Shiloh Bible Church
Hebrews 11:4
Faith’s Hall of Fame: Abel
Introduction
Cooperstown, NY. Those of you who are baseball fans know that it is the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Ten years ago, back in July of 1998, my son Joel and I visited Cooperstown. We had tickets to the Hall of Fame game at Doubleday Field. The Baltimore Orioles played the Toronto Blue Jays and beat them 7 to 1 in an exhibition game. The Orioles are my son’s favorite team so it was a special treat to see them play. Before the game, we visited the Hall of Fame. We had a great time looking at all the exhibits. The Hall of Fame includes …
· 35,000 bats, balls, uniforms, and gloves
· 130,000 baseball cards
· 500,000 photographs
At the Hall of Fame, you can view such treasures as …
· Jackie Robinson’s 1956 Brooklyn Dodgers jersey
· The bat Babe Ruth used to hit his record setting 60th home run back in 1927
· The most valuable baseball card in the world—the T206 Honus Wagner card—worth 2.8 million dollars
By the way, if you come across some old baseball cards in a trunk in your attic, you might want to find out what they’re worth before you sell them at a yard sale for 50 cents!
Well, the Hall of Fame contains many baseball treasures. But the centerpiece of the museum is a room called The Plaque Gallery. There the plaques of all 278 members of the Hall of Fame line the oak walls—including such Yankee greats at Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle.
In Hebrews chapter 11, we walk into a gallery. But it’s not lined with the plaques of baseball’s greats. Rather, it’s lined with the plaques of Old Testament greats—men and women of faith.
In Cooperstown, we have Baseball’s Hall of Fame. In Hebrews 11, we have Faith’s Hall of Fame. And the first plaque that we come to bears the name of an Old Testament All-Star—a man by the name of Abel.
His plaque is engraved with these words in Hebrews 11:4: “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.”
The writer of Hebrews is referring here to an event that transpired in the early history of man. Let’s refresh our memories this morning by reading the original story. Keep one finger here in Hebrews 11 and turn back to the first book of the Bible—Genesis chapter 4.
Genesis chapter 4 tells the story of …
1. THE SACRIFICE OF ABEL
Genesis 1 records God’s creation of the heavens and the earth. Chapter 2 records God’s creation of man. And then chapter 3 records man’s sin and the terrible consequences that followed that act of rebellion against God.
And so in Genesis 4:1 we read: “Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, ‘With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.’ Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.”
Now, if you’re like me, when you read this story, the question that immediately comes to mind is: “Why did God accept Abel’s offering and not Cain’s?”
Well, there are 3 possibilities. The first has to do with the …
· Type of Offering
Abel brought what God commanded; Cain did not.
You’ll remember that after Adam and Eve sinned, their eyes were opened and they were ashamed of their nakedness. So they wore fig leaves to cover themselves. God confronted our first parents and delineated to them the consequences for their disobedience. But He also gave them the promise of One who would come and defeat the serpent, Satan. And so God says to Satan in 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
And then God clothed Adam and Eve with animal skins. We read in 3:21: “The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”
Now, some Bible teachers think that God did this to illustrate a principle—that an animal had to die in order for them to stand in God’s presence. Adam and Eve would have then communicated this principle to their children—that the way to approach God is through an animal sacrifice. And that’s why Abel’s sacrifice was acceptable, but Cain’s bloodless offering was not.
Or it could be that God simply told Cain and Abel that He required an animal sacrifice as an offering.
Now, other Bible teachers say no, the acceptability of the offering had nothing to do with blood. Because we read later in the Law of Moses that bloodless offerings—such as grain offerings—were acceptable to God. So, some Bible teachers say that the problem was not with the type of offering. Rather, it had to do with the …
· Quality of Offering
Abel brought his first and best to God; Cain did not.
Look at 4:3: “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.”
Cain brought “some of the fruits”—not the first or the best. Abel brought “fat portions” from the “firstborn of the flock”—Abel offered both the first and the best.
Well, Bible teachers debate as to whether the real issue was the type of offering or the quality of offering. And both positions have their strengths and weaknesses. But one issue that Bible teachers do agree on is the …
· Attitude of the Offerer
Abel brought a proper attitude to God; Cain did not.
