Faith that Worships God Acceptably

So we're continuing a series in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews 11, a chapter in Hebrews on faith.

! And David will be up in a moment to teach for us.

But first, let's read together.

We're going to begin with Genesis chapter 4.

Genesis 4 · chapter mention

This is God's holy word.

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying,

I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.

And again, she bore his brother Abel.

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.

And in the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,

and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions.

And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering.

But for Cain and his offering, he had no regard.

So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

And the Lord said to Cain,

Why are you angry, and why is your face fallen?

If you do well, will you not be accepted?

And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is for you, and you must rule over it.

Cain spoke to Abel, his brother.

And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Then the Lord said to Cain,

Where is Abel, your brother?

And he said,

I do not know.

Am I my brother's keeper?

And the Lord said,

What have you done?

The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.

And now you are cursed from the ground,

which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

In Hebrews 11, verses 1 to 4,

Hebrews 11:1–4

the writer says this,

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen,

for by it the people of old received their commendation.

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God,

so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain,

through which he was commended as righteous,

God commending him by accepting his gifts.

And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.

This is God's holy Word.

Our text this evening is Hebrews 11 and verse 4.

Let me read it to you once again.

Down through human history, there have been many examples of men and women

who refused to be silent in the face of oppression and injustice.

Their voices could not be silenced,

despite perhaps great pressure, persecution, even intimidation.

And as we turn to Hebrews 11, verse 4 tonight,

Hebrews 11:4

we are being, as it were, summoned to listen to a voice

that similarly refuses to be silent.

And that voice is the voice of Abel.

This is where the writer of Hebrews begins in his great gallery of men and women of faith.

And though Abel's life was one cut short by violence and murder,

yet nonetheless, his voice echoes down through the centuries to us this evening.

Though he died, he still speaks.

And so what is it about this man Abel that continues to speak to us down through the generations?

What makes his voice so enduring?

What message does his life continue to proclaim?

What does he have to say to us this evening?

Well, there's a lot in the text.

I want to highlight just three things from it tonight.

Tonight, we're going to do this, Abel, in one sermon.

I think I mentioned last week, I'd been looking at the sermons of Thomas Manton.

He had eight on this one text.

That is not a line that I will be taking.

You'll be glad to know.

Three things I want to highlight.

First of all, I want you to notice that through faith,

Abel offered what we might call an acceptable sacrifice.

By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.

And so, we are being taken back by the writer to these early chapters of the book of Genesis,

and especially to chapter 4 of that great book,

to this famous account of Cain and Abel.

Before the fall, Eden, the garden, was, as it were, a sanctuary of the Lord,

a kind of natural tabernacle where God met with Adam and Eve.

It was a holy place.

It was a place of fellowship and perfect communion with God.

But with the entry of sin, all of that changed.

Judgment fell.

Adam and Eve were cast out of the garden, driven out of the garden.

And Genesis 4 is a chapter that begins to describe the reality of life in a sinful and fallen world.

Along with sin comes disease, decay, disorder, and death.

Here is life in a world that has been spoiled by sin,

and in which men and women have become alienated from God,

and indeed from one another.

Here is life east of Eden.

And the story of Cain and Abel is one that reflects this new reality.

And it's interesting that first and foremost,

it's a story that begins and describes this new reality,

first and foremost, as being about worship.

That's the first thing highlighted in the text of Genesis 4.

Genesis 4, verse 1,

Genesis 4:1

Adam knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain.

I've gotten a man with the help of the Lord.

Again, she bore his brother Abel, Abel a keeper of sheep,

Cain a worker of the ground.

And in the course of time,

Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground.

And Abel also brought the firstborn of his flock

and of their fat portions.

Two brothers, Cain and Abel,

children, one commentator says,

children of the eighth day.

And they bring their worship to the Lord.

They are acknowledging Him as the giver of life,

the one to whom they owe honor and respect and praise.

And they each bring some of the fruits of their respective callings.

And they bring them as sacrifices to the Lord.

Cain brings some of his harvest.

Abel brings an animal from his flock.

But the worship,

the sacrifice they make,

the worship they bring,

the offerings they make,

have, we are told,

a profoundly different result.

And so we read in Genesis 4-5,

the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,

but for Cain and his offering,

he had no regard.

And so Cain was very angry,

and his face fell.

Some translations say the Lord looked with favor.

That is, he accepted the sacrifice of Abel,

but rejected Cain's offering.

Why was that?

What were God's reasons

for accepting Abel's worship

and at the same time rejecting Cain's?

Now, there are a number of theories and suggestions.

