The Faith of Abel & Enoch

We begin looking at our list of people listed in the Hall of Faith. The writer takes us back to the second generation of people who lived on earth. Abel was the second son born to Adam and Eve. There is something I want to point out. This comes on the heels of the writer telling us by faith Christians believe in the biblical account of creation. When we look at the text, we see that Abel was a normal person. He was not some neanderthal. He was a mature, intelligent man who had domesticated animals. This is proof that Adam and Eve were not types or allegorical figures. They were created as human beings in the image of God. They could speak, reason, and commune with one another and God. Their children could as well.

This is important because it reminds us that to reject the Biblical account of creation one must reject a lot of other doctrines and truths in the Bible. We take the Genesis account by faith.

Abel had an older brother whose name was Cain. He was an ungodly man according to Scripture (1 John 3:12). Cain worked as a farmer. Abel was a shepherd. The Genesis account of this story is very brief but this is what we learn from it:

1) Cain offered up a gift to God from his crops.

2) Abel offered up a gift to God from his herd.

3) God received Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s.

4) Cain became angry and killed Abel.

5) God cursed Cain.

The Old Testament does not tell us why God received Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s. Some have suggested that Abel’s offering was a blood offering and that is why it was received. That’s not the case. The New Testament gives us the information we need to determine why God rejected Cain’s offering.

Look at our text. Abel offered his gift to God by faith. That’s the reason it was accepted. Look at the end of verse 4 “And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks today.”

What does that mean. The testimony of this faithful man of God continues to speak to others. It spoke to the Hebrew Christians. It speaks to us. Let’s draw some lessons from this story.

1) It is our faith that pleases God. Both men had some understanding of worship. This was before the Law had been given. There were no priests and there was no Temple. But there was some understanding of a proper way to worship God. The proper way was through faith.

Cain obviously leaned on his works. He thought if he went through the motions God would be pleased. It has never been the case that God is satisfied with works apart from faith. Cain’s motive was wrong. Therefore, his offering was rejected.

2) Abel’s offering revealed his faith. The text says of his faith “through which he was commended as righteous”. Cain is described in the Bible as wicked, evil, & a murderer (1 John 3:12). In fact, no one before Abel is remembered as a righteous man. Not Cain, not Adam, not Eve. His testimony is the first testimony of righteousness recorded in Scripture. Even Jesus called Abel righteous (Matthew 23:35).

It’s interesting to note that when the writer of Hebrews was looking for someone with a good testimony to encourage the Hebrew Christians, he went to the very first testimony of righteousness.

How did Abel’s offering reveal his faith? Was there something tangible to point to?

Was there some instruction given to the brothers by God on how to offer sacrifices?

Was there a known tradition passed down to them by Adam and Eve?

We don’t know. What we do know is Abel’s offering was an expression of his faith. He offered up a sacrifice to God because he loved God and had faith in Him. Could God have prescribed a blood offering at this time and Cain willfully disobeyed? Absolutely. That could be the case. God may have told them how to sacrifice and that part of the story is not recorded but implied.

Even if they had both made a blood sacrifice the sacrifices would mean nothing if they were not offered in faith. What we do for God must be an expression of what we believe about God. God will not make us righteous because we do things for Him. That’s not the way it works. A heart for God must precede any work for God.

3) God rejects worship that does not stem from faith.

When it says God received Abel’s offering what did that look like? We’re not sure how this happened either.

Did God devour it with fire like He did Elijah’s offering (1 Kings 18:38)? Was there some visible sign that showed the Lord accepted Abel’s offering and rejected Cain’s? I think there must have been, but we are not told what.

It’s clear that the Lord’s response to Abel’s offering is what made Cain so jealous. Cain’s jealousy led to anger which led to murder. Before any offering was made Cain was already an evil man. His offering did not atone for his sin because he was not repentant. He was not repentant because he did not have faith in God.

No matter how often we:

Come to church

Give

Serve

It will not atone for a wicked heart.

4) A life of faith can speak to many generations. The account of Abel is brief in the Bible. Yet his testimony continues to speak. Those with genuine faith leave a lasting impression in this world. Will it be said of me long after I am gone “He still speaks”? I hope so.

v. 5 We move to another person who is mentioned briefly in the Bible. Enoch was one of only two people who did not die a natural death (Elijah). His story is found in Genesis 5:22-24.

He walked with God.

God took him to heaven.

That’s about as good a testimony as one could have.

It says “By faith Enoch was taken up” That means “Because of his faith he was taken up.

Look at the end of verse 5. “Before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God”. The writer has already established that the way to please God is through faith. It was because of Enoch’s faith that he was taken from this world into heaven. Putting both Old and New Testaments together we know Enoch:

Had faith in God

Walked with God

Was taken to heaven by God

Enoch was blessed in a way most will not be. Other than Elijah and the generation of believers alive when Jesus returns, everyone experiences death. God blessed Enoch in a great way.

Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death.

Also notice it says “he was not found”. That’s a little comical to me. Imagine everyone looking for Enoch. The verse implies people began looking for Enoch. Spurgeon said of this verse : A good man is missed.

Also, something else to note. This wasn’t a spiritual thing. God didn’t take his spirit and leave his body. God took him. I imagine it was without warning. He was surprised as well. He was on this earth and in a moment, he was in heaven with God.

v. 6 If we want to be like Enoch here are our instructions:

We must have faith. It is impossible to please God without faith. Cain did not please God because he did not have faith. The way to draw near to God is through faith.

We can try money

We can try works

We can try sacrifice

None of these things will draw us near God.

Faith is the only avenue to God. It is impossible to draw near to God or please God without faith. Faith comes first. Believe the gospel. Believe the Bible.

We must believe God exists. We must believe he sent His Son to be our Savior. We must believe He rose from the dead.

We must seek Him. God rewards those who seek Him. Enoch’s reward was deliverance from physical death. We shouldn’t expect that. But every believer is delivered from the second death. Still, I think more is meant here. There are more rewards than salvation.

Enoch’s faith was fruitful. It led him to a deep relationship with God. Clearly, he was distinguished from the others of his generation. He was indeed a man of God. The good news is any believer can be a seeker of God. Any believer can be rewarded by God in this world and the world to come. The only requirement is that we believe God exists and we diligently pursue a relationship with Him.

Thoughts to Consider

1. The faithful testimony of others can lead us to be jealous of them or to imitate them.

2. We should live in such a way that our brothers and sisters in Christ miss us when we are gone.

3. One day God will take all who have faith in Him to Himself.