In the scriptures, there are many men and women who walked in the ways of God, very prominent people in the history of Christianity. We call these people ” heroes of the faith, “since their lives were built on trust in Christ.
10 Heroes of faith in the scriptures
Below, we briefly explain the stories of some of the most celebrated heroes of the faith in the bible.
1. David
One of the most notable heroes of the faith is David, the most heralded king of the Kingdom of Israel. David’s life is a study of rupture and renewal. As a child, he was a strong and courageous shepherd who ended up defeating a giant in war.
As a teenager who knew that the throne of Israel should be his, he never raised a hand, not even when King Saul tried to kill him. In his sin as an adult, he confessed and wept, but wrote most of the book of Psalms.
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2. Abraham
The father of the nation of Israel was already 75 years old when God led him out of the land of his people, away from his family, and eventually even changed his name.
Married to the infertile Sarah, Abraham followed God’s promise to be the father of a great people as countless as the stars in the sky or the sands on the shore.
When a son finally arrived with Sarah and Abraham (who was 99 at the time!), God demanded that the child be sacrificed.
Abraham’s statement that “God will provide the sacrifice!” It is a testimony of the man whose absolute trust and pursuit of God was “the faith that was bestowed upon him as righteousness.”
3. Nehemiah
Living in the time of the Persian exile, Nehemiah had risen from his role as a servant to King Artaxerxes until he was the cupbearer, tasting food and drink to ensure that the king was not poisoned.
Upon learning that Jerusalem, the city of his ancestors, and the location of the Temple of God were in ruins, Nehemiah requested the King to rebuild the city walls and was sent to supervise their construction.
Defying the enemies surrounding Judah, Nehemiah helped the prophet Ezra establish and enforce the Jewish covenant law with God.
Always faithful and servant, Nehemiah returned to King Artaxerxes after twelve years, a testimony of submission, courage, and dedication.
4. Daniel
Another of the most renowned heroes of the Christian faith was Daniel. He was taken away from the land of Israel when he was still a child, Daniel lived as a Jew in exile under the Babylonian empire.
He was being groomed to be an adviser in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court, even as a child.
Daniel and his friends rejected the king’s food to fulfill the Law of Moses, which is why he was thrown into a den of lions. By interpreting dreams and visions, Daniel would be a service to all kingdoms, and he contemplated the promise of God’s coming government. The prophet Ezekiel describes him as a “pattern of righteousness.”
5. Esther
The book that bears her name is the only one in all of Scripture that never mentions God’s name, yet in Esther’s life, the Lord’s will and hand are always visible.
Born in exile, the orphan Esther was raised by her cousin Mordecai. Chosen by the king for her beauty to be a faithful queen.
Esther was elevated from the low position of the Jews in Persia to one of prominence.
In this position, Esther remained a faithful woman of God, fasting and praying while maintaining devotion and submission to her king husband. It was his courage and dignity that saved the Jews of Persia from genocide, a liberation still celebrated among Jewish communities to this day like Purim.
6. Peter
When Jesus asked his disciples who they thought he was, Peter quickly responded, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
Peter by no means led a perfect life: it was he who cut off the ear of one of the men who came to arrest Jesus but scared he also denied the Lord three times.
Brought before the Jewish Sanhedrin for preaching the Gospel, Peter stood his ground and noted his guilt in the death of Christ, and spent his life proclaiming Christ in the early Church.
According to tradition, his final testimony of faith was a voluntary crucifixion, but he demanded that he be killed backward because he was not worthy of the same glorious cross as the Lord Jesus Christ.
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7. Paul
A devout Jew and steadfast in the destruction of the young Christian community, Saul of Tarsus would become the main author of the New Testament and one of the first international missionaries.
Although he was shipwrecked three different times, repeatedly imprisoned and tortured, escaping angry crowds in various locations, even fleeing Damascus in a basket lowered from a window on the outer wall, Paul notes that his greatest care is the “daily pressure of concern. by all the churches.
Spreading the Good News of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire, Paul was content in all circumstances, even under house arrest awaiting execution in Rome.
8. Esteban
Of the heroes of the faith, one of the most remembered is Esteban, who was the first person to be martyred.
Because of his belief in Christ, Stephen was brought before the same Sanhedrin that sent Jesus to Pilate, and the same one who had harassed John and Peter at Pentecost.
When Stephen denounced his claim to authority, he was stoned to death, during which he humbly and boldly proclaimed his vision of the risen Lord seated at the right hand of the Father.
9. Thomas
Despite his fame as the one who doubted the resurrection of Jesus, the Apostle Thomas was a man of extraordinary works of faith.
When we first hear him speak in the New Testament, it is after the death of Lazarus.
When the other disciples are terrified to return to Judea, where the local Jews had tried to stone Jesus himself, Thomas declares his loyalty (and his ultimate fate) saying “Let’s go too, so we can die with him!”
Although he does not believe at first, Thomas is the first of the disciples to declare the unique divinity of Christ, calling him “my Lord and my God.”
Upon receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Thomas boldly proclaimed the Gospel in Jerusalem with the other apostles.
Tradition holds that Thomas planted seven churches in India, where these small Christian communities still exist today and are known as the Saint Thomas Christians. Thomas was killed by a spear, at the hand of the leaders of the local religions.
10. John
Sometimes called the “Beloved Disciple,” John witnessed Jesus ‘ first resurrection, the Transfiguration, and Jesus’ prayers in Gethsemane.
However, he did not flee like the others, nor did he strike with his sword like Peter; instead, he suffered with Jesus. At the foot of the cross, he stayed until Jesus ordered him to take care of Mary. Paul calls it a “pillar” of the church.
John would write the Gospel that explicitly declares a divine identity of Christ (the famous John 1: 1) and perhaps the most famous verse in the Bible: John 3:16.
That involves the main heroes of the faith of the Bible. But we know that the history of the Church and the faith lives on today, and that great stories keep happening every day!
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The greatest hero of faith
In New Testament Greek, the words for “faith,” “trust,” and “belief” come from the same root.
It is no wonder, then, that the true hero of faith is Jesus Christ himself. His faith and trust were in the Father’s plan.
Although he was fully God himself, Jesus the Son left his throne in heaven for the plan of salvation, for the people he loved so much: us.
Even while performing miracles, he taught his disciples to firmly trust the Father, casting out demons “just by prayer” and pointing out that the Father provides for the birds of the air and even more for the people he loves.
Before his arrest, Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane “it is not my will, but your will,” and even on the Cross, he shows compassion, asking God to forgive his murderers.
John writes at the end of his Gospel that Jesus did “many other things,” to the point that “the world could not contain” all the books it would require.
In the bible, there are many heroes of the faith, people who knew how to walk the way of God. When our hope, and the certainty of that which we do not see, is shattered, we must remember that these men and women of God went through far more trials than we did, and yet they always chose to trust Jesus.