Imputation is based on the Old Testament

[Lizbeth]

To my understanding it must be the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed to us.....then we follow in His footsteps to the death of our old man or outer man. And then like Jesus, we'll be raised to live in resurrection life. We follow the same path that Jesus did, though He didn't "need" to (learning obedience by the things which He suffered....being perfected through His sufferings as the Captain of our salvation). Righteousness leading to true holiness. From faith to the maturing of our faith, and also from glory to a greater glory.

Eph 2:8-9

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

1Co 4:7

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

I can't fathom anything as being of our own. Otherwise it would have no life/power at all to get us from here to "there". We receive the seed, or earnest, from the Lord (His Spirit) which then needs to grow to maturity or fullness.

 

[Episkopos]

If the way into life is narrow, and many try but few are able to enter in...where does that leave the many who believe they have been imputed to be on the same level as God in righteousness...without having entered in?

To my understanding it must be the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed to us.....then we follow in His footsteps to the death of our old man or outer man. And then like Jesus, we'll be raised to live in resurrection life. We follow the same path that Jesus did, though He didn't "need" to (learning obedience by the things which He suffered....being perfected through His sufferings as the Captain of our salvation). Righteousness leading to true holiness. From faith to the maturing of our faith, and also from glory to a greater glory.

Eph 2:8-9

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

1Co 4:7

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

I can't fathom anything as being of our own. Otherwise it would have no life/power at all to get us from here to "there". We receive the seed, or earnest, from the Lord (His Spirit) which then needs to grow to maturity or fullness.

But who's the us? Is every believer just like Paul or Christ?

The vagueness of claiming Paul's words for oneself has led to the multiplication of the self-justification that we see in the church in these last days...the church of Laodicea.

The clarity is that a tree is known of its fruit. If it is of Christ there is no sin. In Him is no sin.

We can follow Christ (in the wilderness) from many different distances. That's the truth of it. The narrow way has never been easy....no matter what the popular religious culture has it be.

The earnest (aravon) is only a sample of the full product. Taste and see that the Lord is good. But the full product costs us everything. Jesus tells us to repent and BUY from Him the oil salve that we might truly see.

Imputing God's righteousness on ourselves? If possible even the very elect would be deceived.

 

[Episkopos]

God doesn't hate the Jews. They fell in the wilderness and failed to enter into the Promised Land. And we are no better. Can we take a sample of grace and then justify ourselves without a true repentance and surrender to God...one that is accepted by Him?

 

[Lizbeth]

If the way into life is narrow, and many try but few are able to enter in...where does that leave the many who believe they have been imputed to be on the same level as God in righteousness...without having entered in?

I believe the same way the thief on the cross was saved, who had no time in this world to mature in the faith. He simply believed and acknowledged his sin and confessed Jesus. Newer believers who are on the narrow path and obeying the Lord, if any should die before coming to the full stature of Christ...aren't they saved? I believe so. We are justified by His blood, by faith....we have received the atonement. As well as being justified by faith and works together, with whatever time we have on this earth, whether a little or a lot. I believe God will judge us on the basis of what we did with what measure and what time we had, not from whether we reached a certain level....He is a righteous judge. From scripture, I read that HIS righteousness is in us, just not necessarily being walked in fully.....as you have talked about it may be trapped to whatever degree behind that husk of the outer man that we are endeavouring to shed.

Praying that I don't mess this up in the expressing of it, but true fear of the Lord is spiritual, it isn't always necessarily a logical carnal thing, like we might fear a serial killer. It's like the the Lord by His spirit puts His fear in us to spur us on to keep growing as far as we can in this life, all for HIS glory and to achieve HIS purposes. He leads as well as sometimes DRIVES His sheep along. Times when we need that fear to keep going and to keep from straying from the narrow path.

 

[Episkopos]

I believe the same way the thief on the cross was saved, who had no time in this world to mature in the faith. He simply believed and acknowledged his sin and confessed Jesus. Newer believers who are on the narrow path and obeying the Lord, if any should die before coming to the full stature of Christ...aren't they saved? I believe so. We are justified by His blood, by faith....we have received the atonement. As well as being justified by faith and works together, with whatever time we have on this earth, whether a little or a lot. I believe God will judge us on the basis of what we did with what measure and what time we had, not from whether we reached a certain level....He is a righteous judge. From scripture, I read that HIS righteousness is in us, just not necessarily being walked in fully.....as you have talked about it may be trapped to whatever degree behind that husk of the outer man that we are endeavouring to shed.

