Faith Worship

Rev. Leonard Reiss

Hebrews • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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For the Christian, we need to have a worship that is based on faith in Jesus Christ.

Notes

Transcript

In The Pirates of the Caribbean, the saying is heard that Dead men tell no tales. I think it is quite obvious that dead men do tell tales or stories. Whether they be stories that are very dark and evil, or stories of shame and embarrassment, or of glorious occurrences or examples to follow; though they are dead, they still speak.

The faith which the writer of Hebrews focuses on is a faith that is totally separated from works ever being needed. This is particularly important to understand, because the Jewish readers, as well as many people today, need to be reminded that it has always been faith that God accepts to provide salvation to humanity. Works has never been the focus.

Today’s sermon centers around Abel and how his faith impacted his worship. You might say that since Adam and Eve actually had physically been with God in the Garden of Eden, that they had an advantage over those whom we’ll be studying in the following weeks. Abel was the first recorded individual that exercised genuine faith regarding his relationship with God. We’ll see how his faith caused him to offer a better sacrifice in his worship. We’ll then recognize that the testimony about him described him as righteous, shown by his faith worship . Finally, we’ll understand better how our faith worship story lives on long after our death.

D.L. Moody once said, "Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody, of East Northfield, is dead. Don't you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now. I shall have gone up higher, that is all; gone out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal, a body that death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint, a body like unto His own glorious body."

For the Christian, we need to have a worship that is based on faith in Jesus Christ.

Before we dig into this single verse we’re discussing today, we might need a little background reminder. From the Genesis account, we know that Abel might have been labeled the rancher of the family. His primary responsibility was the livestock. Cain, his older brother, was what we might label the farmer of the family. His primary duties seemed to be to take care of the soil and the crops. We also need to realize that they were the first children born in sin, since it was after the fall of Adam and Eve. Thus, Abel and Cain were not any different from us, except they began life without grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Faith Leads to a Better Sacrifice. - 11.4a

Hebrews 11:4 (NASB95)

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain . . .

To get a little historical background, let’s go back to the Old Testament, which the readers were very familiar.

Genesis 4:3–5 (NASB95)

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. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

Just the idea of using the word brought implies that there was a specific place where sacrifices were to be made. We need to remember that not all of the details of what the Lord shared with the first family are available for our reading. Yet, we do know that God is not capricious or random or unpredictable with His requirements and expectations. This is all part of worship.

We also read an interesting phrase, in the course of time. It literally means at the end of a certain period of time. This could simply mean that there was a specific time that God had for the family to worship Him with the sacrifices. It wasn’t just a random, whenever they felt like it time, since they were both there at the same time.

We should probably put on our thinking caps, if you will, and realize that this was not just their thoughts about worship. Therefore, we can assume that God had given specific instructions as to location, time, and manner of the worship. Their parents may have given the instructions, as had been given to them, we don’t know.

It is significant to my way of thinking, that the Messiah was promised in Genesis 3.15. Then blood was shed after the original sin to cover up the nakedness of Adam and Eve. We can assume that this requirement for blood to be shed in order for true worship to occur, would logically have been shared and expected.

But wait, you say. We don’t have to offer a blood sacrifice when we are involved in worship. That’s a good thought; however, a blood sacrifice was made in the once-for-all sacrifice which Jesus made on the cross. That opened the way for us to be able to worship in the presence of the Father at any time, for those who have accepted and believed in faith what Jesus Christ has offered for our salvation.

There are some that believe the grain offering was completely unacceptable. I don’t believe it was completely unacceptable, since God describes it and its purpose later in the Law. However, before thanksgiving and genuine worship can truly occur, the blood offering needs to be done. The blood offering was offered in faith trusting that God would forgive sins, thus, allowing a person into His presence, as it were. If a person doesn’t acknowledge their sin, then they are arrogantly trying to force their way in and not truly worshipping the Lord.

So, when Abel offered his animal sacrifice, he was acting in obedience to God, and recognizing that he was a sinner in need of forgiveness. When Cain offered his grain offerings, because of God’s response, we can rest assured that he was wanting to do worship his way and was not recognizing his need to understand that he was also a sinner in need of forgiveness. There are many that would suggest that this was an innocent mistake, but that would require us to believe that God wasn’t clear and that he was arbitrary in his acceptance of one sacrifice over another. My friends, we can never assume such things, for that would be completely contradictory to Who God is.

There are a number of similarities to what is often seen today. Like many, Cain believed in God. We gather this from the fact that he did bring an offering to a specific location at a specific time. He most likely had heard from his parents how they were created by God and how his parents really messed up by sinning against God and ended up being banished from the Garden of Eden. However, though he believed in God, he chose not to believe God, in the fact that he felt he could do worship his own way. This, my friends, is actually the beginning of all the false religions that are in this world.

