Abel - Hebrews 11:4

We'll also be spending some time in Genesis chapter

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

4 today. Everybody that is a believer, I believe,

should be interested and eager to know what it

means and to know how we please our God and our

Father in heaven. What that means and what that

looks like in the life of a believer. Today we're

going to consider that. Today we're going to

consider what it means to live by faith and what

we can learn from Abel, this man who lived a

long, long time ago by faith. We can learn a

great deal from him. If we recall the purpose

of Hebrews 11, the author is wanting to teach

his recipients about the nature of faith. He's

wanting to teach his recipients about the nature

of real faith in the life of God's people, and

to show them that it has always been the same.

That real faith is operative, or it operates

in the life of the believer. That it is productive,

or we could say that it produces things in the

life. Of the believer. And that it causes. The

believer to. Persevere unto the end. The Hebrew

Christians. Were being tempted to. Backslide.

To forsake their. Confession of Christ. And so

he's. Encouraging them. To press on. In Christianity.

In their confession. In their faith. So as we

think about the life and the faith of Abel, we're

going to consider his life of faith in general.

We just need to nail down, was this man a man

of faith? We need to consider that. And the text

is clear that he was. We have to consider that

Abel's faith manifested itself. Took place. Or

the way that his faith expressed itself. Was

in that he offered. Sacrifices to God. But we

also need to consider that. His faith was approved.

Or commended by God. So we'll see the divine

approval. Of Abel's faith. And then we'll consider

lastly. The enduring witness. Or the enduring

voice. That. Abel's faith has. So beginning first

with Abel's life of faith. So we'll go ahead

and read from Genesis chapter 4 for this. In

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

Genesis 4 we read this. Now the man had relations

with his wife, Eve. And she conceived and gave

birth to Cain. And she said, I've gotten a man

child with the help of the Lord. Again, she gave

birth to his brother, Abel. And Abel was a keeper

of flocks. He was a shepherd, brothers and sisters.

But Cain was a tiller of the ground. He was a

farmer. So it came about in the course of time

that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of

the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part, also

brought of the firstlings of his flock and of

their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for

Abel and for his offering. But for Cain and for

his offering, he had no regard. So as we think

about Abel, who was this man? the second generation

of humanity. He goes way back, almost all the

way to the beginning. He is a younger brother.

He has an older brother. And we see that he's

born to the original forefather and foremother

or matriarch of the world, Adam. and Eve. We

see that he is a shepherd. So very similar it

sounds like to Jacob in many ways. Jacob was

a shepherd and he was a peaceful man in many

ways. He seems to be a bit more reserved than

his brother Esau. And he was a man that stayed

in the tents. He was contemplative in a sense.

And it seems as though Abel is very similar.

Now, one of the things that Abel is known for

based on this text is that he was a true worshiper

of God. He worshipped God truly. He approached

God in a true and right manner. Unlike his brother

Cain, who did not. One of the significant aspects

of the narrative concerning Abel is that it...

Immediately in the narrative of Genesis, it almost

seems like the devil and his offspring start

out winning. Why? Because the godly offspring

is smushed, right? The godly offspring is killed.

And who is the godly offspring of the woman?

It's Abel. But that line is picked back up by

Cain or by Seth and his descendants. So Abel

is that godly lineage that would have hostility

with the offspring of the serpent. And we see

that Abel is also the very first martyr for his

faith. He's killed because of his faith in the

promises. He's murdered by his brother maliciously

with intent. It seems to be strategized. It seems

to have purpose behind it. He is murdered because

of his faith and his faithfulness in life. He's

the first martyr. The first in a long line of

martyrs in biblical history and throughout history

in general. But we also see that Abel is a man

of faith. Now, we think, well, because we're

in Hebrews, we know that. That is clear. That's

obvious because it says, by faith. And it's talking

about faith. But there's significance to that,

brothers and sisters. Abel in the Old Testament,

he's not referred to as a man of faith. He's

not talked about as a man of faith. It just describes

his actions of faithfulness. But in the New Testament,

he is explicitly said to be a man of faith. And

what does that mean? What's the significance

of that? According to the book of Hebrews, that

means that Abel had an assurance of things, hoped

for. That means that Abel had a conviction of

things not seen. Abel possessed and had the faith

that is spoken of in Hebrews chapter 11. That

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

means that faith was a defining and leading feature

in his life. It's what oriented and motivated

and drove and directed and governed his being.

his character, his thinking. He was a man who

believed the promises. He was a man who lived

in light of that which God had revealed and that

which God had spoken. He was a man of faith.

