By Faith – Abel

 Expositional Bible Studies – Heroes of Faith (The Faith of Abel)

All about Abel’s life, testimony and his spiritual inheritance can be understood from the following three references:

• Hebrews 11:4
• Hebrews 12:24
• Genesis 4:4

In this expositional study, we will understand who Abel was, his lifestyle, his identity, his sacrificial worship – how it was superior to Cain’s offering, the reasons why God chose to accept Abel’s sacrifice, and most importantly, the faith of Abel and his spiritual inheritance.

Who is Abel?

(Genesis 4) Abel was the second son of the first parents on earth. His older brother’s name was Cain and approximately six times, Abel’s identity is linked to his relationship with his brother and he has been described as the brother of Cain. He is the first young man to be listed in the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11), and sets an example to all the youngsters because of his life and testimony which are immensely pleasing to God. We can assume that he wasn’t married, because, after his death, there is a mention only of Cain and his wife.

Origin of Abel’s faith

In Hebrews 11:4, we read – By faith, Abel offered . . . . Every time we read about Abel’s faith, and his name being listed among the heroes of faith, we must understand that Abel inherited this from his parents. Unless Adam and Eve taught their children on faith, worship, offering, and repentance, there is no possibility that the children would have learned this truth. So, we can conclude that after the fall, Adam and Eve repented of their sins and restored their relationship with God. Most certainly, they would have passed these truths, their experiences, the deception of Satan and God’s extravagant mercy when He performed the first sacrifice and gave them the clothing and much more. All these learnings would have caused both Cain and Abel to understand what faith, offering, or sacrifice meant and how a blood covering was needed to approach God.

So, every time we read by faith, Abel, it primarily implies the faith of his parents. [Very similar to what Paul says to Timothy referring to his faith that was first in his mother and grandmother – II Timothy 2:5]. Both in Genesis and Hebrews, we read that Abel was justified as a righteous man by faith. So, the faith of Adam and Eve, which could possibly be passed on through their teaching or upbringing, or sharing has been clearly manifested in the life of Abel. This serves as a reminder to all parents of the immense responsibility that they carry in raising a godly generation.

A backdrop to understand the first worship – The first mention of worship in the Bible is the worship by the brothers in (Genesis 4:4). Here, God accepted the worship of Abel and rejected Cain’s worship.

Often, we think if it was the offering that displeased God, because Cain brought from the field while Abel brought from his flock. However, that is not true. It is always the heart of the person bringing the offering that is pivotal than the occupation or the offering itself. Note the sequence mentioned in Genesis 4:4, it is – LORD respected Abel and his offering. So, it is always an individual who overrules the offering or the occupation. Here, when both the brothers worshipped, God accepted one worshipper because He saw His heart. So, it is always paramount that offering, and worship must come from our inner being and never superficial words.

God does not need our offering, but He is desirous of the person behind the offering. Likewise, more than mere worship, it is the heart of the worshipper behind every worship that matters the most.

Characteristics/Crux of Abel’s Life

1. Based on Hebrews 11:4, we can confirm that Abel was not only a man of faith, but also a righteous man. This is because of his good testimony. Whenever we read that God speaks well of a person, it implies that the person has a good character and thereby has obtained a good testimony from God. Here, Abel offered a worship that was acceptable to God and thereby he received the appreciation from God.

• Abel offered the best offering. In Genesis, we read that Abel brought the best from his flock. In Hebrews it says, by faith, Abel brought a better offering than his brother and God testified the same. The writer of Hebrews, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, classifies Abel’s worship into two parts: his worship comprised of offering and sacrifice. The text in Hebrews mentions that God commended Abel’s offerings, implying it was more than one offering. So, apart from the best in his flock, Abel brought few other offerings unlike Cain who brought his offering more like a ritual. Cain’s actions convey the stubbornness of his heart and evil intentions.

• Abel was a man of prayer. When God said to Cain – your brother’s blood is crying from the ground. It explains that in his lifetime, Abel must have often prayed and cried about the sin and fall of creation. When God said in the Garden of Eden to Eve that there will be a war between your seed and serpent and one will strike on head and the other on feet (Genesis 3:15)it was Abel who clearly understood what God meant by those words. When he was killed by Cain, his blood was still crying to God about the fallen world. He was the first man to die after creation and the way he died was through martyrdom. It is surprising to note that the first person born into this world was Cain and he became a murderer, while the first man to die in this world died as a martyr.

