p. 16 | Not a Book of Definitions

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · Jun 20, 1911

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 38, No. 24.

Not a Book of Definitions

Not a Book of Definitions.—The Bible is not a book of precise definitions; life can not be limited by mere words of men. For instance: Heb. 11:1—"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"—is frequently quoted as a definition of faith; but at the most it is but an expression of faith in its future aspect, the forward look. The context of Heb. 11:1 refers to disappointed ones (Heb. 10:32-39), and the exhortation is to hope, to let faith bring the future here. But faith is more than this; it is absolute submission to God in the constantly unfolding present; it is receiving and accepting all the wondrous gifts of grace through Jesus Christ now; it is taking God's Word for just what the Word says; it is appropriating the power of His Word to all present needs. Faith is all this and more. And so it was to the heroes of Hebrews 11. Faith must be exercised to be known.