We'll also be spending some time in Genesis chapter
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 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
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
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
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.
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
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.