In this passage we come to the first two real life examples of faith found in the Scripture. We see in the lives of Abel and Enoch that the reality of faith doesn’t allow for excuses or compromise but recognizes God for who He is and lives accordingly. The key idea for this passage is there is no substitute for real trust in the words and promises of God. For without this trust we cannot please God.
I. Abel’s Example of Faith
The first personal example of faith we find hearkens back all the way to Genesis 4. It is Abel’s example of faith. It is Genesis 4:4 that really speaks of this act of faith on Abel’s part. “Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering.” Abel saw the worth of God. There are three lessons we can learn from Abel’s faith.
A. By faith he was righteous
The first lesson we learn from Abel’s faith is that by faith he was righteous. We see this in the beginning of verse 4. “By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous.” This is the primary teaching throughout Scripture. Righteousness from God comes through faith. In order to approach, God a person must be righteous. The problem has always been that no one can meet that standard. The Scripture says, “None are righteous, no not one.” But God has declared that faith in His Word will result in a person being made righteous. No one can ever attain righteousness by their effort. So God intervenes and makes a person righteous. They are declared not guilty in the courtroom of heaven (or righteous) and become so in God’s sight when they choose to believe that what God has said is true.
Now the content of this faith has been different from age to age. Not everyone has had the complete revelation of the Word of God as we do today. It will be helpful to recognize that when the author of Hebrews says, “By faith,” (which he does in this chapter over 20 times) he is referring to some specific word of God in which the people mentioned placed their trust. Now sometimes the words of God in which these people believed will be obvious from the passage as in verse 8. But other times there will be only our guesses at what the word of God to them might have been as in the examples that we see today of Abel and Enoch.
So what was the Word of God in which Abel trusted and received God’s righteousness? What we have is only conjecture but a good argument for it. The words of God that he heard and believed (whether from God Himself or from his parents Adam and Eve) was to offer a blood sacrifice from the flock. What are some reasons we can know this? First, in Genesis 3, after Adam & Eve sinned for the first time, the Scripture reports that the Lord made garments of skins for Adam and Eve and clothed them. This set a precedent for them. The precedent was that the blood of an innocent substitute had to be shed for a person’s sins. And it pointed the way for the coming of Christ, the spotless Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. This was told to Abel and by faith he took an offering from his flock and offered it as sacrifice in place of his sin. Was it this sacrifice that forgave his sin? No, it was the faith that caused him to offer the sacrifice. And the faith resulted in the forgiveness of his sin. He believed God’s Word and so offered what he was commanded. How else do we know that God had commanded a blood sacrifice and not just the work of one’s hands? When Cain tried to offer this kind of sacrifice, God rejected it. When God spoke to Cain about his problem, what did Cain do? He killed his brother. And he didn’t just bang him with a rock. He slit his throat. The word used for Cain’s murder of his brother means “to slaughter for sacrifice.” Cain took God’s word and made a mockery out of it. He said, “God you want a blood sacrifice, here take this!” And so when God confronted him about the murder of Abel He could say, “The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.”
The content of the Word of God to Abel was to offer a blood sacrifice. Abel saw his need for righteousness before a holy God and understood this pointed to the day when God Himself would provide forgiveness through an acceptable substitute. And this caused Abel to offer the sacrifice to God. This was the testimony that through faith he had been made righteous.
B. By faith he was obedient
This brings us to the next lesson to learn from Abel’s example of faith. By faith he was obedient. Another key teaching we see throughout Scripture is “the just (or righteous) shall live by faith.” It is a necessary corollary of a person being made righteous by faith that they actually live it out.
Unfortunately many people, to their own eternal peril, get the cart before the horse. Many people, who do not know the Scripture or its power, seek to become right before God by their own works. They believe, wrongly so, that if they do enough good works somehow God will accept them. However, the truth is that a person who puts their trust in the Word of God is then made righteous and able to do works pleasing to God. In Matthew, Jesus said that “a bad tree [cannot] produce good fruit.” This is why a person cannot do enough “good” things to earn God’s favor. Their nature is corrupt and it needs to be regenerated by God. This regeneration takes place by faith in God’s Word. And it is not just faith in God’s Word in general but in specific truths that we will look at later.
