faith

today at monday bible study we went though Hebrews 11
and the passage talked a lot about faith
what struck me was that
the author gave many examples of faith
not of people who have seen or were disciples of Jesus
(ie. they weren't during or after Jesus' time on earth)
but all the examples of faith he gave were all from the Old Testament
that is of: Abel, Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Rahab, etc. etc.
they all showed faith in God,
though not knowing about Jesus Christ,
but just faith in God that would provide
whether it was salvation, or anything else.

Like Noah for instance (Genesis 6-9)
he built an ark on a hill
and it must have taken him years
even though he was constantly mocked by other people.
but he trust in God, that the flood will happen
and that when it did come,
he and his family will be safe.

Or Abraham (Genesis 22)
who was willing to sacrifice his one and only son
(amongst other acts of faith)
bore to him in his old age
because he trusted that God will provide
in any circumstance.

Also, this struck me because it is written to the Jews (Hebrews)
and to them, they thought salvation was through sacrifices
but the author illustrates
that no, it wasn't just doing the sacrifices
since abraham, abel, noah, enoch never did any sacrifices
but it was because God saw them as being faithful.
"Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:6

thus, in Hebrews 11
the author illustrated (to the Hebrews) that
it was only through faith in the old testament
that God saw people as being righteous
not because of the sacrifices itself.
(though, through performing the sacrifices, it could also be an act of faith)
Therefore, the author argues that having faith in God,
like their predecessors,
but more specifically faith in Jesus Christ, is the way to salvation.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2: 8-9