Therefore, we can learn from Abel because he

possessed the same kind of faith that New Covenant

believers possess. Now, we see also, secondly,

the expression of Abel's faith, or the way that

it manifested itself. Notice the words, by faith,

in verse 4 of Hebrews 11, Abel offered to God

a better sacrifice than Cain. How is... Abel's

faith most clearly seen in the fact that he offered

a better sacrifice to God than his brother. The

sacrifice, the offering that he gave to God is

a manifestation, an expression of his faith in

God and God's revealed word, God's commands.

It's an expression of his faith. We read in Genesis

4, it tells us a good deal about the nature of

his sacrifice. We read this in verse 4, Abel

on his part also brought of the firstlings of

his flock and of their fat portions. So what

is the very first thing that we notice about

Abel's sacrifice? It is a blood sacrifice. There

is the spilling of blood. Blood is splattered

as a result of it. It's a bloody sacrifice. And

in the Mosaic Law, do you know what is appointed

to deal with sin? Blood sacrifices, not the fruit

of the ground. So, in essence, what is Abel saying

when he gives this sacrifice, this bloody sacrifice?

Essentially, he's saying, I know I'm a sinner.

I know that I need my sin atoned for. I know

that I need the forgiveness of sins. I know that

I need pardon. What is the purpose of the shedding

of blood? Abel? gives a blood sacrifice very

different than his brother. In the Mosaic law,

blood sacrifices were always prioritized. Always.

They always took the first place, and they always

had priority above every other kind. But also

think about this. This is the very first recorded

sacrifice that a man carries out in redemptive

history. And remember who the author is writing

to. Hebrew Christians who are under pressure

to return to the Jewish system and to give up

Christ and New Covenant Christianity. So what's

the significance of that? What he's saying, listen,

the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament, brothers

and sisters, they were never efficacious for

the forgiveness of sins. What was it that mattered

that was behind and underneath and the foundation

of those sacrifices? The faith with which they

were given in. Trusting God and His Word. So,

if the... Jews were to say to the Hebrew Christians,

listen, if you really want to be a spiritual

person, a godly man or a godly woman, you need

to get rid of Christ, forsake faith, and then

you need to rely on the sacrificial system and

the priests. Uh -uh. That doesn't work. Why?

Because faith is necessary to please God. Faith

is absolutely essential and vital if a person

is to be in favor with God, to be approved of

the living God. Faith is instrumental. There

seems to be, based on Genesis 4, a presupposed

order to worship with regards to Cain. and with

regards to Abel. Notice several things. We read

in verse 3 of Genesis 4, So it came about in

the course of time that Cain brought an offering

to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Now notice

immediately, there seems to be some sort of appointed

time that they were supposed to worship, that

they were supposed to... sacrifice in the course

of time. It wasn't random. There was some time

that they were supposed to. And what? They both

come to worship at the same time. And it seems

like they both worship in the same place. What

does that mean? What are the implications of

that? Maybe that means there was an altar. That

they were worshipping at. Some would think, some

would say that there was an altar directly outside

the east side of the garden. And that is where

they worshipped. That is where they made sacrifices.

Almost looking on to the garden and seeing the

failure of their father and seeing the entrance

of sin and sacrificing outside the garden with

the knowledge that they can be forgiven if they

trust in God and the sacrifice that He has appointed.

There's really many other things we can draw

from this, but it does seem that there's an appointed

order and structure to their worship. We also

see that there seems to have been a specific

way that they were supposed to worship. One is

more appropriate and more excellent and superior

and better than the other. So we see a presupposed

order. And what does that in and of itself presuppose?

Instruction. Teaching. commands, revelation.

