The Faith of Abel

Articles

Derek Long
04/28/19 - Faith

The Faith of Abel
By Derek Long
Hebrews 11 contains for us a summary of some great
examples of faith from people who have lived before us. It is great to go back and look at the great examples of the faithful in the Old Testament and learn from them (Romans 15:4). Hebrews 11:4 speaks to us about the faith of Abel. It says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” Abel’s faith is recorded for us in Genesis 4:1-8. There we are told, “Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, ‘I have acquired a man from the Lord.’ Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.’ Now 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 killed him.” What are some lessons we can learn from the example of Abel’s faith?
Abel’s faith acted based upon the word of God. Romans 10:17 tells us a general principle about where faith comes from. It says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Abel listened to the word of God and offered a sacrifice in accordance with what God had instructed. As a result of Abel’s compliance with the instructions of God, God was pleased with Abel and with Abel’s sacrifice. If we want to please God today, we must by faith follow God’s instructions. If we want our worship to be acceptable to God, we must only worship as God instructs us to. Abel’s faith resulted in him offering to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.
Abel’s faith was willing to do the right thing when others did not. Abel did not change the type of sacrifice he was going to offer to match the sacrifice Cain, his brother, was offering. Today, we cannot afford to be influenced by the wickedness around us (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 15:33; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). We must remain dedicated to doing God’s will despite what those around us may or may not be doing.
Abel’s faith was willing to correct Cain for his wrong action. Genesis 4:8 does not tell us what Cain and Abel said exactly but it seems the necessary inference is Abel did not condone Cain’s wicked sacrifice. We need to be willing to correct those who are in sin. We need to have the strength and courage to “contend earnestly for the faith” (Jude 3).
Abel was willing to die for his faithfulness to God. Abel would be the first person to be put to death for his faithful obedience to God (Matthew 23:35; Luke 11:51). Throughout time the righteous have suffered at the hands of the wicked and such continues even today (1 John 3:12-13). Is our faith to the point we would be faithful even in the face of death? Jesus calls upon us to be faithful even to the point of dying for our faith (Revelation 2:10).
Abel’s faith continues to stand as an example to others even after his death. The Hebrew writer says, “and through it he being dead still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). Abel’s faith continues to teach and instruct us today.
Let’s seek to imitate the example of faithfulness in such men as Abel so one day we can receive the crown of life!