Introduction:What Is Faith?

The story is told of young Bobby who was asked by his mother, "What did you learn in Sunday
school today?"

"We learned about faith."

"And what is faith?" continued his mother.

"Faith is believing things that are not true," replied Bobby.

Well, either Bobby did not learn his lesson very well or his teacher did not make it very clear. But
Bobby’s faulty definition of faith isn’t very different from that found in my Webster’s New World
Dictionary:"Faith implies complete, unquestioning acceptance of something even in the absence
of proof and, especially, of something not supported by reason."

The concept of faith in the Bible is far different from this. "Faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence [or the being convinced by evidences] of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). None of
us has ever seen George Washington, either in person, or on a video, or in a photograph. Yet is
there any who has the slightest doubt as to his existence in history. Thus, while never having seen
Mr. Washington, we have faith_based on a multitude of evidences_that he really lived and really
was the first president of the United States.

Just so, none of us has actually seen God, or Jesus Christ, or the Apostle Paul. No man was
watching when "God created the heavens and the earth." There is no one living today who
observed the Lord Jesus Christ hanging on a cross or the Apostle Paul writing the Epistle to the
Ephesians. But by faith supported by a multitude of evidences, both in the Bible and from sources
outside the Bible, we believe that all these persons really exist and all these events really
happened.

Hebrews 11 presents what we might label the "Hall of Fame of the Faithful Ones." Here we read
of men and women who manifested faith in Jehovah, the God of Israel. Even though they never
actually saw their God, their history is full of convincing evidences of His existence and His divine
intervention in the affairs of mankind. In this series we shall look for lessons that can be learned
from these men and women of faith.

Abel

"By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain" (Heb. 11:4). The offerings
of Abel and Cain are described in Gen. 4:2,3:"Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering
unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock."

We all know the lesson well. Cain brought that which was produced by hard labor from the

ground that had been cursed by God (Gen. 3:17-19). Abel, on the other hand, brought that which
entailed the shedding of blood. No doubt both of them had learned from their parents how God
had made provision for their nakedness that resulted from disobedience. God’s provision of "coats
of skins" (3:21), requiring first the shedding of blood, replaced Adam and Eve’s aprons of fig
leaves (3:7). Cain brought that which in a sense magnified his own human efforts, while his
brother brought that which prefigured the immense work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross on
behalf of all mankind.

So the first lesson we find here is this: Faith gives to God that which reminds Him of the
sacrifice of His Son.

There is more to be learned from the history of Cain and Abel. Some might object that Cain was
treated unfairly. After all, "Cain was a tiller of the ground" while "Abel was a keeper of sheep."
Thus, each of them offered to God what was close at hand and associated with their daily
occupation.

Let us look more closely at the account given in Scripture. What did Cain bring? Did he dig up
entire plants or bushes or trees to offer to the LORD? No, he only brought the produce from those
plants, bushes, or trees. What did Abel bring? Did he bring just the produce from his flock, such
as milk, cheese, and wool? No, he brought entire animals_the very source of the produce. So in
this regard as well, Abel’s offering was more excellent than that of Cain’s. Furthermore, while
Cain’s offering is described simply as "the fruit of the ground," Abel’s consisted of "the firstlings
of his flock and … the fat [or fattest] thereof.

This is where Abel’s faith really shined. He didn’t wait to see how many new lambs would be born
in his flock. Nor did he select for his offering those lambs which were runts or physically
defective. Rather he brought to the LORD the first and the best of his flock, having faith that the
LORD would make it up to him. In other words, Faith does not give God the leftovers, but
rather gives to God the first and the best.

Let us apply these lessons to ourselves. First, let us consider our daily devotions, meditations, and
prayers. Do we focus primarily on filling our head with facts about Bible history and doctrine?
Do we think and pray mostly about the different things we want God to do for us? Or are our
devotions and prayers largely centered about the One who has already "loved us and has given
Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor" (Eph. 5:2)?

Second, let us examine ourselves as to whether we only give to God the "leftovers." Do we fill
each day with many projects and then say, "If I have any energy left at the end of the day, I will
devote it to Christ"? Do we make up a big long list of things we want to buy and then say, "If
there is any money left after satisfying my wants, I will give it to the Lord"?

In summary, two lessons of faith that we learn from Abel are these:

Faith gives to God that which reminds Him of the sacrifice of His Son.

Faith does not give God the leftovers, but rather gives to God the first and the best of our
time and our possessions.