The Faith of Abel and Enoch
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Intro
Intro
Alright everyone, I want to start tonight out by just reminding you why we are in this series…the whole purpose. We’ve titled this series “By Faith” because of the repeated use of this phrase all throughout Hebrews 11. And what we have seen and will continue to see is that the author of Hebrews (who is unknown) is using all of chapter 11 as an example to drive home one point. That point is...
The faith of the saints of old (the hall of faith in Hebrews 11), should inform our faith in Jesus. Let me say that again...
Time and time again, we will be looking at how the old testament saints, by faith, lived their lives…overcame obstacles…sought hard after God. And through looking at their actions produced by faith…we too will “by faith” turn our eyes towards Jesus who is the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12).
Tonight the message is simply titled…
The Faith of Abel and Enoch.
So the question, as we look at the lives of these two men, will be…How does the faith of Abel, and the faith of Enoch, inform our own faith in Jesus.
How does the faith of Abel and Enoch, men who lived thousands of years ago…cause us to turn our eyes towards Jesus?
The only way to answer that is to work through our scriptures tonight…let’s actually start in Genesis 4 with the story of Cain and Abel. It’s worth turning to, so go ahead and get to Genesis 4 and keep a tab in Hebrews 11 because we will be jumping back there.
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. 11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
So…summary here. Adam and Eve had two sons. one who tended to the fruit of the ground (meaning something like a Gardener)…the other was a shepherd. These two sons go to sacrifice to the Lord…to worship him. And Abel’s (the shepherd’s) offering was found to please God. But Cain’s did not.
There’s a few speculations as to why this is. It could have been the Lord desired a blood offering…it could be because Cain didn’t offer his best or his first, but rather what was remaining…we don’t know for sure…but what we do know is that whatever he did, did not please God. So in his anger and sin…Cain kills Abel. The Lord punishes him for this…
And here in history..we see the first ever murder. The first loss of human life. It’s a significant moment in the history of the entire world…and if you were to continue reading this passage you would see the consequences it had.
However, what we are focusing on today is not something that is explicitly clear in this passage alone…but becomes quite clear as the author of Hebrews discuss it. Turn to Hebrews 11, and let’s read starting in verse 4.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
So here we see the point begin to form. That one of the things we can gleam from the story of Cain and Abel is the example of Abel’s faith. It’s By Faith, so believing in God…hoping for the things to come…believing the things not seen…by that device…Abel was able to offer a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. A more pleasing sacrifice. And it’s through the sacrifice offered BY FAITH…that we see God commended Abel as righteous…meaning in right standing with God. We actually covered that two weeks ago, when looking at the first three verses of Hebrews that faith provides salvation…it provides a right standing with God. The word “commended” in the first three verses connects to “commended” here in verse 4.
But there’s something else about faith that we see here…something new…and that is...
Faith _____ _____ brings true worship. (v. 4)
It was By Faith that Abel provided a pleasing sacrifice…which means…BY FAITH Abel provided true worship to God. That’s what a sacrifice is to God…showing him honor, giving the glory his name is due…putting him in his rightful place and acknowledging our standing below him…sacrifice in the OT is an act of worship.
Abel’s offering of the best that he had was accepted by God as true worship…how? By Faith!
So what we learn here, is that Faith is a vessel…a tool…the thing that allowed Abel to provide true worship. And what was true for him thousands of years ago is true for us today as well…the only way to truly worship God, the creator of heaven and earth, the creator of everything and everyone…the only way to truly worship him is BY FAITH....by hoping for the things that have yet to come…and believing in the things you haven’t seen.
But…that’s only half the story. Because as it says in Hebrews 11:40…God has provided something better for us than what Abel had…God provided for us Jesus. The king of kings and Lord of Lords…so we are blessed beyond all measure to have a clearer understanding of faith…and that is that
Faith IN JESUS brings true worship.
Let’s remember our definition of Faith. Faith is having assurance of the things hoped for…and conviction of the things unseen.
We…as true believers…as true worshipers…show our faith by having the Hope that Jesus to come again…and the conviction that he came before…even though we didn’t see it with our eyes. Let me say that again..
If you have sincere faith in Jesus…,you have a hope that he will come again (just like the author of Hebrews says the assuring of things hoped for)....and you also have a conviction of the things that Jesus accomplished…even though they are unseen to you.
Those are markers of sincere faith in Jesus…and you must have sincere faith in Jesus in order to truly worship God.
I feel like this is important…so let me explain further what I mean.
Romans 10:9 says this.
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
If you’re reading this today, in this room right now…and you claim to believe…then you are claiming to believe without actually having seen it. You didn’t see Jesus die…you didn’t see him raised from the dead…and yet you believe it..and by believing it you will be saved.
That is part of our definition of faith…that we have conviction of things unseen…for us part of that is the fact that we are convicted that Jesus was raised from the dead but we haven’t actually seen it.
And tied into that…intrinsic in the life of everyone who is a true believer…is a hope that Jesus will return to us. That he will come and fulfill all that he has promised. That we will see our savior face to face one day.
That the dead will rise, and believers will join Christ for all eternity…that is what we hope for. If you believe in Christ…you have to hope for that…because that’s what he preached, that’s what he promised...
We hope for that, just like the author of Hebrews says that Faith is the assurance of things HOPED for. We have an assurance of the hope of Jesus coming back.
So do you see? Do you see how Jesus is intrinsically tied into the definition of faith? Back before the cross…Old testament saints had true faith by having a sincere belief in the promises of God being fulfilled…but this side of the Cross we have a more complete picture…and you can’t have true faith without true belief in Jesus. I’ll say it again.