Potentially, this is speculative, Adam and Eve

taught Abel and Cain how to sacrifice. What that

meant. And who taught Adam and Eve? God taught

Adam and Eve. Therefore, Abel is not Being creative

and imaginative with regards to expressing his

faith and expressing his worship to God. He's

being obedient to what has been revealed to him

and God in his word. That's a big deal. That's

important, brothers and sisters. This was an

act of worship. Abel was worshiping God. He was

truly worshiping God and so was his brother,

just incorrectly, wrongly. Cain was a religious

man, obviously and clearly. If he was not religious,

he would have not brought sacrifices. I apologize,

he would not have brought offerings. He would

have not come. But Cain was a religious man.

He was trying to worship God, but he was doing

it the way he wanted. The way he wanted to worship.

Not the way that God had prescribed and commanded

to him, likely. He thought that his actions and

his offering would be satisfactory. Even though

they weren't in accordance with the manner and

the fashion and the way that God had ordained

it to be. He was a religious man. But he was

not a man of faith. He was possibly some sort

of moral man. And he had some morbid, twisted

reason for murdering his brother. But brothers

and sisters, he had no faith whatsoever. He didn't

trust in God and His Word. He didn't believe

what God had said. He approached God and he came

to God and he worshipped God the way he thought

best. And God had no regard for him or his offerings.

What was the distinguishing factor between the

two brothers? Was it the fact that Abel was just

a better guy? Listen, the likelihood that Abel

was a better person than Cain is high. We just

have to say that. Abel didn't murder his brother.

He may have been a more moral man than his brother.

He may have had a better worldview. He may have

had a better character than his brother. But

is that the distinguishing factor between the

two? No. The distinguishing factor is this. Faith.

The reality and presence of faith in the life

of a person. That's what makes the difference

between Cain and Abel. Like Abel, brothers and

sisters, faith must govern and order our lives

and our worship. It must. And if something is

to be... By faith. Do you know what that means?

That means it must be in response to what God

has revealed and it must be carried out and conducted

and performed in the manner that God prescribes

in His Word. That's what it means to do something

by faith. That's what we see time and time again

in the Word of God. There have always only ever

been two kinds of worshipper from the beginning

of the world unto the end of the world. And what

is that? Those who come to God in faith and by

faith and those who come to God on their own

terms. I wonder if there's any of those here

today. I wonder if there's any of those gathered

today, sitting in the chairs, present among us,

who are coming to God on their own terms and

they have no faith. If that is you, friend, your

life, your worship, your actions, they are vain.

They do not please the living God. The Bible

says that those are like filthy, menstrual rags.

They are dirty, they are unclean, they are impure,

and they are unholy. And they are condemned,

and they only contribute further to your own

condemnation. But if you had faith, true faith

that saves, then you will be accepted by this

holy God. But turn from your sin and trust in

Jesus Christ. He will give you eternal life.

He will receive you. He will pour out every blessing

that is in the heavenly places upon you and He

will guarantee them and He will bring them about

and He will accomplish them in your life and

every other life and every other person that

comes to Christ Jesus by faith. That could be

you if you would only turn from your sin and

trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. There's only

two kinds of worshippers, brothers and sisters.

Do you come to God today in faith? Or do you

come to God today trusting in your own moral

goodness? Your own supposed righteousness? The

value and worth of your own person and your own

deeds and your own acts? Or by faith are you

looking and trusting? At something else. Something

beyond you. Something outside of you. The work

and the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. His

perfect gospel work. His life and His death and

His resurrection. And those things which God

has revealed in His Word. There's only two kinds

of worshipers. Now, we've said a great deal about

faith already. But the faith that Abel... possessed

and that Abel had is divinely approved by God.

Or we could say we see the divine approval of

Abel's faith. This is the third thing we have

to consider. We read these words in Hebrews 11.

By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice

than Cain, through which He obtained the testimony

that he was righteous. God testifying about his

gifts. So here, the text is wanting us to remember

and go back to verse 2. For by it, the men of

old gained approval. We could also think about

Genesis 4 .4 where this is said, Abel on his

part also brought of the firstlings of his flock

and of their fat portions. And listen to this.

