The Wages of Faith - Hebrews 11:33-38

And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

As it has been said; faith is a principle of power and has enabled men to receive the grace of God under the most dangerous of circumstances. The love of God is a powerful thing, so powerful that hundreds of thousands have died in  martyrdom in their personal quest of faith and love. It is said that the great St. Augustine had 400,000 fellow Christians slaughtered for believing in the "heresy" of the resurrection. Fox's book of martyrs attests to many of the struggles and triumphs of other martyrs. It seems that at certain times, a Christian's most likely demise was to be killed as a martyr. And most counted it a privilege.

Christians are called to take His name upon themselves - His name. (This is exactly what it means to be called a Christian.) And as such, to become His servants. Unfortunately, the wages of the world for being a Christian are not always good. But fortunately, the wages of God are eternal and unfathomable. This is part of what faith means; that doing what's right is always worth it, no matter the cost, because God is the great equalizer, and will compensate a hundredfold when we are only faithful.

Obedience Through Faith - Hebrews 11:17-19

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

I can only imagine what it must have been like for Abraham when he had received the command to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. I don't know what kind of agony he endured between receiving the command and carrying it out. But he must have had a terrible time understanding God's reasons for making the command. After all, Isaac was his heir through whom he was promised numberless posterity. We also know that Isaac was a good and faithful son, who assisted his father in carrying out the command to take his own life. The 100+ year-old Abraham would never have been able to bind and sacrifice him without his submission.

He must have had sleepless and tear-filled nights. But the miraculous part about Abraham is that he carried out the command without faltering. No matter how terrible and illogical the command seemed, Abraham trusted God completely. When most of us would have schemed up some other plan, Abraham simply trusted in the plan he was given.

I can't imagine how he must have felt raising the knife, knowing that he would never see his beloved son again in this life; but the joy he felt when the angel descended to tell him that it was a test must have been exquisite. To pass such a test from God is a testimony of the greatness of Abraham. Such faith is the envy of every man of God.

The lesson to learn here is to never second-guess a commandment from God, no matter how illogical it may seem. Obedience is the first law of heaven. Never let your ego get so big as to believe that your way is better than His way. To the faithful is always given the understanding of why the commandment is given, but to the disobedient there is only darkness; and they may never know what their joy or reward would have been for obedience.

In my own life, I have received instruction from Him which was hard to accept, but when I followed in obedience, no matter how illogical the command, I have always been blessed with joy to understand the consequences had I chosen another path. Not to say that I always make the right choice - because it isn't easy - but I can attest that when we do, the blessings are sublime.

Strangers and Pilgrims - Hebrews 11:8,10,13-16

By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. ... For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. ... These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.

Abraham was a man of great faith. So much faith that he was able to completely trust God under the most trying circumstances. The first of the 10 trials of Abraham was constant wandering. Indeed, the name Hebrew literally means displaced person. But Abraham did not wander aimlessly, nor without a guide. As the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews suggests, he and his claimed to be strangers and pilgrims, because they in fact sought a country - not of the physical type... What they sought was nothing less than the Kingdom of God. Indeed, Abraham's motto could be summarized as: The Kingdom of God or Bust!

Therefore no trial was too great for Abraham. A few examples should suffice.

Despite the promise of a posterity in number like the sands of the sea or the stars in heaven, Sarah didn't conceive Isaac until Abraham was 100 years old. Yet Abraham still believed God would keep his promises. Also, consider that although he was almost killed by idolatrous men (Ref: Abraham in the fiery furnace; Abraham under the knife of the priest of Pharaoh) he did not resist the command to sacrifice Isaac.

Abraham's trust was absolutely unwavering. After rescuing his nephew from the raiding kings, the survivors from Sodom offered him their goods to which his reply was:

And Abram answered the kings of Sodom, saying, As the Lord liveth who created heaven and earth, and who redeemed my soul from all affliction, and who delivered me this day from my enemies, and gave them into my hand, I will not take anything belonging to you, ... For the Lord my God in whom I trust said unto me, Thou shalt lack nothing, for I will bless thee in all the works of thy hands.
Jasher 16:14,15

Abraham cared not for lucre; nor for the praise of men. His care and principles were set in trusting in and pleasing God. The trials of Abraham were many, but his faith was proportional.

Simplicity of Faith - Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

It is impossible to please Him without faith. This saying is true. Jesus pointed this out to the Pharisees many times as we read in John 5:45:

How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?

Faith requires us to forget about what the world thinks and focus on what the Father thinks. It is to have our focus on what He wants - it is to endeavor to please Him and only Him.

King Benjamin gives us simple yet wise counsel:

Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. ... Believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; ... remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own nothingness, and his goodness and long-suffering towards you, ... and humble yourselves even in the depths of humility, calling on the name of the Lord daily, ... And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true. (Mosiah 4:9-12)

The most fundamental action of faith is to simply try to believe and do what is right. It sounds simplistic, but it really works. It doesn't require any grand gestures, just patience, humility and a willing heart. But to those who seek Him, the reward is great. This seems to be the sentiment of Abraham who said:

Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee; (Abraham 2:12)

A Progression of Faith - Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The old saying seeing is believing, is not the motto of faith. This type of thinking tends to conclude that one must actually see something before allowing oneself to believe it. The phrase should more correctly be rendered: seeing is knowledge, or seeing is proof. Since it is very possible to believe something without actually seeing it. Thus the related phrase: I won't believe it until I see it, shows a lack of faith.

Now, faith and belief, while related are not the same thing either. To paraphrase James E. Talmage: belief deals with logic, but faith deals with intuition. Or in other words, belief is reconciled in the head, while faith is reconciled in the heart.

