IDEA: The writer of the letter to the Hebrews defines faith by describing its results.

TEXT: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1).

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand the meaning of faith as seen in Hebrews.

Hebrews 11:1 is sometimes described as a "definition of faith": Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

When you talk about a "definition," what do you mean?

When people talk about faith, what could they mean?

I. Faith can be a "confession" like the Apostles Creed (Galatians 1:23), describing the content of the faith.

We sometimes speak disparagingly about "head knowledge." Is a doctrinal statement unimportant?

Would you buy the statement, "You haven't preached the gospel until you have given people something to believe"?

When people "change their faith" or "leave the faith," what might that mean?

Is that what we have in Hebrews 11:1?

II. If you say that "Mildred came to faith last week," what does that mean?

Faith has an object, Jesus Christ (John 20:31).

The Bible proclaims faith in Jesus Christ: "You haven't preached the gospel until you have given people Someone to believe."

Is it possible for men and women to "lose their faith"?

Is this what the writer of Hebrews means by "faith"?

III. A person can live by faith which is not merely a matter of becoming a Christian but of living in a relationship of trust in God.

A relationship depends on faith, that is, trust in another person.

Faith is never absolute, if I mean by that there is never any reason at any time to doubt.

It is true in our relationships. The other person can never give me absolute assurance that he or she is trustworthy. It's when I see things that make me doubt, I choose to believe in the other person.

There are things that happen that cause me to doubt God and his goodness and wisdom. Yet I trust beyond what is seen.

All the characters in Hebrews 11 are people who had reason to doubt but chose to live by faith.