Faith & Trust

¹Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see. ²This is why the ancients were commended. ³By 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. ⁴By 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. ⁵By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶And without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. ⁷By 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. ⁸By 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. ⁹By 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. ¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹By 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. ¹²And 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. ¹³All 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. ¹⁴Now those who say such things show that they are seeking a country of their own. ¹⁵If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶Instead, 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. ¹⁷By 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, ¹⁸even though God had said to him, “Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.” ¹⁹Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and in a sense, he did receive Isaac back from death. ²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. ²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. ²²By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones. ²³By 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. ²⁴By faith Moses, when he was grown, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. ²⁶He valued disgrace for Christ above the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷By faith Moses left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw Him who is invisible. ²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch Israel’s own firstborn. ²⁹By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were drowned. ³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days. ³¹By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient. ³²And what more shall I say? Time will not allow me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, ³³who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴quenched 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. ³⁵Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused their release, so that they might gain a better resurrection. ³⁶Still others endured mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated. ³⁸The world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and hid in caves and holes in the ground. ³⁹These were all commended for their faith, yet they did not receive what was promised. ⁴⁰God had planned something better for us, so that together with us they would be made perfect.

⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: ⁹that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved. ¹¹It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.” ¹²For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him, ¹³for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” ¹⁴How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? ¹⁵And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” ¹⁶But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” ¹⁷Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

²²“Have faith in God,” Jesus said to them. ²³“Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. ²⁵And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”

¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you tells him, “Go in peace; stay warm and well fed,” but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? ¹⁷So too, faith by itself, if it does not result in action, is dead. ¹⁸But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹You believe that God is one. Good for you! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. ²⁰O foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is worthless? ²¹Was not our father Abraham justified by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith was working with his actions, and his faith was perfected by what he did. ²³And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God. ²⁴As you can see, a man is justified by his deeds and not by faith alone. ²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

¹What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has discovered? ²If Abraham was indeed justified by works, he had something to boast about, but not before God. ³For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” ⁴Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation. ⁵However, to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. ⁶And David speaks likewise of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ⁷“Blessed are they whose lawless acts are forgiven, whose sins are covered. ⁸Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” ⁹Is this blessing only on the circumcised, or also on the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. ¹⁰In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before. ¹¹And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but are not circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. ¹²And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. ¹³For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. ¹⁴For if those who live by the law are heirs, faith is useless and the promise is worthless, ¹⁵because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law, there is no transgression. ¹⁶Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may rest on grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. ¹⁷As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist. ¹⁸Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹Without weakening in his faith, he acknowledged the decrepitness of his body (since he was about a hundred years old) and the lifelessness of Sarah’s womb. ²⁰Yet he did not waver through disbelief in the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, ²¹being fully persuaded that God was able to do what He had promised. ²²This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” ²³Now the words “it was credited to him” were written not only for Abraham, ²⁴but also for us, to whom righteousness will be credited—for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. ²⁵He was delivered over to death for our trespasses and was raised to life for our justification.

⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight.

³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials ⁷so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹now that you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

¹Then the LORD said to Abram, “Leave your country, your kindred, and your father’s household, and go to the land I will show you. ²I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.” ⁴So Abram departed, as the LORD had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.

¹After these events, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” ²But Abram replied, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, since I remain childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” ³Abram continued, “Behold, You have given me no offspring, so a servant in my household will be my heir.” ⁴Then the word of the LORD came to Abram, saying, “This one will not be your heir, but one who comes from your own body will be your heir.” ⁵And the LORD took him outside and said, “Now look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able.” Then He told him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶Abram believed the LORD, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

¹Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he answered. ²“Take your son,” God said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” ³So Abraham got up early the next morning, saddled his donkey, and took along two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had designated. ⁴On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ⁵“Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told his servants. “The boy and I will go over there to worship, and then we will return to you.” ⁶Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. He himself carried the fire and the sacrificial knife, and the two of them walked on together. ⁷Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” “Here I am, my son,” he replied. “The fire and the wood are here,” said Isaac, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” ⁸Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two walked on together. ⁹When they arrived at the place God had designated, Abraham built the altar there and arranged the wood. He bound his son Isaac and placed him on the altar, atop the wood. ¹⁰Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. ¹¹Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. ¹²“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” ¹³Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴And Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. So to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.” ¹⁵And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time, ¹⁶saying, “By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your only son, ¹⁷I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies. ¹⁸And through your offspring all nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

¹³But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. ¹⁴The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” ¹⁵Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. ¹⁶And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ³¹When Israel saw the great power that the LORD had exercised over the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and believed in Him and in His servant Moses.

