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Earlier the congregation is depicted as students of God’s Word who need to advance from elementary catechetical instruction to spiritual maturity (5:11—6:3). Again, the members are students who are instructed by God and trained by Him in His Word, so that they can run the race of faith with endurance.

Earlier the congregation is depicted as students of God’s Word who need to advance from elementary catechetical instruction to spiritual maturity (5:11—6:3). Again, the members are students who are instructed by God and trained by Him in His Word, so that they can run the race of faith with endurance.

32 “And what more shall I say?” – This new section begins with a rhetorical technique called praeteritio/παράλειψις, announcing the intention to pass over subsequent cases in summary, inviting the hearer to ll in the gaps and to work out for themselves how each instance applies to their life of faith. While the preacher/teacher clearly is writing about the experiences of the faithful in the history of OT Israel, and the inter-testament period, some of the events have unmistakable parallels in…

1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony” – This proverb is followed by catalog of such people of faith.