HEBREWS 11:4-7
FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD [LEAVING A LEGACY SERIES]
[Genesis 4:3-7; 6:13-20; Genesis 5:21–24]
The author now encourages his readers further by reminding them of examples of faith in earlier days. In O.T. times, he points out, there were many men and women who had nothing but the promises of God to rest upon, without visible evidence that these promises would ever be fulfilled, yet those promises meant so much to them that they adjusted the whole course of their lives in light of the promises. The promises related to the future, but these people acted as if they were already a present reality, so convinced were they that God could and would fulfill what He had promised. In other words, they were men and women of faith. Their faith consisted simply in taking God at His word and directing their lives accordingly. Things yet future as to their experience, were present to their faith and things outwardly unseen were visible to the inward eye of faith in God.
The great achievers in history have been men and women who could see the invisible and strive to reach it. Explorers, inventors, liberators, and pioneers in every field have been characterized by the steady penetrating eye that sees the invisible and strives for the seemingly impossible.
It may seem impossible to please a perfect, all-knowing, all-powerful, holy God but there is a way, and that way is faith. The actions of these Old Testament saints shows that faith pleases God and that He rewards all those who seek and follow Him by faith (CIT).
I. ABEL: WORSHIPING IN FAITH, 4.
II. ENOCH: WALKING BY FAITH, 5-6.
III. NOAH: WORKING IN FAITH, 7.
Our writer now leads us to consider the lives of people known simply for their faith. The first three pleased God by their faith in Him (Gen 6:9; 7:1). First, the way to a more excellent sacrifice like Abel’s is to offer it in faith as verse 4 indicates. “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, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.”
James Moffatt wrote, “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 a fragrance of perfume or a blossom of beauty that permeates the atmosphere with blessing.” We leave this world either a with a legacy of faith or of unfaithfulness.
Dead men do tell tales. They are not silent, but still speak to those who will listen. From many thousands of years ago, Abel speaks to twenty-first-century man. This man who lived when the earth was new, who was of the second generation of mankind, has something to teach modern, sophisticated, technological man. He lived in a far distant age, in a far different culture, with far less light from God than we have. But what he has to tell us is more relevant than anything we are likely to read in our current newspapers or magazines.
This verse indicates that Abel’s faith led to three things, true worship, true righteousness, and true witness. Cain was the oldest brother who exercised and lived out his religion. He was a religious man, but he was not righteous (1 Jn. 3:2). The reason indicated is because his faith was not truly placed in God’s righteousness or goodness but in himself. Cain in someway, perhaps in heart, held himself back from full surrender to God. Let’s review the story according to the narrative of Genesis 4:3-7.
Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve’s first two sons and were born after the fall. Abel and his elder brother Cain brought their offerings to God. Abel, the shepherd, brought “of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions” and Cain the agriculturalist brought “an offering of the fruit of the ground.” Either type of offering was suitable (better or more excellent would indicate the quality not the type of sacrifice was the concern). [See Lev. 2&3 for acceptable blood and grain sacrifices]. Yet “the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering but for Cain and his offering He had no regard.” Why was there discrimination? The sacrifices of both Cain and Abel seem to have been offered as acts of worship. Both recognized an obligation on the part of the created to the creator. Cain offered his sacrifice out of obligation without faith. Abel’s sacrifice however, though also offered out of obligation, was offered in faith by a life that was being lived in obedience to God. An attitude of obedient faith verses an attitude of ungrateful obligation seems to be the difference. God pointed out to dejected Cain why his offering was disregarded in Genesis 4:7; “If you do well will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door. Its desire is for you but you must master it.”
Sacrifice is acceptable to God not so much for its type but when it is the outward expression of a devoted and obedient heart. Let Cain gain mastery over his sinful attitude of life that threatens to be his undoing and his sacrifice or worship will be acceptable as readily as Abel’s was.
Abel’s was the kind of faith that permitted God to move in on his behalf and make him righteous (Mt. 23:35). The only thing that obtained righteousness for Abel was his faith. Yes Abel did what God told him to do. True faith is always obedient. But it is not how good we are but whether or not we trust God that counts. That is the only thing that changes a man’s relationship to God. Yet true trust is evidenced in obedience to the Word (Jn. 8:31).
Though this event took place long ago, Abel still bears witness that faith produces obedience and that worship offered to God in faith is acceptable to Him. Even though Cain murdered Abel because he refused to change his attitude from fulfilling selfish desires to fulfilling God’s, Abel’s testimony of faith cannot be silenced. Violent hatred and murder of God’s faithful cannot muzzle the message of acceptance and righteousness by God through faith. Abel’s demonstration of faith allows him to speak a message of encouragement to us today.
