Disclaimer: This transcription is provided for informational purposes, reference, and convenience. Please note that it may contain errors, omissions, or spelling mistakes due to the nature of live audio transcriptions. While we strive for accuracy, this document should not be considered a fully authoritative record of the sermon. For clarification, we recommend referring to the original source. Thank you for your understanding and patience. 

Beginning of message is unavailable to transcribe, please listen to the original source for full message.

….unlike his older brother, Cain, who believed in God but did not believe God; he did not believe in what God said. And this will be a huge distinction that we must bear in mind when it comes to the issue of faith. It is one thing to believe in God. It is altogether something else to believe God. To believe what God has said, to take him at his word and respond in obedience. Dear friends, hell will be filled with people who believe in God, but there will not be one single occupant in hell who believed God, took him at his word and submitted to his Word in humble faith and obedience.

Let me talk about Abel just a little bit here. Abel was a second-generation human being, he would have had an extremely high intellect, far more advanced than what we have been led to believe by the purveyors of evolutionary theory. Think about it, his father, Adam, categorized and named all of the animals. Do you realize how many animals that would have been? We kind of take that for granted, don't we? Do you realize that that was an astounding feat because it required a very sophisticated language and an ability to record all of that information according to the genus of the animals. We know from the Word of God that Abel domesticated animals. We know that Cain and Abel both understood animal husbandry and farming. And we know, even according to Genesis four, that within just a few generations, we've got men making and playing various kinds of instruments and forging all manner of implements out of bronze and iron. So dear friends, these people were not knuckle dragging Neanderthals, living in caves, eating raw meat and beating things with clubs and stabbing them with spears, not knowing how to start a fire or make a wheel; and yet, that's many times how people think about Adam and Eve and all of those that came behind them.

So Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and their ancestors were brilliant people. They would have known, as I will demonstrate, what God said about how they were to approach him. Allow me to give you a sense of the genealogical record and how, therefore, the ancient people would have transferred the truths that God first revealed, even to Adam and Eve, how they revealed them to one another. I mean, think about it, according to Genesis five, Adam lived 930 years. Can you imagine that? You know, we tend to think we're omniscient by about age 18, and when we get about 40, we realize we don't know anything. And then you start to learn a little bit more by then. Imagine how much you would know after 930 years. Worse yet, imagine all of the ravages of sin you would have seen during that lifetime. One of Adam's descendants was Enoch, as we will learn the next time we're together. In fact, Adam is still alive when Enoch was born in the seventh generation. And Enoch would have had, therefore, a firsthand account of creation, a first-hand account of the garden of Cain and Abel, of the fall, and Enoch would have passed all of this on to his son, Methuselah, who passed it on to Noah. In fact, Methuselah overlapped Adam for 200 years and Noah for 600 years. And therefore, one man bridges Adam to Noah. You ever think about that? Noah overlapped Shem for 400 years, and Abraham died before Shem, so Shem could have given Abraham a firsthand eyewitness account of the flood. In fact, Shem was even alive through Isaac and Jacob.

So all of these men knew about sin. They knew about judgment. All of that is recorded in Genesis. So for hundreds of years, they would have witnessed the metastasizing corruption of sin. They would have seen God's judgment in the flood. Many of them would have seen the fire and brimstone that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and all of them anticipated a promised coming deliverer.

Now back to Abel. We know, according to the Word of God, that he was a righteous man. The righteousness of God had been imputed to Him and imparted to him, all of it, you might say, on credit, because of what Christ would eventually do. But by faith, he was made righteous and lived a righteous life. And of course, that righteous, obedient faith validated the genuineness of that faith. And it's interesting to think about it, his faithful obedience to God existed even before the Law came to Moses at Sinai. And so, Abel would have known about God, he would have known all about temptation and sin and the wages of sin being death. He would have known how God cursed his parents and all who would come from them. He would have known firsthand about the tragic consequences of sin. He would have known how his parents lost their innocence and replaced it with guilt and shame; he would have had a very clear understanding - as well as Cain - that although his parents should have died, God set into motion his mercy and his grace from the very beginning when, according to Scripture, the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. You see, he would have understood how, in their shame, they tried in vain to soothe their conscience by covering themselves with the fig leaves of their own efforts. But they could not cover their own sin. Their best efforts would never satisfy divine justice, so God had to provide a substitute to die to cover that sin, to appease his holy wrath.

