-
Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.
-
For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire house.
-
Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later.
-
For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ.
-
For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.
-
So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.
-
Then you will not become spiritually dull and indifferent. Instead, you will follow the example of those who are going to inherit God’s promises because of their faith and endurance.
-
This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.
-
Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering.
-
And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”
-
But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.
-
Great Examples of Faith
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
-
Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
-
By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
-
It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith.
-
It was by faith that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who pleased God.
-
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.
-
It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the righteousness that comes by faith.
-
It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going.
-
And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise.
-
It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise.
-
It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,
-
It was by faith that Isaac promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.
-
It was by faith that Jacob, when he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in worship as he leaned on his staff.
-
It was by faith that Joseph, when he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when they left.
