My Favorite Bible Verses and Quotes

Part: 32: By Faith

By Faith

 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the

ancients were commended for.  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. By faith Abel offered God a

better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well

of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.  By faith Enoch was taken from

this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him a

way. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.  And without faith it is

impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he

rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy

fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the

righteousness that comes by faith.  By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later

receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.  By

faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as

did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he was looking forward to the

city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith Abraham, even though he was past

age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him

faithful who had made the promise.  And so from this 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. All

these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they

only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and s

trangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 

If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 

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. By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered

Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, e

ven though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham

reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from d

eath. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.By faith Jacob, when he was

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

oseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave

instructions about his bones. 

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born,

because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith

Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.  He chose to

be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 

He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because

he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered

because he saw him who is invisible.  By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so

that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. By faith the people passed

through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.  By

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

prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. 

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David,

Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained

what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the

edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and

routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and

refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging,

while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned ; they were sawed in two; they

were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted

and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in

caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received

what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us

would they be made perfect.

Hebrews 11:1-40