So Adam and Eve would have told their sons about that first sacrifice that was made by God himself; how God provided a substitute, an innocent animal that had to be killed. The first animal that was ever killed was killed by God himself, the Creator. And as that blood was spilt upon the ground, they began to see how God's mercy and grace was first being pictured. Of course, now we look back, and we understand that all of that was a shadow of a coming Redeemer that would one day make atonement for sin; and it's reasonable to assume that Abel's parents would have rehearsed the details of all of this. Don't you know they would have done that? Scripture doesn't say this, but I think that is a tenable hypothesis. They would have rehearsed every detail about that first death, what it looked like - that innocent death - and what it was like to behold that crimson stain that was spilt there upon the ground because of their sin. However, they wouldn't have known that that was a picture of a coming lamb that would take away the sin for all who placed their faith in him, but certainly that they would have shared with their children - Adam and Eve would have shared - what we would call the "Proto Evangelium,"  meaning, the first gospel that is recorded in Genesis 3:15 where a deliverer was promised to descend from the seed of Eve and would eventually defeat the serpent and all who belong to Him. There, the text reads, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel."

Now, we would have no reason to believe that they understood that this coming Redeemer would be the perfect and final sacrifice for sin, that it would be the Lord Jesus Christ, the one that God would provide, a man to die for men, and yet God to be the perfect, spotless Lamb, the only one that could satisfy the holy justice of God. They wouldn't have understood all of that, but they knew that a deliverer was promised. And as we reflect upon this ancient story that God has revealed in his Word, we are reminded afresh of the result of sin. Sin first committed in the garden of paradise, according to Romans five, sin entered the world through one man and death through sin. And in this way, death came to all men, and yet folks the magnificent story of redemption, of God's saving grace, was all set into motion way back then. A plan sovereignly ordained, even before time began. And woven all through the tapestry of Scripture, we see the scarlet thread of redemption because of the spotless Lamb of God. Though our sins may be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; sinful man can be made righteous. He can be given eternal life through faith in that Lamb that was pictured.

Well with all of this in mind, the Holy Spirit inspires the writer to the Hebrews to continue his illustration of active, obedient faith. This is something that those dear people needed because of the persecution they were experienced, because of the newness of the New Covenant and the unfamiliarity with all of it, and all of their friends and family wanting them to go back to the Old Covenant of works and the Law and so forth. He wanted to help them understand that active, obedient faith begins when a man or a woman places their faith in Jesus as the Messiah, the ultimate Prophet, Priest and King, the Savior who gave Himself for all who believe.

And as we come to this first example of Abel in Hebrews 11 four, we learn that a man who possesses genuine saving faith will manifest a life that will, number one, submit to the Word of God. Number two, enjoy the blessing of God, and, thirdly, testify of the grace of God.

Now, before we look closely at our text, I want to take you back to Genesis four, where we have the historical account of what happened with Cain and Abel. In Genesis four, beginning in verse one, we read,

"Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, 'I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD.'

"Again, she gave birth to his brother, Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground.

"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 for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering, he had no regard."