The error is thinking that God is not merciful apart from grace. The thief on the cross was received based on mercy not grace. The same applies to all who do right and fear the Lord.

God's righteousness is not in us but ON us. It is a covering anointing. The Christ in us has to do with character not power. We are to grow into Christ's likeness as Christ is formed IN us (not on us).

The higher walk leads to glory...not just salvation. If we walk in the salvation of a resurrection life right now...we are headed for glory. The ones who never get that far will be saved if they are faithful till the end.

Praying that I don't mess this up in the expressing of it, but true fear of the Lord is spiritual, it isn't always necessarily a logical carnal thing, like we might fear a serial killer. It's like the the Lord by His spirit puts His fear in us to spur us on to keep growing as far as we can in this life, all for HIS glory and to achieve HIS purposes. He leads as well as sometimes DRIVES His sheep along. Times when we need that fear to keep going and to keep from straying from the narrow path.

Amen!

 

[Lizbeth]

If the way into life is narrow, and many try but few are able to enter in...where does that leave the many who believe they have been imputed to be on the same level as God in righteousness...without having entered in?

But who's the us? Is every believer just like Paul or Christ?

The vagueness of claiming Paul's words for oneself has led to the multiplication of the self-justification that we see in the church in these last days...the church of Laodicea.

The clarity is that a tree is known of its fruit. If it is of Christ there is no sin. In Him is no sin.

We can follow Christ (in the wilderness) from many different distances. That's the truth of it. The narrow way has never been easy....no matter what the popular religious culture has it be.

The earnest (aravon) is only a sample of the full product. Taste and see that the Lord is good. But the full product costs us everything. Jesus tells us to repent and BUY from Him the oil salve that we might truly see.

Imputing God's righteousness on ourselves? If possible even the very elect would be deceived.

I hope nobody is imputing it on themselves. It is the Lord imputing it to us undeserving wretches and that's why it's such an indescribable gift that fills us with gratitude! As well as encourages us when we are feeling unworthy. I wonder if sometimes we can be too literal or too logical in how we're thinking of a thing.....we only need to take an allegory as far as the Lord means it as an illustration.

Amen, agree that this costs us everything.

 

[Episkopos]

I hope nobody is imputing it on themselves. It is the Lord imputing it to us undeserving wretches and that's why it's such an indescribable gift that fills us with gratitude! As well as encourages us when we are feeling unworthy. I wonder if sometimes we can be too literal or too logical in how we're thinking of a thing.....we only need to take an allegory as far as the Lord means it as an illustration.

Amen, agree that this costs us everything.

What works for you...being a good hearted person...may well be very damaging for another. That's how bad doctrines get perpetuated. The Reformation helped the few and condemned the many. It is like the healthy being able to survive on a bad diet...whereas the immune-compromised die because of it. We have to consider others in our doctrines, not just what seems to work for us.

Unless the cross is preached, all we get is sell-imputations of the good stuff. The flesh wants to be saved. It is based on human survival. But the part of us that wants to be saved needs to be crucified...or at least be weaned from.

I think most of Western Christianity is headed for a downfall. We are rich and think we have need of nothing. And our righteousness is as the "emperor's new clothes". We are naked, wretched, and blind. And have quite the strong religious opinions. Jesus condemned the rich and comfortable...as from that smug settled place, it is nigh impossible to surrender our carnal selves to God. Instead, thousands of ministries are catering to the flesh...with this awful imputation doctrine...that justifies people "just as if" they never sinned at all.

How can we ever repent with such ideas?

We need to be more accurate and clear in our doctrines. Enough with the vagueness that lets slip in the camels (as we try to strain out gnats)


I hope you will be able to see what makes for true holiness and true righteousness in a way that others can benefit.

 

[Lizbeth]

What works for you...being a good hearted person...may well be very damaging for another. That's how bad doctrines get perpetuated. The Reformation helped the few and condemned the many. It is like the healthy being able to survive on a bad diet...whereas the immune-compromised die because of it. We have to consider others in our doctrines, not just what seems to work for us.

