A Life Of Faith
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4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11is the faith hall of fame. We have here person after person acknowledged for their faith. Today we look at the first two.
But before we delve into our text lets just back up a wee bit because I believe this is necessary if we are to gain an accurate picture of the faith that is described in this chapter.
expand on this passage
32 But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
33 Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
36 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Heb 10:
Then begins Chapter 11 with this wonderful definition of faith
Expand on this passage Faith is substance it is the evidence of that which we do not yet see or were not able to witness first hand
By faith the elders obtained a good report
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Heb
We now begin to examine these elders and their report obtained through faith.
Abel The Righteous
Abel The Righteous
4 By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.
In our text in Hebrews is tells us that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. However, in Gen we are not given a reason why God had respect unto ables offering and not Cains. We also don’t find clear indication of why they were compelled to offer sacrifices in the first place. What we are told here in Hebrews is that is was by faith that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice. That alone could be our answer. Even if there were no other distinguishing factors it could be the God had respect unto Abel’s offering because he offered in in faith and Cain did not.
But there is another difference. Cain offered the fruit of the ground where Abel brought the firstling of his flock. Abel’s offering was a blood sacrifice and Cains was not. And as we found in without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. So I believe that one possible scenario could be that God had set them an example through the sacrifice of the animals whose skins He used to make clothes for Adam and Eve and or God had given commandment to Adam and Eve to offer sacrifices and how to do so which they would have passed down to their children.
And so Cain and Abel would have had a method that they could have followed in faith yet Cain choose to do things his own way. I also believe that Abel’s blood sacrifice was offered in the faith that God would restore all that was lost in the garden. The blood sacrifice speaks to this as well. That a true offering for sins would be made
What was the result of Abel’s faith?
Two things mentioned in our text.
1. He obtained a witness that he was righteous
by God’s own testimony
2. He speaks even though he is dead
His blood cried out to God from the ground
His testimony and story lives on through all eternity teaching us of the power of faith
The second elder that we see in our text that obtained a good report is...
Enoch The Man Who Pleased God
Enoch The Man Who Pleased God
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
18 And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
19 And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Enoch had the testimony that he pleased God. How do we get this testimony? Because he walked with God. No one else was said to have walked with God, the rest lived and died but Enoch walked with God. The fact that Enoch walked with God is his testimony that he pleased God. No other man walked with God since Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden. By virtue of the fact that he walked with God he fellowshipped with God communed with God we know that he pleased God. And his reward was that he did not taste of death like everyone else but he was translated.
Enoch’s translation itself gives us hope of resurrection and eternal life. Enoch is the man who pleased God. However, as if the author of Hebrews anticipate that we might say ok he please God but what did that have to do with faith? and he gives us the answer in verse 6
6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Heb
Enoch could not have walked with God and been translated unless he had pleased God and so that is his testimony. However, and this is where faith comes into it because, It is imposable to please God without faith. So what faith is required to please God? It is two fold
You must believe that God is
You must believe that God rewards those who seek him diligently.
In our false sense of humility that we often walk around with we don’t like to give the impression that we desire any reward from God. Which is strange really because the Bible often talks of rewards.
42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Matt 10:42
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
1Pet 5:1-
This is why Paul said that
24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
So to please God we must not only believe that He is but also that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. If we by faith keep our eye on the prize then we will be able to endure any trial we may face. As Paul pointed out in chapter 10 this is what gave them strength to endure the spoiling of their good.
34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
Heb 10:
And doesn’t our salvation even teach us that we must also have faith that God will reward us. It’s not enough to believe that Christ exists or even that He is the Son of God, that He died on the cross or even that He rose from the grave we must believe that we can be partakers of His glory also. We must believe that we can benefit from His death. We must believe that He died for our sins and through His death we can be forgiven. So we must believe that He is and that He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him. So a life of faith is a like that is always looking forward to our reward in Christ.