And this is what the writer of the Hebrews tells us, in Hebrews 11:4, "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain." Now it is safe to assume, from these accounts, that God had revealed to them how he wanted to be worshiped. It is not recorded, but I think it's very safe to assume that. For example, in Genesis 4:3 it says, "So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD." Verse four says that Abel followed suit. So this phrase, "it came about in the course of time," although it might be vague, it does imply the practice of sacrifice on a periodic basis; something that undoubtedly God would have prescribed. And wherever there is an offering, you must have an altar to receive it, and it must be located in a specific place. We know that God is a God of order, and as we look at Scripture, we see how he gave enormous specificity regarding how he was to be worshiped in the Mosaic law regarding the how and the when, and the where he was to be worshiped. So it's safe to assume that God revealed to Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel some measure of the same kinds of regulations. It would be completely out of character for God to be silent on something so important and leave the matters of worship to the whims of sinful man.

Moreover, given Satan's influence, which, as we know was already very powerful in the world, if man was left to his own devices, his worship of God would never have included any kind of sacrifice, especially a blood sacrifice for sin that would ultimately typify Christ. Man would have smoked a peace pipe, or, I don't know, he would have danced a dance. He would have bowed down to a tree. He would have, I don't know, hugged a frog. Who knows, I mean, people do all kinds of crazy things; mystical, meaningless rituals, but he would have never considered sacrificing an innocent animal that would picture substitutionary atonement that he wouldn't have understood necessarily, which is the very heart of the gospel. And he would have never conceived of placing that sacrifice on an altar that would foreshadow The Mercy Seat - the place of propitiation - where man can find justice and mercy in the atoning work of Christ, where justice and mercy would come together. So the point is God had to have revealed these things to Adam and to Eve and to Cain and to Abel and to all who followed. And this helps us understand the illustration of Abel in verse four, "By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain." 

Now, from the outset, I must remind you of something that's very important, because I don't want you to be confused on this. We must understand that it was Abel's faith, not his sacrifice, that gained, for him, the approving testimony of God. However, faith that is pleasing to God must have the proper object, namely the finished atoning work of Christ that was foreshadowed in all of those blood sacrifices. And it is the object of faith that does the saving. You get that? It is the object of faith - God, the Father who has sent his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and ministered the gospel through his Spirit.

Now notice how the Genesis account of Cain and Abel's sacrifices really shed light on this. Again, back to Genesis four and verse three, "Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. 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 for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard." Now obviously the question is, why? Why would he regard one and not the other. I believe the answer is quite obvious. When you look at all of Scripture together, the answer is because genuine, saving faith that is pleasing to God begins with an acknowledgement of sin and the need for an innocent substitute to atone for that sin. The blood sacrifice was for sin. It understands that the sinner is worthy of death, but because of God's infinite mercy and his grace, he provided a substitute that would satisfy his holy justice; but also, it would bring forgiveness, and even more than that, it would bring righteousness to those who placed their faith in his plan and in his provision. Abel did that Cain did not.

Moreover, notice in Genesis 4:4, "Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions." You know, as I think about this, God had to have explained to him that this is what you need to do. I mean, otherwise nobody would do that. You know, why not bring the second or the third or just pick something out? You know, why would you do that? But you see the imagery here of the firstborn is most significant, because in Scripture, the firstborn receives the blessings of God. In his economy, Christ is, according to Romans 8:29, "the firstborn among many brethren." It means he is the the preeminent one, the only one who is the rightful heir, the most notable one among those who have become brothers by being made like him.

In fact, the writer of Hebrews will go on to say in chapter 12 and verse 23 that he describes the church of the "firstborn who are enrolled in heaven." First, Corinthians 15 verse 20, "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death (referring to Adam) by a man came the resurrection of the dead." So folks, this magnificent imagery is of profound importance, because it is all pointing to the sacrificial death of the Son of God. Now, while we have no way of knowing how much God revealed to Abel concerning the why of sacrificing the firstlings of the flock, we do know that he revealed the what. "I want the first one." And by faith, Abel obeyed.

