Reply To: Grace and Faith Discussion Board 1

[Soton Iselobhor]

Faith is powerful and produces results. Faith ALWAYS receives the victory. These truths can be deduced from several scriptures. Jesus speaking in Matthew 17:20 -21 says that whoever has faith, the size of a mustard seed, can move a mountain. Jesus goes on to say that nothing shall be impossible for such a person possessing faith. In Mark 11:23 Jesus also reveals that when we speak in faith, we shall have what we say. Several other witnesses in the bible such as the woman with the issue of blood and the Centurion amongst others who displayed great faith had undeniable results of their faith. All these from the New Testament, support the truth that faith always receives the victory.
For testimonies of faith in the Old Testament, we have the Hebrews 11. A powerful chapter that recounts the faith of numerous Old Testament figures. The author lists examples of individuals who demonstrated remarkable faith in God, even in the face of great challenges and uncertainties. These include Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, and many others.
The chapter emphasizes that these individuals lived by faith, believing in God’s promises even when they could not see their immediate fulfillment.
According to Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, “…these all, having obtained a good report through faith, they were all commended and approved on account of their confidence in God.”
This discuss however seeks to highlight verse 39 of Hebrews 11. At first glance, Hebrews 11:39 might seem to contradict the idea that faith always produces victory. After all, it states that these faithful individuals “did not receive the promise.” That is, they did not receive the fulfilment of the promise or did not receive all that was promised. They all still looked forward to some future blessings;
They all heard of the promises made to Abraham of a heavenly rest, and of the promise of the Messiah, for this was a constant tradition; but they died without having seen this Anointed of the Lord.
To balance out the seeming controversy between the truth about faith and the fact that the heroes of faith in the Old Testament did not receive the promise, we need to understand what kind of “victory” faith produces and what “promise” is being referred to here.
The nature of faith’s victory is that it consists in what has been promised and what has been made available by God in grace. Pastor Nkechi Ene, in her book “My Faith Like My Father’s”, had this to say:
”The efficacy of your faith is revealed in the availability of Grace. In other words, we can say that faith like your father’s is only possible when there is a revelation of the grace supplied by the Father.”
The “promise” mentioned in Hebrews 11:39 refers to the ultimate fulfilment of God’s redemptive plan in Christ. The Old Testament faithful didn’t see the coming of the Messiah or the establishment of the New Covenant, but their faith was still counted as righteousness.
This is evident in Hebrews 11:10, which says of Abraham: “For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
To put it simply and directly, the Old Testament saints walked in faith in believing in God, holding on to His Word, and experiencing victories in great deliverances and miracles. The ultimate victory of faith which came through the death and resurrection of Jesus however, was not seen by the Old Testament Christians because Christ was not manifest and redemption had not been made available by Grace.
Looking from a different perspective, we may also say that the saints old did not receive the promise experientially but received the victory associated because they believed in the coming Messiah even though they had not seen him.