Sermons
Vander Kam on Hebrews 11:13
Sermons
Vander Kam on Hebrews 11:13Hebrews 11:13 – "All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." (New American Standard Bible)
Beloved in the Lord: one of the always difficult things for the believer's life is this, how he is to do himself in this world and how faith and practice are always to be united. For it is one thing of course, and we are also very careful with that, that there is going to be a faith that is actual, that is correct. A faith of such a nature so that it is pure, and we lay great stress upon that, and we should. We should see to it that the doctrine of Godliness is one that is concerning the Bible, that is, in agreement with the Bible. And now it is still a matter of this of course, a question of this, how are we to live by it. How are we going to live the kind of a faith that we profess? And if we do not live it then of course, we have also undermined that faith.
Now those are the things that Hebrews 11 is also dealing with because the writer to the Hebrews has been dealing with this question from beginning to end, and that is, that there is the danger of falling away. That is really the very heart of Hebrews, the danger of falling away. That having had all these things and that they have still missed the boat. That having received all these promises they have nevertheless, fallen away. That is the danger, and that is the danger that is with the believing people of God throughout the centuries.
And therefore He has also given us a whole catalog of the heroes of faith and has shown to us how they exercised their faith. But it is still a matter of course, how do we live it, how are we going to live that kind of a faith, and then he is also going to deal with that in the latter part of this chapter. Because it is not merely that we are going to hold up to the light of day the faith of an Abraham or the faith of a David. No, we are going to look upon this, how it relates to God Himself, and how it relates to the promise that He has given, and to the requirement that He has given; that we are to live before Him in such a way as He has shown us. So that these things are never lost from sight, and that, it is strange, and it is a very nice song, I know, that we sing, "My faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior Divine." Or, "Faith of our Fathers;" these are beautiful songs but at the same time you will notice if you will look in the front of the Psalter Hymnal, that concerning faith, there isn't a Psalm that you will find. Because that is not found in the Psalms. There is no praise to faith. That is something that is a gift, and we do not praise that faith, but we are to see to it that that faith is actual, and that it is real, and that it is also going to show forth itself in our lives. Now that is the thing that the words of my text deal with. How are we going to live the kind of a faith that we profess, and that we are pilgrims and strangers in this world, says the writer to the Hebrews.
And we speak to you tonight on that theme, The Life of Pilgrims. And then we notice in the first place, its confession; secondly, the essence of that life; and finally, its hope. Its confession, its essence, and its hope.
Now first of all, this is the confession that is made, that is at the very end of this text, where he says, and they confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth; strangers and exiles. No, that is the kind of a thing that looks good to us, and that is also beautiful poetry that has come to us, and that was John Bunyan's thesis. That it is Pilgrim, the Christian, he is the pilgrim in this world, and therefore he speaks about Pilgrim's Progress; how Pilgrim is progressing through this life, and how he is able also to meet all the various difficulties that come, and that he has to do that by the faith that he professes.
That is the one side of it, that we are pilgrims, that we are exiles and strangers here in this world. And there is indeed beautiful poetry that weaves itself about that, and a wonder. And yet at the same time we realize do we not, that we also use that term in different ways. And that it is not only the pilgrim, such as those who are exiled, and those who are wanderers and strangers, but in a few weeks we will also again no doubt speak of the pilgrims that came to Plymouth Rock, in 1620. Those were the pilgrims that planned to stay here; they were also pilgrims. But they planned to stay, and they planned to give the rest of their lives to this place where they had now come, and they were going to turn their backs upon the land from which they had come.
Because this was the place where they would find freedom, freedom to serve their God. So that they are pilgrims, and they are exiles, and they are strangers, but at the same time this is also the place where they were going to stay, and that is the place where they were going to make their home.
And again, to muddle the waters even more it is this, that we have just sung of this, you know, "This Is My Father's World." And of that I say in Hebrews 11:13, "That I am a pilgrim and a stranger in it." Don't be so quick; don't be so quick to say that we have here no abiding place. It was supposed to be that, it was made for that; God made this earth in order that it might be a habitation for the people, for man, for the rest of his life, for all time to come, as far as that is concerned. This was the place where he was going to dwell and He made this place for him. And "This is my Father's world." So that I am a pilgrim, but it is also my Father's world, and this is the difficulty whereby ever so many people have been faced time and again throughout the ages, and they have also come with various answers to the particular question; "How am I going to conduct myself in this world?"
