Hebrews 11 is called “Faith’s Hall of Fame.” Men and women of strength and courage who believed in God exhibited their faith by their actions.
J. Howe, in discussing “faith and works,” said, “There is a man in a boat, and he has two oars, one is ‘faith’ and the other ‘works.’ If he uses only one, he will go around in a circle. The only way for him to go forward is to use both at the same time.”[1]
Faith is active; it is something we can do. Works are active; they are something we can do. Grace is passive; we can do nothing to deserve it or earn it. Works alone will not save; faith alone will not save; grace alone will not save; it takes all three to save us. Works are a direct result of faith and grace. Grace is a gift. “Unmerited favor” — just because God loves us and has promised his grace. (Rom. 5:15-21).
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
“The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” (Deut. 7:6-9).
When we were born, sinless and pure, we belonged to God. When we reached the point where we exercised our free will to sin, we sold our souls to Satan. There was nothing we could do to redeem ourselves. Like the Israelites in bondage, only the Lord can redeem us. He bought us back to present us holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation. (Col. 1:18-22).
The beautiful fragrance of Christ’s self-sacrifice and offering for our sin becomes more meaningful as we see in the Old Testament, (our pattern of things to come), the way of sacrificial atonement. A personal response is necessary. We will offer ourselves as spiritual sacrifices to show our love for God and one another. (Rom. 3:25; 1 Cor. 5:7; Eph. 1:7; 5:2; Phil. 4:18; Heb. 7:2; 10:12, 14; 1 John 2:2; 4:10).
[1] O. W. Hearn, Doctrinal Illustrations, The Standard Publishing Company, Copyright 1941.