So if I can put it this way, God is not pleased with any other method. God is not pleased with any other theology. God is not pleased with any other gospel, any other form of worship. I could probably list at least 20 or 30 times I've had conversations with people that just become apoplectic when I start talking about Christ being the only way. One of them really stands out. A guy put it this way, "You're telling me it's your way or the highway." And I remember saying, "No, I'm not telling you that. I'm telling you God said it is his way or the highway to hell." You see, true faith takes God's revelation seriously, and it acts upon it in humble, total dependence. Acts 4:12, "There is salvation," in how many others? No one else. "For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Cain did not submit to the Word of God. He had no regard for God's revelation. So God had no regard for his sacrifice. "By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain."

And this brings us to our first consideration: a man who possesses genuine, saving faith will manifest a life that, number one, submits to the Word of God. I'm sure, when God revealed these things to Abel, Abel didn't understand all of it, but he took God at his Word. True saving faith not only believes in God, it believes God. It takes God at his Word, and then it willfully, joyfully and humbly submits to it; by faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain. So from the beginning, God made it clear that sin requires substitutionary atonement - a death sacrifice that would point to Christ - and this is what the writer wants the Hebrews to understand. Peter spoke of this in First Peter three and verse 18, he says "Christ died for sins, once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that he might bring us to God." John tells us in First John four and verse 10, that God "loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation," - that is the satisfaction, the appeasement - "for our sins." We could go to Romans, chapter three and verse 26 that tells us that Christ's death satisfied the demands of God's justice, thereby enabling him to forgive and to save and to impute righteousness to all who place their faith in him. Again, this is the essence of the gospel. So folks, please understand, genuine saving faith is not about religion, attending a church or any of that silly stuff. It's about submitting to what God has said with respect to how we are to approach him. Saving faith, biblically, requires the confession of sin, repentance from sin, faith in the sacrifice that God has provided - the Lord Jesus, Christ, our only hope of salvation. Saving faith includes the knowledge of, the ascent to, and the unreserved reliance upon the finished atoning redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, as revealed in Scripture.

Now, one of the ways that I can kill a whole lot of time is to get to wondering about things that aren't in Scripture. So I've just got to do it here for a moment, because you may be wondering too. The thing that I wondered is, I wonder how Abel and Cain knew that God accepted Abel's sacrifice, but not Cains. Isn't that a fair thing to wonder about? Bible doesn't really tell us. How did Cain and Abel know that God had regard for one and the and not the other? And by the way, it must have been really obvious, because at the end of verse five in Genesis four, we read, "So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell." So something must have happened, right? Now, Scripture doesn't say, however, in at least five other occasions in Scripture, when we see God being honored through an acceptable sacrifice, you know what he did? He instantly incinerated it. He utterly devoured it with fire. I remember the first time I was in Israel. We went up to Mount Carmel. And you remember, that's where Elijah defeated the 450 prophets of Baal in First Kings 18 and Israel had to choose between worshiping Baal or Yahweh. So they had two altars, and they had two sacrifices and we're going to see which one God is going to accept. And I remember, as I was up there reading that account, and you know how they that Elijah had those prophets go get water...by the way, God has a sense of humor. You know where that water is? I mean, it is way down the mountain. So they had to drag that water up, and they kept doing that. They must have been absolutely exhausted by the time they doused Elijah's sacrifice. And you remember the story. Oh, those prophets, they beat themselves and wailed and carried on from early morning, I believe, until about three o'clock. Nothing happened, and Elijah prayed to the Lord God, and in First Kings 18:38, we read this, "Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, 'The LORD, He is God.'" "The LORD He is God."

Folks, something like this must have happened. I can't say dogmatically that it did, but whatever it did, it sure ignited Cain's jealousy. And in Scripture, where you see jealousy, you will inevitably see strife, and that leads to hatred and to murder. So again, Genesis 4:6, we read that,

"The LORD said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? And why is your countenance fallen?

"'If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.'"

