Faith and Assurance
(Genesis 1:1–2; John 1:1–5)
Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. 2Co 5:72Co 4:18Rom 8:24-25Heb 11:7Heb 10:221Pe 1:7-8Psa 27:13Heb 11:27 This is why the ancients were commended. Heb 11:39Heb 11:4
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. Psa 33:6Jhn 1:32Pe 3:5Rom 4:17Act 17:24Rev 4:11Heb 1:2Gen 1:1
The Faith of Abel, Enoch, Noah
(Genesis 4—9)
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. Gen 4:3-51Jn 3:11-12Heb 12:24Gen 4:10Mat 23:35Pro 15:8Jud 1:11Heb 9:22
By faith Enoch was taken up 1so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” 2 For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. Gen 5:21-24Jud 1:142Ki 2:11Heb 11:6Rev 11:9-121Jn 3:221Th 2:42Ki 2:16-17
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Pro 8:17Jer 29:13-14Mat 6:331Ch 28:9Psa 105:3-4Luk 12:31Psa 119:10Heb 7:25
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. Gen 6:131Pe 3:20Ezk 14:14Luk 17:26Rom 4:13Ezk 14:20Gal 5:5Gen 7:23
The Faith of Abraham and Sarah
(Genesis 15—22; Romans 4:1–12)
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. Act 7:2-4Gen 12:1-4Mat 7:24-25Gen 15:7-8Gen 22:18Gen 12:7Jas 2:14-16Isa 41:2 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. Gen 12:8Gen 13:18Gen 13:3Act 7:5-6Heb 6:17Gen 18:9Gen 26:3-4Gen 35:27 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. Heb 13:14Php 3:202Co 5:1Heb 12:22Jhn 14:2Heb 3:4Rev 21:2Rev 21:10-27
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. Heb 10:23Rom 4:20-21Gen 18:11-14Gen 21:1-2Luk 1:361Pe 3:5-6Gen 17:17-19 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. Gen 22:17Gen 32:12Gen 15:5Hos 1:10Jer 33:22Gen 26:4Exo 32:13Isa 10:22
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. Gen 23:4Psa 39:12Heb 11:271Ch 29:14-151Pe 2:11Heb 11:39Jhn 8:56Rom 8:24
Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. 2Co 4:18Heb 11:16Heb 13:14Rom 8:23-25Php 1:23 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Gen 24:6-8Gen 12:10Gen 11:31Gen 31:18Gen 32:9-11 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. Heb 13:14Php 3:20Heb 11:10Jhn 14:2Mat 25:34Heb 12:22Heb 2:112Ti 4:18
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, 3 Gen 22:16Gen 22:1-12Jas 2:21-241Pe 1:6-7Jas 5:11Rev 3:101Pe 4:12Pro 17:3 even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” 4 Gen 21:12Rom 9:7Gen 17:19 Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death. Mat 9:28Rom 4:17-21Eph 3:20Gen 22:13Gen 22:4-5Heb 11:11-12Heb 9:24Rom 5:14
The Faith of Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
(Genesis 27—50)
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. Gen 27:27-40Gen 28:2-3
By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. Gen 47:31Gen 48:5-22
By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones. Exo 13:19Gen 50:24-25Jos 24:32Act 7:16
The Faith of Moses
(Exodus 2—15; Acts 7:20–22)
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. Exo 1:22Exo 1:16Exo 2:2-10Heb 13:6Mat 10:28Act 7:20Isa 41:14Isa 8:12-13
By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Exo 2:10-11Act 7:21-24 He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. Psa 84:102Ti 2:3-10Job 36:211Pe 4:12-162Co 5:17Job 20:51Pe 1:6-71Pe 2:10 He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward. Heb 10:35Heb 11:61Pe 4:14Mat 5:122Co 12:102Co 6:10Heb 2:2Luk 14:14
By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. 2Co 4:18Heb 11:13Exo 2:14-15Heb 11:1Exo 10:28-29Exo 14:10-13Exo 4:19Jas 5:11 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. Exo 12:21-30Heb 9:191Pe 1:2Heb 12:24Exo 12:3-14
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, 5 they were drowned. Exo 14:13Psa 106:9-11Psa 78:13Hab 3:8-10Isa 51:9-10Isa 63:11-16Jos 2:10Psa 66:6
The Faith of Many
(Joshua–Malachi)
By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. Jos 6:3-202Co 10:4-5
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient. Jas 2:25Jos 6:22-25Mat 1:5Jos 2:1-24Mat 1:1Jos 1:11Pe 2:81Pe 3:20
And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, 1Sa 1:201Sa 16:11Sa 16:13Jdg 11:1-12Jdg 13:1-16Jhn 21:251Pe 1:10-121Sa 12:11 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, Heb 6:12-15Psa 144:1-22Ti 4:17Heb 10:361Pe 5:82Sa 5:4-25Dan 6:20-23Gal 3:16 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. 1Sa 17:51-522Ki 6:16-18Jdg 15:8Psa 144:102Ch 32:20-222Co 12:9-101Ki 19:31Sa 14:13-15
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 1Ki 17:22-242Ki 4:27-37Php 3:11Act 9:411Co 15:54Act 24:15Act 23:6Jhn 11:40-45 Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. Jer 20:2Gen 39:20Jer 37:15-212Ch 30:102Ch 16:10Heb 10:34Jer 20:7Jer 32:2-3
They were stoned, they were sawed in two, 6 they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. 2Ch 24:21Jer 26:231Ki 19:101Ki 21:13-152Ki 1:81Ki 21:10Act 7:521Co 4:9-13 The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground. 1Ki 18:41Ki 19:91Sa 22:1Isa 57:11Sa 24:1-31Ki 14:12-131Ki 17:31Ki 18:13
These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. Luk 10:23-24Heb 11:13Heb 11:21Pe 1:12 God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect. Rev 6:11Heb 10:11-14Heb 8:6Heb 7:19Heb 5:9Heb 9:23Heb 9:8-15Rom 3:25-26