion of faith at this point in this letter—when we consider who he is, who he’s writing to, the motivations that caused him to start the letter in the first place? But it does seem as though chapter 11 is a digression on the theme he raises at the end of chapter 10. Remember?
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
It does not seem as though Paul wrote most of his letters by hand. He wrote standing up, and had this poor scribe over in the corner trying to keep up as Paul strung his thoughts together. After stating that the just shall live by faith, he moves to address a logical next question: What is faith? Faith
is another one of those words that has been overused to the point of abuse; or, rather, overused to the point of losing meaning, and this chapter presents a chance to rediscover it. So grab another cup of coffee, and let’s dive in to Hebrews, chapter 11.
