Through Faith and By Faith - Hebrews 11

Looking at the achievements of faith from the perspective of persuasion and credence. Part One - Able

Author: Randy Pritts

Today's Text

kjv@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.

"By faith Abel..." v4

The first examination of an elder's good report in Hebrews chapter 11 fits very well into the the context our author is attempting to convey to his congregation of Messianic converts. Remember that these converts are troubled and being threatened by their elder brother in the faith, their unconverted Jewish brethren, to the point of considering turning back/turning tail/going back to the easier quieter faith they once knew. It is a similar situation to the Genesis story of Cain and Able in that one brother is upset enough at the sacrifice/religion of the other enough to disregard God's counsel "if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door" kjv@Genesis:4:7.

Both men have offered what they think is an appropriate sacrifice to God. One man's sacrifice is deemed by God to be more acceptable than the other's. It is not us that knows from this reading what it is about either sacrifice that makes the one more acceptable; only God knows from this text. It is the author of Hebrews who suggests that the division God has made is based upon the difference in their faith "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice".

It could just as easily be said that "by faith Cain offered unto God", however, there must be something different in the substance of that faith that God accepts less. The suggestion is that Cain is not persuaded of the same thing as Able, or not as much, the credence paid to that persuasion alters his sacrifices worth. What He is morally convicted by is not cut from the same fabric. Why that is, is because of the promise of God on which they hope and its' proximity to the framing word of that age that God has already to man uttered. We'll explore the content of God's framing word to that point that God has already deposited for them to place their hope in a moment.

First, let me state that this should never be considered a contest between brothers such as are Jews and Christians as to who can make the better sacrifice. The worship of God should be made in reverence to God directly and solely, not with regards as to how one can top the other and win God's better favor. Let the sacrifice be made and leave it to God to judge this. If it comes back that God is more accepting of either, then leave it be, be accepting of that, learn from it, try to show your heart felt reverence of God better the next time. Are we agreed?

However, what typically happens at the suggestion of one religious offering being more acceptable than the other is that one's feathers get ruffled, he takes it personally, toward the brother not toward God he lashes out. God might even counsel him "If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?" which to me seems like logical and godly counsel.

Now if it was just one brother making a personal boast that his religion was vastly superior, I think it within the other's right to be offended. It is a fool that makes such a self exalting claim based upon his own judgment and self worth. It is also a fool that is hardened unto God's claim, to God's verdict and not correct himself for angered insulted rage. Both brothers must watch themselves closely on either account.

The relativist's way of looking at this is neither faith has legitimate claim. At first this might sound the more mature way to settle this, all faiths are relatively equal, there is no reason to offend or be offended; or so they say. What does that say though about the God they claim to revere and make their religious offerings to? that HE is equally accepting of any little pittance, whether from the pure of heart or defiled, any and everything offered from us that might come HIS way? No, God certainly does have HIS right to judge which offering has been done directly to HIM, which is closer to the truth of HIS framing word and what substance of hope it is from, which is performed in the fashion HE has prescribed and rightly deserves.

Each man's hope is of a slightly different substance. Some are of a radically different substance. Hope being different, so then too is their persuasion and credence and moral conviction, so then too is their religion and sacrifice; therefore too is God's estimation and verdict returned.

"...by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.." v4

It is not for a man or a brother to pronounce himself righteous. In God's eye they have all strayed, their hearts all are far from HIM. There is none that is righteous, no not one. The elder might boast that he is more righteous, but what does God's witness say?

For more than four centuries previous to this "Epistle to the Hebrews" the witness has said exactly the opposite about the elder faith. It is not me or the younger brother making this claim, it is the scriptures and historical witness of the Holy Spirit. Can there be any valid effort to deny this? I might also suggest that about the time of this writing, within 5-10 years, the Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed and the people scattered, not to return officially for almost two millennium. To date the Temple itself has not been rebuilt, another witness indicating an opposite account of the elder's tally. This despite having the Torah and Traditions, despite various and numerous efforts to reform the elder faith closer to its' long lost glory.