We won't go into all of that,

but, you know,

some suggest it was because of the difference

in their offerings.

Cain offers the fruit of the ground,

his crops, and his vegetables.

Abel offers a blood or an animal sacrifice.

But that's not really what the text tells us.

And anyway, both of those kinds of offerings

are deemed acceptable in the Old Testament.

The text of Genesis 4 says,

the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,

but for Cain and his offering,

he had no regard.

In other words, the emphasis here is on the person,

not on the quality or type of the offering.

It's the condition of the worshiper

that appears to be of first importance here.

And I think this is exactly what the writer

to the Hebrews is highlighting when he says,

by faith, Abel offered to God

a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.

Why was Abel's worship and sacrifice

more acceptable?

The answer is faith.

Why was Cain's worship unacceptable?

There was a lack of faith.

The critical thing was not the sacrifice

or the offerings made,

but the spirit in which those offerings were offered.

Because God looks not just on what is offered,

but on the heart of the one bringing the offering.

The difference between the two brothers

was Abel listened to God,

trusted God, obeyed God.

Whereas Cain, the implication here,

simply did his own thing.

Yes, they both offered their produce.

They both offered sacrifices.

But the difference was not in the offering,

but in the man, in the men.

Calvin writes of Abel,

his sacrifice pleased God

because he himself was pleasing to God.

Abel's heart was given to God,

while his brother Cain brought his offering

in a completely different attitude and spirit.

And that's what we see clearly

in the text of Genesis 4.

Verse 6,

The Lord said to Cain,

Why are you angry?

Why is your face fallen?

If you do well, will you not be accepted?

If you do not do well,

sin is crouching at the door.

It's desirous for you,

but you must rule over it.

When his offering is rejected,

you see Cain's reaction,

his response,

betrays what is in his heart.

You'll notice that he doesn't confess his sin.

He doesn't ask for forgiveness.

He doesn't throw himself on the mercy of God.

There is absolutely no sense of sorrow or humility

or repentance before God.

Instead, he is raging.

He is full of anger and resentment.

And his response reveals arrogance and presumption.

I mean, who does Yahweh think he is?

I've done my bit.

Haven't I made my offering?

Haven't I brought my gifts?

Isn't that good enough?

There's that kind of underlying assumption

that God is obligated to accept him

no matter what.

I have discovered over the years,

lots of people still think like that.

I've done my bit for God.

I went to church at Christmas.

I put something in the offering.

But religious formalism

is absolutely death to the soul.

God looks not simply at what we bring to him,

but why and how we bring it.

He looks on the heart of the one bringing worship.

Is that worship being offered in faith?

Is there trust in God and in his word?

Not all worship is acceptable to God.

It's quite possible to offer worship

that's actually all about ourselves

and not God.

And that is the way of Cain.

The important thing about worship in one sense

is not whether it suits me, fits my taste,

but actually whether it fits God's taste.

Not am I comfortable with this,

but is God honored in this?

Not does this give me the right feelings,

but is the living God,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit glorified?

Who's the primary consumer

towards which our worship is offered?

Is it myself?

Or is it the living God?

True worship springs from a believing heart.

And the key to worship that honors God

is faith.

For Cain,

it was not merely the presence of sin,

but the absence of faith

that was decisive.

It was through faith

that Abel offered an acceptable sacrifice.

Brings me to the second thing here.

And that is through faith,

Abel was commended as righteous

and accepted by God.

Our verse goes on,

through which he was commended as righteous.

God commending him

by accepting his gifts.

And again,

we have this language

of commendation,

acceptance.

Abel was commended as righteous,

and that commendation

was to be seen

in the acceptance of his gift,

his offering.

And this really is a descriptive,

it's really a miracle

of divine grace.

Abel, a sinner,

is commended,

considered,

counted as righteous.

We're not to read this text

and draw the conclusion

that somehow Abel

was inherently righteous.

Far from it,

he was unrighteous.

He was a sinner.

He was living east of Eden.

It was only through faith

that he was commended as righteous.

By grace,

he looked towards God.

And in faith,

he trusted in him.

By faith,

he was commended

as a righteous man.

And that commendation

was not a reward

for Abel's perfection.

It was itself

a gift of God's grace,

received by faith.

Because righteousness

is never something

that we ourselves

can manufacture.

It is something

that God gives

and bestows.

And so,

it doesn't matter

who we are this evening.

If you want to be accepted

by God,

if you want to be counted

as righteous before God,

there is only one way.

And that's through faith

in Jesus Christ.

