Faith and Assurance

¹ Now faith^* is the assurance^* of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. ² This is why the ancients were commended.

³ By faith we understand that the universe^* was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

The Faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah

⁴ By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous when God gave approval to his gifts. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save^* his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

The Faith of Abraham and Sarah

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, without knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he dwelt in the promised land as a stranger in a foreign country. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

¹¹ By faith Sarah, even though she was barren and beyond the proper age, was enabled to conceive^* a child, because she considered^* Him faithful who had promised. ¹² And so from one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

¹³ All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed^* them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.

¹⁴ Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own.^{* 15} If they had been thinking of^* the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when he was tested,^* offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,^*18 even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.”¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death.^*

The Faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.

The Faith of Moses

²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after his birth, because they saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were unafraid of the king’s edict.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people^* rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. ²⁶ He valued disgrace^* for Christ^* above the treasures^* of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward.

²⁷ By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing^* the king’s anger;^* he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn.

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow,^* they were drowned.

The Faith of Many

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.

³¹ By faith the prostitute^* Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.^*

³² And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the raging fire, and escaped the edge of the sword; who gained strength from weakness, became mighty in battle, and put foreign armies to flight.

³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again.^* Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection.^{* 36} Still others endured^* mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.

³⁷ They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. ³⁸ The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. ⁴⁰ God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.