The Passage
      v4. Abel was the Son of Adam and Eve, brother of Cain and serves as the first example of a man who lived by faith. By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice than his brother Cain. There are many suggestions as to why Cain's sacrifice was not accepted by God, but intention is most likely the issue, not the substance of the offering. Scripture tells that "the righteous shall live by faith" and "without faith it is impossible to please God", so obviously, Abel was acceptable to God; he was acceptable because he trusted God and thus, God accepted his offering. Our writer also tells us that by faith Abel was commended as a righteous man. Again, he was right with God because of his trust in God. Finally, the point is made that by faith Abel still speaks. His life of faith is recorded in the scriptures.
      v5-6. Enoch, who was the father of Methuselah, serves as another example of a man who lived by faith. Our writer tells us that by faith Enoch did two things: First, by faith he walked with God; the Septuagint has "lived well-pleasing to God." Because he took God at his word, God was pleased to be with him. Second, by faith he was not, for God took him, that is, he was translated. Because he took God at his word, God took him to be with him.
      v7. Our writer now tells us about Noah, another example of a man who lived by faith. By faith Noah did two things: First, by faith Noah built the ark. On hearing the word of God, Noah took God at his word, accepted his promise at face value, and against the prevailing thought, he acted on it. In so doing, he "became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith." That is, by taking God at his word, he pleased God and thus was accepted by God, was right in God's sight, and so became an heir of those who similarly take God at his word. Second, by faith Noah condemned the world; "through his faith he put the whole world in the wrong", NEB. That is, Noah believed and acted and was proved right, whereas the secular society did not believe, did not act and was proved wrong.
      v8-12. The writer now comes to an Old Testament saint whom, it is explicitly said, "believed God and He reckoned it to him for righteousness", Gen.15:6. Stephen said of Abraham, Acts.7, "God removed him into this land, wherein you now dwell: and he gave him none inheritance of it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: and he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child." Our writer says that Abraham acted by faith, that is, he took God at his word and acted upon it. Without owning any of the land and without any children, he believed that he would one day possess the land and have many descendants, through whom the world would be blessed. Our writer makes two points about Abraham: First, by faith Abraham possessed a land, although in his own lifetime he never possessed it. Verse 10 defines Abraham's expectation. Our writer seems to imply that Abraham expected more than a physical land and more than a great nation. Clearly, the physical nation does point to a heavenly commonwealth. Second, by faith Abraham fathered a child, "although he was past age", that is, was as good as dead in the fertility department. Sarah was also past child bearing, yet Abraham fathered a child. How was this possible? It was possible by faith. Abraham took God at his word, saw God as faithful, trusted him and thus, a child was conceived and so Abraham ended up with descendants as the stars in the sky.

A wrestle with faith
      When I first came to consider the gospel, the good news about Jesus, I got stumped on the meaning of faith. I wasn't sure what was expected of me. What is faith?
      As a young seeker I had somehow come to understand faith as a completely doubt-free acceptance of Jesus, a doubt-free acceptance of all he did and said. Of course, I was never without doubts and so I finally concluded that I could never become a believer. Such faith was beyond me; such faith is beyond everyone. Years later, the then Pastor of St.Phillip's Eastwood, a suburb north of Sydney, Australia, was to ask me in a baptism interview for our first child, did I have faith in Jesus? My answer was no, but thankfully I asked him, "what do you mean by faith?" I can't remember the answer, but somehow faith was no longer an impossible proposition.
      Remember the man in the Bible story who said, "I do believe, help my unbelief"? That is a response closer to my mere humanity and is most likely a response similar to all who stumble into the presence of God. Let us remember that the faith which moves mountains is as small as a mustard seed. I have to admit that my faith remains small, but you see, moving mountains does not depend on the size of my faith, but on the size of my God. My salvation is not dependent on the perfection, the "doubt freeness," of my reliance on Jesus, but on the ability of Jesus to save all who call upon him.