Faith Directed People’s Lives

11 Faith assures us of things we expect and convinces us of the existence of things we cannot see. ² God accepted our ancestors because of their faith.

³ Faith convinces us that God created the world through his word. This means what can be seen was made by something that could not be seen.

⁴ Faith led Abel to offer God a better sacrifice than Cain’s sacrifice. Through his faith Abel received God’s approval, since God accepted his sacrifices. Through his faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁵ Faith enabled Enoch to be taken instead of dying. No one could find him, because God had taken him. Scripture states that before Enoch was taken, God was pleased with him. ⁶ No one can please God without faith. Whoever goes to God must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

¹³ All these people died having faith. They didn’t receive the things that God had promised them, but they saw these things coming in the distant future and rejoiced. They acknowledged that they were living as strangers with no permanent home on earth. ¹⁴ Those who say such things make it clear that they are looking for their own country. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking about the country that they had left, they could have found a way to go back. ¹⁶ Instead, these men were longing for a better country—a heavenly country. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has prepared a city for them.