IDEA: What we hold about how the world came into being is a matter of faith and not simply a matter of science.

TEXT: By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible (Hebrews 11:3).

PURPOSE: To help listeners see that the first four words of Genesis are among the most important in the entire Bible.

How does Hebrews 11 develop? What is the author doing?

Does it seem strange that the first example the writer gives is about creation and not about people?

I. Why does the author start, not with biography, but with a statement about creation?

Is what we believe about the origin of the world really a matter of "faith"? Why?

Does faith about how the world began stand opposite to "proof"?

Do agnostics and atheists have a kind of faith?

II. In this chapter how do we see faith in the list of people the writer mentions?

Just as we can see in people's actions the evidence of their faith, so we can see God behind the creation.

If we came to believe that the world somehow created itself apart from God's command, do you think that would show up in the way we live? Faith would be merely wishful thinking.

If faith is exercised by men and women about how the world began, then they must be concerned that everything that exists on earth is under God's control.