But what is it we see in Hebrews 11:4 that says by faith he was obedient? The beginning of the verse tells us, “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain.” What was it about his faith that made his sacrifice better than Cain’s? The obvious is that Cain’s sacrifice, not having been offered in faith, was sin. By this Abel’s sacrifice was better than Cain’s. But I think can we see a little further by the word, “better.” So let’s look at what Abel offered. It says in the Genesis account he offered the firstlings of his flock. Abel’s faith allowed him to see that God was worthy of the best of what he offered him. Faith produces this kind of obedience. Halfhearted obedience is not obedience. Grudging obedience is not obedience. People who see that God is worthy of their heartiest effort have this kind of faith.
Many who name the name of Christ today serve Him weakly or not at all. They think that after they have served themselves then they will serve Christ. They give Him the leftovers. This mentality shows a faith that is anemic at best and non-existent at worst. Some think that because they can’t preach or teach they can’t do much. In whatever way God has gifted you, you should be willing to serve and serve whole-heartedly. Can you imagine if I prepared for my messages occasionally? What if I wasn’t willing to make visits or share the Gospel because it was too much work? What if the ministry of the Word and prayer was something in which I dabbled instead of something in which I immersed myself? Now this is the reason I left the professional sector. I wanted to become a shepherd. God has given me the privilege of working full time in this way. I understand you cannot do this in a full time sense. But are you serving, as you are able, or do you simply put that out of your mind and think only of time off as “free time” for yourself? If Christ is Who He says He is then He is worthy of us pouring our lives out for Him. It is worthy to spend and be spent for Him. He is worthy for us to look for opportunities to serve Him.
Now many of you here serve Him faithfully with the time you do have. You have seen the worthiness of Christ. You are looking for and seizing opportunities to serve Christ at every hand. But are there some of you who have felt God calling you to serve Him in a full time capacity and yet instead you have allowed the pull of the world to keep you from stepping out to follow that kind of commitment? If that is you, don’t fall for the trap of being distracted from that which God has called you.
Faith caused Abel to see the worthiness of God. It caused him to not skimp in his service to God. It caused him to offer a better sacrifice than Cain. He served God with all His heart and it showed in the effort he gave in his ministry to God.
C. By faith he received God’s blessing
The third lesson we learn from Abel’s example of faith is that by faith he received God’s blessing. In verse 4 we read, that because of His faith, God was “testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.”
God had something to say about Abel. God spoke up for Abel. God was well pleased with Him and received Him because of His faith. The question you need to ask yourself is, will I, because of my faith, hear from the Lord, “Well done good and faithful servant.”
When all is said and done in this life those words are really the only ones that are going to matter. It doesn’t matter if you gained millions of dollars in assets. It doesn’t matter if you were extremely famous or successful in what you had done in your life. But what will matter is, were you a good and faithful servant? Did you find, pleasing God, your ultimate goal in life? This is the life of faith. Notice that God’s words aren’t, “Much done, good and faithful servant.” Some aren’t able to do much. Some men or women never had the physical stamina to accomplish much in the way of visible results for the Lord. But the rooms of their confinement were rooms of prayer. And they will hear from their Lord on that day, “Well done good and faithful servant.” It is because of their faith and how they acted on it that they will, after their death, still speak. There are those who in their own quiet way paved the entrance for many into the kingdom.
I think of Dorothy Onderdonk, who although she is dead still speaks because of her faith. Her niece, not too long ago, at Dorothy’s memorial service, gave testimony as to the fact it was Dorothy’s words and prayers that brought her to faith in Christ. And because of this she still speaks though dead.
These are the blessings of God because of faith. When we trust God to work through us we see that He will pour out His blessings upon us, either here or after we have entered His presence. Are you looking to the blessing of God through faith?
II. Enoch’s Example of Faith
Now we need to look at Enoch’s example of faith. And from verse 5 we can learn two lessons from his life about faith. In verse 5 we note, “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.”
A. By faith he bypassed death
The first lesson we learn from Enoch is that by faith he bypassed death. This fact that Enoch bypassed death is a prefigurement of the rapture. He was taken up without having experienced death is a word to us that one day God will do this with the entire church of God. Every believer in Christ will be taken up to meet their Lord in the air. Perhaps we ourselves will not see death. It is still a real possibility for us. But it will only take place for one generation. And it is an event for which we can long and pray.