I may believe in God, based on logical evidences from things I have read or experienced, while still having no faith. To have faith in God means that I believe in Him, and trust in him as well. While belief may cause me to think in a certain way, faith will cause me to act a certain way. Abel (mentioned in v. 4) believed in God, but it was faith that caused him to act - e.g. offer the sacrifice of his flocks. While Cain also believed in God, he did not have faith because he offered his offering grudgingly.

A man may well profess belief in God and yet do nothing about it, while a man of faith acts according to his belief. A man may believe that God has the ability to save him from the fiery furnace, while a man of faith steps into the furnace, leaving the consequences to God. Note Shadrach, Mesach and Abed-nego's response to threat of incineration was:

... our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. (Daniel 3:17,18)

Note that I highlighted the phrase "but if not". This implies that while the three youths did not know the will of God concerning their fate, they were assured and had faith that doing the right thing was more important than avoiding death. That is what real faith is about.

The prophets Alma and Ether elaborate on this principle of believing without seeing. Ether states:

...faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. (Ether 12:6)

In other words, the man of faith will actually receive confirmation (e.g. seeing) after his faith is tried. Or put another way: faith is required before the miracle is accomplished. It is often said that the children of Israel actually walked into the water before the Red Sea parted. Whether true or not, it demonstrates this principle.

Alma in his faith as a seed allegory, tells us that the consummation of our faith is knowledge:

And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true. [and after the trial and consummation of your faith] your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand. (Alma 32:21,34 comment added)

In this manner, we move as it were step by step from one principle of faith to the next, a cycle of acting in faith, seeing the result, gaining knowledge and then moving on to the next principle of faith, etc.

...he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. (Doctrine and Covenants 50:24)

Faith in Him Who was Promised - Hebrews 10:21-23

And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

Here, Paul is alluding to an ancient ordinance that was performed in the tabernacle and later in the temple:

And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even. (Numbers 19:19)

Speaking of how the rites of the law of Moses and animal sacrifice were supplanted by the sacrifice of the Savior, Paul shows how the old law was preparatory to the new one.
In v.5-7 Paul quotes Psalm 40:6-8 as the words of the Lord:

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Paul further explains that in fulfilling the law, Jesus, having sacrificed himself for sin, now acts as the high priest as we would see in the tabernacle or the temple under the old law of Moses. Thinking of Him in that role, we are to  "draw near" as would an ancient worshiper in the tabernacle; and have "our hearts sprinkled" and our "bodies washed".

The difference now that Jesus is the high priest is that this is not a mere anticipatory formality, but real, because His real sacrifice was performed.

Paul uses this allegory to show the Hebrews at the time (in a way that they would understand) how Jesus fulfilled the law and opened the door for full faith and repentance. The important part of the allegory is to see Jesus as the master who we can trust "with faith unwavering" because of His sacrifice on our behalf.

Faith and Patience - Hebrews 6:11-16

And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Abraham is often set forth as an example of great faith and patience. These two qualities go hand-in-hand since it takes patience to develop the gift of faith, and it takes an eye of faith to have patience and endure. Although faith may grow quickly in a relatively short amount of time, it may still take a very long time for it to be fully consummated. Abraham wandered many years on borrowed land before receiving covenants from the Lord. The word Hebrew literally means wanderer or displaced person.

But the miraculous thing about Abraham's faith was exactly that it was accompanied by patience. He trusted in the Lord, year in and year out because of faith combined with patience. Upon a partial consummation of many years of diligent faith, Abraham remarked:

Now, after the Lord had withdrawn from speaking to me, and withdrawn his face from me, I said in my heart: Thy servant has sought thee earnestly; now I have found thee;

 Having faith is not easy, and in many cases contradicts our would-be logic, but the quest for faith wasn't meant to be a walk in the park. It is for building grit and character. It is for making people who are worthy of Zion. The trick is to have patience and joy in that journey of faith because there are little miracles and wonders dispersed along the way. His plan for each individual isn't meant to be boring, but an adventure of the grandest sort.

Faith and Repentance - Hebrews 6:1-3

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.

Paul outlays six principles that "let us go on to perfection": repentance, faith, baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection and judgment. Paul says these are a foundation that he hopes his audience won't have to re-build. Which I take to mean that he wants to make perfectly clear that these principles should be well understood by all Christians.

"Repentance from dead works" is an interesting phrase. It appears that the original meaning was "works of death" or more appropriately; "works that lead to death". The meaning being that certain works (aka. sins) lead to spiritual death. Note that repentance is not possible without first faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The reason is that sin has effects that we cannot overcome on our own. For example, one may refrain from the repetition of some reprehensible act, but the psychological effects still remain. Feelings of guilt, unworthiness, self-hatred, etc. are effects that often accompany sin. Not to mention that our acts may cause similar scarring in others who were affected by our actions. In many cases, some acts are impossible to make full reparations for.

Enter Jesus Christ who said through his prophet Isaiah:

Come now, and let us reason together...: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Repentance is put into full effect by the atonement of Jesus Christ. He is the only one who "suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance". (Alma 7:13) He is the one that can take someone horrible and turn them into someone wonderful. Turn the reprobate into the upright, and the dross into treasure. As Isaiah said: "Beauty for ashes".

But how is the miracle done? It is done through faith in Christ, followed by sincere repentance; which means not only repenting of certain sins, but turning away from sin altogether. Only then can His atonement take effect:

Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God. And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.

Perhaps I will have to leave explanation of the remaining principles of baptism, laying on of hands, resurrection and judgment for another post.