Heaven’s Hero, Abel
Heaven’s Heroes are men and women of God who have been victorious in the faith, not all heaven’s heroes are listed in Hebrews 11, many are still alive and active for God today, they are not to be idolized, they are an example to all who desire to advance in the Christian faith.
WHAT IS FAITH
The term ’faith’ can be used as a confession of what you believe, for example The Apostle’s Greed,
Galatians 1:23 They only heard the report: "The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy."
Faith is our only means of communication with God,
John 20:31 But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Faith in Christ is also our only means of being made righteous in the sight of God.
Romans 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
The term ’faith’ is used in Hebrews 11 to describe the continual trust, dependence and confidence of ’Heaven’s Heroes’ in God.
The term ’faith’ is often spoken in the context of "faith healing", "name it and claim it" teaching or in the stories of great preachers. The average Christian (if there is such a thing) can be left feeling that ’faith’ is only for the advanced Christian. Faith is the ’foundation’ or ’life line’ of the Christian life, faith is the gift of God to all Christians.
Ephes. 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God
Therefore all Christians have faith and so have the potential to advance and do great things through God.
FAITH AND PERSEVERANCE
The faith of heaven’s heroes was not the Holy Spirit’s "gift of faith" which is a sudden surge of supernatural trust in God. The faith of heavens heroes must be understood in the context of Hebrews 10 & 11,
Hebrews 10:35-11:1
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him."
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
The faith of heaven’s heroes was coupled with perseverance, therefore the single events of great faith reported in Heb 11 were a result of their continual trust, dependence and confidence in God. Faith in God made them sure and certain of what they hoped for although they could not see it, perseverance enabled them to press on in faith to receive what God had promised.
"We shall never arrive at the goal of salvation unless we are furnished with perseverance. The prophet declares that the just shall live by faith, but faith calls us to far off things which we have not yet attained; and therefore, faith necessarily includes perseverance in itself".
’John Calvin’
It was faith that made the difference between Cain and Abel because it was by faith that Abel COMMUNICATED his heart with God, it was because of faith that Abel was COMMENDED by God and it is because of Abel’s faith he still COMMUNICATES with us today.
ABEL COMMUNICATED WITH GOD
It was not so much the content of their offerings that mattered to God (although God always want our best when giving to Him) but the manner in which they were given. Cain performed an empty ritual while Abel devotedly performed the same ritual in faith as a means of communicating his heart unto God, Both Cain and Abel gave their best but it was the attitude behind their best that concerned God. The difference in their attitude may have been some thing like this; "Cain gave his best and knew he could keep the rest, Abel gave his best and knew that God had or would provide the rest"
God always looks on the heart, He examines the attitude before the action, the motive before the mission. There may no longer be a sacrificial system because of the victorious work of Jesus, see Heb 10, but God still calls us to make sacrifices unto Him as our spiritual worship and God today still looks on the heart,
Today as God’s people we are called to sacrifice; our BODIES in service, seeRomans 12:1-8
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Our BELONGINGS in love, see Hebrews 13:16
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
and we are also called to make a sacrifice of PRAISE unto Him, see
Hebrews 13:15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Let us remember that God sees the thoughts, attitudes and motives behind our spiritual worship in the same way He seen the hearts of Cain and Abel.
ABEL COMMENDED BY GOD
Because of Abel’s faith God commended him as righteous, God spoke well of him and God approved of his offerings.
Cain may have watched day after day as Abel’s sacrifices were accepted by God, Cain may have compared their offerings he may have compared himself with Abel and seen little difference between them yet God commended Abel.
Comparing yourself to others can lead to jealousy or to a low self-esteem. Jealously can result in an angry outburst as in the case of Cain, a low self-esteem can have us working for man’s approval, recognition and acceptance. Paul said "For is not the one who commends himself ( this may be in words or works) who is approved but the one whom the Lord commends" 2Cor 10:18, remember God always looks on the heart before He commends a person for their offerings or gifts, while we can only see and compare our selves to what is on the surface.
There is no work we can do or words we can say that make us approved or righteous in the sight of God it is only faith in Christ on the inside that God will commend us for.
Because of Abel’s faith he still communicates with us, today, the writer is speaking figuratively as he does when talking of the blood of Abel and Jesus speaking see
Hebrews 12:24
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Abel speaks today by example, as a hero in the faith one from whom we can learn.
There is no suggestion here of reincarnation or a spirit world where the dead are able to communicate with the living. The Bible teaches that when a Christian dies he goes immediately to be with Jesus in Heaven, see Lk: 24:43, 2Cor 5:8, Phil 1:23, Heb 12:23 . When a non-christian dies they go to Hades to await the punishment of Hell, see Lk 16:23, Rev 1:18. When a person dies there is no way to return.
Job calls death "the way of no return" see Job 16:22, 7:9, 14:12, Heb 9:27 and Solomon says "the dead have nothing to say" see Ecc 9:5.
Abel speaks today as a man who persevered believing in God and as one who offered to God the best he had, he did no great outstanding work for God yet God commended him because of his fait.
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