Hebrews chapter 11 lists many fathers of our faith, in chronological order, which the author calls a "cloud of witnesses". Their testimony of the faithfulness of God, and the testimony of our Christian heritage provides me with my Number 2 reason for faith in Jesus.
Honestly, without our spiritual ancestors' faith, this world would be a very different place. I owe my existence and my faith to their sacrificial offering of obedience to God.
Noah undoubtedly endured mockery and isolation over many decades as he built the Ark to save his family and life on Earth from extinction.
Abraham demonstrated his faith by his willingness to give his only son on the same mountain where Jesus would be sacrificed for our salvation.
Moses encountered God in the Sinai desert, then in the power of faith convinced the most powerful emperor on Earth to let his people escape from their slavery in Egypt.
Rahab was a Canaanite prostitute whose faith enabled her to overcome sexual slavery and become an ancestor in the lineage of Jesus.
King David (Rahab's great great grandson) received the promise to inherit an eternal kingdom through Jesus, whom David worshipped as his Lord.
Mary the mother of Jesus was found worthy to bear the Son of God in her womb. She endured the unjust and cruel execution of her son before her eyes, and testified to His resurrection among the apostles.
The apostles each testified of their faith in Jesus and demonstrated it by discipling the nations of the known world, leaving their testimony in writing and with their own blood. The church fathers who came after the apostles, such as Ignatius and Polycarp, suffered similar fates at the hands of the Roman Empire for simply refusing to worship the Roman emperors and gods.
Reformers such as Wycliffe, Luther, and Tyndale were instrumental in spreading the word of faith using the Bible translated in their own languages. They established organizations and churches that encouraged the priesthood of believers and personal relationships with God. Many, like William Tyndale, paid the ultimate price for spreading this gospel at the hands of the religious rulers of their day.
Some of my ancestors in Europe were Anabaptist, which put them at odds with the state church. Others may have been Bavarian Jews. Many fled Europe to America when the "Holy Roman Emperors" forced them to flee or face persecution. These hearty and faithful souls endured peril and threats of death, escaping these corrupt systems to become pioneers of religious liberty in the new land of America.
My own parents raised me in a Presbyterian church, in which my father taught Sunday School and demonstrated his own commitment to the Lord. I remember him taking me to a Billy Graham crusade when I was around 10 years old, where I first walked the aisle with him to receive Christ. Even though I did not yet understand or believe the gospel as a young teenager, my later conversion and maturity in Christ helped me understand the role both my parents played in my walk of faith. For them and people like those mentioned above, I will be eternally grateful.
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