A Good Reputation

Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. [Hebrews 11.2]

Before and after the faith "hall of fame" found in Hebrews chapter 11, we find mention of "a good reputation." The verse above is found before the list all the faith people and then the following verse sums it all up:

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. [Hebrews 11.39]

There exist a lot of reasons a person might obtain a good reputation. However, Hebrews 11 does not discuss just anyone with a good reputation, but only those with a good reputation because of (or through) their faith even though none of them received all that God had promised.

 People are pleased by a lot of things these days. But not God. There is only one thing that pleases God:

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [Hebrews 11.6]

There are a plethora of ways to please enormous crowds of people, but Hebrews 11 does not focus on crowd-pleasing "good." Instead, the good reputation Hebrews 11 highlights is the good reputation of faith.

Should it not cause great alarm amongst believers today that what we call faith does not really resemble what Hebrews 11 illustrates? 

The list of faith people of Hebrews 11 includes people who, by conscious choice, received spectacular miracles as well as those who, by conscious choice, received nothing at all. Hebrews 11 does NOT attribute a good reputation to anyone who thinks it to be faith or calls it faith anywhere in between. The faith described in Hebrews 11 that earned a good reputation refused to accept anything except the spectacular (miraculous) intervention from God ALONE. Otherwise, they refused deliverance.

Look closely at the following statement:

Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. [Hebrews 11.35]

Why did those above refuse to receive deliverance? To establish a good reputation! If their deliverance was not spectacularly an undeniable miracle from God, they didn't want it. In fact, the verse does not say they refused to receive God's deliverance, but instead that they refused to turn from God to be set free (delivered) indicating that they rejected help from any source but God Himself. Let us not be confused about this! Their faith was essentially this: "If God does not indisputably, undeniably deliver me Himself, then I simply will not be delivered! I WILL NOT TURN FROM GOD!"

Hebrews 11 has far too long been misunderstood in this regard. Yes, faith moves mountains. But God-pleasing faith is not all about deliverance at any cost or through any means! God-pleasing faith is all about "God is my miracle-working deliverer and I will receive no help from any other (I will not deny God)!"

Hebrews 11 clearly disputes all the "Well, God uses..." scenarios we faithlessly fabricate to justify our turning from God to other forms of deliverance! In every circumstance, when we must justify that "God uses..." something, we have effectively turned from God to whatever it is we claim God uses.

A good reputation is not about getting what we want. A good reputation is not about convenience. A good reputation is about refusing to receive anything we want from any source other than God ALONE.

The faith described in Hebrews 11 that obtained a good reputation is not a faith of convenience, but a faith of conviction.

Father, I want so badly to justify all that I think I do in faith. However, is all I think I do in faith going to gain me a good reputation?