Am I going to conduct myself here as the one who is at home? Oh, there are ever so many songs that have been written about that, you know, that we have here no home. No, no home here at all, but oh, they cling to it with might and main though; as soon as they are through singing. And it is the beauty of the songs that come, that this is a pilgrim journey, but we have no place here, really, no place. And then at the same time we say, "This is my Father's world." It has led some in the past to world flight; it has led ever so many of them, especially in the Middle Ages, that took world flights; sought to get out of this world, sought to leave it; this is no place for us. But where are you going to go? You're going to be able to withdraw from this world to a little bit, but nevertheless you will never be able to withdraw from it completely.
These were the style lights; our young people have read about them no doubt in church history. You have these style lights that sat on a pillar that stood on this earth, but nevertheless they removed them from this earth a little ways, and that's where they spent their time. They were removed from this world. Is that the life of pilgrims?
Now the confession is this, that we are indeed pilgrims, that we are strangers, that we are aliens. That is the confession wherewith we come in this particular verse, that is the question that is also answered for us time and again in Holy Writ; that that is the place that has been given to us here, but it is not so simple. That therefore we are also able to absolve ourselves of all the various things that are found in this world as though we can wash our hands of it. No, this is my Father's world. And here in the midst of that world He has placed me, and here in the midst of this world He has given me a task to perform. And nevertheless, I am but a pilgrim and a stranger in it.
Now these are the two things that we must keep together, that is our confession. But nevertheless, they are the two things that must also be kept in opposition to each other, so that we will realize that we are always torn by that as long as we are in this life. Just so far must we send our pegs into this earth. How must we set our tent stakes in this world? Paul has something to say about that in 2 Corinthians; he says, slowly those tent pegs are loosed; loosed here and there, and finally it is uprooted. And then this house, this tent, collapses and then we have a house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens from the hand of God Himself.
We are pilgrims and strangers in this world, but at the same time we are to realize that we are in this world, but not of it. And that is the kind of a philosophy, beloved, that has to lead us, that has to lead our young people. You are in this world and you will have to deal with that. You will have to deal with that in such a way so that you will also realize that you have a calling, that you have a calling here that will not down, that will not be answered by someone else; but it's a calling that we have that we are going to do all the things that are necessary here and that our God calls us to it.
That's why He has given us the Commandments and these Commandments deal in largest part to the things of this earth. And nevertheless the results are more. You are in this world though, even though you are not of it. There are so many today of course, who would like to say you are not in it, nor of it. But that is not true; you are in it, and that is rather obvious. We are in this world, but we may not be of it. We are not to receive our strength from it; we are not to derive our hope from it; that does not work. And therefore the child of God is always going to be somewhat of a riddle, he is always going to be somewhat of a conundrum in this world, he is always going to be different. He is going to be different to this extent, that he does not set his tent pegs so deep, so that there is no possibility of him leaving it all behind. This is the thing to which we are called, because life is so long, and then the judgment; life is so long, and then we are called out of it; life is so long, and then what? That is the question wherewith the Bible comes.
And these are the questions that are therefore also looked at very closely here in Hebrews 11. That these are the things that we must recognize, there has to be that faith. But now what is to be our conduct in the midst of it, what is to be our conduct as a result of it. That our conduct here in this world is then to be such that we are going to live by faith, and that we are going to practice that faith, and that that faith is going to be foremost, and that it is our attachment to our God that is finally going to win out. That it is He above all, that He is in control, that He is the One to whom we are also to give allegiance, He is the One to whom we are to give an account. That is our confession; the confession that we make when we are pilgrims and strangers here in this world. That is the life of pilgrims.
That is our confession, that kind of a confession that we not only have here yet a hope of heaven, but also that it does something for you in the present. And if it doesn't do something for you in the present, there isn't much hope of heaven. That's precisely the point!
Secondly, notice its essence. Now what kind of life is that, that life of pilgrims? For that he has given us various illustrations here in the previous verses. And the previous verses are of course, much better known than verse 13 is. And there he has spoken concerning that faith of various ones of those who have gone before us, those men of faith, those heroes of faith, those giants in the faith, right from the beginning, because he already begins with Abel.
Abel also already had that faith, that faith in God, that faith in the Christ, in the coming Christ. And that is the faith that goes to others, that faith is there with an Enoch, who walks with God. Which means this, that he follows Him wherever he goes. That means through hospitals, and over cemeteries, everywhere, wherever God goes; Enoch follows. He walked with Him – and he was not, because God took him. Yah, that is understandable. When one walks so close with his God, then what's the difference whether He leaves him here, or takes him! He walked with God, and he was not, because God took him.
