Fear or Faith: Those Are the Two Options

In one paragraph

The pastor picked up the Hebrews series at chapter 11, verses 23 through 31, working through a string of Old Testament figures whose stories all turn on the same hinge: fear or faith. He argued that these are the only two options available to us, and that every example in the passage illustrates what happens when someone chooses one over the other. The chapter has been building a list of people...

Read together

1. Hebrews 11:23-31 the main passage preached through in the sermon
2. Hebrews 11:6 quoted to show that without faith it is impossible to please God, and that God rewards those who seek Him
3. James 2 referenced to support the point that whatever is not done by faith is sin
4. Psalm 31:19 quoted in the benediction about the good things God has stored up for those who fear and take refuge in Him
5. Joshua 2 read at length to tell the story of Rahab hiding the spies
6. Joshua 6:1-27 referenced for the account of the walls of Jericho falling
7. Joshua 6:22-25 read to describe how Joshua spared Rahab and her household after the city was burned

Talk about it

1. Moses's parents practiced civil disobedience by hiding Moses rather than obeying Pharaoh's edict, and the sermon described their action as being driven by faith rather than fear. Can you think of a situation where faithfulness to God and obedience to human authority have come into tension with each other? How did you or someone you know navigate that?
2. The sermon pointed out that Moses walked away from a position of enormous power and privilege, identifying himself with slaves instead, and that the writer of Hebrews connects this directly to 'the reproach of Christ.' What does it look like in your own life to set aside something that is yours by right for the sake of others knowing God?
3. The sermon drew a sharp line between fear of man and faith in God, saying those are the two options and that whatever is not done by faith is sin. When you look honestly at a decision you are facing right now, which one is driving it more, fear or faith? How can you tell the difference?
4. The wilderness generation crossed the Red Sea in faith but almost immediately began acting out of fear and complaint, and the sermon noted that Hebrews largely skips over those forty years. What do you think makes it so easy to move from a genuine moment of trust in God straight back into fear and grumbling?
5. Rahab was an outsider, a Canaanite and a harlot, yet she declared that the Lord is God in heaven above and on earth beneath, hid the spies, and ended up in the lineage of Christ. What does her inclusion in this list of faith examples say about who God welcomes into his people, and what does that mean for how we think about the people around us?