Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen. —Hebrews 11:1, KJV Faith is believing God. The
heroes of Hebrews 11 are people who believed God. They are the
writer's examples to show that faith itself is not a New
Testament innovation. Faith goes way back in time, claims the
writer of Hebrews. There is nothing new about it at all. God
hides His face in order that we might believe. He withholds the
evidence of things visible that we might be persuaded by His
Word alone! Faith, then, is the long parenthesis between the
undeniable appearances of God's glory. When God appears, faith
is no longer necessary. There are actually times when faith is
eclipsed by such a sense of the majesty and glory of God that
one is temporarily without the need of faith. These are times of
mountaintop experiences, such as when our Lord was transfigured
before His disciples (Matt. 17:1-9). But one is not permitted to
live indefinitely on the mountaintops. Like the disciples who
"came down from the mou