He speaks of an Abraham, an Abraham who forsakes everything in the past and clings to that promise of God. Clings to that promise of a land, a land of promise, that land of Palestine, that land flowing with milk and honey. That is the land that he is going to possess. He may dream concerning all the promises that God has given, has given him the promise of a progeny that is going to be so numerous as the stars of the heaven, as the sand by the seaside. You can't think of anything more numerous. So shall thy seed be; and he hasn't a child. Doubts? Yes, there were some.
And Abraham begins to doubt some of these things and he says concerning his son, "Oh, let Ishmael live before Thee." No! That's not the one, not the one. In Isaac shall thy seed be called, not in Ishmael. And therefore he better wait, and he better wait for the promise of God, and he better learn to live like a pilgrim, as a stranger, and then he will have to live by faith. Because that is the only way in which he is going to be able to live here. He will have to live in that faith so that he begins to realize that all God's promises are going to go into effect. All God's promises are going to be realized, sooner or later. And that he does not have to worry concerning these things; doesn't have to worry about it at all. Then when he says, "Oh, let Ishmael live before Thee," he is trying to help God out, and He doesn't need any help. He says, "No, no, not Ishmael, not the son of the bondwoman, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called."
But then when he is called upon to offer Isaac! Again, it is that doubt that begins to attack him. What is he now going to do to sacrifice his only begotten, the only son he has, that son of promise? And then says the writer to the Hebrews, "but he looked for the resurrection," and that's the way he received him back; as by the resurrection.
Yah, but that isn't quite as God had promised; no. And Abraham will have to be very, yah, patient; patient concerning these things. He has to live by faith; he has to live by that faith day by day. Now, to live by that faith, I have already indicated what it means, with an Enoch. What does it mean that he lived by faith? That he walked with God, and anyone that walks with Him is going to go through places that he had never thought, and where he doesn't want to be perhaps, but he walked with God. That was living by faith. Abraham lives by faith, and so do his descendants; Isaac and Jacob.
And then he remembers others, so that Joseph also, and that's where I stopped reading tonight; Joseph also gave charge concerning his bones, that they do not remain in Egypt; aw, what's the difference! But no, no, they are to be returned to Canaan at the time of the exodus, because God is going to come.
But now these are to live by faith, that is the essence, but there is more to that. They also all died in faith; all of them. But death was not able to shake it; notice what he said: "All these died in faith without receiving the promise." They had not received them, but nevertheless, they died in faith. Now this is difficult for the unbeliever to understand, I guess. That you are able to die in faith, when it has not proved to be equal to the task of healing you from your last disease. When it has not been equal to that task; how can you then still die in faith. There's a whole catalog of them, and oh, he says a few verses later; "What more shall I say of Barak and Gideon and others?" Of the faith that they have, there are a whole lot more than those that he has mentioned here in Hebrews 11, many more. They all died in faith; they lived by faith, and they also died in faith.
The fact that life comes to an end does not shake it, does not shake that faith, does not remove it. No, they still cling to it, and they clung to it despite the fact that they had not received the promise. Now this is the thing that you must realize because this is really dealing with the heart of the matter. That we are to live by faith, to die by faith, even though we have not received the promise. Now, is God then not true to His promises? That's what men think! I have prayed, and I have prayed, and nothing happens. God is not hearing me. So, in certain quarters they immediately come to the conclusion of unanswered prayer.
These all died in faith, not having received the promise. No, it wasn't time yet. And Abraham has the promise of a land, and he never gets there. Aw, he finally buys a cave so that he can bury his wife. He buys it. That's the land that's going to be given to him; the whole land; and he has to buy a cave at the end of his life to bury his wife.
And he dwells in it, with Isaac and Jacob, in tents. That is not exactly the picture of permanent life. They had not received the promise; the promise had not been fulfilled. "And thy seed shall be as numerous as the stars of the sky, and as numerous as the grains of sand by the seashore." And there's that one, Isaac, that one. That is not quite the fulfillment of promise. And so you can go on with the others.