• We read in Hebrews 11, every person before Christ, had a hope that Messiah would come, they fixed their eyes on His coming, and they kept their faith. Abel’s faith was that he was looking with hope for the coming of Jesus into this world. He also understood that a sinful man can find his way back to God only through the shedding of the blood and there is no other way that can help. In New Testament, Jesus mentions about Abel in Luke 11:51 as a prophet because in a very primitive stage or in a seed form, Abel’s offering was a symbolic depiction of Christ’s sacrifice and the shedding of His blood for the redemption of humankind. In Abel’s sacrifice, we can see the sacrifice of Christ in a shadow form. The sacrifice of the lamb is for the remission of his sins, but soon the Son of God will be sacrificed for the remission of the sins of the whole of humankind. In Abel’s sacrifice, we see a loud proclamation of Jesus’ coming into this world to save sinners. Here we see the shadow of the cross and a hope of the coming of God’s son to save humankind. (Hebrew 12:24) Here, the writer, referring to the sprinkled blood of Christ, compares it with the blood of Abel, once again, bringing the reference of Abel. In Revelation, we read that in heaven the saints cry to God for His judgement of the world.

Abel’s offering

From the references in Hebrews (11:2) and Genesis (4:4), we understand that Abel’s worship comprised of an offering and a sacrifice. God accepted Abel’s offering, because his life was right in God’s sight. He saw Abel’s heart – his approach, his faith, his broken and contrite spirit. He was cognizant that he was a sinner and therefore brought the sacrifice. Here, his offering was the firstborn in the flock – a fat and healthy one. Behind that sacrifice, was Abel’s repentance and realization that he was a sinner. A desire to set right his heart and relationship with God by faith, and a hope for salvation, can also be seen. His sacrificial offering implies that Abel knew that it was because of his sin that an innocent lamb was sacrificed.  Behind that repentance, there was faith because of which he was righteous and had a good testimony from the Lord and hope of forgiveness.

Both the references confirm that offering is accepted not based on occupation but on attitude. The primary reason that God did not accept Cain’s offering was because, there is no shedding of blood. Cain’s stubbornness of heart made him not to accept that he was a sinner. He had his own way of approaching God which in the epistle of James is called ‘the Cain’s way’. All this implies that Cain never had any faith. When there is no faith, you can’t approach God, because there is evil in the heart of the person and such people are the children of the wicked one. On the other hand, Abel had faith, he obtained testimony from God and all his actions were considered righteous.

The Cain’s way

(James 1:12) ‘The Way of Cain’ is the way of human effort, lawlessness and evil marked by disobedience, lack of faith and no realization of sinful state. If we can give any title to chapter 4 of Genesis, it can be ‘the first murderer and the first martyr’. The elder brother became a murderer and vagabond while the younger one a martyr and listed in the elite group of ‘the heroes of faith’. It is sad to note that in utter foolishness, Cain, instead of shedding the blood of an animal for the remission of his sins, shed the blood of his brother. When God questions him about his brother, he arrogantly replies – “Am I my brother’s keeper?” That is why God said – Sin lies at the door. There was no good work that Cain had done and when God in His great love takes the initiative to talk to Cain, instead of repenting, he became more stubborn (arrogant), and remained wicked and he didn’t choose to listen or believe God’s word.

Psalm 1 clearly depicts the lifestyle of these two brothers. One chose the company of evil while the other was in the group of the faithful.

Spiritual Inheritance

How can the life of Abel impact the people of this generation? Abel’s way of faith comprises of many things and most importantly, his faith teaches us that we must have the realization that we are sinners. Only when we are cognizant of this truth, there will be repentance. From that broken heart there can be acceptable offerings and sacrifice. And that highlights Abel’s faith and by that faith, he was considered a righteous man and then he obtained a glorious testimony from God. All this shows a great hope. An excellent worship. Abel’s way is the way of faith, the way of blood, the way prepared by God and after his death, till date, his sacrifice continues to speak to us.

So, what is Abel speaking to us by faith? – He reminds us of the way of Jesus and that there is no salvation by good works or knowledge or religious austerity. Jesus is the only Way, the Truth and the Life.  Therefore, let us wisely choose from the two ways of life – worship and offering. We must introspect on what kind of worship and offering are we giving to our God. If God should consider our worship, then first it is our life and then our offerings. Remember, God saw Abel first and then only his offering.

Be encouraged to know that when real worship is offered, there is always persecution. And Genesis confirms the same. When Abel offered the real worship, his brother, symbolic of false religions, persecuted him for his faith and convictions. Cain wanted his way with God through his works and was not willing to walk in God’s way. In our present times, we can say – Cain is the father of all false religions and false doctrines. True Worship results in persecution and at times of martyrdom.

Salvation implies martyrdom. All the way from Genesis 4 until Jesus’ second coming, persecution coupled with martyrdom will persist. To the ones who proclaim the Good News of God’s salvation, repentance and forgiveness through the blood of Jesus, there will always be persecution and at times they might not be able to escape.  To all who are being persecuted for their faith, Jesus gives some words of comfort – Do not fear, I have overcome the world. Pluralism says that all religions are equal. However, this is not true, because only in the name of Jesus we have salvation. He is the only Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Conclusion

We have seen Abel’s life, his offerings, his sacrificial worship, his faith, and his testimony as – a righteous man, a prayerful man, and a prophet, the one who received commendation from God for his worship and for being the first martyr who makes it to the list of ‘the heroes of faith’.

May our Good Lord, help us to run the race of life looking unto Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith.