Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
We’re
surrounded. Surrounded by so many things
in life - some good, some not so good.
Some things that are encouraging to our faith in Christ, some things
that harm it. What kind of things in
life surround you? Bad health? Mental health issues? Is death near? Difficult times? Spiritual difficulties? Financial troubles? Temptations to live as if
you’re not baptized? So many things get
in the way of our spiritual race that surround us each day that it’s tempting
to give up and stop running.
But
the writer to the Hebrews says that you’re surrounded by “a great cloud of witnesses.” Faithful
witnesses. Bold witnesses. Witnesses who are examples to us of what
faith outwardly looks like. And each had
their own challenges, their own crosses in life, just like you.
Chapter
11 of Hebrews is sometimes called, “The Faith Hall of Fame” because of the
constant refrain, “By faith.” Abraham
was given a promise in his son Isaac, yet he was commanded to sacrifice him,
which he willingly would have done.
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. Moses would rather be mistreated with the
people of God than live in the lap of luxury.
He infuriated, arguably, the most powerful man in the world by leading
Israel out of Egypt. Rahab risked her
neck by helping the spies of Israel.
Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den for his faith.
They
and many others faced persecution, imprisonment, even death for their faith in
God’s promise that He makes through His crucified Son. I’m sure there are people that you have
personally known who were examples of faith to you. That’s why the Church still has feast days,
so that we can remember the example of faith that these Biblical saints set for
us. Sometimes that witness is boldly
following God’s command. Sometimes that
witness is enduring the whip for the sake of the faith. Sometimes that witness is even spilling their
own blood. We’re surrounded by this
great cloud of witnesses by these Old Testament people who gave witness to
faith in God’s promise to save them through the Savior.
What
we can plainly see from this “Faith Hall of Fame” is that faith is a difficult
thing; in fact it’s a miracle that we have it and that it’s sustained. It’s difficult because of all the other
things that surround us in life: poor health, poor financial situation, death,
our own sin. Not to mention the devil,
the world, and our own sinful nature, which work against our faith in Christ
constantly. If it were up to us to keep
and preserve faith, we would have failed long ago.
But
our faith is sustained, not by any doing of our own, not by work of our own
willpower. Faith is created and
sustained by God’s Word, which points us to Jesus. That’s who the writer of Hebrews points us
to, “Therefore, since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin
which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set
before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.”
As encouraging as these Old Testament people
are, they weren’t saved by their works or anything else that they did. Abraham didn’t gain any “salvation points” by
being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Moses isn’t in heaven because he defied Pharaoh and led the people of
Israel to freedom. Rahab wasn’t saved by
helping the spies. These things they did
because of, as a result of their faith that was already there. They’re saved by the same way you and I are,
through Jesus. We have faith in the
Savior who was given, they had faith in the same Savior who was promised.
True
faith is focused in the person and work of Jesus Christ the promised Savior, no
matter if you’re Abraham, Isaac, David, Matthew, John, Paul, you or me. Faith doesn’t look at its works and say, “See
what I’ve done”, but it looks to the cross and says, “See what He’s done for
me.” Faith is the hand that grasps onto
the promises of God and holds fast to them and says, “This promise is for
me.” True faith grasps on to the cross
of Jesus and says, “This forgiveness, this salvation, this Jesus is for
me.”
So
here it is; the clear unadulterated Gospel.
The thing which creates and sustains your faith: Jesus Christ, the very
Son of God, the only Savior was sent from heaven to take on our flesh, to live
for you, to die for you, and to be raised again for you. For your imperfect faith, to surround you
with His love, grace, peace, and forgiveness.
For those things that seem to be a stumbling block: sickness, death,
sin, guilt. Your faith is sustained in
Him who died for you. Hear it. Believe it.
It’s yours.
He’s
your Savior, the one who came to rescue you from sin and death, and to give you
forgiveness and everlasting life in their place. Jesus did this by going to the cross for you,
shedding his blood for you, that you would have these gifts. Jesus did this for you by rising from the
dead, showing the power of his victory, which will be your victory also, on the
day when Christ returns and raises you to eternal life. These gifts are yours by grace. Receive them by faith. Faith takes a strangle hold of the promises of
God, and all these promises that are wrapped up in Christ and says, “For
me! Forgiveness for me, poor sinner that
I am!”
Now with this gift
of faith, you’ll be able to make it through all the challenges and obstacles that
surround you in life. In spite of all
the adversities and the setbacks and let-downs and the “How come all this bad
stuff is happening to me?”–in spite of all that, your faith in God’s goodness won’t
be destroyed. Tested, yes, but not
destroyed. God is for you and with you,
even when it doesn’t look like it. The
ultimate proof is in the cross of Jesus. This is the one thing you can hold on to, when
everything else is falling apart.
So,
on your spiritual race, refresh yourself in the waters of baptism, return there
each day. Take sustenance in His body
and blood given and shed for you. Take
encouragement in the Gospel, Jesus dies and lives for you. All this so that you can run the race with
endurance, with the cloud of witnesses giving their testimony to the Savior, so
that you, too, can live by faith, grasping hold of the
Savior’s salvation gift, hold it up to your heart and say, “For me. This gift God gives for me.” Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life
everlasting. Amen.
