Is Your Faith Living and Active?, Part 2 – Hebrews 11:8-9

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. 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… Heb 11:8-9

Faith enables us to obey, trust, and walk with the Lord through all circumstances. As we continue to consider what Abraham accomplished by faith, let us carefully examine our lives to find the same evidence of having a living and active faith.

By faith, Abraham saw what he previously could not see. 

By faith, Abraham- whose family was once in the business of selling idols- saw the ultimate reality of God’s kingdom. (Jsh 24:2) Though he was a prosperous man, he considered himself a pilgrim in the world, moving from one foreign place to another, until God would call him to his eternal home. He directed himself towards heaven as he walked with God and followed wherever God led him.

If you have living and active faith, you see the world as a temporary place. Christians are heaven bound people, living on God’s borrowed time. Every believer was once blind, but now by faith, he sees and looks forward to a treasure worth more than all the world. (Matt 13:44) While unbelievers desire to settle here forever without God, believers lose joy when they forget the hope of heaven and concentrate only on this present life.

By faith, Abraham knew he had a heavenly home. 

The hope of heaven sustained and strengthened Abraham’s faith as he sojourned through the world. We live with the same hope as Abraham, because Jesus has made us citizens of heaven. (Phil 3:20) Therefore, we must seek the things above and live a simple life on earth by getting rid of the unnecessary things that distract us from living for God and for others. (Col 3:1-2) A simple life aims to be God-centered, putting all things under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Those who live simply are generous, and they do not worry about the things of the world, but seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Living a simple life is not asceticism, nor is it about being rich or poor; it is a matter of the heart- if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. (Matt 6:30-32; Phil 4:11-13; Matt 6:24)

By faith, Abraham lived wisely.

Abraham was able to rightly count the cost of losing the world in order to gain heaven. By faith, he knew to avoid the judgment that was to come, and lived in self-denial to gain a heavenly reward. (Heb 9:27; 2Tim 4:7-8) This is a true test of faith. Abraham received the same promise that we have received from God- the promise of salvation in Jesus Christ. (Gen 12:7; Gal 3:16) If you believe in the same living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and share the same faith, then you will live in the same way as they did.

Throughout Scripture, all believers suffered under the name of Jesus. They refused to live like the world, but rather went against the world and embraced Jesus’s suffering. (1Pet 1:1-2) Those who suffer for Christ in the world are the ones who treasure God’s promise to heal and restore all things in heaven. (Rev 21:4) They count the worth of their heavenly inheritance far more valuable than anything in this world, even their very lives. Therefore, examine yourself. What kind of life have I lived so far? The life that seeks and treasures the kingdom of God reveals a faith that is truly living and active.