Only in coming to God

in humble faith

and trusting in him

and in his provision

can we be commended

as righteous.

The way of arrogant

self-sufficiency,

that is the way of Cain,

is always a dead end.

John Calvin writes,

of that faith

which strips us

of all arrogance

and leads us naked

and needy to God,

that we may seek salvation

from him alone,

which would otherwise

be far removed from us.

In the previous chapter,

the writer of Hebrews

quotes from Habakkuk 2.5.

That's in Hebrews 10.38.

The righteous by faith

shall live.

Men and women of God

do not live

by their own achievements,

but only through faith in God.

Our lives are to lean

wholly and solely

upon God himself.

We sometimes sing those words,

I dare not trust

my sweetest frame,

but wholly lean

on Jesus' name.

The American

Reformed theologian

B.B. Walfield

wrote these words,

The saving power of faith

resides thus

not in itself,

but in the almighty

Savior

on whom it rests.

It's not faith that saves,

but faith in Jesus Christ.

Strictly speaking,

it is Christ that saves

through faith.

The saving power

resides exclusively

not in the act

or attitude

or nature

of faith,

but in the object

of faith.

Abel was righteous

before the Lord

by faith

in the coming

seed of the woman

who would crush

the serpent's head.

That is Jesus Christ.

By grace,

he was saved

through faith.

That not of himself,

it was the gift of God.

By faith,

he became

the first human being,

as it were,

to be justified and

brought into the presence

of God

and made perfect.

Only faith

in Jesus Christ

brings acceptance

with God.

Only through Christ

can we bring

acceptable worship.

And it's interesting

that this idea

of acceptable worship

is actually one

that we find

throughout the New Testament

and throughout

the epistles.

Peter,

for example,

speaks of offering

spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God

through Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 2.5.

In the very next chapter

of Hebrews,

the author speaks

of offering to God

acceptable worship

with reverence

and awe.

Hebrews 12.28.

Philippians 4,

Paul writes

of the gifts

he received

as being a fragrant offering,

a sacrifice

acceptable

and pleasing to God.

Philippians 4.18.

And then,

most famously of all,

Paul writes

to the Christians

in Rome.

He tells them

to present their bodies

as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable

to God,

which is your spiritual worship.

Romans 12.1.

Worship means

offering to God

ourselves.

It's always a response

to what God

has revealed

of Himself.

And worship,

therefore,

involves the whole of life.

It involves

all of us.

It's not a hobby.

It's not a pastime.

We sometimes sing,

love so amazing,

so divine,

demands what?

My soul,

my life,

my all.

I recall many years ago

how old,

back in the 1980s.

So that's how old that is.

That's a long time ago.

And I remember

as a younger Christian

seeing the Christian artist,

the guy called

Jeffrey Stevenson.

And he was doing a mime.

I actually think

he became an academic.

I think,

actually,

might be a lecturer

at Edinburgh University

if he's the same guy.

And this mime,

which made quite an impression

of me,

if I'm sitting in the pew,

I won't do the mime.

You'll be glad to know.

I'll be going too far.

But he was sitting in the pew.

And in those days,

there was an offering bag

passed around.

And as it came to him,

he mimed this bit.

He's kind of putting his hand

in his pocket

and he takes out a few coins

and he drops them in.

And then the offering bag remains.

And so he reaches for his wallet

and he takes out some notes

and he puts it in.

Put it in the bag.

Bag remains.

And so then he,

eventually,

he kind of takes out

all the coins

and his wallet

and he takes off his watch

and he takes off his ring

or whatever else,

puts it in the offering bag.

And so,

still the bag is there.

Until eventually,

he places it on the ground.

He steps into it

and then pulled it over his head.

It was a very powerful visual image.

Christian worship involves

everything that we are

and all that we have.

We're to hold nothing back from him.

That was the big difference

between Cain and Abel.

Faith and no faith.

William still was a prominent

Scottish minister

of last century.

And he has a comment

on this passage

in volume three

of his collected writings.

This is what he writes.

Cain's heart well knew

why his offering

had not been accepted.

He was not in it.

It was a kind of concession.

Whereas Abel was in his sacrifice

as a humble,

believing sinner.

There is all the difference

in the world.

I think that hits the nail

on the head.

He was not in it.

He was not in the sacrifice.

He was not in the offering.

He was not in the worship.

Let me ask you tonight,

are you in the worship?

Are you in the singing?

Are you in the ministry?

Are you in the offering?

Or are you going through

the motions?

Are you worshiping

the way of Abel

or the way of Cain?

William Temple wrote

these words,

You have to trust God

to worship like that.