About A.D. 150, fierce anti-Christian persecution erupted in Asia Minor. One of the most famous examples of these trials occurred in Smyrna in A.D. 150. The rabble of the city demanded that Christian leaders swear obedience to Caesar by burning incense before his statue and affirming, “Caesar is Lord.”
Polycarp served as bishop of Smyrna. His persistent devotion to Christ for decades had made him a highly visible figure. When an unruly mob looked for Christians to humiliate, they called for Polycarp.
A police squad went to get the aged Christian leader. The captain, probably wanting to spare Polycarp from the coming hardship, said “what harm is there in saying that Caesar is Lord? Swear loyalty to Caesar and save yourself.” Polycarp refused the captain’s request, and they hauled him to the city arena.
There the proconsul of Asia renewed the plea and said to him, “Consider your age. Swear by the divinity of Caesar. Just say, ‘Away, with the atheists.’”
The proconsul still insisted, “Take the oath of loyalty to Caesar, and I will let you go. Revile Christ.”
Then Polycarp made a noble confession: “Eighty-six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my Savior and King?” Further argument with Polycarp proved useless, and they sent him to the stake. His faith still speaks to us today.
Polycarp’s martyrdom did two things. It produced a temporary revulsion against martyrdoms among the pagan population. The pagan crowd had no stomach for burning old men at the stake. It also gave Christians a high level of credibility before their pagan neighbors. If Christianity could produce people like Polycarp, then even pagan people were interested in their source of conviction and commitment. Christianity produces people who both live well and die well. [Lea, Thomas. Hebrews. Holman NT Commentary. Vol. 1999. Nashville. p. 199]. Polycarp’s death provides powerful evidence that a life of faith continues to speak as does Abel and the saints of Hebrews11.
II. ENOCH; LIVING IN FAITH, 5-6.
The second example of a pre-Jewish saint is Enoch who by faith was translated, never experiencing death, because he pleased God. Verse 5: “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.”
The second hero of faith is Enoch. Abel exemplifies worshiping by faith, which must always come first, Enoch exemplifies living or walking by faith.
God never intended works as a way for people to come to Him. He intends works to be a result of salvation, not a way of salvation. Faith, not works, is the way to approach God. Works are the product of the salvation people received when they approach Him by faith.
Genesis 5:21-24 reads; “Enoch lived sixty-five years, an became the father of Methuselah. Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.”
The term walk is used many times in the N.T. to represent faithful living (Rom. 6:4, 2 Cor.5:7; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 5:2; Rev. 3:4). Walk then implies fellowship. Amos said (3:3) “Do two walk together unless they have made an agreement?” Enoch walked in submissive harmony with God. Faith in a God that Enoch could not see controlled his life. By faith Enoch walked in fellowship with God and his walk of faith produced a righteousness that pleased God. Although he lived during a corrupt age that was headed for the judgment of the flood, Enoch did not conform to the standard of the age in which he lived but walked in accordance with the standards of God’s righteousness and kept his life pure. Faith produced a life so pleasing to God that God translated (carried across) him into heaven without physical death. Faith was the bases of Enoch pleasing God; and his pleasing God was the reason for his translation.
God was pleased with Enoch because his faith was not just something he felt in his heart. It was heard on his lips and seen in his life. Jude 14 &15 says He prophesied or preached to his ungodly generation. At last after 300 years of believing, walking in fellowship, and proclaiming the Word, he went to be with the Lord in a marvelously unique way. God just took him up with-out his experiencing death. He pleased God so much that God just took him home to heaven. It was as if he and God were walking together one evening and God said to Enoch, you know were much closer to my home than yours, come on home to heaven with me. Enoch walked with God so closely for so long that God just translated him right on into heaven. Some see in this a picture of the rapture of the purified church.
In verse 6 we learn that faith also entails believing that God rewards those who seek Him. “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
Obviously, you must believe that God exists before you can come to Him and begin seeking after Him. Yet believing that God exists is the only step that most people ever take. Even the demons believe God exists and tremble over the fact (James 2:19,20). But God will not settle for mere acknowledgment of His existence. God has provided a way for us to draw near to Him by faith in Jesus as our redeemer and Lord. God wants a personal dynamic relationship with you that will transform your life. Those who seek after God through walking in His will and way will find that they are rewarded with His intimate presence.