Unless the cross is preached, all we get is sell-imputations of the good stuff. The flesh wants to be saved. It is based on human survival. But the part of us that wants to be saved needs to be crucified...or at least be weaned from.

I think most of Western Christianity is headed for a downfall. We are rich and think we have need of nothing. And our righteousness is as the "emperor's new clothes". We are naked, wretched, and blind. And have quite the strong religious opinions. Jesus condemned the rich and comfortable...as from that smug settled place, it is nigh impossible to surrender our carnal selves to God. Instead, thousands of ministries are catering to the flesh...with this awful imputation doctrine...that justifies people "just as if" they never sinned at all.

How can we ever repent with such ideas?

We need to be more accurate and clear in our doctrines. Enough with the vagueness that lets slip in the camels (as we try to strain out gnats)


I hope you will be able to see what makes for true holiness and true righteousness in a way that others can benefit.

It's not vague to me. There are many things in the bible that appear paradoxical.

Well, the truth is the truth no matter who is hearing or reading it.....it doesn't need to be altered to fit different people. But it may be hard to be understood...we need the Holy Spirit to give us the understanding, and not try to make it fit a logical pattern. And if the gospel be hid it is hid to those who are perishing, the scripture says.

Church folks in the west at least, don't seem to grow very much, they just remain feeding on the milk and don't move on to the meat. As well as being taught things that are false. There can be many reasons for all this, I believe. I think one reason is that their lives are too comfortable in general....suffering in some form is a necessary component of being perfected and matured and learning obedience like the captain of our salvation. As well as that churches aren't structured as a body, but are modelled after the clergy/laity division of Catholicism, since that is just the natural tendency of uncrucified flesh to do things in the way of the world and not the way of the spirit. Hard for believers to grow when they aren't discipled and nor are they given freedom to exercise their faith in the things God has given them, as well as not even the pastors grow when nobody dares to question or correct "the Pastor" - they just keep getting deeper into whatever error they have latched onto.

I agree with you about the need to go on to perfection, and things pertaining to that. We are not to remain camped out on the shore of the Red Sea indefinitely when the Lord is calling us to head out into a wilderness until we cross our Jordan and receive/enter what has been promised. The pillar and cloud are leading us onward and upward. Wilderness is where our "corn of wheat" gets buried and dies, in order to produce a crop. Like Moses who started out trying to serve God with a mixture of the flesh, but then after a good 40 years of drying out in the wilderness he finally had become prepared by the Lord to go back and rescue souls from "Egypt" and lead them through the exact same wilderness that he had learned to know so well and thus was qualified to do that job.

 

[Episkopos]

It's not vague to me. There are many things in the bible that appear paradoxical.

Well, the truth is the truth no matter who is hearing or reading it.....it doesn't need to be altered to fit different people. But it may be hard to be understood...we need the Holy Spirit to give us the understanding, and not try to make it fit a logical pattern. And if the gospel be hid it is hid to those who are perishing, the scripture says.

Church folks in the west at least, don't seem to grow very much, they just remain feeding on the milk and don't move on to the meat. As well as being taught things that are false. There can be many reasons for all this, I believe. I think one reason is that their lives are too comfortable in general....suffering in some form is a necessary component of being perfected and matured and learning obedience like the captain of our salvation. As well as that churches aren't structured as a body, but are modelled after the clergy/laity division of Catholicism, since that is just the natural tendency of uncrucified flesh to do things in the way of the world and not the way of the spirit. Hard for believers to grow when they aren't discipled and nor are they given freedom to exercise their faith in the things God has given them, as well as not even the pastors grow when nobody dares to question or correct "the Pastor" - they just keep getting deeper into whatever error they have latched onto.

I agree with you about the need to go on to perfection, and things pertaining to that. We are not to remain camped out on the shore of the Red Sea indefinitely when the Lord is calling us to head out into a wilderness until we cross our Jordan and receive/enter what has been promised. The pillar and cloud are leading us onward and upward. Wilderness is where our "corn of wheat" gets buried and dies, in order to produce a crop. Like Moses who started out trying to serve God with a mixture of the flesh, but then after a good 40 years of drying out in the wilderness he finally had become prepared by the Lord to go back and rescue souls from "Egypt" and lead them through the exact same wilderness that he had learned to know so well and thus was qualified to do that job.

