The Perfecter of Our Faith

Hebrews 12:1-3 KJV
1. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

Faith.  What is it?  Have we got it? Where do we get it?  Do we need it?  How do we keep it?

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The essence of faith consists in believing and receiving what God has revealed to us in His Holy Word.  It is such a simple concept. 

But we have faith in every one other than who we ought to, Christ.  If our Pastor, our spouse, our parent tells us something, most likely we’ll believe it.  Whether we’ve got tangible proof or hard evidence of it often doesn’t matter.  We trust the person so we have faith that what they are telling us is true.  We believe it and receive it. Worry, anxiety, doubt, these are my Achilles heel.  They put my faith into a tailspin every time I’m faced with a new hardship.  Why? Because I don’t look to Jesus in faith when faced with my problems.  I want to talk about them more than I want to pray about them.  I want to call Brandon or my Momma first when what I need to be doing is turning to God for my comfort and my answers. 

Verse 2 of Hebrews chapter 12 tells us that Jesus is the author and the finisher of our faith.  I moseyed on over to dictionary.com and looked up the definitions of author and finisher. An author is the maker of anything, the creator, the originator.  Finisher means to complete and to perfect in detail.  I’ll let that sink in a minute and you’ll be shoutin’ just like I was.  When faced with anything in our lives we are to look unto Jesus who is the creator and originator of our faith and who will complete it and perfect it in detail. Christ is where we get our faith.

Do we really need faith?  If the definition of faith means that it exists whether we can see it or not, why should we worry about having it?  Hebrews chapter 11 not only tells us what faith is but it gives many examples of the great heroes of faith in the Bible and their acts of faith.  In verses 5 and 6 we read about Enoch.

Hebrews 11:5-6 KJV
5. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
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.

I want nothing more in this life than to bring glory and honor to my Savior so that I may please Him.  I cannot do this without faith.  He tells us plainly that without faith it is impossible to please Him.  Enoch so pleased Him that he walked with God and did not see death.  God took him to be with Him in heaven because of his testimony.  Can we aspire to the same? 

Now that we understand what faith is, that we have a definite lack of it, where to get it, and that we most certainly need it, how do we keep it?  First we must lay aside every weight and set aside the sin that doth so easily beset us as Hebrews 12:1 tells us.  Then in verse 3 we are told that when we are wearied and faint in our minds to consider Him. Consider what of Him? Consider what he endured for you and me.  He endured the cross, despising the shame and the contraction of the sin against His perfect self, and is set down at that right hand of the throne of God.  John 10:15 and 18 tell us that He willingly laid down His life for us so that we should have eternal life through Him.  Let no man deceive you into thinking that he was forced onto that cross.  He was a willing sacrifice, taking all the sin and depravity of the world into Himself, to become our Intercessor.  

If we cannot have faith in Him, how can we have faith in anyone?