I find it fascinating. Sin is here pictured as a wild animal, like a lion, that is crouching or lurking at the door - referring to the entrance of the animal's den, - where it would lie and repose, on guard, ready to spring into violent action if it is stirred. And some scholars make a very compelling argument, exegetically, that the term can be linked to the description of an ancient mythological demon that they believe crouched in wait at the doorways of certain buildings. In fact, the revised English Bible therefore reads "sin is a demon crouching at the door." There, sin is personified as a demonic spirit ready to, shall we say, ambush Cain, once he opens the door of temptation. So the point with all of that is simply, don't allow temptation to stir up the sinful demon of jealousy that guards the door of your pride, or whatever. That's the idea.

So what happened in the story is with premeditation. Cain, if you read the story, lures his brother out into a field and he murders him. He murders him. You know, today, when somebody murders someone, people come up with all of these reasons why. Poor parenting. You know, that's what it was. No, social injustice, the lack of jobs, poor schools; we need more funding for education. Poverty, that'll make a murderer out of you. Gangs, bigotry, the list goes on, right? Folks, Scripture says, for example, in James 4:1,

"What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?

"You lust and do not have; so you commit murder."

Folks, this is the power of sin. This is what the ungodly want to do to the righteous; those who obey God, who take God seriously. They would, if they could, lure us into some place where we are vulnerable and kill us. The wicked will always act in violence against the righteous. And you see, in this context, in Hebrews, this is what the Hebrews were afraid of. I mean, they had family members that wanted to kill them. They had, certainly, others in the community that wanted to kill them because they were submitting to the Word of God, to the New Covenant. They were approaching God his way, rather than the way of Judaism, rather than their way. And folks, we all need to learn from this. We do not want to go the way of Cain, who was, frankly, the first false worshiper. He was the father of false religion. You might say he was the progenitor of Satan's world system that is in opposition to God. Think of all the false ways of coming to God that are available today. I mean, you can just look at the list of all of the false religions, even counterfeit Christian religions that are out there. People who, as Paul says in Romans 10, verse two, "have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge, for not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God."

By the way, I see some of this in some of the gospel presentations of our day. Preachers pleading with folks to "make a decision for Christ," "accept Jesus into your heart as your personal Savior," "Ask Jesus into your heart," "invite Christ into your life." You know, all of those types of things, which by the way, none of those invitations reflect biblical terminology, nor do they reflect the Gospel according to Jesus, which always began with a severe warning followed by a call to repentance and discipleship that might cost you your very life. The easy believeism and the dribble of the gospel invitations that we hear today is as shallow as dew on a pumpkin, and it causes sinners to take salvation lightly, as if you're finally going to make a decision. Saying, you know what, Jesus, I'm going to accept you. Really? Folks, if that's what you think, you do not understand your sin and you do not understand the gospel. All of that produces phony Christians whose lives show no evidence of regeneration.

You see, we must understand that only the true gospel will produce true repentance and genuine saving faith. You see, the good news has to begin with the bad news, and when you understand that, by God's grace and the power of the Spirit, you will repent and cry out for mercy, because genuine repentance produces an appropriate sense of guilt that causes a man to to beg for mercy and for forgiveness, and will cause him to change his mind, and his purpose, and turn away from sin and turn toward God. And this was the attitude you will recall of the tax collector in Luke 18 that was so overwhelmed by the hideousness of his sin, and what it deserved, and his unworthiness to be forgiven, that he said in verse 13, or it says in verse 13, that, "he was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me, the sinner!'"

Folks, for a moment, let me camp on this. True repentance is more than reformation, where a person resolves to do better and turns over a new leaf in their life. That's not genuine saving faith and repentance. True repentance is more than even contrition, where a person feels sorry about the things that they have done, and they feel bad about their sin and all of the misery that it has caused in their life and in the lives of others. Folks, true repentance so grips a man's heart with the fear of God as to cause him to hate his sin more than hell itself. That's true repentance. And in his loathing over it, he embraces the truth of the gospel of Christ as the only hope of salvation. He comes by the blood of Christ, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; and he decisively commits himself to turning from sin, denying himself and following Christ come what may. Dear friends, this is how we come to God, his way; and to those of you who come by some other way, I would just warn you from Scripture, Proverbs 14 verse 12, "There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." And for those of you that may be preaching some other phony gospel, I would warn you by reminding you of what Jude says in verse 11, "Woe to them, for they have gone the way of Cain."