Now Enoch by faith bypassed death. Again we don’t know the specific words God spoke to Enoch for this to take place. Perhaps it was similar to Peter’s circumstance when he saw Jesus walking on the water. Peter didn’t just charge off onto the water without a word from the Lord. He said, “Lord if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And Jesus said, “Come.” Enoch might have said, “Lord I really want to come and live with you in heaven so God said, “Come.” Enoch obeyed in faith. And he was no longer found. He bypassed death because of faith.
You too can bypass death because of faith. Yes, one day those remaining will be caught up together with the Lord and so shall we be with Him. You might not be taken up without dying physically but you can escape the spiritual death that awaits everyone who does not have true biblical faith. You can bypass the death that separates us forever from God. You can be delivered from the second death that is the Lake of Fire that burns forever and ever. By faith you too can have God’s righteousness and be delivered from death. And we will look at how this is possible at the end of the message.
B. By faith he pleased God
The next lesson we learn from Enoch’s example of faith is that by faith he pleased God. At the end of verse 5 it says, “For he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.” It was his faith that pleased God. Understand this important truth. The verse says, “Before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.” Some people think, I will live for God later. I will trust Him afterward. God will set me straight when I get to heaven. But for Enoch, as it must be for everyone, we cannot wait to please God. We must please Him now before the end comes. At that point there will be no opportunity. Again this deals with putting God first. God didn’t say, “Enoch come up here” because he was living any way he pleased. In the Genesis account we notice that it said, “Enoch walked with God.” Enoch developed his relationship with God and it was from this context that God took Him. In faith, Enoch longed to see God. In faith Enoch wanted to know God. In faith, Enoch spent time with God. It was this kind of faith that was real. It was this kind of faith that pleased God. It was this kind of faith that caused God to say to Enoch, as they walked along one evening, “Enoch, its getting kind of late. Why don’t you stay at my place tonight?”
Is your faith this kind of faith? Are you longing to know God better? Are you spending time with God? Are you walking with Him and cultivating your relationship together? For you who are younger, let me say that you have no better time to get to know God than right now. When you begin to have the responsibility of a family you will be pressed in your time. You have free time that you shouldn’t squander. Don’t do what I saw other Christian young people doing when I was a new Christian. Don’t go hanging out all the time and miss time you can spend alone with your Savior. I don’t mean that you need to become a recluse. But too often Christians miss the opportunities to spend time with the Lord because they have to be doing something. Take the time and pencil in blocks of time to pray and read the Bible. Don’t read those junk fiction books that are all fluff and no substance. If you really want to get to know Him, read His Word. Something that accompanies real faith is a real desire to know God’s Word. Why is this? Without knowing God’s Word you can’t have real faith because real faith comes out of knowing God’s Word. Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.” Enoch’s faith pleased God, does yours?
III. The Necessity of Faith
This brings us to the last point. In verse 6 we notice the necessity of faith. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who (diligently) seek Him.”
Verse 6 is going to help define a little further what true biblical faith really is. Remember that throughout chapter 11 the author continues to explain and expand the definition of biblical faith for us so we can know the difference between real faith and counterfeit faith.
There are two aspects of God that the author says we need to believe if we are to have real biblical faith. Now this does not exhaust the definition of real biblical faith. It describes two more components of it. Remember, as we discussed previously, real biblical faith always contains at its core, a belief in the Word of God, from which we derive our teaching about Who God is. We cannot know God in faith if we do not know His Word.
A. God’s existence
The first aspect of God the author says we need to believe if we are to have real biblical faith is God’s existence. In the middle of the verse he says, “For he who comes to God must believe that He is.” The Bible describes God’s existence in terms more than just He is. The Bible doesn’t try to prove God. It takes it for granted that God is. We find Him right from the very beginning of the book. Genesis starts with, “In the beginning God.” He existence is not a point for debate. Only the fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” But the Scripture goes beyond just explaining His existence. There are a few qualities of God that are inherent in His existence. The first could be called His uniqueness. We note this in the great Shema found in Deut. 6:4 (Israel’s John 3:16). “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One!” This isn’t so much speaking about His “oneness” as it is His uniqueness. We could understand the verse this way, “The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” Other passages of Scripture give us this indication. Psalm 113:5 says, “Who is like the Lord?” The truth is, no one. God is unique. He is not part of the creation. He is not dependent upon the creation. There is no one like Him.