Sometimes we wonder about the fate of those who haven’t heard of Christ and have not even had a Bible to read. God assures us that all who honestly seek Him–who act in faith on the knowledge of God that they possess - will be rewarded. When you tell others the gospel, encourage them to be honest and diligent in their search for truth. Those who hear the gospel are responsible for what they have heard (see 2 Corinthians 6:1,2).
III. NOAH; OBEYING IN FAITH, 7.
Faith seems to conform to no fixed pattern. Obedient faith in God’s word developed a determined perseverance in Noah’s case. This third example shows a faith that persevered in acting upon God’s divine warnings and is found in verse 7. “By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.”
Faith without works is dead James taught (2:26). True faith always has actions to support its claim. In order for faith to be valid, it must be visibly demonstrated with actions. If you really believe in God, there will be evidence of it in the way you live, in the things you say and in the things you do. Abel illustrates the worship of faith, Enoch the walk of faith and Noah illustrates the work or obedience of faith.
Noah’s faith involved his whole being. His mind was warned by God, his heart was moved with reverent fear and his will caused his body to act on what God told him. Three things in Hebrews 11:7 give proof that Noah’s faith was genuine. First, he listened to and then heeded God’s Word. Second, he lived out his faith. Third, he received God’s righteousness.
When God told Noah that He was getting ready to destroy the world because of its wickedness and instructed him to build the ark. Noah believed God. That is a simple statement, but it was obviously not easily believed. Noah lived in the middle of a dry land a long way from any sizable lake. Nobody at that time had ever seen a flood (or perhaps even a rainstorm). To build a huge boat far away from water when no one had any memory of a flood took a commitment to God’s Word. Noah’s strange activities would have been ridiculed but Noah persisted in obedience to God for 120 years [before even his children were born] in an undertaking that from a human perspective looked totally absurd, and absolutely impossible. By faith Noah prepared an ark, he had nothing to go on but God’s word which obviously was more than sufficient for him.
So blameless Noah (Gen. 6:9) for 120 years builds an ark that at its smallest estimation was 440 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Nearly1½ times the length of a football field and more than four stories high. With three decks, the entire deck area was about 1.3 million cubic feet. Naval engineers have discovered that the dimensions and shape form the most stable ship design known. All this from a man that had never built a boat before.
Noah’s faith condemned the world because he proved by his actions that God’s warning word was believable. Others had heard God’s word, had the same witness of conscience and the Holy Spirit’s conviction upon them, and even heard Noah’s preaching (2 Peter 2:5), but had refused to listen and act. They stood justly condemned for their disbelief by God. I imagine the people mocked and even hated Noah because his faith and righteousness showed them what they were not. Against his wicked, cruel and dark world, Noah’s life and testimony shined in glistening condemnation. Black never looks so black as when you put white beside it. Sin never looks so evil as when purity is placed next to it.
Noah’s faith was rewarded by his becoming “an heir of righteousness” which is only bestowed on those who trust God. Genesis 6:9 says, “a righteous man, blameless in his time, Noah walked with God.” He was the first person in Scripture to be called righteous. This righteousness is the imputed righteousness of Christ available to all who believe and evidenced in all who live in obedient faith.
Though Noah did not know what a flood was or where his walk of faith would take him, he obediently followed God.
In much the same way, blind people have this experience when they trust dogs to lead them. This experience is especially true for those who have been blind since birth. They learn how to totally trust animals they have never seen. Through extensive training and spending time with these animals, they learn to let the dogs guide them. When danger looms, blind people know they can trust the warnings of their dogs.
In a blind world Noah choose to follow God. May we too listen to God’s warnings and worship, walk and work by faith in God.
In CLOSING
What kind of life pleases God? A life that is pleasing to God may be lived out in many ways but at its root is one thing above all, it is a life live by faith in God [Polson, Sam. By Faith, Climbing Angel Publishing. Knoxville, TN. 2018. P 44].
Is your faith in the promises of God causing you to walk with God? Do your gifts to Him surface out of a devout and obedient life? Are you living in light of the promises of God through their fulfillment is in the future? Do your eyes of faith search for and grasp the unseen God like a thirsty man grasps water or as a starving man grasps for food? As you obey God, don’t be surprised if others regard you as “different.” Your obedience makes their disobedience stand out. Remember, if God asks you to do something, He will give you the necessary strength to carry out that task for however long it takes.
Genesis 6:22 reads: “This did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so he did.” Can this be said about you?
