The Revelation 2025

Tuesday, August 5, 2025

God’s Promises: Rock-Solid Hope and Assurance

The promises of God are sure. They transcend anything else we could seek. And God keeps His promises. What do God’s promises mean for your life today?

God has made thousands of promises. (Some sources suggest that the Bible contains approximately 30,000 promises!)

Promises of God outline

Understanding and claiming the promises of God is vitally important, and this article is organized under these topics:

God keeps His promises

The Bible is full of examples of God’s faithfulness to His promises. He has kept His promises in the past, and He will keep all His promises in the future. (See the following articles for more on God’s faithfulness: “The Faith of Abraham,” “Women of Faith in the Bible,” “Fulfilled Prophecy” and “Hebrews 11: The Faith Chapter.”)

God wants us to hold fast to our hope and faith and to believe that He will make His promises happen. We see this in Hebrews 10:23: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering; for He who promised is faithful.”

God’s promises are found in many of the covenants that He made with individuals and with the nation of Israel. His promises are found in the inspired prophecies of His prophets, and they are found in the words of Jesus Christ and the apostles.

They are promises we can believe in! They are promises that give rock-solid stability and assurance to our lives.

Examples of faith and faithfulness: Promises of God to Abraham

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One of the first covenants God made with individuals is found in Genesis 9:8-17. After the Flood, God made a perpetual covenant with Noah, his sons and all their descendants who would come after them. He promised never to destroy the earth again with a worldwide flood. God established that covenant with a sign—the rainbow. So, every time we see a rainbow in the sky, it is a reminder of God’s promise that a flood of that nature will never again occur on the earth.

The covenant with Abraham was even more profound, as it included the promise of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Notice Galatians 3:16: “Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your Seed,’ who is Christ.”

The original promise was made to Abraham in Genesis 22:18: “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.” So from Abraham would come the promised Messiah. In addition to that promise, Abraham was materially blessed and was told that his descendants would be multiplied as the stars of the heaven and as the sand on the seashore (verse 17). That promise also included the fact that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan (the Holy Land), which was “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Genesis 17:7-9; Deuteronomy 6:3).

God confirmed this promise again with Abraham’s son Isaac (Genesis 26:2-4) and with his grandson Jacob (Genesis 28:12-14). Jacob’s family ultimately grew into the nation of Israel. They moved to Egypt during the time of Joseph and grew into a multitude of people in the years leading up to Moses.

Promises of God to Israel

After the people of Israel had been in Egypt for many years, God chose Moses to lead Israel to the land of promise. When they reached Mount Sinai, God made a covenant with Israel that was also filled with promises.

We begin to see this agreement described in Exodus 19:5-6: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

God then directly spoke to Israel the 10 Commandments; and later, through Moses, He gave them other laws. God included the following promises for obedience within His covenant in Exodus 23:22-28:

“But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies” (verse 22).
“So you shall serve the LORD your God, and He will bless your bread and your water. And I will take sickness away from the midst of you” (verse 25).
“And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you” (verse 28).

Israel willingly accepted the covenant and promised to obey God. “And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the LORD has said we will do’” (Exodus 24:3).

However, Israel didn’t obey God’s covenant very long. Israel sinned and therefore broke the covenant. The fault was not with God, but with Israel.

However, God is not finished with Israel! In the future, He will make a New Covenant with them.

We see this in Hebrews 8:8-10: “Because finding fault with them, He says: ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’”

So, all those things God originally promised to Israel will yet occur in the future. This time, though, the Israelites will have God’s laws in their hearts and minds, and they will be willing to obey Him. And God promises to extend those blessings to the gentiles as well (Isaiah 56:6-7; Romans 10:11-13).

God is ever faithful in what He promises!

Prophetic promises: God’s promises of the future

The promises God gave to the prophets could be listed on page after page.

First there are prophecies of coming heartache and suffering, but eventually peace will come to the world. As people begin to obey God’s commands, they will receive His promises of plenty of food and water and prosperity. At that time people will no longer be plagued by fear or anxiety, and death will eventually be swallowed up.