At the end of verse 4 we read: “The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.”
That is, he was depressed. You’ve heard that depression is anger turned inward.
Verse 6: “Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’”
Cain was full of pride. And when his offering was rejected by God, he responded in anger. And it seemed that Cain was determined to stay angry. Cain’s mother, Eve, was talked into sin—but Cain would not be talked out of sin!
And God even offered Cain a second chance to do what was right. But instead of humbling himself and doing the right thing, Cain let his anger turn to depression and his depression turn to jealousy. Look at verse 8: “Now Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let’s go out to the field.’ And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.”
Pride—anger—depression—jealousy—murder. But it doesn’t stop there. Cain has the audacity to lie right to the face of God. Verse 9 says, “Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Where is your brother Abel?’ ‘I don’t know,’ he replied. ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ The LORD said, ‘What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.’”
Among William Blake’s most famous paintings is one depicting the murder of Abel. In the background lies Abel’s lifeless body. In the foreground you find Cain running away, but his body is twisted so he is looking at the observer. His eyes are wide in terror; his mouth is gaping open in wrenching agony. And his hands are covering his ears in an attempt to shut out the cries of his brother’s blood, screaming from the ground.
In stark contrast to Cain, we view Abel’s attitude. Turn back to Hebrews chapter 11. And look at verse 4: “By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did.”
Abel offered his sacrifice by faith—not in pride or arrogance that would lead to anger, depression, jealousy, murder, and lying. Abel offered his sacrifice by faith—in humble dependence on Almighty God.
And that sacrifice of Abel also revealed …
2. THE CHARACTER OF ABEL
We read in Hebrews 11:4: “By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offering.”
Now, it’s important to remember that in Hebrews 11, Abel is being commended for his character—his walk with the Lord as an Old Testament believer. The sacrifice that he offered to the Lord was not a means of salvation. Sacrifice was not the way that people got saved in the Old Testament. People in the Old Testament times got saved the same way that we get saved in New Testament times. Today, we look back to the cross of Christ and put our trust in His death to take away our sins. In Old Testament times, they looked forward to the coming Christ and put their trust in Him to deal with their sin problem.
So when Abel offered his sacrifice, he did not do so in order to get saved. He offered his sacrifice as a believer in order to express his deep devotion to God and his fellowship with God.
So his offering demonstrated his righteous character as a believer. Once again, I direct your attention to 10:38: “But my righteous one will live by faith.”
How would you describe your Christian life? Is it like Abel’s—a humble dependence on God? Or is it more like Cain’s—a proud arrogance that demands your own way?
Perhaps you’re thinking, “Wow. You know, if I’m really honest, I’d have to say I’m more like Cain than I am like Abel! But I don’t want that. So, what do I do to make it right?”
I believe that God extends to you the same opportunity He extended to Cain. God allowed Cain to make things right when Cain offered an unacceptable sacrifice. It’s not too late.
So, do what Cain refused to do:
· Humble yourself
· Admit to God that your attitude has not been right
· Confess your sin of pride and arrogance
· And ask God to help you to live your Christian life by faith—in humble dependence on Him
Hebrews 11 shows us plaque after plaque after plaque of Old Testament believers who lived their lives by faith—men and women who lived in humble dependence on God. And Abel heads the list.
Because of Abel’s righteous character, the writer of Hebrews concludes by sharing with us …
3. THE LEGACY OF ABEL
Consider these words at the end of verse 4: “And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.”
Abel has been dead for thousands of years. And yet, he still speaks loud and clear to us today. In what sense? By his example of faith! Abel leaves us his legacy—a life lived by faith.
Let me ask you: What legacy are you going to leave? What are people going to remember about you after you’re dead and gone?
Conclusion
Commentator William Barclay writes: “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.”
Scottish theologian James Moffatt comments: “Death is never the last word in the life of a righteous man.”
Dead men do tell tales. They are not silent.
So when it comes time for you to die, what legacy will you leave behind? Hopefully, like Abel, you will be remembered as a believer who lived his life by faith.
Let’s pray.