Which brings us to another quality of His existence or essence and that is His Triune nature. He is unique because He is Triune. He is three persons in one Being. Throughout the Scripture we find the declaration that the Father is God, the Son is God and the Spirit is God. Yet in their differing roles they comprise the one God. One is not more God than the other and without one another they cease to be the God of Scripture.
The third quality of God’s existence that is spoken of is His personal nature. God is not a force. He is a personal Being Who communicates with mankind. It is this very quality that has given us our own personality. We have been made in the image of God and in that we have been given personality. We are not robots but have a distinct will and personality that reflects the fact God is a personal being.
I remember speaking to an individual at FedEx while I was training. He described God as a force or energy that helps him do what he should do. And so I said, “God is a personal being like you or me. The Scripture says, “God so loved the world that He gave His own begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Energy cannot love. A force does not have emotion or feeling. And the Scripture speaks of a variety of other emotions that God possesses as a rational, personal being.
In true biblical faith there must be a different sense in which a person believes that God exists. There are many today who live as practical atheists. That is they say they believe God exists but they live as if He doesn’t. This is not the biblical type of faith. True biblical faith has a consciousness of God. But these people do not live as if He really does know everything. They have no fear or reverence for a God who sees their every action and thought. And so biblical faith doesn’t merely see the qualities of God but they recognize God’s sphere in their lives. They don’t tell God on a daily basis, “Get out of my face. Don’t tell me what to do.” A person who has this faith must believe God exists and that He has full authority over their lives.
B. God’s character
The second aspect of God the author says we need to believe if we are to have real biblical faith is concerning God’s character. Namely, we have to believe that He is good. What does he say? We must believe that “He is a rewarder of those who [diligently] seek Him.” Faith understands that God is good. Satan attempted to deceive Eve by making God seem that He didn’t have Adam and Eve’s best interest in mind. Satan said, The reason He doesn’t want you to eat this fruit is because “He knows that in the day you eat it you will be like God.” God is holding back on you. Satan is still up to his same wicked tricks today. How come when anything goes good or right in someone’s life it is attributed to luck? Boy that was a lucky break. Wow you were lucky. But when catastrophe hits it is God’s fault. “God where were you on 9/11? God why did you destroy New Orleans?
God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Those who seek God find in Him a great reward. Those who understand that He is worth the effort know who He is. Jeremiah tells us in his book, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” God’s Word is true. He rewards those who truly seek Him. He doesn’t reward those who seek Him for their own benefit because they think they can manipulate God. God rewards those who truly come to Him.
Now let me close with the explanation of the question raised at the beginning of the message. The Scripture says that Abel was made righteous by faith in God’s Word. We know something of what he believed to become righteous. What is it that we must believe in order to be made righteous? The Scripture makes it clear that you must first lose all your self-righteousness. You must recognize that your breaking of God’s Law places you in the peril of receiving God’s wrath. The fact that you have lied and committed murder by having hatred in your heart makes you guilty before God. The fact you have dishonored your parents by not always obeying them makes you guilty. You cannot reform and be free from the wrath of God. This sin stains you and leaves you with no standing before God except to be declared guilty. The good you have attempted to do will not undo the sin you have committed. No good judge would ever acquit a murderer because he helped little old ladies cross the street. How much more would the true Good Judge give you the sentence you deserve?
When you believe this and lose your own self-righteousness you are standing in the place to believe the next truth God says you must have to receive His righteousness and be given new life. But let me say that unless you have humbled yourself completely and lost all your self-righteousness and self-effort this next truth will only condemn you further. You must see the sinfulness of your heart and repent of the offense you have made against a holy God.
Then you must believe that Jesus, the God-man, died in place of your sin. And that He took all of your sin. Not some of it. You can contribute nothing to your salvation. You must then put your trust, your faith in His death and resurrection on your behalf and God will grant you to be righteous in the sight of God and give you eternal life not because of your righteousness but because of Christ’s. And God will give you a new heart and a new mind to worship and serve Him. This is real faith that results in righteousness.