So a man who possesses genuine saving faith, like Abel, will manifest a life that first submits to the Word of God, and secondly, he will enjoy the blessing of God. Notice again, verse four, "By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous." Now, how so? Well Abel obtained righteousness, not because he was righteous, and certainly not because of his works, but because he submitted to the Word of God regarding the acceptable sacrifice - the blood sacrifice - which prefigured the ultimate acceptable sacrifice in the Lord Jesus Christ, who also responded in obedience to do his Father's will. Therefore, Abel was not only declared righteous, judicially - which is at the core of the doctrine of justification and therefore he received the imputed righteousness of Christ - but also because of that radical change in his nature, in his heart. Now as a new creature, he manifests the righteousness of Christ in how he lives. You might say the imparted righteousness of Christ. So you see, obedience doesn't produce faith, it proves it, and that's what we have with Abel. Abel had the standing and the quality of righteousness. This is what Paul described in Ephesians 2:10 true believers, he says, have been "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." So genuine, authentic, saving faith is always validated, not by your profession, not because you got baptized or because you belong to a church or you walk some aisle and repeated a prayer, but because of your obedience.

Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in him in John 8:31, "'If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.'" John 15, verse eight, he says that true disciples "abide in the vine of Christ and bear much fruit and so prove to be My disciples.'" He went on to say in verse 10 and following, "'If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love. That My joy may be in you and that your joy may be made full.'" So likewise, we see even the writer of Hebrews going on to say a similar thing in chapter 11, in verse six, he says, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Oh, dear friends, the imputed and the imparted righteousness of Christ is the blessing of all blessings. Don't you see that there is no greater blessing in all of the world than that which is available to those who come to God by grace alone, through faith alone. This is how sinners are reconciled to God. This is how we are made acceptable to God; how we gain God's approval. This is how we experience the soul, exhilarating joy of Christ in the core of our being. This is how we are given eternal life. What else can I say? Can there be anything more glorious than all of this?

"By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous." So genuine faith submits to the Word of God and enjoys the blessings of God, ultimately through the gift of righteousness that we have. But then thirdly, genuine saving faith testifies of the grace of God. Notice at the end of verse four, it says, "God testifying about his gift." N again, we don't know how God did this, maybe he sent the fire and lapped it all up. Someday we'll have to ask Abel, "Hey, you know, what'd he do? I'm just curious." Maybe the Lord will let us know that. But certainly, God knew that he was truly repentant. He knew his heart. He knew that he had submitted to God, and so God testified about his gifts. And through this and through his faith, verse four, "though he is dead, he still speaks."

Now, I do not believe the emphasis here is on Abel's blood crying out for vengeance, as many do. I believe the emphasis here is consistent with the theme of the entire chapter, and that is the nature of true faith, not the vengeance of God. Even though that is certainly true, he will take vengeance on those who have offended him, but here the writer, bear in mind, the writer is speaking to beleaguered, persecuted, wavering, Hebrew believers about faith, and he's using the illustration of Abel's faith - a faith that was manifested by his confidence in the promises of God that he hoped for, the conviction of things unseen - he's saying to them, "Folks, you will persevere under pressure as long as you have active, obedient faith. But apart from that, you will not, and you will never enjoy the riches of God's blessing in your life." He's saying this is how we, according to verse one of chapter 12, how we "run with endurance the race that is set before us," he says that we must "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith."

