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Let's talk about faith. Real faith. Biblical faith. After several examples of faith are listed in Hebrews 11, the author goes on to announce, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them" Hebrews 11:13-16.

It is made very clear in this passage that those who are found in this chapter died without yet receiving the promise that they longed for, nor reaching the homeland they desired. What were they were searching for? Why was it that they did not receive the promise that they so desired?

First of all, lets take a look at one of the examples given to us in Hebrews 11. "By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead" Hebrews 11:4. Did you catch how Abel was commended for being righteous? Was it because his sacrificial lamb was a better quality than Cain's fruit? No, although Abel most likely picked the best lamb from his herd and Cain wasn't quite as picky about the fruit he sacrificed. Was it because Abel was holier than Cain? No, because he sacrificed his lamb as a sin offering, acknowledging his sinfulness. Then what was the difference between the two sacrifices?

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Abel sacrificed his lamb knowing that it was an object lesson given to man. Abel trusted that God was going to send His own Son to this sinful world and die in his place. As Abel sacrificed the lamb, he looked forward with hope to the day when Jesus would die on the cross, suffering the full penalty of the law, becoming completely cut off from God, His Father and companion from ages past, to pay the penalty that was yours and mine.

Think about what we just read together. Here is Jesus Christ. He is planted in the womb of a woman, which is amazing in itself. Then, He is born into a sinful world, raised by sinful parents who will die eternally if He does't die in their place. He lives here on this planet for 33 and 1/2 years, gets beaten, spit on, rejected by His own people, the children of Israel, and by the world, and then goes into the grave suffering the penalty of sin, ALL of humanities SIN, with Him to the grave. For what? For people that didn't even care about Him or His Father. Paul puts it like this, "while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us", . . . "when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son" Romans 5:6,8,10.

What awesome love! What sincere desire to see you, yes you, safe in Glory. His only desire is to save you. What do you say? Will you accept His offer?

Put yourself in His shoes. Would you be willing to do what He did? Would you be willing to leave your spouse, children, parents, grandparents, and friends to go over seas to die in place of a group of people that would ridicule you, spit on you, hate you, reject you, beat you and then kill you? But for God's grace, I would find it impossible to make such a sacrifice. Praise God, for He has already paid the ultimate price. Jesus already did it, just for you and me. How awesome and wonderful is the love of God, that He would be willing to give up the thrown of the universe to save me.

Abel knew that Jesus must die to save him. He believed the promise. He clung onto Christ by faith. This is why God considered him righteousness. Remember what Hebrews says, "By faith Abel offered. . . By faith he was commended as a righteous man" Hebrews 11:4. There was nothing he could do to be saved but look unto Jesus by faith and respond to that love. Because he took God at His word, God counted him as righteous.

Cain would not acknowledge his need of a savior. Instead, Cain offered unto God the works of his own doing, unwilling to shed the blood of a lamb as a statement of faith in the promised Messiah. He trusted the works of his own hands, the fruits from his garden, to save him. Therefore, God rejected his sacrifice. This may sound harsh, but the truth of the matter is even one sin is punishable by the second death, or eternal separation from God. Therefore, we accept Christ's perfect life and substitutionary death in place of our own, or we pay the penalty of our sins by ourselves.

When we go to God in prayer, we have nothing to prove. God knows our hearts. He knows our intentions. He sees deep down within and knows how wicked we truly are. Yet He knows our desire to be changed. He says, "My son, my daughter, I have given my first begotten Son, Jesus, in your place. His righteousness is sufficient to save you. You need not trust your own works to save you. They are not enough. You need Jesus". God is so good!

It is all by faith. No works of the law will ever save you. Nothing you do can merit your salvation. Isaiah says, ". . . Your whole head is injured, your whole heart is afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness-- only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil" Isaiah 1:5,6. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord" Romans 6:23.

Realizing that you can never save yourself, will you yield to the Holy Spirit's promptings and give your sin-sick soul to Christ. He will cleanse you from ALL of Sin, if you will let Him. The choice is yours. He loves you, my friend!

Written by Jason P Knarr

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