After Jesus Christ returns and rules the earth with the resurrected saints—during what the Bible refers to as the 1,000 years, or Millennium—the following promises will be fulfilled:

There will no longer be war! “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).
There will be peace: “Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. The streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets” (Zechariah 8:4-5).
The nature of animals will also be changed: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them” (Isaiah 11:6).
The land will abound with fresh water: “And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water; a fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD and water the Valley of Acacias [located just north of the Dead Sea]” (Joel 3:18).
There will be an abundance of food: “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘When the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed. … They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them; they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them’” (Amos 9:13-14).

God’s promises of the Kingdom of God

But the most important promise is that Jesus Christ shall be King of Kings over all the earth (Zechariah 14:9), and “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9). What a wonderful world God has promised for the future!

Jesus Christ often spoke of this coming Kingdom of God as He “went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God” (Luke 8:1). This promise was the good news—the gospel message—that He preached.

God’s promises for you

Jesus has given us promises of hope and comfort that apply now. The night before He gave His life for us, Jesus outlined many wonderful promises for His followers in this life:

He promises us peace! “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
He promises us joy! “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).
He promises us love! “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him” (John 14:21).

“I will never leave you nor forsake you”

“He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).Jesus Christ now sits at the right hand of the Father and is our High Priest (Hebrews 4:14).

We can rely on Him even more, as “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).

New covenant, better promises

The author of Hebrews furthermore states that Jesus Christ “is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6).

Following are some of those “better promises” as emphasized in the writings of the apostles:

Our sins will be forgiven! “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). We have to repent and change: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)
The Holy Spirit will be in us! “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” (Galatians 4:6).
We will be resurrected from death! “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Eternal life will be given to us! “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life” (1 John 2:25).
We will be partakers of the divine nature! “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4, emphasis added).

“He who promised is faithful”: trust and believe in the promises of God

As was noted at the beginning of this article, we are told to hold fast to the confession of our hope, for He who promised is faithful! It is important to remember that God cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

God keeps His promises. The apostle Paul emphatically stated: “For all the promises in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Even though the exact phrase from the old hymn “Standing on the Promises” is not found in the Bible, there are other synonymous phrases that are just as meaningful, such as “believe in the LORD” (2 Chronicles 20:20) and “trust in Him at all times” (Psalm 62:8).

God’s promises to His people in Revelation

Finally, notice the following words of Jesus Christ to the Church in the book of Revelation:

“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown” (Revelation 3:11).
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 3:21-22).

God’s promises are real! They will occur! The question is, What significance and impact will these sure promises have in your life?

We encourage you to read the articles in this “Faith” section of the Life, Hope & Truth website to see examples of people who have lived by faith and how faith should change our lives.

Epistle of Straw—or a Book of Faith?

Martin Luther once wrote that “St. James’ epistle is really an epistle of straw.” But what does the Bible say? Is James actually an inspired book of faith?

After receiving much criticism over his statement, Martin Luther removed that phrase in later editions of his Preface to the New Testament, but his original comment has raised questions over the centuries.

Does the book of James build straw on the foundation of Christ? Is the substance of Christ and the gospel not found in James’ epistle? Does James contradict Paul by saying that living faith must be accompanied by works?

The Bible is the best place to find the answers to those questions. James, the half-brother of Jesus, and all the other New Testament writers emphasize the gospel spoken by Christ and instruct members to build upon the faith of Jesus and to live in righteous conduct.

Comparisons between James and Peter

Both James and the apostle Peter were bondservants of Christ: “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings” (James 1:1). In 2 Peter 1:1 Peter starts off his letter by referring to himself as “a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ.”

James 1:2-4 begins with a theme of living faith: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Peter also speaks of the trials befalling Christians and the gold that it produces: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

The apostle Paul is also in agreement with James and Peter on this subject of faith under trial, and its resultant good products: “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-4).

Comparisons between James and Paul

One of the comparisons people tend to make is concerning what James and Paul wrote about law and faith. Yet when one reads what both have written, there is much similarity on this topic.

The subject of faith and works comes to a head in James 2:14-18, with the bold conclusion that faith without works is dead: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Now notice what Paul says in Romans 4:2-8: “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’… David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.’”

What is “righteousness apart from works”? The context of Paul’s statement is justification, which describes the process of having faith imputed to us for righteousness, and having our sins forgiven. By this we are then considered righteous before God (please see the article “What Is Justification?”).

When a faithful repentant sinner comes to Christ, God provides justification for him by the blood of Christ. No amount of doing good deeds of the law can justify the guilty sinner from the penalty of death incurred by his sins. Only justification by God’s grace and a righteousness of faith imputed to him (“righteousness apart from the law”) can save the sinner.