There is a reason why the church is filled with people at the same time enthusiastic AND going nowhere. They are unable to repent because of false doctrines having been received as truth. They have believed the big lie. They have no love for the truth.

What is the big lie? False holiness.

For Catholics, it is to be a member of THE corporate church. For them it is the church that is holy. No matter how wicked they might be personally, they belong to a holy organization.


For Protestants it is this idea of a personal sinful holiness. No matter how sinful the individual, God sees them as a saint. How? By "imputed" righteousness that blinds God to their true condition.

Which is worse?

I see the Protestant error as more damaging because it is more of a personal affront to God's holiness. A Protestant is tempted with a self-justification that a Catholic would never dare to claim.

 

[Lizbeth]

There is a reason why the church is filled with people at the same time enthusiastic AND going nowhere. They are unable to repent because of false doctrines having been received as truth. They have believed the big lie. They have no love for the truth.

What is the big lie? False holiness.

For Catholics, it is to be a member of THE corporate church. For them it is the church that is holy. No matter how wicked they might be personally, they belong to a holy organization.


For Protestants it is this idea of a personal sinful holiness. No matter how sinful the individual, God sees them as a saint. How? By "imputed" righteousness that blinds God to their true condition.

Which is worse?

I see the Protestant error as more damaging because it is more of a personal affront to God's holiness. A Protestant is tempted with a self-justification that a Catholic would never dare to claim.

I think the foundation is what it is and doesn't need altering..it's perfect. What needs altering is what people do with it. We're not to keep going in circles around it when we are told to leave the elementary things and go on to perfection. We need to keep building higher on that wonderful foundation in other words. You know, the word and the things of God test us. We have been given this wonderful liberty, but we are tested by that too. People who abuse it either don't have His spirit to begin with or are showing extreme ignorance of God's word, or are showing they are not sincere and following Jesus and/or they are being led astray by false teachers. Those who don't grow and mature may not be able to "stand in the evil day" when the Lord comes looking for fruit. There are so many admonitions and warnings in scripture. As you have pointed out somewhere the initial free oil for our lamps can run out if we're not moving on and continuing to pay a price in order to "buy" more. The Lord expects more from those who should be "adults" by now than He does from those who are younger in the faith and He judges accordingly. "By now ye should be teachers but ye still have need of milk."

(Brother I have to tell you, it doesn't matter to me what Catholics may claim or not claim....the vast majority of them are lost souls who need the true gospel every bit as much as the bible reading Jews and religious leaders of Jesus' time needed the gospel. I know because I was raised in Catholicism. "If ye have not the spirit ye are none of His." People who are lost can read and talk about the bible as much as anyone, and even be very nice people who would give the shirt off their backs, but that isn't what makes someone a true believer. Jesus said "Ye must be born again.")

 

[Episkopos]

I think the foundation is what it is and doesn't need altering..it's perfect. What needs altering is what people do with it. We're not to keep going in circles around it when we are told to leave the elementary things and go on to perfection. We need to keep building higher on that wonderful foundation in other words. You know, the word and the things of God test us. We have been given this wonderful liberty, but we are tested by that too. People who abuse it either don't have His spirit to begin with or are showing extreme ignorance of God's word, or are showing they are not sincere and following Jesus and/or they are being led astray by false teachers. Those who don't grow and mature may not be able to "stand in the evil day" when the Lord comes looking for fruit. There are so many admonitions and warnings in scripture. As you have pointed out somewhere the initial free oil for our lamps can run out if we're not moving on and continuing to pay a price in order to "buy" more. The Lord expects more from those who should be "adults" by now than He does from those who are younger in the faith and He judges accordingly. "By now ye should be teachers but ye still have need of milk."

I have tried explaining the difference between righteousness and holiness. It would seem that once a person has latched onto a form of doctrine...nothing else can enter in.

The high calling that is in Christ urges us forward into Christ-like character AND the covering anointing that makes such growth possible.

(Brother I have to tell you, it doesn't matter to me what Catholics may claim or not claim....the vast majority of them are lost souls who need the true gospel every bit as much as the bible reading Jews and religious leaders of Jesus' time needed the gospel. I know because I was raised in Catholicism. "If ye have not the spirit ye are none of His." People who are lost can read and talk about the bible as much as anyone, and even be very nice people who would give the shirt off their backs, but that isn't what makes someone a true believer. Jesus said "Ye must be born again.")