You have to believe in Him.

You have to cast yourself

on Him.

You have to give yourself

to Him.

For trusting Him

will lead to joy,

not sadness.

To freedom,

not slavery.

To life,

not death.

To hope,

not fear.

True worship begins

with a heart

that trusts God's character

and clings

to His grace

and mercy.

through faith,

Abel offered

an acceptable sacrifice.

Through faith,

Abel was commended

as righteous

and accepted by God.

And then thirdly

and finally here,

through faith,

Abel continues

to speak

even after death.

And through his faith,

though he died,

he still speaks.

Abel's life

was cut short.

He became

the first martyr,

first to die

for his faith.

And yet the writer

to the Hebrews says,

His voice is not silent.

He still speaks.

He still bears witness.

He still testifies

to God's goodness

and grace.

What does he speak of?

Let me mention

three things

very briefly.

I think he speaks

to us of the cost

of faith.

Abel's faith

led him

to a bloody field,

just as the faith

of countless saints

has led them

to persecution,

suffering,

and death.

And yet in their deaths

they testify

that God is faithful.

Abel's blood,

we're told

in Genesis 4,

Genesis 4:10

verse 10,

cried out

from the ground.

The voice

of your brother's blood

is crying to me

from the ground,

says the Lord.

God heard that cry.

And God hears

the cries

of his people.

They are never ignored.

And if you're suffering

for your faith,

take heart.

Your voice

is heard in heaven.

Actually,

John,

the apostle,

takes this incident

and uses it

as a kind of word

of encouragement

for those

he was writing to.

He says,

for this is the message

that you've heard

from the beginning

that we should love

one another.

We should not be

like Cain

who was of the evil one

and murdered his brother.

And why did he murder him?

Because his own deeds

were evil

and his brother's righteous.

Do not be surprised,

brothers,

that the world hates you.

God sees the hatred

of the unrighteous

for the righteous.

And he says,

you know,

don't be surprised

sometimes

if the world hates you.

And there's a kind of comfort

here

for God's people.

Abel's blood

cries out

for justice.

But vengeance

and justice

are not things

we're to take

into our own hands.

These things

are matters

for God.

God will act

in justice.

His will

will be done.

The God of the Bible

is not deaf

or blind

to the evil

and injustice,

the many evils

and injustices

we see in this world.

And even if the world

does not care,

there is one who does,

and that is God himself.

Thomas Manton writes,

the blood of a martyr

hath a loud voice

in the ears

of God.

The cost of faith.

And then,

I think also

he speaks to us

of the triumph

of faith.

Death

could not silence him.

His faith,

though it cost him

his life,

secured

eternal commendation.

He is alive

in God's presence.

His example

calls us

to persevere

in the way of faith.

And yes,

people may mock

our faith,

maybe our families

misunderstand that.

Maybe our own hearts

are sometimes,

you know,

tremble.

But faith

in God's promise

will never be put

to shame.

And there's a reminder

here of the powerful

impact a life

of faith can have.

As we live

on the basis

of what God

has promised

us in the gospel,

who knows

how God

might be pleased

to use our testimony,

even after

we're long gone.

The life

of faith

you're living

today

may yet

become a legacy

for your children

or your grandchildren.

We may never

know the full

extent

and impact

of our witness

in this world.

So let me

encourage you

to remain faithful

and to keep on

in the way

of faith.

sometimes we feel

we can feel

as if our testimony

of faith

has been rejected,

maybe even despised.

Yet God may use it.

Though he died,

yet still he speaks.

Abel still lives.

He's part of that

great cloud of witnesses.

And he urges us

to trust God,

to bring him

the same kind of worship.

a kind of worship

in which we give

ourselves

wholeheartedly

to the Lord.

And then a third

thing here.

I think Abel

also speaks

and points us

to Jesus Christ.

In the very next

chapter

we have another

mention of Abel

and it's one

that makes a very

direct connection

with Jesus.

The author of Hebrews

talks of

coming in worship

as we were thinking.

perhaps this morning

of the city

of the living God.

And to Jesus

he says,

verse 24,

the mediator

of a new covenant

and the sprinkled

blood

that speaks

a better word

than the blood

of Abel.

So what's this

connection between

the blood of Jesus

and the blood

of Abel?

Well, as I mentioned,

back in Genesis 4

we're told that

Abel's blood

cried out

from the ground.

What have you done?

The voice of your

brother's blood

is crying to me

from the ground.

Abel's blood

cried to God

from the ground

and demanded

justice,

demanded condemnation,

demanded judgment.

