Hebrews 11:13-16 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have h...

Hebrews 11:11-12 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.            Having highlighted the great faith of A...

Hebrews 11:10 …for [Abraham] was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.       What must Abraham have thought after God appeared to him in Ur, promising him a land where he would be blessed and where his name would be great (cf. Gen. 12:1-3)? Since it is known through archaeology that Ur of the Chaldees where Abraham lived was a thriving metropolis, Abraham ...

Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose archit...

Hebrews 11:7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.Genesis 6:9 describes Noah as a man who was “righteous… blameless” and as one who “walked with God.” Now since no man is righteous (Rom. 3:10; cf. Ps. 14:1-3) ...

Romans 12:3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.In Romans 12:3 Paul speaks of both the grace given to him by God and the faith God has measured to him. It is grace, God’s first gift to man, that opens the door to His second ...

Hebrews 11:5-6 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.       One of the most enigmatic characters in t...

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.       Genesis 4:3 says that, Cain, a son of Adam and Eve, brought “an offering” to God from the ground. Perhaps Cain was a farmer. In contrast to this, his brother Abel brought G...

Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.       Prior to anything tangible existing, God was existing—all three members of the Trinity dwelling together in eternity in perfect love and unity, lacking nothing. Everything that this one God existing eternally in three distinct persons chose ...

Hebrews 10:39—11:2 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval.       Having warned his audience about the eternal dangers of turning against Jesus Christ after having previously believed in Him (10...

Hebrews 10:37-39 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. 38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. 39 But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.            Back around 610 BC the prophet Habakkuk was praying to God in a particula...

Hebrews 10:35-36 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.            In Jesus’ parable of the soils in Mark 4:1-9 (cf. Matt. 13:3-9, 18-23), He surmises a preacher who sows the word of God like a farmer sows seed in his fields. The seed represents the gos...

Hebrews 10:32-34 But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, 33 partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. 34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a ...

Matthew 13:8-9, 23 And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear… 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”            When the word of God is preached, ...

1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith.            Notably, the Spirit of God (i.e., Scripture) says that in “later times” some who will “fall away” from the faith. The Greek for “fall away” (Gr. aphistēmi) is literally “from standing.” Now neither the Apostle Paul nor any other writer of Scripture ever promotes the false notion that a C...