Commentary - Hebrews 11:4

Bird's-eye view

Hebrews 11:4 kicks off the great honor roll of faith by taking us back to the first generation outside the Garden, to the headwaters of two divergent streams of humanity. Here we have the first worship service, the first conflict over that worship, and the first martyr. The author establishes the foundational principle that will govern this entire chapter: true faith is not a vague sentiment but a robust, active, and obedient trust in God that results in acceptable worship and a righteous standing before Him. Abel is our first exhibit. His story demonstrates that from the very beginning, God has always required a worship that proceeds from a believing heart. This faith is what distinguished his offering from Cain's, not merely the contents of the offering itself. Abel's faith resulted in God's approval, Cain's lack of it resulted in rejection and murder. And yet, the story does not end with Abel's death. His faith-filled life and death continue to testify, creating a pattern of righteous suffering that echoes through history, finding its ultimate fulfillment and answer in the blood of Christ, which, as the author has already told us, speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

This verse, then, is a microcosm of the entire biblical drama. It contains true and false worship, righteousness and rebellion, life and death, and a testimony that outlasts the grave. It sets the stage for the long line of saints who would live and die by faith, looking forward to a promise they had not yet received, but which they embraced from afar. Abel is the trailblazer, the first man to show us that the only way to approach a holy God is by faith, and that such a life of faith, even when it leads to death, is never silenced.

Outline

Context In Hebrews

This verse immediately follows the thematic definition of faith given in Hebrews 11:1-3. Faith is the "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." The author is not content to leave this as an abstract definition. He immediately begins to illustrate it with a series of concrete, historical examples, starting with Abel. This chapter functions as the great encouragement to the letter's recipients, who were facing persecution and tempted to fall back from their Christian confession. By pointing to this "great cloud of witnesses," the author is demonstrating that the life of faith has always been a life of perseverance in the face of trial, a life of trusting God's unseen realities over the very visible and painful realities of the present world. Abel's story, as the first example, is foundational. It establishes that the conflict between faith and unbelief, between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, is not new. It began at the dawn of history. Abel's faith, which cost him his life, is presented as the model for the Hebrews' own endurance.

Key Issues

The Worship Wars

It is remarkable that the first conflict recorded in human history after the Fall was a worship war. The controversy between Cain and Abel was not over land, or property, or a woman. It was over a sacrifice. It was a liturgical dispute. This should tell us something about the centrality of worship to all of human life. How we approach God is not a secondary or tertiary issue; it is the fundamental issue. Cain's approach was rejected, and Abel's was accepted. Cain's response to this divine verdict was not repentance, but rather a murderous rage against the one whose worship was accepted.

This pattern has been repeated down through the centuries. False worship always hates true worship. The seed of the serpent always resents the seed of the woman. This is because true worship, by its very existence, is a testimony against the false. Abel's simple act of faith was a rebuke to Cain's sullen and unbelieving heart. And so Cain did what the world always does to the church: he tried to silence the testimony by killing the witness. But as our text makes clear, he failed. The testimony of faith cannot be silenced by death. The worship wars began in Genesis 4, but the victor was declared beforehand in Genesis 3:15, and the final victory is assured.

Verse by Verse Commentary

4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain,

The author immediately gets to the heart of the matter. The crucial difference between the two offerings was faith. It is a common mistake to get bogged down in speculating about the external details. Was it because Abel brought a blood sacrifice and Cain brought vegetables? Not primarily. The Mosaic law would later include grain offerings, so there is nothing inherently unacceptable about an offering from the field. The text here locates the virtue not in the gift, but in the giver. Abel offered his sacrifice "by faith." This means he approached God on God's terms, trusting in God's promise of a coming Redeemer, a promise implicitly given in the animal skins God provided for his parents. Abel's sacrifice was "better" because it was the expression of a heart that believed God. Cain, on the other hand, was just going through the religious motions. He brought an offering, yes, but his heart was not right. He was attempting to approach God on his own terms, without faith, and God will not be approached that way.

through which he was approved as being righteous, God approving his gifts,

Here we see the direct result of Abel's faith. Through this act of faith-filled worship, he received a divine testimony, a commendation. He was "approved as being righteous." This is crucial. Abel was not declared righteous because his sacrifice was inherently meritorious. He was a sinner, just like his brother. He was declared righteous because his faith laid hold of God's grace. God's approval of the gifts was the outward sign of His approval of the man. God looks at the heart first, and then at the hands. Because Abel's heart was one of faith, his gift was acceptable. This is the root of justification by faith, seen here in seed form at the very dawn of history. Righteousness is a verdict from God, a gift received by faith, not a status achieved by performance.

and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

This is the triumphant conclusion. Cain's act of murder was an attempt to silence Abel's witness. From a worldly perspective, Cain won. The righteous man was dead, and the wicked man walked away. But from God's perspective, the testimony was amplified, not silenced. In Genesis, God tells Cain, "The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground." Abel's blood cried out for justice, for vindication. But the author of Hebrews sees an even deeper reality. Abel's faith still speaks. His life and death are a permanent sermon. He speaks to us of the necessity of faith, of the reality of God's approval, of the hostility of the world toward true worship, and of a life that is measured not by its duration but by its devotion. He is the first in a long line of martyrs whose testimony echoes down through the ages. And his voice, which cries out from the ground, is ultimately answered and surpassed by the blood of Jesus, which speaks a better word of pardon and cleansing for all who, like Abel, draw near to God by faith.

Application

The story of Abel is not ancient history; it is our story. We live in a world that is still divided into two camps: the city of man, founded by Cain, and the city of God, populated by the heirs of Abel. Every Sunday, when we gather for worship, we are faced with the same choice. Will we come like Cain, with hearts full of ourselves, merely going through the motions of religion, offering to God the tainted fruit of our own works? Or will we come like Abel, by faith, acknowledging our sin and trusting in the "better sacrifice" of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God?

This verse forces us to examine the foundation of our own worship. It is entirely possible to be in the right place, saying the right words, and singing the right songs, but to have a heart that is far from God. God is not impressed with the quality of our produce if our hearts are not offered in faith. The only acceptable worship is that which comes through faith in Jesus Christ. It is His righteousness, not our own, that makes us acceptable to God.

Furthermore, Abel's story prepares us for the reality of opposition. True, faith-filled worship will always be an offense to the unbelieving world. When our lives testify to the righteousness of God, it exposes the rebellion of those who, like Cain, will not bow the knee. We should not be surprised when this provokes anger, resentment, and persecution. But we should also take courage. Though the witnesses may be struck down, the testimony of faith cannot be silenced. Abel still speaks. And we, by living lives of faith in the midst of a hostile world, add our own voices to that great and growing chorus that testifies to the grace of God and the ultimate victory of the Lamb.