On this page beside verse 1 the publisher of my King James Bible has: “The Roll Call of the HEROES of Faith.” Probably, the publisher of your Bible has printed is something similar, perhaps at the top of the page. While it may be a common thought about this great chapter, the word “hero” isn’t found here or any where else in the inspired text. And that makes me wonder whether or not Christians should use that word. I’m not saying that it is a mortal sin to call someone our hero, but is it really appropriate?
And besides, what IS “heroism,” and what constitutes a “hero?” I suppose it depends on the person using the term. Looking at the etymology – the history of the word – we are taken back to warriors and heathen demigods. Webster speaks of a hero as someone distinguished in valor and intrepid in the midst of danger. Next he points to people who are outstanding or illustrious in other things such as learning or generosity. In literature, the principle person of a book, the protagonist, is called the hero whether or not he’s heroic. And finally, Webster points out that in pagan mythology, a hero was some illustrious person, who became immortal after his death and was placed among the gods – a “demigod.” With these definitions in mind, I wouldn’t say I could ever be called a “hero.” I am none of these things. With these things in mind, I’m not sure that I would ever WANT to be a hero.
And yet, let’s stop for a moment and reconsider some of the people of this chapter. If these are the heros of the Christian faith, then maybe the dictionaries have inaccurate definitions. And even if you and I never reach the same level of faith as Abraham or Joseph, there are still some principles here which are attainable and desirable. Even if I could never trust God enough to part the Red Sea or to raise a dead body, as I think about Enoch or Jacob, maybe there are some aspects of their heroism which I might reach – and you as well. If we aren’t capable of being real heros, maybe we could be para-heros in the same way that paramedics or para-legals are the next best things in their professions.
Take ABEL for example – a man we’ve considered recently in Sunday School.
What did this “hero” of the faith do? What impressive deed did Abel accomplish that set him apart from the rest of humanity; from Adam for example? “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” He may have used a knife, but it wasn’t to save his sheep from a lion or a bear like our hero David. He wasn’t murdered defending the Biblical doctrine of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ for our sins.
What did “Hero Abel” do? He did what he was supposed to do. He did his duty as taught by God and as passed down from his father. And his duty, as illustrated both in Genesis and Hebrews, was to make an offering to God. May I imply from this that one principle of heroism is “sacrifice?” And we aren’t talking about the heroic sacrifice of his life or the life of his son as it was with Abraham.
The question becomes: isn’t there heroism in obedience? I’m going to say that there is, even when there is no immediate danger involved. For example, Gideon offered sacrifices to God when it was illegal to do so, and there was heroism in that. Without the scripture telling us, Abel may have offered his lamb to God under the watchful eye of his father. There was no overt danger in involved. Unlike his brother, Abel made his offering with humility and faith, trusting the Lord for His approval.
If we can use Hebrews 11 for our application – humble service and obedient faith constitute heroism. And in those circumstances, there is not any Christian anywhere who cannot be considered a hero. Under those conditions, there is not any Christian who SHOULD not be a hero. Obedience to God in a world where Satan seems to reign is an act of heroism.
Abel’s sacrifice was one that the Lord considered acceptable. If it was offered for the purpose of atonement, then trusting the shed blood, was an act of heroism. If you, like me and many of the rest of us, have turned away from offering the fruits and vegetables of our human labors, to the blood of Christ for salvation, then we are heros of sorts – “para-heros.”
In comparison to his brother, there was some degree of SELF-sacrifice in Abel. And later in this chapter, Moses is classified as a hero, because “when he was come to years, (he) refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.” Moses is identified as a hero of the faith for denying himself the “rights” he had as a prince among men. Perhaps any serious fight against the lusts of our sinful flesh, could be considered limited heroism. And so, I tip my hat to you who have overcome serious addictions, serious fleshly weakness, and long-time, fully ingrained sins. According to Hebrews 11 you may be a special kind of hero.
Hebrews’ second example is that mysterious hero ENOCH.
“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” Enoch is not a hero because he avoided death – he is not a hero because he was translated. That was all of Jehovah, not of Enoch. I suppose it could be argued that no man, no woman, can be Christian hero without the blessing of God. But it wasn’t simply God’s blessing that put this man’s name in the Christian hall of fame. Enoch was a special individual because of his persistence in doing what God expected him to do. “He had this testimony, that he pleased God.” And after a long life of heroically pleasing God, the Lord translated him.
Genesis 5 tells us that “Enoch walked with God.” What is heroic about that? He didn’t spend his time trying to induce the Lord to walk with him. He walked with God, not vise versa. But aren’t many of our prayers – my prayers – spent pleading with God to do the things we want Him to do? Our prayers don’t make us heros. But walking with God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation does. The only way to please God is to obey Him, adjusting our pace and direction to walk with Him. And when we do His will, His power flows through our obedience.