These lived by faith; they died in faith, without having received the promises. See, it is not due to this, that the promise is fulfilled in our time; the promise will be fulfilled, but why must that be in our lifetime! Is He held to that, that He has to do that in our lifetime? No, He doesn't! So that these all died in faith, not having received the promise. They never saw it realized. Well, but they still held on to their faith, and lived in it, and died in it. They lived and died happily, to use the term of the Heidelberg Catechism; in that faith. They clung to it, and that was the only thing that they had to hold to; but the promises were not yet fulfilled. He had reserved that time for Himself, when these promises would come to fulfillment.
And finally, notice also its hope. Notice what the text says; "All these died in faith without receiving the promises, but having seen them, and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers in exile." So they had seen them, and they had welcomed them. What in the world is he talking about! Is he talking about something that just before this he has negated by saying that it has not happened, these have not received the promises but they welcomed them. What promises? All the promises of God have already been realized and they have seen them, and they have welcomed them. Even though they had not been fulfilled according to the natural man, but this is the language of Scripture; that the things that He has promised are as sure as though they had already occurred. That's the language of Scripture.
The Word of God is so true, that when He says that something is going to occur, that's it! It is as real as though it has already happened. I will give you the land of Canaan; and He does. But it takes a little while yet. What of it! It's realized. And they saw it because they lived by faith, and faith's eye discerned it. They were able to see it, and able to see it clearly. The promises of God fulfilled and they welcomed them, because those things are going into fruition. He does not fail. And that is the message of Hebrews 11. That it makes it clear to us where there are so many who look upon it in this way of course, that it is here an ode to the faith of those who have gone before us. Never does the Bible sing of the faith of anybody; but it sings of this, that God is true to His promise, and that none of His promises are going to fail, and that they have seen them, that they have welcomed them, that they have embraced them. That they saw them before their eyes as clearly as before the human eye you see the things that you see round about you.
That is living by faith, and dying by faith. That is the kind of faith that He has instilled, that is the glorious hope. It is not this, that now at death everything is broken off; but no, these things go into complete, complete fulfillment. He is going to fulfill every promise that He has ever given; not a word of it is going to fall to the ground, He says. And so it is! Not a word of all that He has spoken is ever going to fail. You don't see it yet in this life? Now, the mills of God, as the poet says, grind slowly, but they grind very fine. Yah, they grind slowly; sometime, for us, too slow; why doesn't He hurry? Aw, you read of that of the heroes of faith, of Hebrews 11, they also were very impatient at times. "Oh, let Ishmael live before Thee." And now, when he is to sacrifice Isaac, he receives him back as another resurrection. Now, he receives him back as he is. He receives him back in the body, as he knows Isaac. He is going to save him right there. The promises of God are going to stand, and therefore they are to live by faith, they are to die in faith, but the promises of God are there. And that hope is not something that He is going to put to shame, but that hope rests on solid foundations. The solid foundation of the Word of God that cannot fail, He cannot lie. And that is our hope, and that is our trust in the future, because every word of God gives complete trust, complete trust in His mercies, complete trust in His Word. There's nothing that is going to fail. That is the Word of God that has been spoken, and that is the Word of God in which we believe.
So that here too, they saw it. They had the sight clearly before them, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance; they see them coming. All your hopes have not been realized; all the promises God has given you have not been realized? Maybe they won't before your death. Don't immediately come to the conclusion that He doesn't hear and answer prayer; no, no. He hears them, He's not deaf, and He answers every one, and He hears every one. He answers in His time. And then not Moses; Moses is not going to go into Canaan, but Joshua is going to lead them in, but they are going to go into Canaan, although He has already given that promise to Abraham, but he welcomed it from a distance. And he saw it, the eye of faith is sharp, and that eye of faith looks through these things and sees it, even though it is still at a distance. And that's the way God's people are to live; live as pilgrims who have here no abiding place, but look for a city whose builder and maker is God. That has foundations, immovable foundations. That's the kind of a city we look for, and that is the kind of a city that we will receive. John saw it; John saw it. And that he saw it, and speaks of it in the Book of Revelation. Makes it clear to me that you and I will also be citizens of that city, that abides forever. Amen.
We thank Thee Lord our God, for Thy mercies shown us. We thank Thee for the Word wherein Thou dost speak. We thank Thee for the grace Thou dost reveal. We thank Thee for Thy blessing upon us. We pray, Lord God, wilt Thou take this Word and bind it upon our hearts, that we may thus grow in Thy grace and knowledge. Bless us in the days of the week to come. Guide us by Thy Spirit. Forgive our sins and hear us, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Information What's New Our Beliefs Sermons Literature U.R. Churches Classis Michigan Links Search Feedback Home