1. Faith means being sure of the things we hope for. And faith means knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.
2. People who lived in the past became famous because of faith.
3. It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God’s command. This means that what we see was made by something that cannot be seen.
4. It was by faith that Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. God said he was pleased with the gifts Abel offered. So God called Abel a good man because of his faith. Abel died, but through his faith he is still speaking.
5. It was by faith that Enoch was taken to heaven. He never died. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. Before he was taken, the Scripture says that he was a man who truly pleased God.
6. Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.
7. It was by faith Noah heard God’s warnings about things that he could not yet see. He obeyed God and built a large boat to save his family. By his faith, Noah showed that the world was wrong. And he became one of those who are made right with God through faith.
8. It was by faith Abraham obeyed God’s call to go to another place that God promised to give him. He left his own country, not knowing where he was to go.
9. It was by faith that he lived in the country God promised to give him. He lived there like a visitor who did not belong. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who had received that same promise from God.
10. Abraham was waiting for the city that has real foundations—the city planned and built by God.
11. He was too old to have children, and Sarah was not able to have children. It was by faith that Abraham was made able to become a father. Abraham trusted God to do what he had promised.
12. This man was so old that he was almost dead. But from him came as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. They are as many as the grains of sand on the seashore that cannot be counted.
13. All these great men died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people. But they saw them coming far in the future and were glad. They said that they were like visitors and strangers on earth.
14. When people say such things, then they show that they are looking for a country that will be their own country.
15. If they had been thinking about that country they had left, they could have gone back.
16. But those men were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God. For he has prepared a city for them.
17. It was by faith that Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice. God made the promises to Abraham. But God tested him. And Abraham was ready to offer his own son as a sacrifice.