And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his

offering. God regarded Abel and his offering.

God gives a good report. He bears witness. He

commends Abel and his offering. And what is the

substance and the content of that commendation?

That Abel is righteous. Now, this verse, when

it speaks about Abel being righteous, I believe

that it's directly talking about his ethical

righteousness or the righteousness of his life.

It's not speaking directly about the imputed

righteousness of Christ. If you think about the

second part of verse 4, he obtained a testimony

that he was righteous. That's the statement.

And then he goes on and clarifies what it means.

God testifying about his gifts. Now when it's

talking about his gifts, it's talking about what?

His offering. His sacrifice to God. His actions.

His good works. His worship. His obedience. We

read in 1 John this. 1 John 3, verse 12. We'll

1 John 3:12

start reading in verse 11. For this is the message

which you have heard from the beginning, that

we should love one another, not as Cain, who

was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And

for that reason, and for what reason did he slay

him? because his deeds were evil and his brothers

were righteous. John is referring to the righteous

actions, the righteous deeds, the righteous life,

the righteous behavior of Abel. The Lord Jesus

in Matthew 23 verse 35 calls Abel a righteous

Matthew 23:35

man. I believe it's talking about his upright

living with regards to the commands and law of

God. So at this juncture, we can and should conclude

that God was pleased with the life, the man,

the deeds, and the actions of this sinner, Abel.

We have to ask ourselves, how is this possible?

How is God able to say that a sinner is actually

living in an upright fashion? What is the basis

of that? We learn a few things that are very

crucial to the gospel. A few things that are...

Very, very essential to the heart of the gospel

itself from this text. First we learn that faith

alone is the means that a man, his life, and

his deeds might be deemed worthy and acceptable

in the sight of God. That is the only way. The

only way that you will ever be acceptable in

the sight of God is if your heart is purified

by the grace of faith. The only way that your

good deeds and your good works will be accepted

by a holy and righteous God is if they are performed

out of and from a place of faith that God has

given to you. That's the only way, brothers and

sisters, if our lives and our hearts and our

actions and our deeds are... consecrated and

sanctified in a sense by the reality and presence

of faith. That's the only way, brothers and sisters.

That's what was true of Abel. And that is what

is true of God's people. But we also learn another

vitally important truth. And that is this. That

true faith is always. effective faith. True faith

is always obedient faith. You know what I mean

by that? I mean this. If a person is justified

by faith alone and they have the righteousness

of Jesus Christ imputed to their life, positional

righteousness, if that is a reality in a person's

life, they will absolutely Proceed. And that

positional righteousness will lead to moral transformation

in their life. If a person is right with God

because of true and saving faith, then that person

will be sanctified by that very same faith. To

such a degree that we can say this. If a person

consistently and regularly walks in unrighteousness

and disobedience, if they consistently experience

these realities with no repentance, with no grief

and no mourning, and they repeat and they repeat

and they repeat and they distinctly mark your

life, then you have every reason. to question

whether or not you actually possess true saving

faith. That's the degree to which this is true.

If a person lives an unrighteous life, if they

walk in unrighteousness like Cain, don't tell

me that they're accepted like Abel. That's the

truth of the matter, brothers and sisters. True

saving faith is always accompanied by transformation

and change and it produces good works. That's

what the book of James chapter 2 talks about.

James 2 · chapter mention

How faith and good works cannot be separated.

They cannot be torn apart. The two go hand in

hand. If this is true, this will be true as well.

It's vitally important that we understand that.

Now we can't get that backwards, can we? Why

is it so important that we don't get that backwards?

Because we must never say that obedience produces

faith for the unbeliever. The attempts of righteous

living and holy living and being morally upright

can never bring about justification by faith.

Only justification by faith and being made right

with God and being indwelt by the Spirit of God

and being made a new creature in Christ brings

about moral transformation in the life of a person.

Don't get it backwards. You cannot work your

way to faith, brothers and sisters. You cannot

work your way to justification and good standing

with God. It's only by and through faith. Now,

the last thing that we see is true of Abel and

that we can learn from Abel is the enduring witness

of his faith. or the enduring witness of his

voice. Now, when it talks about this, obviously,

it's speaking figuratively. Because Abel is not

in heaven, audibly, verbally, talking to us.

