Context

This quote is found in Hebrews 11:6.

The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews is talking all about faith in this section of his letter. He gives a standard definition and then goes on to list a whole bunch of examples of faithful folks from the Hebrew Bible. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel—these folks had faith and they had it in spades.

Okay, so what does this all mean? It means that believing in God is the only way to make him happy. Those guys from the Hebrew Bible all put their trust and loyalty in the Big Guy and they were majorly rewarded for it. They looked for ways to serve God and always stayed true to him. That's why they came out on top in the Bible.

So, the author thinks the same thing holds true for the folks he's writing to—and for us modern people as well. Put your trust in God and he'll reward you for all your trouble and hard work. Oh, faith is so simple and neat!

Where you've heard it

This verse is basically a variation on the saying, "you gotta have faith." (Sorry, not our fault if you can't stop singing George Michael.) Believing is just as crucial as doing. Do-ers take note.

• The Diligent Seeker is an idea in some Christian communities that refers to a person who—what else—really tries to find out about God.
• No surprise that someone turned this verse into a gospel song. Check out "Without Faith it is Impossible to Please the Lord."

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Yeah, you're gonna come off as a little haughty if you start calling folks out for their lack of faith, but the author of Hebrews would say you're just giving sound advice. We guess there are two sides to every coin.