But while

the blood

of Abel

called for justice,

now the blood

of Jesus

speaks of something

very different.

It speaks not

of vengeance

or judgment,

instead

it speaks

a better word,

a word

of forgiveness,

a reconciliation

with God.

What can

wash away

my sin?

Nothing

but the blood

of Jesus.

What can

make me

whole again?

Nothing

but the blood

of Jesus.

The blood

of Jesus Christ

is an atoning

sacrifice.

It is the

reality to which

Abel's animal

sacrifice

pointed.

In Genesis 4,

Abel's offering

and the language

used to describe

it reflects

later Old

Testament

regulations

for making

atonement for

sin at the

tabernacle and

temple.

Because the

worship of faith

draws near to

God on the

basis of

sacrifice.

That theme

runs right

throughout the

biblical witness

from Genesis

to Revelation.

And in the

previous chapter

here, the

writer of Hebrews

reminds us

that that

sacrifice is

nothing less

than the blood

of Jesus Christ.

Remember he

says in

Hebrews 10

19,

Therefore,

brothers,

since we have

confidence to

enter the

holy places

by the

blood of

Jesus,

by the

new and

living way,

he opened

for us

through the

curtain,

that is

through his

flesh,

and since we

have a

great priest

over the

house of

God,

let us

draw near

with a

true heart

in full

assurance

of faith,

with our

hearts

sprinkled

clean from

an evil

conscience,

and our

bodies washed

with pure

water.

The blood

of Jesus

Christ speaks

to us a

word demanding

not condemnation,

but deliverance

and salvation,

not expulsion,

but reconciliation,

not pushing us

away, but

welcoming us

in.

And it's at the

cross of Christ

we see the

blood that

can make

even the

foulest

clean.

Sometimes

when, on a

Sunday, we've

had people

round for

lunch,

occasions I've

sent them on

ahead with

the keys

for the

house, because

we've been

delayed, and

sometimes they

feel a bit

uncomfortable

letting themselves

into the

house.

But it's a

fact that I've

given them

the key.

I've given

them access.

I want them

to go in.

Sinners, we

always feel

uncomfortable

about our

sin, and

that's a

healthy thing.

But God

has sent

His Son

to die

that we

might be

forgiven.

And that's

the key to

God's

presence.

Forgiveness

and His

righteousness.

righteousness.

And that's

the key to

worship.

He doesn't

ask us to

try and

feel, you

know, feel

we've got

access.

He asks us

to believe

that it's a

fact.

And He

invites us to

come to

Him by

faith.

He has

given us

the key, as

it were, and

that key is

Jesus.

Hebrews 10,

19 doesn't

say, since we

have confidence

to enter by,

you know, how

well we've been

doing as a

Christian this

week.

It says, since

we have

confidence to

enter by the

blood of

Jesus.

In other

words, it's

nothing to

do with how

well or

badly we've

been doing.

It's entirely

to do, completely

to do, with

Jesus' death.

That's what

makes us

acceptable to

Him as we

are.

So what does

Abel's faith say

to us tonight?

Well, if you're

not a believer,

it says, come to

God.

Not with your

own works, not

in your own

effort, but

trusting in the

sacrifice of

Jesus Christ.

Come to God, not

with your own

merits, but

pleading the

blood of

Jesus.

Come by faith

in the one

whose sprinkled

blood still

speaks a

better word

than the

blood of

Abel.

And if

you're a

Christian, it

says, hold

fast to your

faith.

Even when it

leads through

the valley of

suffering, God

will vindicate

you.

To the

weary and

the struggling,

it says, your

voice like

Abel's will

not be

silenced.

Your faith

will endure

beyond the

grave.

And so the

invitation then

is to join

this great

cloud of

witnesses we

see in

Hebrews 11,

offering to

God the

sacrifice of

faith, trusting

in the blood

of the Lamb

who was

slain.

By God's

grace, may it

be true of

us, that

even when

we're like

Abel long

gone, our

faith like

Abel's of

old will

still speak

and point

others to

the God

who is

faithful

forever.

Let's pray.

God, our

Father, we

thank you for

your rich

mercy and

grace.

we thank

you for

your great

love for

us in

the Lord

Jesus

Christ.

We thank

you for

the shed

blood of

our Savior.

We thank

you that it

speaks to

us a better

word than

the blood

of Abel.

Lord, receive

our worship

this evening

as we

offer

ourselves to

you in

faith and

trust,

confident not

in ourselves

but in

Jesus Christ,

our great

and mighty

Savior, and

in whose name

we pray.

Amen.