Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
This is an oft-quoted, but not as oft-examined verse of scripture. We could call it the Bible’s best definition of faith.
The first thing we notice is that faith is real; faith is substance or (as it is defined) “that which has actual existence.”
Faith is not just a feeling or an emotion, though its presence may be seen in these characteristics.
It goes beyond that which simply brings internal assurance, because it always prompts action of the will.
It is something God gives and something we choose to embrace. The very fact that it exists is evidence that God is real.
Critics of our Savior and His word will set it against fact, as though faith and fact are incompatible or in opposition. Nothing could be further from the truth.
It is faith in Christ, in fact, that brings about the relationship that opens our eyes to the facts of the scripture.
These facts are spiritually discerned and faith makes them clear.
We look forward in hope, but that hope is made real by faith.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”