Living by Faith in Jesus Christ
He is “the author and finisher of our faith”
It wasn’t always easy to be a follower of Jesus Christ in the early days of the Church. People sometimes hated Church members or made fun of them because of their beliefs. Paul wanted to help them keep their faith in Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote a letter to the Hebrew, or Jewish, Saints. He taught that faith means to believe and hope for something, even though we can’t see it. For example, having faith in Jesus Christ means trusting Him and His promises, even if we haven’t received the blessings we hope for yet.
To help the Hebrew Saints face their challenges with faith, Paul reminded them of stories about people in the scriptures who had great faith.
For example, Paul told about Noah. God told Noah to build an ark to save his family from a flood. Noah had faith to obey, even before he saw the rain.
Paul told about Abraham and Sarah, who had faith to leave their home because God promised to lead them to a better place. They also had faith in God’s promise that they would have a very large family, even though they were old and did not have children yet.
Paul also told about Moses’s mother, Jochebed. She had faith to hide Moses, when he was a baby, to keep him safe from an evil king.
Moses grew up in Egypt. He could have been rich and comfortable. But he gave up all of that because he had faith in God and His blessings.
Because of his faith, Moses led God’s people out of slavery. They even walked through the Red Sea on dry ground!
Paul also told about Rahab. She had faith to help God’s people, even though no one else in her city believed in the Lord. Her faith saved her family.
Paul said that these many examples of faith can help us have faith in Jesus Christ too, even when life is hard. We can repent of our sins and look to Jesus, the “author and finisher of our faith.” He was willing to die for us because He knew that His Atonement would bring great joy and healing!