And isn't it fascinating, down through the millennia of redemptive history, to this very day, Abel continues to speak, though he is dead. Someone has well said, "Death is never the last word of a righteous man." Isn't it interesting? The testimony of Abel's life and death continues to preach to all who have ears to hear; and from his life, we learn that by means of his faith in what God said, and on the basis of his sacrificial gifts, which gave evidence to his faith, God justified the ungodly. That's what he does for all of us. Through Abel we learn that only through faith in the finished redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ can a man approach God, be reconciled to God and live eternally with God.

And so I close by asking you, how have you approached God? Many approach him carelessly, with no real sense of urgency; got a lot of other things going on in my life that's not really all that big of a deal. The condition of my eternal soul isn't that important to me right now. I've got plenty of time to deal with that; like some people will say, "Yeah, you know, I trust the man upstairs to give me a fair shake." You know what? You're right, he will give you a fair shake, and the verdict will be guilty. Folks, you don't want a fair shake. You want mercy. Some people approach God analytically. Oh, they got to figure it all out. What has God really said? How does this really apply to me? How does this jive with all of these other religions. Why is God so confusing? They're going to question every passage. They're going to analyze every doctrine, compare every statement with other philosophies. It's what I call the paralysis of analysis. I remember one guy saying, quote, "I'm just a very analytical person. I have to have every T crossed and every I dotted." And I said, "O, dear friend, please hear me." And I remember leaning into him and saying, "What you are is an arrogant fool on your way to hell because you refuse to take God's word seriously, and it is clear, it is simple. You are a sinner, he is a holy God, and you cannot be reconciled to him through any of your works. You must, by faith, depend upon the sacrifice that he has provided in his dear Son."

Others approach God judgmentally, as if they are somehow the final arbiter of truth in how we are to approach God to be saved as if they are the judge over him and over the Word of God. I remember several years ago talking to a lesbian minister in an airport, and over the course of the conversation, one of the things that she said - obviously, we did not agree on most things - but one of the things that she said is, "Well, you know, I think..." And I said, "Hang on a second, let me stop you right there. That's the problem. It's not what you think, or I think that's important. What's important is, what does God think?" "Well, okay, okay." But she went on to say, "I think," and I wrote this down, "There are many paths to God, and he leaves it up to us to take the one that is best for us." Folks, that's real common in our culture. That is not God's way.

Some people approach God rebelliously. They know the gospel, but they reject it. They are like Cain. They prefer another way; a way that they have come up with, rather than the way that God has commanded. They don't like his way, so they will do it their way. These dear friends are the words of a fool who will end up perishing in their sin lest they repent, words that live on in one of the saddest songs that I believe has ever been written, one song and made famous by Frank Sinatra, a lifelong Catholic who believed in God, but he did not believe God. And here's an excerpt of some of the lyrics. He sang, “And now the end is near, and so I face the final curtain.

"My friend, I'll say it clear. I'll state my case of which I'm certain,

"I've lived a life that's full. I've traveled each and every highway,

"and more, much more than this, I did it my way.

"For what is man? What is a man? What has he got? If not himself, then he has not.

"To say the things he truly feels, and not the words of one who kneels.

"The record shows I took the blows and did it my way. Yes, it was my way."

Folks, I think Abel would have written his song very differently, the man who was first in faith; He would have said something like this, "Because of my sin, I'm in desperate need of mercy; but man is saved by faith, not by works. A faith that submits to the Word of God, that enjoys the blessing of God, that testifies to the grace of God eternally. The record shows I took the blows, but I did it God's way. Yes, I did it God's way." And folks, I hope that will be the testimony of your heart. Let's pray together.

Father, thank you for these eternal truths that are anchored into such ancient history that you have recorded for us. I pray that by the power of your Spirit, you will help us to grasp these things and to embrace them with all of our heart. For those of us who know and love you, may this remind us of what you have done, because were it not for your grace, we would never be saved. Were it not for your provision, we would have no hope. And for those who are without you today, oh God, will you be merciful and bring conviction, bring confection, confession and repentance, and may today be the day that they humbly submit to your word and approach you your way? I ask in Jesus’ name and for his sake. Amen.