Letters to the Churches

Let us hold resolutely to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds.

Let us not neglect meeting together, as some have made a habit, but let us encourage one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,

but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries.

Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

How much more severely do you think one deserves to be punished who has trampled on the Son of God, profaned the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge His people.”

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering.

Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated.

You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, knowing that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.

So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.

You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

For, “In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.

But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.

This is why the ancients were commended.

By 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.

By 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.

By 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.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

By 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.

By 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.