It's talking about something else. It's being

used in a figurative sense. The Bible itself

contains a testimony concerning this Old Testament

saint. And think about that. What an honor to

be in the pages of Scripture and to be held up

as an example of what true faith looks like.

What does the scriptural testimony say about

Abel? This testimony which... transcends generation

and age and time. Well, it speaks to us about

his life of faith. How he lived in an upright

way by faith. God approved of him. It speaks

of what true worship is and not false worship.

But it also speaks of his death. And how his

death still speaks to this. very day. In Genesis

4, again, we read this in verse 10. He said,

What have you done? The voice of your brother,

the voice of your brother's blood is crying to

me from the ground. Abel was the first martyr

for his faith. the Word of God tells us that

His blood is crying out for justice. His blood

is crying out for vindication. Make things right.

Fix this. That's what His blood is crying out

for. That God would vindicate this martyr who

was unjustly killed, who unjustly had his life.

Taken by his wicked, evil, unrighteous brother

Cain. We think that's a good word. Justice. Vindication.

That's a good word. Listen to what Hebrews chapter

Hebrews 12:24

12 verse 24 says. And to Jesus. The mediator

of a new covenant into the sprinkled blood which

speaks a better or speaks better than the blood

of Abel. Or many translations say speaks a better

word than Abel's blood. What does the blood of

the Lord Jesus Christ proclaim? Forgiveness.

Pardon. Grace. Mercy. Brothers and sisters, the

death and the blood of our forefather in the

faith, Abel, points us to and reminds us of the

greater, more pure, and more holy blood of Jesus

Christ who shed his blood on the cross for the

forgiveness of sins. It points us to the atonement.

Of Christ. That's part of Abel's legacy in this

world. That Jesus Christ died for the forgiveness

of sinners. That Jesus Christ sacrificed himself.

He was the one true great sacrifice that Abel

was looking to and through that old covenant

sacrifice to. Forgiveness. Grace. And mercy,

reconciliation, and blessing that God bestows

in the Gospel, in the New Covenant realities

of the Gospel. So, Abel's life and his death

speak all of these things. But there's also a

principle in these things that's true for everybody.

In every age, in every generation, I believe.

What is that principle? It is only by faith that

a person can leave a legacy of true godliness

that is remembered by God and honored by God

and is used by future generations as an example

of what it means. To be accepted by God. That's

only possible by faith. The Bible is full of

lies that are warnings, that are admonitions.

Jude speaks about Cain, Balaam, and Korah. We

can think about the book of 1 Corinthians. and

the warning of the unbelieving Israelites in

the wilderness and their hardness of heart, and

their grumbling, their moaning, their groaning,

their complaining, and their unbelief. We don't

want that legacy, do we, brothers and sisters?

We want the legacy that faith alone enables a

believer to leave. One that honors and glorifies

God Himself. One that brings glory to our Heavenly

Father. I want to close by reading a hymn that

Horatius Bonar wrote. A quote by James Moffat.

The quote by Moffat says this, Death is never

the last word in the life of a righteous man.

When a man leaves this world, Be he righteous

or unrighteous. He leaves something in the world.

He may leave something that will grow and spread

like a cancer or a poison. Or he may leave something

like the fragrance of perfume or a blossom of

beauty that permeates the atmosphere with blessing.

And listen to this quote or this hymn by Horatius

Bonar. It was sung at... Charles Spurgeon's funeral

service. Fading away like the stars of the morning,

losing their light in the glorious sun. Thus

would we pass from the earth in its toiling,

only remembered by what we have done. Only remembered,

only remembered, only remembered by what we have

done. Thus would we pass from the earth in its

toiling, only remembered by what we have done.

Shall we be missed, though by others succeeded,

reaping the fields we in springtime have sown?

No, for the sowers may pass from their labors,

only remembered by what they have done. Only

the truth that in this life we have spoken. Only

the seed that on earth we have sown. These shall

pass onward when we are forgotten. fruits of

the harvest in what we have done.