The Righteous Live by Faith 因信得生
“My righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him. – Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.”
Author: Pastor Andrew Xu
The righteous shall live by faith. This scripture is a big wake up call to me. What is faith? The author of Hebrews continues to explain in chapter 11, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation.” Let us learn from these verses:
1. This faith is the conviction of things not seen
Our modus operandi is by what we see. The things that we can’t see are deemed to be empty and vain. Only when we can see and touch it that our hearts are assured. Singaporeans are masters when it comes to this principle. We always ask for evidence and be pragmatic when we make any kinds of decisions. Therefore, we chase after things that we can see and touch to make us feel secure in life. Our faith is built upon these material possessions (money, status, property, and other material possessions) and not on God. God takes no pleasure in such people. In 2 Corinthians 5:7, Paul exhorts the church of Corinth to “live by faith and not by sight”.
Some people live by sight because they don’t have a close relationship with God, and they cannot see the spiritual realities. Some outrightly rejected seeing spiritual realities because of their hardened hearts. God is the one who created reality, He is above reality, He is the reality of realities. Choosing to put our faith in God is the most secured and real decision you can make. How do we have this kind of faith? Firstly, understand God’s word in the bible (His will, commands and promises). The next step is to chose to trust in God’s word and not the things that we can see and touch. Lastly, obey God and act in obedience.
2. This faith is the assurance of things hoped for
We often have many hopes and wishes. We hope for a happy family, obedient kids, more wealth, new house, new car, work promotion, health, etc. Some of these came true for us. But the author of Hebrews wasn’t talking about such earthly hopes in this passage, but an eternal hope that is coming. The whole of Hebrews is about turning our eyes from the realities of today to the spiritual realities of the eternal. This spiritual reality is where the true worth is and what we have today is but an imperfect “copy” of what is to come.
When we can’t get what we hope for in life, we must know that what is to come is more and better than what we can ever imagine. When we get what we had hoped for in life, we must know that this is but an imperfect “copy” of what is to come. Let us hope for the perfection of what is to come in eternity so that we will be motivated to run after what we hope for in eternity. This hope in the spiritual eternity is from our faith in God.
Dear brothers and sisters, the righteous live by faith. With faith in God, God is not pleased with us, for without faith, it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)
“我的义人必因信得生，如果他后退，我的心就不喜悦他。… 信就是对所盼望的事的把握，是还没有看见的事的明证。因着这信心，古人得到了称许。”
作者：许燕杰传道
义人是因信心而得生命。这段经文给我很大的提醒。信心是什么呢？希伯来书的作者接续在11章的开头就解释，“信就是对盼望的事的把握，是还没有看见的事的明证。”从这段经文，我们能够得出两个的学习：
1. 这信心是那看不见之事的明证
我们通常行事的法则都是眼见为实，看不见的事都是属于虚假的、不确定的。看得到，摸得着我们才会安心。新加坡人更是将这法则发挥得淋漓尽致。我们凡事都求凭证、求务实。做任何生活决定都是以可看见为标准。因此，我们拼命追求看得见，摸得着的东西来给我们安全感。我们的信心便建立于物质的产业（金钱、地位、地产和其他拥有的物质产业）而不是神。这是神所不喜悦的。哥林多后书5:7，保罗对哥林多教会的劝勉也是如此“我们行事是凭着信心，不是凭着眼见”。
凭着“眼见”生活的人有些是因为没有亲近神而看不见属灵的“现实”，有一些则是心里刚硬选择了拒绝那看不见的属灵“现实”。神是那创造“现实”的上帝，祂在“现实”之上，是最“现实”的“现实”。选择将信心放在上帝身上是最现实最稳妥的。如何有这样的信心呢？首先，明白神在圣经中所说的话（神的心意、命令和应许）。下一步就是选择信靠神的话而不是看得见、摸得着的东西。最后，顺服并执行神的话。
2. 这信心是那所盼望之事的把握
我们都有许多的祈求和盼望。我们盼望家庭美满、孩子听话、有更多的财富、搬新居、买新车、职位升迁、更健康等。有些人也的确如愿以偿，但希伯来书作者所提的“盼望”并不是以上这些世上的盼望，而是哪将来永恒的盼望。整本希伯来书的用意就是要将我们的眼目从今天的现实转向那最终的“属灵现实”，而这属灵的现实才是真正有价值的。今天我们所能拥有的不过是将来所要得着的“仿制”而已。
当我们今生得不到一些我们属世的渴望时，我们要知道那最终的将是超越我们所求所想的。当我们如愿以偿时，我们要知道我们今天所得着的只是将来那最好的“仿制”。让我们所盼望的是那将来所要得着的美好。我们今生就会努力奔向那将来所望之事。这种对“将来盼望之事”的把握是因着我们对神的信心而来。
亲爱的弟兄姐妹，义人必因信得生。对神没有信心，神就不喜悦我们。唯有对神有信心才能取悦我们的神。（希伯来书 11:6）