The Meaning of "Faith" in Hebrews

Preamble

The Book of Hebrews is a favorite for evangelicals in part because of its use of sacrificial language.  However, the rest of the book does not sit well within the standard evangelical story.  I want to highlight one aspect that does not fit well and that is the examples of faith in chapter 11.

Chapter 11

The following is a list of the examples of faith in Hebrews and the verb used to flesh out the meaning of faith in each case:

• 4  Abel  offered a greater sacrifice than Cain
• 5 Enoch [no verb is given, but we are told he pleased (perhaps a reference to Hab. 2:2-3) God and Genesis 5:22 famously states he "walked with God".]
• 7 Noah  having been reverent, built the ark
• 8 Abraham obeyed...he went out
• 9 Abraham migrated
• 11 Abraham/Sarah? considered faithful the one having promised
• 17 Abraham offered Issac
• 20 Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau
• 21 Jacob blessed each of the sons of Joseph
• 22 Joseph gave orders concerning his bones
• 23 [Moses' parents] hid [Moses]
• 24 Moses refused to be called son of Pharaoh's daughter...having chosen to be mistreated...
• 27 Moses left Egypt
• 28 Moses instituted the passover
• 29 Israelites went through the Red Sea
• 30 [Joshua et al] having encircled for seven days
• 31 Rahab having welcomed the spies

Most of the examples use action verbs to flesh out the meaning of faith.  This is at odds with the emphasis of faith as mere belief in evangelical thought.  But it is clear that Hebrews has action in mind.  One way of parsing Hebrews 6:1-2 is as follows:

 Therefore, having left the basic teaching about Christ, let us move on to maturity, not laying again
the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith toward God [which is]
teachings concerning: baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection from the dead, and the eternal judgment.
 

  On this reading, repentance from dead works and faith toward God are in parallel and are summed up in the same things.  Also, in 3:18-19, "unbelief" and "disobedience" are treated as synonymous.

Faith and Resurrection

In a previous blog, I argued that the book of Hebrews interprets Habakkuk 2:4 as a claim that life follows obedience.  Much of the faith in Hebrews is oriented to the future promise or hope of the resurrection age.  Many of the examples in the list in chapter 11 allude to resurrection (see for example vs. 12, 19).  The foundation of this is Jesus' resurrection.  In 5:7-10, we are told that Jesus prayed to the one who is able to save him from death, and his prayers were heard because of his obedience.  This no doubt refers to his resurrection.  He was made perfect (through his suffering obedience leading to an exalted resurrection) and so because of his faithfulness (5:7) he became a source of eternal salvation for those who obey him (5:9). It is clear from this that obedience is a condition for salvation (see also 3:6, 14).

Theological Upshot

The standard evangelical story starts to crumble when pressure is applied on what is meant in Biblical texts by "faith".  "Faith" in the Bible is more akin to "fidelity" than it is to mere mental assent.