ABEL: A FAITH TO DIE FOR

Hebrews 11:4

  1. Intro.
    1. why do people act the way they do (heredity, environment, employment, needs religion)
    2. try applying these things to the lives of Cain and Abel
      1. heredity: both had the same parents
      2. environment: both lived in the same home, just outside of paradise
      3. employment: both had careers
      4. religion: both brought sacrifices to God
    3. so why was Cain a murderer
      1. he was an unbeliever
      2. the basic difference between Cain and Abel was faith
      3. Cain did not have saving faith, though he was a religious man
      4. Abel’s faith made a martyr out of him
      5. Cain’s false faith made a murderer out of him
    4. Abel’s faith in God was a faith worth dying for
    5. Abel’s faith cost him something
    6. let us examine Abel’s faith more closely, so that it might help us in our struggles
  2. Abel had saving faith
    1. God testified that he was righteous – Hebrews 11:4
      1. this was not a self-righteousness that he produced
      2. both Cain and Abel were sinners, and both needed to be saved
      3. this righteousness is the gift of God that comes by faith
    2. faith can only be exercised in response to the Word of God
      1. Abel believed the Word of God and acted upon it, but what was that Word
      2. sinners needed to bring a blood sacrifice to the alter
      3. God Himself made the first animal sacrifice to cover the first sinners – Genesis 3:21
      4. long before the Law, believers met God on the basis of a blood sacrifice – Genesis 8:20-22
    3. we are made righteous, and are made the children of God by the shed blood of Christ; not personal merit
  3. Abel had sacrificing faith
    1. Abel was not just a believer, he was a worshipper of God
      1. he was found at the alter presenting his best – Genesis 4:4
      2. faith and worship go together
      3. "worship" means to ascribe worth to someone or something, "worth-ship"
      4. the sacrifices that we bring should be an indication of God’s worth
      5. Abel brought his best, and so should we
    2. worship is essential for faith to grow
      1. communion with God leads to confidence in God
      2. the problem in many churches today is the lack of true worship
        1. the meeting place has become a theater where paid performers entertain an audience
        2. gone is the awesome sense of God’s presence
        3. human enjoyment instead of spiritual enrichment is the desire of many
    3. Abel gave the "firstlings of his flock," but many give God only what is left over
  4. Abel had a faith that caused him to suffer
    1. it cost to live by faith
      1. everyone in Hebrews 11 paid a price to trust God
      2. we pay a greater price if we do not trust God
    2. our faith is always under attack
      1. the flesh opposes faith because it demand humility and dependence
      2. the devil attacks faith because it gives us victory over him
    3. how is the suffering believer able to keep going
      1. Abel had the approval of God – Hebrews 11:4 [obtained witness] [God testifying]
      2. Abel pleased God and was rewarded
      3. Abel lost his life, but gained the approval of God
      4. Cain gained the world, but lost his soul
      5. Cain refused to shed the blood of a lamb in order to please God, but he shed his brother’s blood to serve the devil
    4. it’s all a matter of values
      1. if we live to please ourselves, we will always be losers
      2. Cain valued the immediate, not the eternal
      3. Abel lived for the eternal, and was not disappointed
    5. the life of faith is not easy
      1. God does not always pamper us
      2. God does encourage and enable us
      3. we don’t need to know the future, we just need to trust the One who plans the future
  5. Abel had a faith that speaks
    1. though he is dead, he still speaks – Hebrews 11:4
      1. no words from Abel are recorded in the Bible, yet he speaks to us today
      2. it is his life that speaks to us (actions speak louder than words)
      3. our words and our action must go together, if our testimony is to be effective
      4. we are not saved by good works, but good works are an evidence of saving faith – Ephesians 2:8-10
    2. Abel’s greatest witness was his shed blood
  6. conclusion
    1. the way of Cain is the easy, popular, and approved way of the world
      1. the way of Cain is the way of unbelief (it leads to despair and judgment) – Genesis 4:13
      2. Cain went out from the presence of God and built a city, but Abel went to heaven
      3. Cain possessed many of the good things of this life, but he did not have God
      4. no matter what we possess, if we don’t have God, nothing else really matters
    2. the way of Abel is the lonely, difficult, and narrow way
    3. by comparing the testimonies of both the best way becomes very clear – Genesis 4:13, Hebrews 11:4