Free Grace Women

³³ who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. ³⁵ Women received their dead raised to life again.  Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. ³⁶ Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— ³⁸ of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. ³⁹ And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰ God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. -Hebrews 11:33-40 NKJV

Overview:

In Hebrews 11, both the second verse and the next-to-last verse mention individuals obtaining a testimony through their faith-based actions.  Verse 2 mentions creation; verse 3, Abel; and so on until verse 32 mentions six Hebrew heroes by name, followed by the phrase “and the prophets.”  The author has given some specific, well-known examples of men and women, Israelites and Gentile(s)[1], stellar examples and those who were in many respects poor role models.  He is trying to keep his letter reasonably short[2].  He could leave it to the readers, well acquainted with the Old Testament, to fill in the acts of faith associated with Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.  Instead, Hebrews 11:33-38 mentions so many acts of faith that I am not sure to which prophets to match each act, or even if this list includes acts from faithful, non-prophet believers from the Old Testament and/or intertestamental periods.  Ironically, it is here, in the end of the chapter, among the group sometimes termed “the unnamed,” that I find encouragement comes full circle.

Somewhere in the history of this sinful world, there would be a first martyr for God.  That was Abel.  What can I learn from his life and example?

In the midst of a lot of wickedness, a man was pleasing to God: Enoch.  What can I learn from him?

Noah built an ark and saved the human race from extinction; Abraham & Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob were progenitors of a nation of promise; Joseph and Moses were rulers in Egypt who kept alive and cared for the nation of Israel; and Rahab was a prostitute from a defiled nation (Leviticus 18:24) who put her trust in the true God and joined herself to His people rather than her people’s gods.  Can I ever be like these people?  While it seems unlikely that I will be one of the “greats,” it is possible that I will follow God to the end of my life and leave a testimony by my faithfulness.  On the other hand, I will never be Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, etc.  They had specific jobs, and those jobs are not my job. 

But here, in the last eight verses of the “Hall of Faith,” some encouraging truths are highlighted:

1. There were many circumstances in which persons obtained a testimony by being faithful to the Lord.  It wasn’t just during one-time events like the Flood or the beginning of Israel.
2. ALL these persons—including those the author didn’t name, and even those whose identity I can’t guess—obtained a testimony (Hebrews 11:39).  God doesn’t forget His promises, and He doesn’t run out of room to proclaim His faithful ones when the time has come.
3. (This is the one that astounds me): God chose that history and all He wants to demonstrate would not be complete without the church.

Where Do We Go from Here?

To every person alive on this earth, Jesus Christ has offered eternal life—all you have to be is convinced (i.e., believe) that He is the only and complete Giver of eternal life to those who believe in Him for it.  If you have ever believed that, you have eternal life and you cannot lose it, return it, or fail to maintain it (John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, etc., etc.)

To every believer, Christ has made an additional spectacular offer: you can be on His team. Second Timothy 2:11b-13 contains a creed, or “faithful saying,” familiar to those in the early church:

For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him.
¹² If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him, He also will deny us.
¹³ If we are faithless, He remains faithful;
He cannot deny Himself. (NKJV)

In this literary structure, the first and last verses refer to the same concept (security of eternal life), while the middle verse deals with a further topic: reigning with Christ as a reward for faithfully living for Him.  We are given the option as believers to NOT follow Christ.  It’s not a good option to choose, and those who chose it will be ashamed when He denies that they were His friends, but our eternal life is not dependent upon our faithfulness.  However, we are also given the option to follow Christ, obeying Him and looking to Him as our hope and our help.

When the heroes of the faith seem unattainably great, remember that though you were not given the opportunity to be Abel, Rahab, or Samuel, you are given the opportunity to serve God where you are.  I wasn’t given the opportunity to be one of those listed in Hebrews 11:1-39—or to be you—but I am given the opportunity to serve God where I am.  And God Almighty has put His Kingdom on hold long enough for us to be born and to have a chance to serve Him, because He said that creation, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets were not complete[3] without believers such as us (Hebrews 11:40). 

Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, -Hebrews 12:1 NKJV

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[1] Rahab is a Gentile; Abel, Enoch, and Noah might be classed as such.

[2] Dr. John Niemelä makes the argument that Hebrews 13:22 “And I appeal to you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation, for I have written to you in few words,” (NKJV) is not saying that a thirteen-chapter book is short—because a writer does not ask the reader to bear with a short letter—but rather that the book is as short as the author could make it to reasonably deal with the issue.

[3] The word in verse 40 translated in the NKJV as “made perfect” carries the idea of completing, or bringing to maturity.

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