You can’t have faith without true belief in Jesus. AND… You can’t have true worship without faith.
John 4:23-24
23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
This is Jesus saying that only true worshippers worship God in Spirit and Truth…and when he says spirit he means the Holy Spirit within us…allowing us to worship anywhere and anyplace…connecting us to worship God. And what’s the only way you can have the Holy Spirit??
Belief in Jesus. The spirit only comes to true christians who believe Jesus died for their sins and was raised to give them life.
And what is proven here in the story of of Abel…what we learn about his faith and how it informs our own faith…is that it is our faith in Jesus that allows us to truly worship God.
You can’t have true faith without true belief in Jesus. and…you can’t have true worship without true faith
because it’s that faith that provides you the Holy Spirit…the seal of your salvation.
Think of it like this...Faith is the vehicle that allows our true worship of God.
Most of you drove here tonight. You were one place, and then you hopped into a vehicle that carried you all the way to come to fellowship and worship of God. Guys…our faith is the vehicle that brings us from one place…to a place of fellowship and worship of God. It’s what carries us. And Jesus is the one that bought you the car, filled it up with gas, buckled your seatbelt, and sent you on your way.
Faith is the vehicle that allows our true worship…and Jesus is that one that provided that vehicle.
So why do you need to know this? Why does it matter that you understand that it’s your faith that brings about a true worship of God?
It matters because you need to understand that this faith that allows you to worship God…is not of your own doing…but was given to you by God.
It says in Ephesians...
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
So this whole grace thing you have…that was given to you through your faith in Christ…none of that was you. It was all God. And it’s that way…so that no one can brag that they saved themselves…no one can brag that they wisely deduced how to be saved...
And when we understand that Faith was given to us by God…and that it’s the faith that allows us to truly worship…it should bring relief and gratitude.
You should feel relieved. Relieved that the entirety of your salvation and your worship of God does not reside in your own strength…that your perseverance as a believer is empowered by the Holy Spirit. You should feel relief that you’re not in this alone.
And it should bring gratitude. Gratitude because the only way to truly worship God…the only way to truly please him as Abel shows in this passage…is to have faith in him…and that faith is not your own doing. God gave it to you. He blessed you with it. He saved you. He literally put within you the ability to truly worship him…how amazing is that? How phenomenal that God would choose you…to open your eyes, to instill in you a faith that allows you to please him with your worship.
We are extremely blessed.
Of course, when I say we…I speak of those who have true faith. Who in their hearts believe Christ to be raised from the dead and the Lord of their life…and who are marked by a sincere conviction…fruit of the spirit…that their Lord is coming back again.
If that’s not you…or you’re not sure if that’s you…come talk to me. And actually this is a perfect transition for our next point...
Faith _____ _____ brings eternal life. (v 5)
Read the next verse with me.
Hebrews 11:5 (ESV)
5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him.
We don’t have time to dive into Enoch..and honestly there isn’t much to know about him. Here’s what it says in Genesis.
22 Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. 24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
That’s it…it seems so small and yet the Author of Hebrews shows us the significance of this statement....that the faith of Enoch granted him eternal life. And here…5 chapters into the beginning of history…and only two chapters after the fall of man…the sin of adam and eve...we already see God granting someone eternal life that has sincere and true faith in him.
Of course, we…having the clearer picture…having the prophecies of God fulfilled know this truth that.
Faith in Jesus bring eternal life.
Back to Romans 10:9
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
You will have eternal life if you believe these things. If you have faith in these things.
The Faith of Enoch taught the people of God that eternal life was to be had with God…that it was possible…that it was desired. Our clearer picture tells us that it’s faith in Jesus that allows us to do exactly what Enoch did. And through that…be able to have eternal life.
And like I said…if you are uncertain if you have eternal life…if you are certain that you haven’t submitted your life to Christ and repented and admitted that you’re sinner in need of saving…if that’s you. Come talk to me....don’t wait any longer. As we finish up here just catch me and let’s pray. Or catch any one of our leaders and give them the extreme honor and blessing of watching you cross from death to life...
Do that if you want to have what Enoch had…eternal life. And…if you want to do what Enoch did…and please God. That’s our last point.
Faith pleases God.
Look back at verses 5 and 6.
5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
Here’s what the author of Hebrews is telling you. If you want to please God…if you want to draw near to him…if you want to be in relationship with him…then you must believe that God exists…and that he rewards those who seek him.
Now…you can guess it by now.
What is our clearer picture?
Faith in Jesus pleases God.
Let’s end tonight by looking at the two qualifications the author of Hebrews says must be met in order to please God.
You must believe that he exists…sound familiar?
Romans 10:9
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Confessing that Jesus is Lord takes believing he exists…believing in your heart that God raised him from the dead means believingJesus existed....
And what was the other criteria there from the author of Hebrews? You need to believe that he rewards those who seek him.
Just like in this passage of Romans when it says…believe these things..and you will be…saved.
That is the reward that is spoken about when it comes to having faith. In order to please God....you must believe that Jesus exists, and that he has granted eternal life as a reward for those who believe.
Faith in Jesus pleases God.
To close…what does the Faith of Abel and Enoch remind us or teach us? How do their actions taken “by faith” cause us to have a greater understanding of our own faith?
Abel and Enoch show us..
Faith in Jesus brings true worship. Faith in Jesus brings eternal life. Faith in Jesus pleases God.
Knowing and seeing those things should make us want to come back to him…to seek him…to do as it says in Hebrews 12…and turn our eyes back to Jesus. The Founder and Perfecter of our Faith.