So there is actually no contradiction between the epistle of James and Paul’s epistle to the Romans.But once the baptized believer receives the Holy Spirit and begins to live a just life in Christ, he must yield to Christ. The just live by faith, and they also must be doers of the word. They are to live just and lawful lives.

In the final analysis of God’s judgment, the apostle Paul says: “Not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified” (Romans 2:13).

So there is actually no contradiction between the epistle of James and Paul’s epistle to the Romans.

Comparisons between James and Jesus Christ

In Luke 8:15, we read Jesus’ parable about the good seed: “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” These faithful ones therefore bear fruit with patience as a result of faith.

In fact, James 1:21 has more to say on this same subject (the hearing of the word sown and doing it): “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Doing the word and bearing good fruit is necessary, according to Matthew 7:19-24: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

“Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”

The law of God must be written in the believer’s heart. James 1:25 speaks of God’s spiritual law, embodied in all of His commandments, as the perfect law of liberty: “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

Matthew 5:16-19 proves that doing God’s commandments and having righteousness exceeding that of the Pharisees is taught by Jesus Christ: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Those were words spoken directly by Jesus Christ. Therefore James was in accordance with the gospel message when he taught the keeping of the commandments in James 2:8-12: “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.”

Transgressing God’s law is a serious matter, requiring our repentance and change of conduct.

The apostle Paul also agreed that dishonoring God by breaking the law is inexcusable ongoing behavior for a Christian and that teaching the commandments of God must also include doing them, so as not to be a hypocrite.

Romans 2:21-23 says: “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?”

Comparisons between James and other New Testament writers

Other writers in the New Testament also saw the need for demonstrating one’s faith by doing something. In 1 John 3:17-18, we read: “But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.”

Hebrews 6:10-12 encourages a work of love and ministry for those who have faith in Christ, who serve Him: “For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His Name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

James: a book of faith

James has therefore been vindicated by the truth of the Word of God. The epistle of James is no epistle of straw, but instead it advocates building with gold on the foundation of Christ and faith. We must keep the commandments and have faith in God. For further information, please explore the articles on the “Change” section of this website.

So, when was the last time you read the book of James? It is a short book and can be read in just one or two sittings. By doing so, you will be filled with hope, faith and encouragement because the epistle of James is one of the inspired and inspiring books of God’s Holy Scriptures.

Men of Faith

The Bible contains many stories of men of faith, such as the three who were thrown into a fiery furnace. What can we learn from these men of faith?

Most of us have not had to face the decision that Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego had to make as they were standing before an angry King Nebuchadnezzar. Would they break God’s law and bow down to an idol? Or would they obey God and risk being thrown into a fiery furnace?

God recorded their amazing example of faith and His miraculous rescue in Daniel 3. (Read more about this story of faith in our article “Daniel’s Three Friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego” and our children’s Bible story “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego and the Fiery Furnace.”)

But what would we have done? And if something similar arose for us today, what would we do?

A prominent theme discussed in the Bible is that of having faith. Men had it as well as women (see our series of articles on women of faith).

In fact, without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). So it is very important to understand what it means to have faith.

What is faith?

In the New Testament, the English word faith is translated from the Greek word pistis. The New Strong’s Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words says: “Pistis is used of belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same. ‘Faith’ means trust, confidence, assurance, and belief” (p. 1315).

This refers to that same confidence and faith in God that Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego had.

In fact, after God spared them from certain death in the furnace, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged their faith and trust in God by saying: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God!” (Daniel 3:28).

For further discussion of the meaning of faith, please read our article “What Is Faith?”

Abraham, the father of the faithful

One of the most profound stories of men of faith is that of Abraham.

Many have read the biblical stories of how Abraham trusted God by leaving his homeland and believing in what God promised him.

“Then He brought him outside and said, ‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’ And he believed the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Genesis 15:5-6).

Abraham believed and trusted God. In fact, he became the example of faith for both the Jews and gentiles. The apostle Paul wrote this about Abraham in Romans 4:20-22: “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore ‘it was accounted to him for righteousness.’”

In the book of Galatians, Paul noted another aspect of Abraham’s faith: “And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham” (Galatians 3:8-9).