Catholics are our brothers and sisters. They know nothing of the high calling. But they are humbler. They will be judged LESS severely...because they don't make silly and unholy claims for themselves. It is how we judge that we will be judged. If we don't judge...then we will not be judged.


Unless one can make the distinction about the different levels in our calling....then we will fall into the Pharisees trap. We will judge others as being less than us...rather than we being more responsible for what we have received.

We who have received grace will be judged HARDER for it.

I wish that protestants could hear this.

 

[Episkopos]

How can a good anointing produce bad character? When we judge ourselves as superior to those who have not received the same anointing!
When we get something from God, we are judged AGAINST it. To whom much is given MORE is required.

So rather than judge others and let grace be deceitful to us...why not see ourselves as greater debtors according to what we have received? We are not superior for having received grace. We merely have a greater responsibility.

 

[Behold]

In the OT we read that Abraham was imputed (attributed) ​

Imputed Righteousness can only come from the One who gives it.
This cant be you trying to do it., otherwise it would not be "imputed to you" by God.

 

[Behold]

In the OT we read that Abraham was imputed (attributed) with having righteousness by faith. ​

Inheritance, from God, who has made the born again, "an Heir of God" and "joint heirs with Jesus", is not based on your behavior.
Its based on What Jesus accomplished for us, so that by HIS SACRIFICE of Blood and LIFE, we are given the inheritance, that is proven by being born again.
Being born again, is the only proof a person is going to heaven, and its the only proof they have received the Inheritance.

 

[Episkopos]

Imputed Righteousness can only come from the One who gives it.
This cant be you trying to do it., otherwise it would not be "imputed to you" by God.

You are confusing two issues here.

1. Imputing (attributing) something to someone is only true if there is a real something being attributed. God is not la liar...so then the reformation idea of making God either a liar or blind falls apart. He sees what is real and true. He does NOT cover up our sins. The soul that sins will die. And, the wages of sin is death. You have missed the power of the gospel to settle for a man-made fable. The gospel is about the power OVER sin...not a cover-up scheme for God's "favourites". If God did have favourites (which He does not) it would be the Jews not us. And if they can be rejected so can we.


2, Are you not trying to be righteous by claiming that God is imputing His own righteousness to you? Are you now God's teacher? Can you claim to be as righteous as God because you read something in the bible? Does owning a bible make you saved? Does buying a guitar make you a musician? Do you see the logic here?

 

[Behold]

2, Are you not trying to be righteous by claiming that God is imputing His own righteousness on you? Can you claim to be as righteous as God because you read something in the bible? Does owning a bible make you saved? Does buying a guitar make you a musician? Do you see the logic here?

You are the confused one.. Episkopos.

Listen.. Im not trying to BE Righteous.(as my righteousness).......as that is your confusion, that you continually post as your confusion about what this word means.

You are trying to BE righteous, because you do not understand that being "made righteous", is a finished situation that God provides as a "GIFT".
So, you are either cult deceived yet born again and just confused, or you are trying to become Righteous, which isn't possible of yourself.
See, if you could attain to righteousness, then why did Jesus have to die for you, So that God could give you His own as "the Gift of Righteousness"?
See it?

Listen...

To have God's Righteousness, is to receive "The GIFT of Righteousness", and that is NOT BY WORKS lest a person will BOAST."""

When a believer, born again, has become "the righteousness of God, in Christ".. they have it, and have become it.
See,..... a born again believer STARTS as Righteous, the instant that God imputes HIS Righteousness to them.
You dont become more righteous, later on.......as the born again exist instantly as "made righteous" based ON the imputed righteousness of God..

Legalists, ... the deceived, are trying to get there, yet the Born again,are there already, having already become "the righteousness of God in Christ".
When a born again believer, is become "ONE WITH GOD"......that is not a progressive situation that you earn by trying to be like Christ..... no no... that is THE ETERNAL END RESULT of being "made Righteous" already by God's imputation of His Righteousness.

When the NT teaches the born again, that they are "IN CHRIST".....that is not a trying to get there situation.....or trying to work at it, .... it is instead a STATE of ETERNAL LIFE of being "made righteous".... that has become them, as "the righteousness of God in Christ".

