Morning Thoughts on
Hebrews 11:4 |
|
Elder
Philip N. Conley |
Hebrews 11:4 "By faith Abel
offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by
which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God
testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet
speaketh."
This morning, many in the
religious world and scientific world do not seem to
understand the concept of "cause and effect." They declare
that they can distinguish the difference, but their
conversation then bears forth that they do not really
understand.
When it comes to God's word and the principles contained
therein, if one is not acquainted with the causes of things,
then they will never fully understand how to respond to the
effects. When it comes to good things, perfect things, and
spiritual things, God is ALWAYS the cause of such and the
giver to those that manifest or display them. When it comes
to sin in the world, man is the cause of bringing that into
the world, and the only remedy is the Cause of the good
things: God Himself, in this verse, shows us how to properly
differentiate the cause and effect of Abel's life. He is
called righteous, and he is a witness of faith.
Some have speculated that the reason that God favorably
acknowledged Abel's offering is because his offering
symbolized the offering of Christ. While I do believe that
his sacrifice to God pointed to the ultimate sacrifice that
took away sin, this thought without the cause is grossly
misleading. The principle reason that God accepted Abel's
sacrifice is because He first had respect unto Abel. Without
this premise, the rest is null and void.
There are people in this world (like Cain) that God has not
respect for, for He declares that they are none of His. He
never knew them, and He will one day tell them to depart
from Him into everlasting fire. However, when God makes a
person alive in Him, they are righteous in His sight. He
makes them alive and able to offer well-pleasing odours of
prayer and sacrifice to Him.
So, Abel's offering was indeed a good one (that is symbolic
of Christ), but we must understand that the cause of this
acceptable fruit was the working hand of Almighty God. After
His work in the heart, Abel's sacrifice bore witness that he
was righteous.
The sacrifice offered did not
make him righteous, but it witnessed that he was righteous.
So it is with us today in that none of our good deeds make
us any more fit for heaven (Christ has already completed
that work), but they do make us more fit for others to see
and glorify our Father which is in heaven. Our works show
forth that we have passed from death to life, and like Abel,
they can even outlive our natural existence. Abel has been
naturally dead for centuries, but his righteous actions are
still on record for us to learn from. Likewise, even when we
are dead and gone, our just behavior can be of benefit to
those that we leave behind in our churches and families. May
we ever press upward and onward walking by faith and not by
sight to give praise to the One worthy of all glory and
honour. |