What exactly is false religion? Is there only one true way to worship God? Jesus stated that in John 14.6

John 14:6 (NASB95)

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

God has not created new ideas about Himself, when He stated: You shall have no other gods before me. It doesn’t matter what one tries to substitute, true worship requires faith in Jesus Christ alone. People all over seem to want to substitute something else in place of God, or they want to combine it with God, not remembering how that worked for Israel all those years. My friends, this cannot happen for those who want to truly worship the Lord. One cannot worship God alone, while substituting or trying to combine with anything else; whether it be transcendental meditation, or Nirvana, or humanism, or emotionalism mixed in with evangelicalism, or adding anything else to the Scriptures to try to impress others with your spirituality. It is very clear what God says, even as we recall Acts. 4.12

Acts 4:12 (NASB95)

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Whatever each person feels is acceptable and is comfortable with is not the answer. There are not many ways to heaven. There is foolishness to the notion that what is good for you isn’t necessarily good for me when it comes to eternity where we’ll be worshipping the Lord forever. A person cannot simply choose how they are going to worship God if it’s not acceptable to Him.

The author of Hebrews, knowing that his readers knew the history of the story from Genesis, is making it clear that what Abel did in his worship was acceptable and right before the Lord. In fact, a few verses farther in Genesis 4, states that Cain went out from the presence of the Lord. In other words, he chose to do things his way, rather than God’s way. This is basically unbelief; it is not a picture of true biblical faith. It is absolute pride and self-centeredness, an unwillingness to surrender to the Lord. However, there will come a day when every knee will bow.

We can even look to Jude 11 to know for certain God’s thoughts about what Cain did.

Jude 11 (NASB95)

Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.

The way of Cain is what we’ve been describing. This is what comes naturally to fallen mankind. Cain’s worship was purely for appearances; it was not genuine. That is very much like what a lot of religion is today. Much of what parades as worship today, is simply an emotional, self-serving activity to put on the appearance of godliness. Being religious does not mean a person is righteous.

My friends, don’t believe those who question this narrative and act as if God were acting unfairly. God does not punish anyone for what they don’t know. We are all responsible for what we do know. Abel knew and obeyed. Cain knew and disobeyed. Thus, the better sacrifice was an example of genuine faith which acts in obedience.

Faith Leads to a Righteous Testimony. - 11.4b

Hebrews 11:4 (NASB95)

. . . through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous . . .

Through what, we ask? Go back to the beginning of the verse; by faith. That’s right. Everything about Abel that would have been recognized as righteous, was because of his obedient faith. A faith that is not obedient and resulting in worship of our Lord, is not true faith. It didn’t matter how many wonderful things Abel might have done for God, it was his faith that caused the testimony about him to declare that he was righteous.

The interesting thing is that Abel had the same inherited sin nature as his brother, Cain. The difference is that he lived his life in faith. His worship was genuine, based on his faith. As a result, he probably was the better behaved child. Everything about Abel would most likely have set him apart as someone you’d want to be around. However, his actions and character is not what caused God to be pleased with his sacrifice and not his brother’s. The difference was the heart. Abel came with an obedient heart, worshipping the Lord and wanting to do what God wanted. Cain came with a disobedient heart, practicing a fake worship, in that it was going to be his own way, while not believing it to be necessary to do things God’s way.

Listen to what Jesus said, as He speaks to this very issue of obedience and love for the Lord in John 8.31

John 8:31 (NASB95)

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

You can say that you love the Lord; you can practice religious activity; you can do many noble and good things—but if you don’t have faith so as to live obediently, then you may very possibly be just like Cain.

Consider what James stated in James 2.14

James 2:14 (NASB95)

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?

Now, how do we know that Abel’s sacrifice was pleasing to God? God could have consumed it by fire, as He did on several other occasions. The reality is, they both knew what was accepted by God and what wasn’t accepted by God.

Can anyone truly be righteous because they just are? Definitely not! It is placing one’s faith and trust in God that causes a person to be counted as righteous.

Faith Lives On After Death. - 11.4c

Hebrews 11:4 (NASB95)

. . . God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

There is an interesting wording from Genesis that shows that a person continues to speak, as it were, after they are dead. Look at Genesis 4.10

Genesis 4:10 (NASB95)

He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.

Please understand that this was not some Steven Spielberg sort of effect where the blood literally speaks. But God made it clear that what Cain did was horrible and completely unacceptable. The fascinating thing is that in the next few verses, the very soil which Cain worked, would be a constant reminder of the evil he did.

Final Thoughts

Centuries later, and continuing on, Abel is still speaking to everyone who has an ear to listen. The message is quite simple. Though it is not spelled out like a self-help list, it seems pretty obvious.

First of all, our personal righteousness is worthless. It will not endear us to God, nor will we have a heart for genuine worship, because we have no faith in the Lord. To truly worship the Lord, we must come to him by faith. God has no regard for our personal works that we do in our own strength.

Secondly, whether one likes it or not, humanity cannot do their own thing and think that God is okay with it. There is far too much parading around with a smug self-righteousness, that seems to appeal to many people. The reality is, God is in charge and what He says, we need to accept it and obey it.

Finally, for those who think this is a little too narrow-minded and strict, please understand that when God says that the penalty for sin is death, you had better believe it. There is no way out, in our own strength and will and thinking. Yes, we are all born with a sin nature. But, the cure is found in Jesus Christ. Placing your faith in what Jesus did for humanity is the only way to be allowed the privilege of worship and the promise of eternal life.

For the Christian, we need to have a worship that is based on faith in Jesus Christ.

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