Faith is Substance
After Isaac was born, Abraham was called upon to do an extraordinary thing: offer Isaac as a burnt offering. He was to kill the son that God had promised him. This request is unreasonable for several reasons. 1. How can a man kill his own son? 2. Why would God promise this boy only to kill him before he was grown? 3. Human sacrifices are against the commandments of God. 4. How can God fulfill his promise if he kills Isaac? Hebrews 11:19 tells us how Abraham was able to get past any doubts about obeying God in this matter: "Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead."
Why would God require such a test for his friend? It is because of Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The word substance means physical matter. Remember physical science! Substance is a peculiar word because it is not defined by any one sense. It is not necessarily a substance because you can see, hear, smell, taste or feel it. Oxygen, for example, is basically undetectable with the senses, yet it is physical, vital for life, and quite real. Other substances are more tangible, like sulfur that can be seen, felt, tasted and even smelt. To say something abstract like faith is a substance is a queer thing to say. But here God says that faith is the substance of things hoped for (AKA the promises of God). In other words faith is what makes the promises of God tangible. I know the promises of God are real because I see the faith. Faith can only be seen when it is acted upon. This is why James says that faith without works is dead.
Abraham's obedience to God is a perfect example of faith as substance. Never before had someone come back from the grave, yet Abraham believed. He did not hesitate, he did not argue or fuss at God, and he did not get a resentful spirit. He rose up early the next morning with his son, and the wood, fire and knife he needed to complete the offering. He said with faith, "I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again unto you."
We take faith so lightly in our culture. Faith has come to mean your religious upbringing (even when that was little to none). So many times I have asked someone about spiritual matters and they can only dig up a Baptist preacher in their genealogy. This is not Biblical faith.
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