This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Misc. Hebrews sermons” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, December 18, 1977.

It seems very odd, but in this life, we are put to the test with regard to things that we don’t see, not that we can say that we do see. And that seems to be a condition, saying that even if we were to contemplate the pain of innocent things, man’s innocence in the darkness, put to the test with regard to what he doesn’t see, placed in the position where he must then believe concerning the things he doesn’t see, what God says about them. Now, that test, you see, the essential character of that test has not changed, even though sin has come into the world. But they have been, you see, the test in the darkness with regard to death, which man had not seen, or evil, which he did not know. And with regard to those things that he had not seen, God then tells him, in his imagination, the ways in which he would not be moved. The text, now since the fall, is not with regard to death and evil, but it is with regard to life. And the only way to life is to believe God. In this world, then, we are put to the test with regard to the things that we don’t see.

Our colleagues is who shall we believe concerning these things we don’t see? You know the outcome of the test of the fair of the garden? They believed a lie, and did not believe the word of God. Who will you believe in this day? Will you believe what God says about the things which you don’t see? Or will you believe a lie?

This calls our attention to the essential character of the authority of the Word of God. It is God’s word, or it is Satan’s lie. It is God’s word, or it is our word. And I think that when it comes to a decision between Bertrand Russell and the Lord God Almighty that reigns in heaven, that I do not believe the Lord God Almighty is in heaven. The fact is, with regard to what we do not see, and we are in need of an authority with regard to those things which we do not see, the authority provided us by God is His Word. And the issue is whether or not you will believe what God says about what you don’t see, or someone else. Jesus comes from Heaven.

He comes after the fault and the sin, and He comes, you see, telling the people of His day about the things which are in Jesus. He comes to say, And I’m going to tell you what the Father is like. I have seen the Father at work, and I have come to work the work of my Father. I have heard what the Father said, and I have come to tell you what the Father Himself has said, which I have heard.

We need an authority with regard to the things that we don’t see. And the essential character of the text of our life is with regard to those things that we can’t see. Will we live? by the Word of God or not? Will we live by what Jesus Christ said about those things which we cannot see or not?” beginning then by focusing upon the essential nature of the sense with regard to the things we cannot see, and establishing then that we need an authority. The Word of God and even that Word incarnate is right as He has come to reveal to us those things which are invisible, which are indeed true.

We arrive at the essential. the sacrifice for faith. Faith is the substance of daily folklore. It is the evidence and the conviction that there is not sin. That is what faith is. It’s not just a general thing whereby people have a rosy optimism about how things will turn out in their life eventually, or in the world eventually. It’s a conviction with regard to the things which are invisible, but yet are eternal as well, and of greatest value. of the essential character of this age. Habakkuk was one who testified long ago in Israel, being a prophet near the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, he said, And those words are echoed in the New Testament repeatedly.

Paul mentions this very verse, Habakkuk 2.4, twice in his own writings.

In Romans 1.17, in Galatians 3.11, the righteous man shall live by his faith, and that faith It’s something that is focused in itself upon the things which are invisible, and it’s the only avenue that you or I have to those things which are invisible.

Is it our faith, you see, then, that merely latches on to a man dying like a criminal on a hill outside of Jerusalem? Our faith sees in that death what is essentially invisible. God has worked in that death, in that death which is unique among death, has worked in that death to forgive sinners their trespasses. It is our faith, then, that lasteth on through those things which are not seen, and those things which are eternal, and enduring, and everlasting.”

So that is, in his day, was witnessing the destruction of his beloved city Jerusalem at the hands of a horde which he considered to be quite unrighteous, the Chaldeans. These beasts in blood, falling as streams of blood from their capitals, descending upon the nation of Israel. And God’s word to Habakkuk was that the righteous man is the one who endures by his faith because he is latched on to those things which are unseen and those things which are invisible, and by holding on to those he endures. That was the focus of days before Abaddon, and it is nonetheless that for any new Testament Christian believer…”

That verse is quoted again here in Luke 10, verse 38. But thy righteous one, it says, shall live by faith. And it is by that faith in things unseen and invisible that he is able to endure and understand that his life is ultimately and inevitably wrapped up in those things which he cannot see.” How do you live? You live by faith, seeing those things which are invisible by that faith. How you live and for what do you live, and what is essential and important to you? What gives you perspective on life?