This is not to say that the witness on whole of the Christian brother has been anymore righteous. That is not the actual Christian claim (though we've often mistakenly tried to make it). The actual Christian claim is that Jesus is the only one here that is righteous, that is what the witness of God has testified to. Our only hope of possessing any measure or form of righteousness is to have His attested to righteousness imputed over us (much like a wedding guest would being handed a wedding robe by the groom).

Let me break my train of thought momentarily to point out again the author's intent. His Messianic brethren are undergoing hard times here. Not only are there rumblings of turning back under the pressure, there are calls going out to forbid themselves from even assembling. His encouragement rather is to draw near, not only to one another but also to their elder Jewish brethren, stand firm while at the same time provoking each other unto love and good works. What better way can Christian love be expressed than to recognize and acknowledge that we are all in the same unrighteous sinking boat in need of a rescuing righteous savior? if it be for the Spirit's witness then neither brother of late has surrendered an offering all that acceptable to God? remove the mote from our own eye? not hypocritically stand folded unsympathetic arms in front of each other? not fall to the temptations to anger and hate that lay close by at our doorsteps?

No, the witness of God for quite sometime now has been pointing to the sole righteousness of Christ Jesus. By drawing near one to another, the Law and the Poets and the Prophets and the History and the Gospels and Epistles and our brotherly love for one another and mutual good works and offerings to our Father can help us both to better see that. That is why the author here encourages us then and now to do just that. Now I will get back on the track I was on.

The framing word of that age.

Granted at Cain and Able the age of that time was very young and so was the scope available of God's framing word to them. There is no Law of Moses, no Levitical priesthood, only perhaps some level of innate moral conscience that appears to be diminishing fast. What they would know of the framing word would be heard from the reports of their parents Adam and Eve. They would have the image of the two once being within God's Garden, the reality of now being locked outside it but living near to it prevented from reentering. They would have the testimony from their parents that suddenly began experiencing things like pain and torment, thorns and weeds, guilt and shame, nakedness and blame towards each other. Most importantly they would have one major seed of God's framing word, HIS plan and attempt to repair/adjust/restore mankind from all of this, the seed promise on which the sons of men could hang their hopes onto: the prophecy of a coming Messiah from Eve's seed kjv@Genesis:3:15.

Immediately after that seed is planted, there is an additional clarifying word added in the form of God replacing the fig leaves they had sewn to hide their individual fallen shame with the skins of a sacrifice made by God. Not only do they have the promise of Messiah crushing the Serpent, they have God making a sacrifice of Messiah in order to place the coat of His righteousness over us to repair us from our shame.

Now certainly, we today have come to understand the symbology this way because of all the additional framing God has provided from the age back then to the age transpiring right now. How much of this symbology they actually understood at that time we simply do not know, but it is apparent that they knew enough of this to be held accountable for it being depicted correctly in their own personal sacrifices in a true enough form. This could be why God is much more particular about it in Cain's case, because the message from this is going to be used by God as more framing word to the generations and ages still to come; framing the ages towards repair.

"...he being dead yet speaketh..." v4

This is speaking of Able; no doubt. Cain did murder Able. For that, Cain was not extinguished, but marked out and banished. It is from the line of Seth that our Savior would come. God has used both the event and HIS counsel/pronouncement as a furtherance of HIS framing word to all the ages on top of the event/counsel/pronouncement of parents Adam and Eve falling from the Garden. God will use further events/counsels/pronouncements of future occasions to build HIS framing as well. In some of these there will be additional good reports to show us more and more what the "Faith" in God is supposed to look like. Our faith will be framed by the words of these identifiable things.

It is not Able though being dead that still speaks to us. It is God's framing word speaking to us through the story of Cain and Able. It is God and what God is able to do long term over multiple generations through the acceptable faith and sacrifice of a few but willing sojourners in this foreign sinful land that ever rings to us. No need for any ruffled feathers or panic nor retreat, for in Christ we are brothers Jew and Gentile, the middle partition between us by His righteousness and perfect sacrifice having been dissolved.

Comment Board: ThroughAndByFaith

Tags: Faith, Ages, credence, persuasion, sacrifice, repair, Cain, Able, ,

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