In this book faith is first mentioned in chapters three and four. In 4:2 we see that faith is the unique way to receive the word of the gospel. The proper gospel is the gospel of bequests. If anyone would receive the gospel of bequests, he must have faith. Suppose someone would offer you a document which said that a large amount of money had been deposited in your bank account. In order to receive this document, you must have faith. If you do not have faith, you will say, “This is just a piece of paper. It doesn’t mean anything to me.” When we preach the gospel, we must infuse people with faith. The power of the proper gospel preaching is that people are infused with faith to such an extent that they believe whatever we tell them. People must have faith if they are to receive the word of the gospel.
Hebrews 6:1 speaks of “faith toward God.” Since we cannot see God, we must take Him by faith. Although God is great and wonderful, some people say, “As far as I am concerned, God is nothing.” If we have faith, God is everything; if we do not have faith, He is nothing to us. Whenever we minister God to people, we must be able to infuse them with faith; otherwise, whatever we minister to them will be in vain. If people are to grasp God, they must have faith.
Hebrews 4:3, speaking of the Sabbath rest, says, “We who have believed enter into the rest.” The only way to enter into the Sabbath rest is by faith. Anyone who does not believe will be unable to enter into it. For this matter we must exercise our faith.
Faith is the unique way for us to inherit God’s promises (6:12). In the Scriptures God has given us many promises. To inherit these promises we need to be infused by God with faith. Since most of the things promised by God are unseen or hoped for, we need faith to substantiate them.
In order to hold fast the beginning of the assurance (confidence) firm to the end, we must have faith (3:14). The word “assurance” in 3:14 means the practical and actual faith, which we have had from the beginning. We must hold fast this practical and actual faith firm to the end, as we did at the beginning.
We must come forward to the Holy of Holies and to God’s new covenant dispensation in the full assurance of faith (10:22). In these messages we have said a great deal about God’s economy. If we shut our eyes of faith, there will be nothing, and everything we have said will be in vain. But if we exercise our faith, we shall see how much there is in God’s economy. If we have no faith, everything is gone. But if we have faith, there is great wealth before us. In these messages we have seen the vision of the law of life. We must go on with this vision, not with the knowledge of religion.
Our hope is Christ. His indestructible life, which has been imparted into us with its functioning law of life, and His kingly and divine priesthood, in which He ministers all the riches of God into us, are also our hope. This must be our confession. We need to exercise our faith to hold fast this confession of our hope without wavering. Only by faith can we realize the confession of our hope in Christ.