⁶Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes ⁷and said to the whole congregation of Israel, “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land. ⁸If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us. ⁹Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!”

²⁹So I said to you: “Do not be terrified or afraid of them! ³⁰The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt ³¹and in the wilderness, where the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way by which you traveled until you reached this place.” ³²But in spite of all this, you did not trust the LORD your God, ³³who went before you on the journey, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, to seek out a place for you to camp and to show you the road to travel.

⁵No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ⁶Be strong and courageous, for you shall give these people the inheritance of the land that I swore to their fathers I would give them. ⁷Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go. ⁸This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

³⁷David added, “The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” “Go,” said Saul, “and may the LORD be with you.” ⁴⁵But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

²⁰Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”

¹⁵Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. I will still defend my ways to His face.

²⁵But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth. ²⁶Even after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God. ²⁷I will see Him for myself; my eyes will behold Him, and not as a stranger. How my heart yearns within me!

¹⁰Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

⁷Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

⁴In You our fathers trusted; they trusted and You delivered them. ⁵They cried out to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disappointed.

⁷The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart rejoices, and I give thanks to Him with my song.

³Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. ⁴Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it. ⁶He will bring forth your righteousness like the dawn, your justice like the noonday sun. ⁷Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes. ²³The steps of a man are ordered by the LORD who takes delight in his journey. ²⁴Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, for the LORD is holding his hand.

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry. ²He lifted me up from the pit of despair, out of the miry clay; He set my feet upon a rock, and made my footsteps firm. ³He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD. ⁴Blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, who has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.

³When I am afraid, I put my trust in You. ⁴In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

⁵Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him. ⁶He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken. ⁷My salvation and my honor rest on God, my strong rock; my refuge is in God. ⁸Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah

¹²O LORD of Hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in You!

¹He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. ²I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

⁷He does not fear bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.

⁸It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. ⁹It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.

¹A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion. It cannot be moved; it abides forever.

³Put not your trust in princes, in mortal man, who cannot save. ⁴When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish. ⁵Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,

³Commit your works to the LORD and your plans will be achieved. ²⁰Whoever heeds instruction will find success, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

²⁵A greedy man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in the LORD will prosper. ²⁶He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.

²Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”

³You will keep in perfect peace the steadfast of mind, because he trusts in You. ⁴Trust in the LORD forever, because GOD the LORD is the Rock eternal.

¹⁵For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence—but you were not willing.”

²⁸Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. ²⁹He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. ³⁰Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. ³¹But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

¹⁰Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.

⁷But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in Him. ⁸He is like a tree planted by the waters that sends out its roots toward the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes, and its leaves are always green. It does not worry in a year of drought, nor does it cease to produce fruit.

⁴Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright—but the righteous will live by faith—

¹⁷Though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, ¹⁸yet I will exult in the LORD; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation! ¹⁹GOD the Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like those of a deer; He makes me walk upon the heights! For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments.

²⁵Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

⁵When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him, ⁶“Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.” ⁷“I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied. ⁸The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes, and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.” ¹⁰When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹²But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ¹³Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

²³When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” ²⁶“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm. ²⁷The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

²⁰Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak. ²¹She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.” ²²Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that very hour.

²⁸“Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “command me to come to You on the water.” ²⁹“Come,” said Jesus. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” ³¹Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

²¹Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.” ²³But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” ²⁴He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said. ²⁶But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” ²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” ²⁸“O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

²⁰“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

³⁹Then Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the sea. “Silence!” He commanded. “Be still!” And the wind died down, and it was perfectly calm. ⁴⁰“Why are you so afraid?” He asked. “Do you still have no faith?”

³⁴“Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction.” ³⁶But Jesus overheard their conversation and said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just believe.”

