Many will hear Christ but fail to do what He declares. They will attempt to build their hope for the life to come on the basis of their own effort and works. They are fools. However, the one who hears the teaching of Christ will recognize their need for a righteousness that they do not have. They will place their faith in Christ and as a result will do works that reflect faith.

Abraham serves as the grand example of faith in this chapter. He showed faith in two things in which we have faith: faith in a heavenly city and faith in a bodily resurrection. He acknowledged that he was a stranger and pilgrim in this world. He trusted that God could raise His son from the dead.

After coming out of the heights of the glories of Christ and His work, Paul challenges the believers into action. Believers who have their focus and faith in Christ will perform the salvation that they have been given. It is not a solo endeavor on their part. God is the one who energizes the will and powers the actions of believers as they reflect Christ to each other and the world.

Jesus warns people that have right words and deeds that they may not make it into heaven. Only the ones that do the will of the Father make it into heaven. What is the will of the Father? For one to believe on Jesus alone. Many people are religious and sing right doctrine and talk about God, but they will miss out on heaven because they never entered into a relationship with God through Jesus. This is why in the end He will say, "I never knew you."

Abraham had several promises from God. One was a land that would be his. The other was a promise of children that would lead to a great nation. The land promise did not happen during Abraham's lifetime. However, he was looking forward to a greater promise of a city that was eternal in the heavens. The child promise took a miracle of God, but Abraham and Sarah had faith in the promise of God.

The believers at Philippi were having some difficulty getting along with one another. The solution was to get their focus back on Christ. They were to live and think like him. This passage contains one of the most concise passages on the whole character and life of Christ. He serves as a pattern for all who follow Him.

The previous passage reminded us that many are on the broad path to destruction. Why is that? One of the reasons is that many people have false prophets that are calming their fears and directing them to destruction. False teacher can be identified by their words and their works. It is the responsibility of the disciple to be aware of those false teachers and reprove their teaching.

Noah is the first example in the Scripture who moves to action because he believes God's Word. The things he was told by God were incredible to comprehend. He still responded in obedience. He serves as an example for modern believers who have God's Word. It says things that cannot be confirmed by human observation, yet we must believe what God says and then live in a way that displays that faith.

Paul wanted the believers to stand together and bring him joy as they displayed the gospel. It was possible for them to do this because they had received blessings from God and other believers. However, they had a responsibility to maintain unity with one another while serving with humility to one another.

Though a young church the church at Thessalonica was a disciple-making church. They had the ultimate end in view while they ministered to others in their daily activities of life. They serve as an example of what believers should be like.