Abel’s Excellent Sacrifice

Hebrews 11:4

So, why should we remember people of faith who lived in the past? What made the faith of these people extraordinary? (Hebrews 11:4–8) Well, to recall the people of faith from history links them with our own reality and affords us hope, inspiration and guidance. Since these were real people and faith proved effective for them as they worked through their challenges, trusting God is a legitimate approach to coping with the perplexing realities we face today. From them we learn that lazar-focused confidence in God and His ways will ultimately win.

Their faith is extraordinary because it proved effective even in the face of death. Trusting the Word of the Lord enabled them all to please God despite their contemporary challenges and difficulties (Hebrews 11). Believing God gave them courage to face life-threatening dangers and persecutions. Furthermore, we are assured God takes special pleasure in those who continue to live by faith, but not those who draw back in doubt and unbelief (Heb. 10:38-39). The difficult times help us understand how firm our faith in God truly is. Challenges also have a way of weeding out the pretenders and insincere persons resulting in a purer brand of Christianity.

Though life is punctuated with serious challenges, confidence in Christ is never misplaced. Faithful responses enable us to continue obediently to ultimately triumph in our difficulties. Even when faced with mortal danger, forsaking Christ is not an option; we must insist on faithfully living by faith.

In Hebrews 11:4, we see a believer of real courage and commitment—Abel.

By 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.

Verse 4 of Hebrews 11, mentions Abel the second son of Adam and Eve and the first son of promise. He was the first person to be killed for the cause of Christ. The awful fact is this heinous act was committed by his older brother Cain. The big brother who should have been looking out for his younger sibling maliciously struck him down in death! With ‘brothers’ like Cain, who needs enemies…right?

Abel speaks to believers today as the first martyr for the faith. His essential message is be faithful to the “excellent sacrifice” even unto death. To enlarge further Abel is still saying trust the offering God provides, approach God only through blood sacrifice, and worship God His way—in truth. He stands first in line of what would eventually become a long and incredible line of believers who suffered unbelievable persecutions at the hands of religionists and hardened atheist. The histories of America, China, Russia, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe all bare testimony to this reality. Beloved, this is sometimes how people of “real faith” are treated. Recall the account from Genesis,

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. 2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9 And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? (Genesis 4:1-9, KJV)

Cain insisted upon approaching God with his own method and sacrifices, but God rejected it while accepting Abel’s blood sacrifice. Furthermore, when God prompted Cain to make the correction he refused. He rejected God’s counsel and finally killed his righteous brother who approached God by faith.

Religionists have persecuted the righteous since the beginning of time. This was the constant experience of Israel, the early churches were persecuted by Jewish and Roman authorities, the true Christians were persecuted during the Inquisitions and the Counter-Reformation, and believers all over the Middle East and parts of Africa are met with violent opposition from Muslims and terrorist groups. The death toll mounts and hundreds are being killed on a regular basis while the United Nations stands by impotently. Thousands are fleeing their countries seeking refuge in sympathetic nations….

Abel’s Excellent Sacrifice Pleases God (Heb. 11:4).

With such pressures, the temptation to forsake Christ for personal safety and survival seems plausible. After all our survival instinct is very strong…. As we reason through such challenges we may find ourselves inclined to compromise our commitment to the “excellent sacrifice.” By faith we must hold on to the truth that God is pleased with the “excellent sacrifice” and this warrants a steadfast faith free of any acquiescence! So, what can we learn from Abel that we may be faithful also? Let’s examine…    

His Parents

Cain and Abel were brothers and Adam and Eve were their parents. They were taught by God on how to make an “excellent sacrifice”. The interesting thing here in Hebrews 11, is that they are not mentioned at all. The first couple is bypassed with no mention of their faith. In the Garden of Eden during the Fall of Man, Eve believed the Devil and failed to trust what God had said. As a result, she was deceived, and Adam sinned with his eyes wide open. I personally believed they were saved by faith in the “excellent sacrifice” God himself provided for them. You see, to provide coats of skin to cover their shame, God killed an animal—blood was shed and atonement was provided. Adam and Eve accepted the God-provided sacrifice and blood atonement and thus were saved (Gen. 3). Though the first parents taught this blood sacrifice to their boys, the lesson only resonated with Abel.

As parents we have an incredible duty to pass our faith on to the next generation. I do not subscribe to the modern notion of letting children figure out for themselves what they should believe. Parents have an obligation to God to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the great truths about God, and faithfulness to worship and service through a local church to their children. Our young people need leadership in these matters.

Note thoughtfully what Paul says to Timothy about the importance of home-based discipleship and child training.

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 14 But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; 15 And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2Tim. 3:12-17, KJV)

Timothy’s mother and grandmother took responsible actions to ensure he was exposed to God’s life transforming truth. They started when Timothy was very young and consistently shaped his thoughts, values, and beliefs throughout his formative years. They knew their times were evil and occasional exposure to spiritual things was inadequate. They knew frequent, regular, and meaningful instructions from the Word of God was essential to raising godly children for Christ. This is the work of faithful parents who decidedly respect the “excellent sacrifice.”

His Person

Abel took the lesson to heart and faithfully employed this method of worship and sacrifice—approaching Holy God through blood sacrifice. Perhaps he received additional revelation from God to reinforce his conviction that sinful humanity can only approach God through shed blood—the excellent sacrifice. While I cannot be dogmatic on this point, I can freely assert He believed in this approach alone and would not deviate. He was faithful to the “excellent sacrifice” that is pleasing to God. At some point his parent’s faith became his—he personally embraced the truth and intentionally walked in it. He knew God, explored life with God, worshiped the Lord, and willingly yielded to God’s eternal principle of living by faith—approaching God through blood sacrifice. He did not need someone monitoring him to ensure he did what he was supposed to. No, Abel owned faith in Jehovah in a deepening and personal way.

You may review Genesis 4:1–10, to grasp the background for this thought in Hebrews. Also bear in mind that this perfect and singular sacrifice is a major point of the Book of Hebrews’ thesis (Heb. 9:1-28). According to Abel, salvation is purely by the grace of God through faith in His provision for our sin problem. Human works, efforts, and performance cannot merit salvation.

Beloved, Jesus is the only way; I know many people say differently claiming there are many paths to God. I must stand beside faithful Abel and say, they are wrong. Jesus is the only Way, Truth, and Life, and not even one single individual can approach God, the Father, except through Him, His Cross, and His resurrection (John 14:6). I know other religions claim that they have the truth and claim exclusivity. Beloved, it is the resurrection of Jesus Christ that distinguishes it from all other world religions. No other religion or ‘faith’ on the planet makes such an extraordinary claim. Investigate the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and you too will agree that Jesus is the only Way to God.

Abel was a man of faith; he believed God and was faithful to the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though he did not actually understand the New Testament Gospel, he was well exercised in the principles of justification before God through faith, accepting God-provided atonement, grace as the means of redemption, one way to approach holy God—blood sacrifice, and righteousness imputed and imparted by faith. The tenants of ‘The Faith’ are timeless and enduring and they will never change. They transcend dispensational periods because they reflect how God operates. Abel was faithful to these principles and sealed his testimony with his very life.  

Our Lord Jesus, the glorious Lamb, says to His churches, “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10, KJV) Be faithful unto death, Beloved.