Note that if by faith we are literally transported into that eternal realm so that we can become witnesses of the things that are there, but then we are told that the righteous man lived, lived by his faith, so that now, out of the resources that he is witness in that eternal realm, he lives. That’s what gives him perspective, that’s what gives him direction, that’s what inevitably gives him his moral power so that he is able to make the choices which are honorable according to the will of God.

We think of these men that are spoken of here. In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, these were men who were living by faith, and the writer of this book is calling the attention of his readers to these individuals because he sees in them similar qualities, and he’s encouraging them to endure and persevere in those flaws. He says, for instance, in verse thirty-four of the tenth chapter, “…for you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourself a better possession and an abiding one.” How would he fare? in the company of such people as this? And how great is our faith when compared to them?

Focusing then upon this thing of possession and those things which can be seen, he goes on and describes faith in terms of that ability to hold on to the things that are invisible, and he speaks of how by faith we understand the world, we’re prepared by the Word of God, so that what is seen was made of things which are not seen.

And we read of Noah being warned by God about things not yet seen. We read about Abraham going out to a country which he had yet not seen, and while he was there not even owning any land, so that when his wife died he had to buy a plot of ground with barriers. And how it’s proved in the conclusion of the matter that these men of faith lived as strangers and exiles on the earth, for they were seeking a country which could be called their own. They were seeking a better country, a heavenly one, an eternal one, one which God Himself had built, and of which he himself was the architect. And did he prepare for the same in heaven?

That’s the focus. The invisible first, and then with the invisible firmly placed by virtue of your faith, you living out your life in terms of the things that are perceived by faith. That’s the corrective that you need. And that is the direction that you need in your life, remembering those things which are not seen first. One wonders today as to whether or not such an attitude is even possible.

And of course, we know from the convictions of all of those that it is impossible for a person to work their job hard. But how difficult seems to be magnified now because we have become such a visual society. We think of the effects of television on us. I think one of the aspects that now has created the atmosphere of terror in this portion of the country with regard to the unsolved homicide that has taken place in our area, is the fact that we have become accustomed to watching TV dramas in which, when the crime is being, or the action is being perpetrated, we already know who’s responsible for it and who the guilty party is. But now, suddenly, in the real world, we’re tasked with situations where we don’t know and we can’t see, and we’re intimidated, and we’re terrified. Everything is so highly visible, and the manipulation of the visual aspect of them is multiplying at an incredible rate, so that we are trained to live in terms of the things that we can see and observe.

And the Church itself is not without faults. That’s not the model we’re on. That’s something that has been part of the Church for a number of generations. What is it that makes up this Church? What is this Church? Is it this building? Can this church go on without the children? Do we need it? Are there things that are more important than the children? If there are, why? What best shows our faith and commitment to those things which are unseen and invisible? Our devotion is impassive. What’s worse than that? I don’t think there’s any question about it. I don’t think there’s any debate. I don’t think it’s any argument.

Our commitment to Jesus Christ is shown in living by faith in terms of those things which are invisible, which, indeed, our invisible Lord at this time in Himself involves in us. And what is it that our Lord is involved in today? Building buildings? I don’t think that’s right. And I don’t think the new people can either. But how are we trained? How are we trained to think that the Church is a building? Church is the people of God who has in His face the invisible form. If you are living by sight and not by faith, pretend.

Repeat after me. Today. To straighten our minds out with regard to the eternal things, the priorities of the day, I must say again, that the body of believers whose minds are focused properly on the eternal and physical things, doing the will of Him in the invisible world.

Such a root is filled with promise and blessing. And I say that on the authority of God’s Word. Our Father in Heaven, we ask you that we might place our faith solidly upon the right authority, that our faith might be merged in the words that we have been given from Heaven, and that our faith might be a living thing. a faith that works itself out in the way in which we conduct our affairs, and in which we view the very, very important things of our lives. We are asking for your forbearance, that we might be forgiven our sins, that we might return to what ground in our harvest of pie, and that frightful forgiveness from You, we might set our hearts and our affections upon Him who is invisible to us, that we might do His will for a few days. Amen.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.