#2 ~ Heb. 11: 4 ~ABEL~ (HALL OF FAITH CHAPTER) 4-19-14
Today we'll continue with our study of Hebrews chapter 11: -- often called "the hall of faith chapter" also the "catalog of the faithful." -- Paul, or the writer first mentioned the O.T. faithful back in Heb. 6:12.
>Hebrews 6:12 That ye be not slothful, {become disinterested} but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
~ Chapter 11: is placed here to help us take hold of FAITH in God and His promises, all these people in chapter 11: are our witnesses.
>Hebrews 12:1-2 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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~ Listen, our having eternal life is totally dependent upon God, we can not do a thing to help God save us, we have ask God to forgive us of our sins, and recognize the fact that Jesus paid our sin debt, and have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and that's all that is required of us to have eternal life.
-- Listen, but as for as us having assurance of this salvation depends on our acceptance, our faith, in God's promises, we may not always feel like we're saved, but the saving part is God's business. -- Let us believe and trust God.
~ believing and trusting God and His promises is what FAITH in God is.
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~The people found in this chapter appear to be in chronological order, verses 3-7 are found in the first nine chapters of Genesis.
Verses 8-22, are to do with the period of the patriarchs.
Verses 23-31, are about the time of Moses.
Hebrews 11:32-38, cover the history of the judges, the prophets, and the faithful martyrs.
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~ Last time was the first broadcast of this study and we talked about the 1st 3 verses, we'll not talk again in detail about these verses today, listen as I read verses 1-3 to get us hooked back up with our thought line.
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1Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3Through 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.
As we get into the lives of the different individuals in this chapter, let's keep in mind that they were all just ordinary, sinful people; but they are mentioned because they believed God. -- They are found in many different places and circumstances, and at various times, but they all had faith in the One True God.
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The first 3 people of faith that we're told of were people before the flood, Abel, Enoch, and Noah, the antediluvian believers.
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~Beginning with Abel, the very first one mentioned, God put down the principle that would apply to one and all from then on, that men must approach Him on only one basis: by faith, and that salvation will be by faith in Christ alone.
All O.T. sacrifices were pictures and types of the Supreme Sacrifice to come, The Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, He is the Savoir of all man-kind, the O.T. believers were looking ahead to cross, we today are looking back at the Cross.
* ~ Jesus said in;
John 12: 32And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
* It's Jesus in the O.T.
Isaiah 43:11 I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no Savoir.
Isaiah 45:21 -- and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Savoir; there is none beside me.
~ People are going to have to settle it in their heart and mind just exactly who Jesus is, He is the GREAT I AM of the entire bible, what ever people decide about Who Jesus is does not in any way change who He is.
* He told Moses' from the burning bush in;
Exodus 3: 14And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
-- We read in;
>John 8: 56 -58 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. 57Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? 58Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
The joy of Abraham refers to the birth of Isaac, Abraham saw in Isaac the hope of mankind and the promise of the Messiah. -- The promised SEED.
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4By 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. --- Even though Abel is now dead, his faith still speaks for him.
ƒÞ Lets read the account in Gen.4:
Genesis 4:1- 5 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. -- Let me say, that there is no sin in being a farmer, I thank God for the farmers, most of the time they don't get paid enough for what they do.
3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat (best parts) thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. -- (expression of the face)
~What was the difference between the two offerings?
LISTEN, when Adam and Eve sinned, God slew an innocent animal, it gave its life, and it shed its blood, God took the skin thereof to cover their nakedness.
>Genesis 3: 21Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
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Let us never forget, this is the origin of sacrifice and that God made it clear to man, this was the 1st picture and type of Jesus the Lamb of God. --- God rejected their fig leaves covering their nakedness. --- Notice, Adam and Eve were now aware that the animal sacrificed its life to cover their nakedness. --- ~~They would not have been aware or convicted of their nakedness if they had not disobeyed God and partook of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
>Gen. 2:16 -17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
>Gen. 3:9 -11And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
~God knew what happened but He wanted Adam to confess his sin, so Adam blamed his wife Eve, and she blamed the serpent. -- Every body blames everyone else when their caught.
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~ LISTEN, this knowledge of a sacrificial offering was handed down to their two sons', Abel and Cain.
God had revealed to them that they were to bring a sacrifice, perhaps a lamb, and the lamb pointed to Christ, of which they new nothing of.
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There are two ways that people approach God, -- the true way and the false way, and these are represented by Cain and Abel and the offerings they brought to the Lord.
Cain was rejected because his offering was not acceptable to God. Abel was accepted because the offering he brought was acceptable to God.
We are all like Abel or Cain -- believers or unbelievers.
ƒÞ How did Abel exercise faith in the Lord?
Both men had to have built an altar, and Cain brought his offering -- 'the fruits of the soil'; and Abel brought his offering from, the choice portions from some of the firstborn of his flock' -- a sacrificial lamb.
To Cain, his offering was more attractive than Abel's, but Abel's offering was what God wanted, what He had previously made clear, because He had revealed His way of salvation to his parents, Adam and Eve.
So, while Cain placed upon the altar the fruits of his own labor -- grain, vegetables, which he had raised by his own efforts -- Abel, his brother, took a perfect lamb, killed it, poured the blood at the side of the altar and placed the lamb upon the altar. Abel's offering anticipated the coming of the Lamb of God.
There is only one way for a sinner to rightly approach God, and that is through the shed blood of the Lamb; and to exercise faith in God, this means to recognize this fact and to approach Him in this way.
ABEL EXERCISED FAITH BY ACKNOWLEDGING HIS SIN AND HIS NEED OF GOD'S FORGIVENESS.
Cain's offering made no acknowledgment of sin; but Abel's sacrifice and offering spoke not only of his sin, but also of God's remedy for sin.
>Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Cain was the first man who brought his works to God. --- A lot of people are still coming to God the same way -- they come by works, the list of man's works could be endless.
~ LISTEN, the reason we come too God in the first place is because we're sinners, and we realize that the penalty for our sins must be paid. --- That is the reason a lamb had to be slain. -- Rom.6:23 the wages of sin is death.
Abel's sacrificial offering couldn't take away sin, but it foreshadowed the coming of Christ who is "the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." JN 1:29
~Abel's offering pointed to Christ, and he came by faith--that is the way of salvation.
>Jude 11Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, --
~Cain was the 1st human being born of human parents; he also was the 1st murderer.
~ABEL EXERCISED FAITH BY RECOGNISING THAT NO WORK OR EFFORT OF HIS OWN COULD GAIN HIS ACCEPTANCE BEFORE GOD.
~ Perhaps Cain brought his best, but it was not acceptable.
>Isaiah 64:6 -- and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; --
>Romans 3:21-22 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe:
> Ephesians 2:8-9For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.
> Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done --
Heb.11: 4By 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.
By faith he was counted as a righteous man. -- This means that Abel believed that through his offering God had accepted him and had justified him.
Abel's faith, therefore, brought him the assurance of salvation.
Our faith in Christ and His finished work on Calvary should bring us assurance as well.
>Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, --
> Hebrews 10:19-22 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21And having an high priest over the house of God; 22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 11:4 we read that Abel, by his faith, still speaks even though he is dead. --- This means that Abel continues to proclaim from age to age that there is only one way for a guilty sinner to be saved, there is only one acceptable way for a man to approach God, and that way is through faith in the precious blood of Christ.
