Journal: Southern Baptist Journal of Theology
Volume: SBJT 24:1 (Spring 2020)
Article: Seeing Is NOT Believing: Faith Versus Sight In Hebrews
Author: Brian J. Vickers

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Seeing Is NOT Believing: Faith Versus Sight In Hebrews

Brian Vickers

Brian Vickers is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, where he earned his PhD in NT. Dr. Vickers also serves as Assistant Editor of the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. In addition to several academic and popular works, he is the author of Acts (ESV Expository Commentary: John-Acts; Crossway, 2019), and Justification by Grace through Faith: Finding Freedom Legalism, Lawlessness, Pride and Despair (P&R, 2013).

Introduction

We’ve all heard, and likely used, phrases like “The Heroes of the Faith,” or “The Hall of Fame of Faith” to describe Hebrews 11. Those titles are fine as far as they go but often the sermons, lectures, books, chapters, and articles that use such titles tend to deal with chapter 11 in the abstract, apart from the context Hebrews. The result is that chapter 11 becomes something like a collection of WW#D? What would Abraham do? What would Moses do? What would Samson do? I doubt anyone has proposed WWSD, but he is in the chapter and if we take the “Heroes” approach, we need to include him. One of various problems with this perspective on Hebrews 11 is that the answer is, inevitably, “he’d believe, just like you need to believe.” The real danger here is that what is arguably the single-most faith focused chapter in the Bible becomes, ironically, about what we need to do. The minute we start looking at the various characters in this chapter and say “you need to believe just like Abraham believed,” there is a high probability that we will turn faith back in on ourselves, the exact opposite

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direction that faith takes. Faith always looks outside itself for hope, help, and assurance. The person of faith is not a hero. The only true hero is the object of faith, Jesus Christ. He is the fulfillment of God’s promise to which all the characters in chapter 10 looked forward. If we preach, teach, or just read Hebrews 11 and the only application we come up with is, “Now go and believe likewise,” then the believer and his or her effort or determination to believe becomes the focus. The object of faith, Jesus, is replaced by the subject, the believer. If we read chapter 11 and only think, “These people put my faith to shame (which, by the way, they do) I’d better...