Read: Hebrews 10:32–11:6

Our greatest comfort in sorrow is to know that God is in control.

悲伤中最大的安慰，是知道上帝仍然掌权。

Without faith it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6

人非有信，就不能得上帝的喜悦。-希伯来书11章6节

It’s tempting to think of faith as a kind of magic formula. If you muster up enough of it, you’ll get rich, stay healthy, and live a contented life with automatic answers to all your prayers. But life does not work according to such neat formulas. As proof, the author of Hebrews presents a stirring reminder of what constitutes “true faith” by reviewing the lives of some Old Testament giants of faith (Heb. 11).

我们很容易把信心想像成一个神奇的方程式，以为只要有足够的信心，就能得到财富和健康，生活就会幸福美满，祷告也有求必应。但是，现实生活并不是按如此简单的方程式进行。为了证明，希伯来书的作者就以旧约中的信心伟人为例，好让读者明白，到底什么是真正的信心 (希伯来书11章) 。

“Without faith,” the author says bluntly, “it is impossible to please God” (11:6). In describing faith he uses the word persevered (v. 27). As a result of their faith, some heroes triumphed: They routed armies, escaped the sword, survived lions. But others met less happy ends: They were flogged, stoned, sawed in two. The chapter concludes, “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised” (v. 39).

希伯来书的作者明白地说：“人非有信，就不能得上帝的喜悦” (希伯来书11章6节) 。他用“恒心忍耐”来阐述信心 (27节) ，有些信心伟人因信得胜：制伏敌国、脱离刀剑，或是堵了狮子的口。然而，有些信心伟人却遭受鞭打、被石头打死、被锯锯死。因此，希伯来书11章的结论说：“这些人都是因信得了美好的证据，却仍未得着所应许的。” (39节)

The picture of faith that emerges does not fit into an easy formula. Sometimes it leads to victory and triumph. Sometimes it requires a gritty determination to “hang on at any cost.” Of such people, “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (v. 16).

这一章所呈现的信心，并不能以简单的方程式来解释。有时信心能带来胜利，但有时却需要有不计代价，坚持到底的决心。对于坚持到底的人而言，“上帝被称为他们的上帝，并不以为耻，因为祂已经给他们预备了一座城” (16节) 。

What our faith rests on is the belief that God is in ultimate control and will indeed keep His promises—whether that happens in this life or the next.

我们的信心是建立在相信上帝是最终的掌权者，相信祂必成就祂的应许，无论是在今生或来生都是如此。

Give me a faith that trusts You wholeheartedly, Lord.

求主赐我信心，让我能全心信靠祢。

Hebrews 10:32-11:6

32 Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. 33 Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. 34 You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. 37 For,

“In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”[a] 38 And,“But my righteous[b] one will live by faith.  And I take no pleasure  in the one who shrinks back.”[c] 39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. Faith in Action 11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope forand assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.

3 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. 4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings.And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. 5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”[d] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

整理：于姊妹