HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1487
HEB R EWS 11
page 1117
He also said,
“The Lord will judge his own people.”*
31 It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of
the living God.
32 Think back on those early days when you
first learned about Christ.* Remember how you
remained faithful even though it meant terrible
suffering. 33 Sometimes you were exposed to
public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes
you helped others who were suffering the same
things. 34 You suffered along with those who
were thrown into jail, and when all you owned
was taken from you, you accepted it with joy.
You knew there were better things waiting for
you that will last forever.
35 So do not throw away this confident trust in
the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings
you! 36 Patient endurance is what you need now,
so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then
you will receive all that he has promised.
37
38
“For in just a little while,
the Coming One will come and not delay.
And my righteous ones will live by faith.*
But I will take no pleasure in anyone who
turns away.”*
39 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. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of
old earned a good reputation.
3 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.
4 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.
5 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. 6 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.
7 It was by faith that Noah built a large boat to
save his family from the flood. He obeyed God,
11
10:30b Deut 32:36. 10:32 Greek when you were first
enlightened. 10:38 Or my righteous ones will live by their
faithfulness; Greek reads my righteous one will live by faith.
10:37-38 Hab 2:3-4. 11:5 Gen 5:24. 11:11 Or It was by faith
that he [Abraham] was able to have a child, even though Sarah
was barren and he was too old. He believed.
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.
8 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.
9 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. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city
with eternal foundations, a city designed and
built by God.
11 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. 12 And so a whole nation came from
this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in
the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is
no way to count them.
• Faith
HE B R E WS 11:1
The beginning point of faith is believing
in God’s character: He is who he says
he is. From this point, we can move on
to believe in God’s promises: He will do
what he says he will do. When we believe
that God will fulfill his promises even
though we don’t see those promises
materializing yet, we demonstrate true
faith (John 20:29).
• Creativity
HE B R E WS 11:3
The Word of God is powerful, creative,
world-forming. He spoke and the universe appeared—we appeared. Unlike
God, we can’t speak and bring into existence what didn’t exist before. But God
has given us the ability to be immensely
creative; after all, we are created in his
image (Genesis 1:27). It’s important to
remember that God’s love is at the heart
of his creativity. He created us so that we
could have fellowship with him. He created the world so that we could enjoy it.
Since we are made in his image, it would
seem logical, then, that our creativity
should flow from a character of love also.
What motivates your creativity?