²³“If You can?” echoed Jesus. “All things are possible to him who believes!” ²⁴Immediately the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”

⁹When Jesus heard this, He marveled at the centurion. Turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” ¹⁰And when the messengers returned to the house, they found the servant in good health. ⁵⁰And Jesus told the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

⁵The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶And the Lord answered, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. ¹⁸Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

²⁸Then they inquired, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” ²⁹Jesus replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.” ³⁵Jesus answered, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never hunger, and whoever believes in Me will never thirst. ³⁶But as I stated, you have seen Me and still you do not believe. ³⁷Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never drive away. ³⁸For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me. ³⁹And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. ²⁶And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷“Yes, Lord,” she answered, “I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.” ⁴⁰Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”

²⁹Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” ³⁰Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.

³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.”

²¹testifying to Jews and Greeks alike about repentance to God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

²¹After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have averted this disaster and loss. ²²But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because you will not experience any loss of life, but only of the ship. ²³For just last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me ²⁴and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’ ²⁵So take courage, men, for I believe God that it will happen just as He told me.

¹⁶I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek. ¹⁷For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

²¹But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets. ²²And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented Him as an atoning sacrifice in His blood through faith, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. ²⁶He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

¹Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. ³Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

²⁴For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

¹When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. ³I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. ⁴My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.

¹Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. ²By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. ¹⁴And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith. ¹⁵In that case, we are also exposed as false witnesses about God. For we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead, but He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. ¹⁷And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If our hope in Christ is for this life alone, we are to be pitied more than all men.

¹³And in keeping with what is written, “I believed, therefore I have spoken,” we who have the same spirit of faith also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory that is far beyond comparison. ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

¹⁶know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. ²⁰I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

⁶So also, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” ⁷Understand, then, that those who have faith are sons of Abraham. ⁸The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and foretold the gospel to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” ⁹So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. ¹⁰All who rely on works of the law are under a curse. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” ¹¹Now it is clear that no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” ¹²The law, however, is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.” ¹³Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” ¹⁴He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. ²²But the Scripture pronounces all things confined by sin, so that by faith in Jesus Christ the promise might be given to those who believe. ²³Before this faith came, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. ²⁴So the law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵Now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. ²⁶You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed and heirs according to the promise.

⁶For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

¹²In Him and through faith in Him we may enter God’s presence with boldness and confidence. ¹⁶I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth ¹⁹of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

¹⁶In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

⁶being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ²⁹For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,

⁶Therefore, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in Him, ⁷rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

²We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers ³and continually recalling before our God and Father your work of faith, your labor of love, and your enduring hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

³We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing. ⁴That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.

¹¹But you, O man of God, flee from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. ¹²Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.

¹²For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.

⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

¹²See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God. ¹³But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. ¹⁴We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.

¹Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it. ²For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it. ³Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said: “So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world.

¹¹We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. ¹²Then you will not be sluggish, but will imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.

²²let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. ²³Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. ³⁵So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward. ³⁶You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. ³⁷For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. ³⁸But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.” ³⁹But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

¹Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with endurance the race set out for us. ²Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

²Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. ⁶But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

⁹Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

⁴because everyone born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith. ⁵Who then overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. ¹⁰Whoever believes in the Son of God has this testimony within him; whoever does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given about His Son. ¹¹And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. ¹²Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. ¹³I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

³Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. ²⁰But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

¹⁹Remember my affliction and wandering, the wormwood and the gall. ²⁰Surely my soul remembers and is humbled within me. ²¹Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: ²²Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. ²³They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! ²⁴“The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in Him.” ²⁵The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. ²⁶It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. ³¹For the Lord will not cast us off forever. ³²Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion. ³³For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.

¹⁴But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” ¹⁵My times are in Your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.

¹⁸Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion ¹⁹to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. ²⁰Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. ²¹For our hearts rejoice in Him, since we trust in His holy name. ²²May Your loving devotion rest on us, O LORD, as we put our hope in You.

⁹The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’”

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷If the God whom we serve exists, then He is able to deliver us from the blazing fiery furnace and from your hand, O king. ¹⁸But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden statue you have set up.”

⁷The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of distress; He cares for those who trust in Him.

²⁴Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

³⁸“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it happen to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord’s word to her will be fulfilled.”

¹²But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.

¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.

¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

²²Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. ²³For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, ²⁴and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. ²⁵But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.

¹²Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

⁹Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

¹⁰For just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return without watering the earth, making it bud and sprout, and providing seed to sow and food to eat, ¹¹so My word that proceeds from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please, and it will prosper where I send it.

²³But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin.

²⁰For all the promises of God are “Yes” in Christ. And so through Him, our “Amen” is spoken to the glory of God.