By Faith

“By faith we understand that the universe has been shaped by the word of God, so that what we see was not made from things that can be seen.

“By faith Abel offered God a sacrifice better than Cain’s. Through that sacrifice, it was said of him that he was righteous, and God himself spoke up for his gifts. And through it he still speaks, even though he is dead.

“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he would not see death. He was nowhere to be found, because God had taken him. Before he was taken, it was said of him that he had pleased God.

“Without faith no one can please him, because anyone who comes to God has to believe that he exists, and that he gives a reward to those who seek him.

“By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, was moved with reverence and built a ship to save his household. Through it he condemned the world, and he became heir of the righteousness which is in line with faith.”

“By faith he stayed in the promised land as an outsider, as if it were someone else’s land. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who shared the same promise with him as heirs. He was looking for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

“By faith even Sarah herself was given the power to become pregnant, and she had a child when she was past the age for it, because she believed that the one who had promised was faithful. So one man, who was as good as dead, became the father of descendants as many as the stars of the sky, as many as the sand by the seashore, more than anyone can count.

“All of them died in faith. They did not receive the promises, but they saw them from far away and welcomed them, and they said openly that they were strangers and travelers on the earth. People who talk like that make it plain that they are seeking a country of their own. If the land they had come out of had been on their minds, they would have had enough time to go back. But now they long for a better country, a heavenly one. So God is not ashamed of them, not ashamed to be known as their God, because he has made a city ready for them.

“By faith, when Abraham was tested, he offered up Isaac. Yes, the man who had gladly received the promises was offering up his only son. It had been said to him, ‘Your offspring will be counted as coming from Isaac.’ He concluded that God is able to raise people up even from the dead. In a way, he did receive Isaac back from the dead.

“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even about things still to come. By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was close to death, spoke of the Israelites’ departure and gave orders about his bones.”

“By faith Moses, once he had grown up, would not let himself be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He would rather be treated badly along with God’s people than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a while. He counted the disgrace of Christ as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, because he kept his eyes on the reward.

“By faith he left Egypt, not afraid of the king’s rage. He held firm, like someone who sees the one who cannot be seen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, to stop the destroyer of the firstborn from touching them.

“By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though it were dry land. When the Egyptians tried to do the same, they were swallowed up. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been circled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute didn’t die with those who disobeyed, because she had welcomed the spies in peace.”

“Women received their dead back through resurrection. Others were tortured and would not accept being set free, so that they might gain a better resurrection. Others were tested by being mocked and whipped, and even by chains and prison.

“They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were killed with the sword. They went from place to place dressed in sheep skins and goat skins. They were in need, suffering and badly treated. The world did not deserve them. They wandered through deserts and mountains, through caves and holes in the ground.

“All of these gained approval through their faith, and yet they did not receive the promise. God had provided something better that has to do with us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.”

“Think about him, and how much he endured from sinners who set themselves against him, so that you don’t get tired and lose heart. You are struggling against sin, but you have not yet resisted so hard that blood was shed.

“What you endure is for discipline. God deals with you as children. Is there any son whose father doesn’t discipline him? But if you go without the discipline that everyone has shared in, then you are illegitimate, and not true children.

“Besides, we had our human fathers to correct us, and we gave them respect. Shouldn’t we all the more put ourselves under the Father of spirits, and live? Those fathers disciplined us for a few days, in the way that seemed right to them, but he does it for our good, so that we may have a part in his holiness.

“At the time, every correction feels painful and not joyful. But afterward it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

“So lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so what is lame won’t be wrenched out of joint, but will be healed instead.”

“You know that even later, when he longed to inherit the blessing, he was turned away. He found no room for a change of mind, though he searched hard for it, with tears.

“You have not come to a mountain that could be touched, a mountain burning with fire, to blackness and darkness and storm, to the sound of a trumpet, and to a voice speaking words. Those who heard that voice begged that not one more word be spoken to them, because they could not stand what was ordered: ‘If even an animal touches the mountain, it is to be stoned.’ What they saw was so fearful that Moses said, ‘I am terrified and trembling.’

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to more angels than anyone can count. You have come to the festival gathering and assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. You have also come to God the Judge of all. You have come to the spirits of upright people who have been made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the blood that was sprinkled, which speaks better than Abel’s blood.

“See that you don’t refuse the one who speaks. If they didn’t escape when they turned down the one who warned them on the earth, then even more surely we will not escape if we turn away from the one who warns from heaven. His voice shook the earth then. But now he has made a promise: ‘Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens.’ Those words, ‘Yet once more,’ mean that the things that are shaken, the things that have been made, will be taken away, so that the things that are not shaken may remain.

“So, since the Kingdom we are receiving can’t be shaken, let’s have grace. Through it we serve God in a way he accepts, with reverence and awe, because our God is a consuming fire.”

“Everyone should hold marriage in honor, and the bed of husband and wife should be kept pure. But God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

“Remember your leaders, the men who spoke God’s word to you. Think about what came of the way they lived. Imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Don’t let different and strange teachings carry you away. It is good for a heart to be made firm by grace, not by foods. Foods did nothing for the people who were so caught up in them.”

“So let’s go out to him, outside of the camp, carrying his shame, because we don’t have a city here that lasts. We are seeking the one that is to come.

“Through him, then, let’s keep offering up a sacrifice of praise to God, the fruit of lips that declare their loyalty to his name. But don’t forget to keep on doing good and sharing, because God is well pleased with sacrifices like these.

“Obey your leaders and submit to them. They watch over your souls as people who will have to give an account. Obey them, and they can do this with joy and not with groaning. Their groaning would do you no good.

“Pray for us, because we are certain that our conscience is good, and we want to live honorably in all things. I strongly urge you to do this, so that I may be given back to you sooner.”

“But I urge you, brothers and sisters, to be patient with these words of encouragement, because I have written to you only briefly. Know that our brother Timothy has been freed. If he comes soon, I will see you with him.

“Greet all of your leaders and all the saints. The Italians greet you.

“Grace be with you all. Amen.”