A born again Christian, is not "trying to be righteous"....they are already become it, and that is why they exist as the "temple of the Holy Spirit", and an ""heir of God.""

The born again are "seated in heavenly places" RIGHT NOW, based on becoming "ONE WITH GOD", already, = born again.

Legalist, liars, cult members, and similar, never understand this, and that is why all their THREADS talk about SELF SELF SELF righteousness that pretends that its God's.
Watch out for those, dark Lights .. LUKE 11:35.... as they sound like Christians, but they are not.

 

[Lizbeth]

Catholics are our brothers and sisters.

On what basis do we call people our brothers and sisters? Jesus said who was His mother, father, brother, sister...whoever does the will of the Father. And the idolatry and false doctrines that are prevalent within Catholicism is not the will of the Father. It wasn't me but the apostle Paul who wrote also that who has not the Spirit of Christ is none of His. That is not judging/condemning, that is just the truth, and sad for many.

 

[Episkopos]

On what basis do we call people our brothers and sisters? Jesus said who was His mother, father, brother, sister...whoever does the will of the Father. And the idolatry and false doctrines that are prevalent within Catholicism is not the will of the Father. It wasn't me but the apostle Paul who wrote also that who has not the Spirit of Christ is none of His. That is not judging/condemning, that is just the truth, and sad for many.

What's wrong with the Catholic religion are the externals...the sensual approach that pleases the corporate entity. But a lot of the doctrines are much more accurate than the Reformed position.

Luther went too far...rather than just reforming he also went on to distort what grace is and what works are.

The Catholics believe we are justified by faith AND works. And that is consistent with the Bible.

What the protestants get wrong is the confusion of Paul's words as interpreted by Luther. A total mess.

And it creates Pharisees...religious carnal people that think so highly of themselves and their eternal destiny. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. One has to look beyond the trappings to see what is acceptable to God or not.

Many will say Lord, Lord....convinced that they had a superior understanding of God's ways.

 

[The Learner]

It does not say God recognized righteousness in Abraham

It says because Abraham believed, God imputed to abraham his righteousness.

Abrahams righteousness is as filthy rags.. all people. ot or nt. can not be saved unless they are imputed gods righteousness.. if left to our own righteousness. we are lost.; because all have sinned and fall short.

Psalm 32:2
Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Romans 4:6
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Romans 4:8
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Romans 4:11
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Romans 4:22
And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Romans 4:23
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Romans 4:24
But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
Romans 5:13
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations
James 2:23
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
In Context | Full Chapter | Other Translations

 

[The Learner]

Hebrews 11:1-12:12
Easy-to-Read Version
Faith
11 Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. 2 God was pleased with the people who lived a long time ago because they had faith like this.

3 Faith helps us understand that God created the whole world by his command. This means that the things we see were made by something that cannot be seen.

4 Cain and Abel both offered sacrifices to God. But Abel offered a better sacrifice to God because he had faith. God said he was pleased with what Abel offered. And so God called him a good man because he had faith. Abel died, but through his faith he is still speaking.

5 Enoch was carried away from this earth, so he never died. The Scriptures tell us that before he was carried off, he was a man who pleased God. Later, no one knew where he was, because God had taken Enoch to be with him. This all happened because he had faith. 6 Without faith no one can please God. Whoever comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who sincerely try to find him.

7 Noah was warned by God about things that he could not yet see. But he had faith and respect for God, so he built a large boat to save his family. With his faith, Noah showed that the world was wrong. And he became one of those who are made right with God through faith.

8 God called Abraham to travel to another place that he promised to give him. Abraham did not know where that other place was. But he obeyed God and started traveling because he had faith. 9 Abraham lived in the country that God promised to give him. He lived there like a visitor who did not belong. He did this because he had faith. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who also received the same promise from God. 10 Abraham was waiting for the city[a] that has real foundations. He was waiting for the city that is planned and built by God.

11 Sarah was not able to have children, and Abraham was too old. But he had faith in God, trusting him to do what he promised. And so God made them able to have children. 12 Abraham was so old he was almost dead. But from that one man came as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. So many people came from him that they are like grains of sand on the seashore.