If we follow Abraham’s example of having faith in God and living by faith, we can be blessed along with faithful Abraham. As he looked forward in faith to the coming Kingdom of God, so must we.

“By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God” (Hebrews 11:9).

Abraham is among those referred to in this inspiring summary:Knowing about the great power God has, how can we doubt Him?

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth . . . But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (verses 13, 16).

For further reading about Abraham and his faith, please see our article “The Faith of Abraham.”

Some lesser known men of faith

We usually hear about how Noah, Jacob, David, Elijah and Daniel had amazing faith in God, but the Bible also has some other fascinating stories of men who had faith.

The faith of the centurion (Matthew 8; Luke 7)

“Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, ‘Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ The centurion answered and said, ‘Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, “Go,” and he goes; and to another, “Come,” and he comes; and to my servant, “Do this,” and he does it.’

“When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’” (Matthew 8:5-10).

The centurion humbled himself and had great faith in Jesus—even to the point of believing He could heal from a distance. And so, it came to pass that his servant was healed (verse 13).

That is the kind of faith that impressed Jesus. That is the kind of faith we need to have as well. We need to believe what the Scriptures emphasize about God’s ability to help us. He tells us:

“Is My hand shortened at all that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?” (Isaiah 50:2).
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27).

Knowing about the great power God has, how can we doubt Him?

The faith of Caleb (Numbers 14; Deuteronomy 1)

Twelve men were sent to spy out the Promised Land. Ten of the men gave a bad report, yet Caleb and Joshua were convinced and had faith that with God’s help Israel could go in and possess the land.

“But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ‘The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, “a land which flows with milk and honey.” Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them’” (Numbers 14:6-9).

The Israelites were ready to stone to death both of these men of faith. Yet Joshua and Caleb had the faith, the belief, that God would be with them. God was merciful and allowed Caleb to enter the land.

“And the LORD heard the sound of your words, and was angry, and took an oath, saying, ‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because he wholly followed the LORD’” (Deuteronomy 1:34-36).

In Numbers 14:24, we read that Caleb had a different spirit. Matthew Poole’s commentary notes that Caleb “was a man of another temper and carriage, faithful and courageous, not acted by that evil spirit of cowardice, unbelief, unthankfulness, disobedience, which ruled in his brethren, but by the Spirit of God.”

Caleb actually believed God and had faith that God would lead Israel into the Promised Land. If only the Israelites had listened to him and followed his example! Read more about Caleb’s faith in our article “Spiritual Warfare: How to Win and How to Lose.”

The faith of Simeon (Luke 2)

Simeon was a just and devout man, and “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. So, he came by the Spirit into the temple” (Luke 2:26-27). And sure enough, the parents brought in the Child Jesus.

It was then that Simeon “took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel’” (verses 28-32).What about us? Do we believe that God hears us? Do we have faith that God will send Jesus back to this earth?

This is the only account of this incident. Here was a man who had been “waiting for the Consolation of Israel” (verse 25). This phrase signifies that Simeon was looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. So God blessed him and allowed him to see the Messiah before his death.

Simeon is a little-known man of faith, yet his story is part of the gospel message.

The Bible promises that Christ will return. And the Bible assures us of God’s care for His people. But notice what Jesus said:

“Shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:7-8).

What about us? Do we believe that God hears us? Do we have faith that God will send Jesus back to this earth? We may know this intellectually, but we need to have faith like Simeon’s, that the Messiah will come again and that He will bring about the Consolation of Israel and the rest of the world.

Other men of faith

Hebrews 11 is often called the Faith Chapter. It contains the names of many famous men and women in the Bible. And it includes a section that can be explored further:

“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets” (verse 32).

These and other men of faith “worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong . . . Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection” (verses 33-35).

The faith of Jesus Christ

One of the most inspiring of all stories, however, is the faith Jesus exhibited. He is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). And we need to “consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls” (verse 3).

We therefore need His faith within us. Study more in our helpful article “Christ in Us: How Does He Live in You?”

We plan to add more articles to this “Men of Faith” section. You will read of men who trusted in God and believed in His ways, and you’ll also read how a number of them incorporated the faith of Jesus Christ into their own lives—something we all must do!

And we encourage you to read about what God has promised and what He will bring about in the article “God’s Promises: Rock-Solid Hope and Assurance.”