You could say that Enoch was an “everyday hero.” He spent his time walking patiently, persistently and continually with the Lord. But when some of the wicked men in his generation shouted blasphemy against his walking partner, Enoch was willing to become the mouthpiece of the Lord, sharing prophecies of coming judgment. “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all…” – Jude 14. Granted, to boldly confront a bunch of sinners with the declaration that God intends to judge them, requires a special kind of heroism. But here in Hebrews, all we hear is his persistent walk with God.
Isaiah tells us, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as angels; they shall run, and not be weary, the shall walk and not faint.” There are some heroic images in Isaiah 40:31, but there is some common stuff too. It is not our job to yearn for the ability to fly, or to have lightning fast internet type speed and supernatural strength. It is our job to walk and not faint, waiting upon the Lord. This is something available to us all.
The common idea is that heros are born on great occasions and when stress is at its highest. The prophet Elijah is one of that kind of Christian hero. He trusted God to defeat the four hundred prophets of Baal, and he called down fire from heaven. These things set him apart from almost all of the rest of humanity. And he was heroic when prior to Mount Carmel, he walked up to Ahab and told the king there would “not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” These were courageous thing to do.
But practically speaking, and much more helpful to my faith were the years between Ahab and Carmel. It was heroic to sit by the brook Cherith, trusting God and eating the food which the ravens brought to him. It is not in just the great things that heros are born. I can learn as much from Elijah’s patience at the brook, as I can at the top of Carmel. I can learn from Elijah even when he left his hidy-hole and went elsewhere to be fed and hidden. Rarely are common people, like us, going to stand before wicked kings and hundreds of devil worshippers. But we can know something about Cherith and Zeraphath.
Enoch was a hero because he walked with Jehovah when the rest of pre-flood society was walking with Satan. As we all know by experience, it is easy to be carried along with the crowd. But when the crowd is going in the wrong direction, ie. coming right toward us, life becomes more difficult. In spite of the society of his day, Enoch persisted in walking with the Lord. The spirit of the world in that day had nothing on the Spirit of God within the heart of heroic Enoch.
So true heroism consists in walking with God day by day, whether alone or with others. But perhaps that man’s heroism is enhanced because he had to face the evil current of his day alone. Walking a heroic Christian path becomes easier when we are in fellowship with other Christian pilgrims. This is one of the functions of the Lord’s churches – we don’t have to be isolated heros. In fact, isolated heros are extremely rare.
Our third Hebraic example of heroism is NOAH.
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” I have always pictured the fear in this verse as being the usual, common variety of timidity, apprehension and worry. I’ll stick with that interpretation, but in passing, I will point to the other possibility – the fear of the Lord in the sense of awe and respect. It could be that “by faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with REVERENCE and Godly RESPECT, prepared an ark to the saving of his house.” That is an intriguing and Biblical thought, but I still think the meaning of this verse is the old-fashioned fear. Noah is a hero of our faith despite his fears.
Fear has the potential to make either cowards or heros. The fear of GOD makes a person a hero, and the fear of MAN creates a coward. Fear to do what is wrong may make a hero, but the fear to right is something of which to be ashamed.
Noah was warned about things beyond his experience, and that might have been terrifying. He was told by God about something which the scientists of his day denied – with dozens of arguments. The need of Noah’s day was a healthy fear of the Lord and of judgment, and that need still exists. Noah had a good kind of fear, and that made him special – it made him unique in a God-denying world. And as the Lord Jesus has told us, we are living in a modern version of that same kind of world. “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the food came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”
This probably was not the way it took place, but let’s say that the pre-incarnate Christ visited Noah to tell him about the upcoming flood. And let’s pretend that the Lord so arranged it that Noah’s three brothers and a couple of cousins overheard the conversation. The fear of God moved Noah forward toward building the ark. But in my imaginary scenario, the fear of what the neighbors might think moved the others away from joining their righteous relative. Noah pushed through his fears, and in so doing not only saved his family, but made himself a hero in the eyes of Christians today. Pushing through our fears, whether those fears are justified or not, can make anyone a hero. “The fear of man bringeth a snare, while whoso trusteth in the Lord shall be safe,” leaving room for courage.
Conclusion:
Just as Hebrews gives us more examples, I could go on, but I’ll let the you and the Holy Spirit do that. My point in all this is this: We set these men and the rest of the illustrations in this chapter before us as being great, heroic men and women. I wouldn’t think of denying that greatness and their faith. But they shouldn’t be put on too high a pedestal. I don’t want any of us to think that we cannot join them.
As they may be heros, we also can be heroic. We can be just as sacrificing and self-sacrificing. We can be just as persistent in our walk with the Lord despite an antagonistic society. We can fear God and we can be obedient to His will.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful some day to hear that another human being – a young Christian perhaps – has said that they looked up to us as we humbly tried to serve the Lord? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to hear that unknown to us at the time, we were considered someone’s Christian hero? I doubt that any of the people of Hebrews 11 at the time, considered themselves particularly heroic. But when the dust settled, and the Lord smiled on their service, they really were “heros of the faith.” And now generations of young Christians have been looking up to their faith and service. Is there anything better than helping some to know the Lord and to grow in their faith and service to God?