Perhaps you’ve heard about “The Faith Hall of Fame” (Hebrews 11:1-40). It’s a lengthy list of Old Testament heroes and the mighty deeds our great God accomplished through them. Children’s Bibles could derive their tables of contents from this chapter, and many believers come here for inspiration and encouragement. And for good reason. But how many, like Abraham, wander into this text, not knowing where they are going? And how many of our good intentions fall like the walls of Jericho by the author’s encircling, and clearly stated, intentions? And how many come away with assurance of things hoped for, and conviction of things not seen in the text?
Context matters. If we learn to read the Bible for what it is—and not as a collection of independently assembled inspirational stories—we’ll discover that some of our most familiar passages don’t actually mean what we’ve always assumed.
psmckiernan (2011), Creative Commons
The Big Idea
You don’t have to dig far into articles or commentaries on Hebrews to get the letter’s* main idea. Few would dispute it: Jesus Christ is superior. He is:
- superior to angels (chapters 1-2)
- superior to Moses (chapter 3)
- superior to Joshua’s rest (chapter 4)
- superior to the Levitical priesthood (chapters 5-7)
- superior to the old covenant (chapter 8)
- superior to the tabernacle (chapter 9)
- superior to animal sacrifices (chapter 10)
The Main Application
As the text concludes a whirlwind review of the Old Testament legal and sacrificial system, it pulls everything together. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places” (Heb 10:19) by superior blood, through a superior way, with a superior priest, “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb 10:22). “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope” (Heb 10:23) and stir one another up to love and good works.
Remember, there is no sacrifice for deliberate sin. This was the case under Moses’ law, and it remains the case under the Son of God and the Spirit of grace (Heb 10:26-30).
Wow! Sound harsh? Sound unchristian?
Perhaps. Unless you pay attention to which deliberate sin it is that cannot be covered by any sacrifice, including Christ’s. It was mentioned in Heb 10:19-25, but he brings it up again:
But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings… Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward… We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. (Heb 10:32-39)
The sin that cannot be covered by sacrifice is the sin of throwing away one’s confidence in Christ. The sin of shrinking back from enlightenment regarding Jesus’ superiority. The sin of not holding fast the confession of hope in Jesus. The sin, that is, of lacking faith.
In other words, the only people who will be in hell are those who refuse to believe in Jesus Christ as their true rest, true tabernacle, true priest, and true sacrifice. No sacrifice or religious duty could ever rescue such people. But those who maintain their believing loyalty to Christ will receive the promised reward. Don’t ever let this go; it’s not worth it. With such loyalty, you can endure any suffering.
The Hall of Fame
And on this note, the discourse launches into a litany of Old Testament examples of people whose primary hope and assurance came not from their own performance of religious duty (temple, priest, sacrifice), but from the promise of God to preserve and reward them through hardship. But the text doesn’t want us to look at these examples. No, their eyes are on us (Heb 11:39-12:1), so that our eyes can be on him (Heb 12:2-3).
The litany nearly becomes a mantra that you can’t miss: “By faith… By faith… By faith… By faith,” eighteen times. Then a “through faith” (Heb 11:33) and a “through their faith” (Heb 11:39) are thrown in for a little variety at the end.
When reading through the faith hall of fame, we sometimes miss the fact that it’s a faith hall of fame. It’s not a works hall of fame. It’s not a list of strong people who did great things for God. It’s a list of weak people who trusted that God could do great things for them. We don’t have to try to imitate the heroes of old. They’re cheering us on, encouraging us to fix our eyes on Jesus. He endured hostility so he could win us as a prize. Can we endure a bit of ridicule to win others to him as well?
Context matters.
*While it’s obvious that Hebrews comes in the section of “letters” in the New Testament, there is good reason to believe that this “letter” is really a transcribed sermon with an appended P.S. (Heb 13:22-25). But that’s another post for another day.
Leave a Reply