13 All these great people continued living with faith until they died. They did not get the things God promised his people. But they were happy just to see those promises coming far in the future. They accepted the fact that they were like visitors and strangers here on earth. 14 When people accept something like that, they show they are waiting for a country that will be their own. 15 If they were thinking about the country they had left, they could have gone back. 16 But they were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God. And he has prepared a city for them.

17-18 God tested Abraham’s faith. God told him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham obeyed because he had faith. He already had the promises from God. And God had already said to him, “It is through Isaac that your descendants will come.” But Abraham was ready to offer his only son. He did this because he had faith. 19 He believed that God could raise people from death. And really, when God stopped Abraham from killing Isaac, it was as if he got him back from death.

20 Isaac blessed the future of Jacob and Esau. He did that because he had faith. 21 And Jacob, also because he had faith, blessed each one of Joseph’s sons. He did this while he was dying, leaning on his rod and worshiping God.

22 And when Joseph was almost dead, he spoke about the people of Israel leaving Egypt. And he told them what they should do with his body. He did this because he had faith.

23 And the mother and father of Moses hid him for three months after he was born. They did this because they had faith. They saw that Moses was a beautiful baby. And they were not afraid to disobey the king’s order.

24-25 Moses grew up and became a man. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose not to enjoy the pleasures of sin that last such a short time. Instead, he chose to suffer with God’s people. He did this because he had faith. 26 He thought it was better to suffer for the Messiah than to have all the treasures of Egypt. He was waiting for the reward that God would give him.

27 Moses left Egypt because he had faith. He was not afraid of the king’s anger. He continued strong as if he could see the God no one can see. 28 Moses prepared the Passover and spread the blood on the doorways of the people of Israel, so that the angel of death[c] would not kill their firstborn sons. Moses did this because he had faith.

29 And God’s people all walked through the Red Sea as if it were dry land. They were able to do this because they had faith. But when the Egyptians tried to follow them, they were drowned.

30 And the walls of Jericho fell because of the faith of God’s people. They marched around the walls for seven days, and then the walls fell.

31 And Rahab, the prostitute, welcomed the Israelite spies like friends. And because of her faith, she was not killed with the ones who refused to obey.

32 Do I need to give you more examples? I don’t have enough time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33 All of them had great faith. And with that faith they defeated kingdoms. They did what was right, and God helped them in the ways he promised. With their faith some people closed the mouths of lions. 34 And some were able to stop blazing fires. Others escaped from being killed with swords. Some who were weak were made strong. They became powerful in battle and defeated other armies. 35 There were women who lost loved ones but got them back when they were raised from death. Others were tortured but refused to accept their freedom. They did this so that they could be raised from death to a better life. 36 Some were laughed at and beaten. Others were tied up and put in prison. 37 They were killed with stones. They were cut in half. They were killed with swords. The only clothes some of them had were sheepskins or goatskins. They were poor, persecuted, and treated badly by others. 38 The world was not good enough for these great people. They had to wander in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the ground.

39 God was pleased with all of them because of their faith. But not one of them received God’s great promise. 40 God planned something better for us. He wanted to make us perfect. Of course, he wanted those great people to be made perfect too, but not before we could all enjoy that blessing together.

We Also Should Follow Jesus’ Example
12 We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall. 2 We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.

God Is Like a Father
4 You are struggling against sin, but you have not had to give up your life for the cause. 5 You are children of God, and he speaks words of comfort to you. You have forgotten these words:

“My child, don’t think the Lord’s discipline is worth nothing,
and don’t stop trying when he corrects you.
6 The Lord disciplines everyone he loves;
he punishes everyone he accepts as a child.”

7 So accept sufferings like a father’s discipline. God does these things to you like a father correcting his children. You know that all children are disciplined by their fathers. 8 So, if you never receive the discipline that every child must have, you are not true children and don’t really belong to God. 9 We have all had fathers here on earth who corrected us with discipline. And we respected them. So it is even more important that we accept discipline from the Father of our spirits. If we do this, we will have life. 10 Our fathers on earth disciplined us for a short time in the way they thought was best. But God disciplines us to help us so that we can be holy like him. 11 We don’t enjoy discipline when we get it. It is painful. But later, after we have learned our lesson from it, we will enjoy the peace that comes from doing what is right.

Be Careful How You Live
12 You have become weak, so make yourselves strong again.