Introduction: The World's First Worship Service
I want you to travel back with me in your imagination to the dawn of human history. The gates of Eden are closed, guarded by an angel with a flaming sword. The world is brand new, yet already stained by sin. Adam and Eve, our first parents, are learning to survive in a world of thorns and thistles, and they have two sons, Cain and Abel.
The scene in Genesis 4 is the very first recorded worship service in human history. Cain, a tiller of the ground, and Abel, a keeper of sheep, come to present an offering to the Lord. This is a moment of profound significance. Two brothers, representing all of humanity to come, stand before their Creator. Both bring an offering. Both engage in an act of worship. But the divine response creates a division that echoes to this day. God had respect for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, He had no respect.
This begs the question that is central to all religion: Why? What made one act of worship acceptable and the other unacceptable? Was God being arbitrary? Was one gift simply better than the other? For centuries, people have wondered. But here, in Hebrews 11, the Holy Spirit pulls back the curtain and gives us the definitive answer in a single, powerful word: faith.
I. The Nature of an Excellent Sacrifice
The verse tells us, "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice." Let's dissect what made it "more excellent," because it reveals the very heart of true worship.
First, it was a sacrifice rooted in faith, not self-will. Abel's faith understood that he could not approach a holy God on his own terms. By bringing a lamb from his flock—a blood sacrifice—he acknowledged a profound spiritual reality: sin leads to death. He understood, by faith, that a life had to be given for a life. His offering was a humble admission of his own sin and a forward-looking trust in God's promised redemption—a promise first hinted at back in Genesis 3:15.
Cain’s offering, however, represented the religion of human achievement. He brought the "fruit of the ground"—the work of his own hands, grown from soil that God Himself had cursed. In essence, Cain offered God the fruits of the curse and expected to be blessed for it. His offering said, "God, accept me based on my own efforts. Accept the best that I can produce." This is the foundation of every false religion on earth: the idea that we can earn God's favor through our own works. Abel’s faith knew better.
Second, it was a sacrifice of his best. Genesis tells us Abel brought the "firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof." This wasn't just any old animal; it was the first and the best, the prime portion. This demonstrates a heart of reverence. Abel wasn’t giving God his leftovers; he was honoring God with the best of what he had. True worship is not about convenience; it is about reverence.
Finally, it was a sacrifice from a righteous heart. The problem with Cain started long before he brought his gift. 1 John 3:12 says Cain's "works were evil, and his brother's righteous." His offering was rejected because his heart was rejected. The gift was merely an extension of the giver. Worship is not an external act we perform; it is the overflow of a heart that is rightly postured before God—a posture of humility, trust, and obedience that we call faith.
II. The Witness of a Righteous Status
Because of his faith-filled offering, Abel "obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts." This is one of the most important theological truths in all of Scripture. Abel was not declared righteous because he was a perfect man. He was declared righteous because of his faith. He is the very first example of justification by faith.
God Himself bore witness to Abel's righteous standing. We don't know the exact mechanism—perhaps fire fell from heaven and consumed Abel's sacrifice, as it would later for Elijah. But in some clear, unmistakable way, God put His divine stamp of approval on Abel's worship.
This is the "good report" we read about in verse 2. It’s not the applause of men, but the approval of God. And it begs the question for us today: what is the basis of our worship? Are we coming before God like Cain, offering our good deeds, our religious service, our moral efforts, and hoping they are enough? Or are we coming like Abel, with empty hands, clinging only to the sacrifice God Himself has provided—the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, who takes away the sin of the world?
III. The Legacy of a Voice That Never Fades
Now we come to the most haunting and beautiful part of the verse: "...and by it he being dead yet speaketh."
Think of the tragedy. Abel did everything right. He worshiped in faith. He received God's approval. And for that, he was murdered by his own brother. He became the first martyr. From a human standpoint, his life was cut short, his voice silenced forever. But God says, "No. His story is not over. He is dead, but he is still speaking."
What is Abel's faith crying out to us across the millennia?
He speaks and says, "How you approach God matters." It is a life-or-death issue.
He speaks and says, "There is only one way to God." It is not the way of human effort, but the way of the blood sacrifice.
He speaks and says, "A life of faith has an eternal echo." Even if it seems small, unnoticed, or cut tragically short, a life lived for God's approval will have a testimony that outlasts time itself.
The Bible makes one more stunning comparison. Hebrews 12:24 says that when we come to Jesus, we come to "the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." When Cain killed Abel, Abel's blood cried out from the ground for justice and vengeance. But the blood of Jesus, sprinkled on the mercy seat of heaven, cries out for something far better: mercy, forgiveness, and pardon. Abel's faith was a shadow pointing to the substance that is Jesus Christ.
Conclusion
This story presents us with two paths, two ways of worship that represent the only two religions in the world: the way of Cain and the way of Abel. The way of Cain is the way of human pride, religious works, and self-righteousness. The way of Abel is the way of humble faith, dependence on God's provision, and righteousness received as a gift.
Every single one of us is walking on one of those two paths. When your life on this earth is over, what will your testimony be? What will your faith—or lack of it—speak to the generations that follow? Let us choose the way of Abel. Let us come to God through the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, so that our lives, too, might obtain a witness from God and speak of His glory long after we are gone.
