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Hebrews 11:11

Faith in Jesus will be rewarded!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 28, 2020

Abel, Enoch, Noah and Abraham all put their faith in God’s Word. But there were women who believed God as well. The first of these mentioned is Abraham’s 90 year old wife, Sarah. Hebrews 11:11 says, “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.” She had a Word from God. She would conceive a son and through him she would be the mother of a great multitude just as Abraham would be the father of a great nation. Abraham left his home and his family to follow God’s specific call. So did Sarah! Abraham looked with faith to the future home that God would provide. So did Sarah! Abraham had a word from God and he acted on it and so did Sarah! As Abraham is known as the father of those who believe, Sarah is the mother of those who believe. Through faith she conceived and after many struggles gave birth to Isaac as God said she would.

The faith of Abraham and Sarah was demonstrated in many ways (11:8–19).  Abraham and Sarah believed God regarding their future even when they didn’t know where they were going, even when they didn’t know how they would get there, even when they didn’t know when the promise would be fulfilled and they weren’t completely filled in on why they were being led into this land and way of life. But it was their faith in the unseen future that propelled them forward. It enabled them to persevere until the promises were fulfilled. The “Teacher’s Commentary” uses the phrase “Faith enabled” with each of these Old Testament characters. Faith enabled Abel.  Faith enabled Enoch. Faith enabled Noah. Faith enabled Abraham and then “Faith enabled Sarah (11:11–12). Here is a most encouraging example. When Sarah first heard the promise, she doubted and laughed (Gen. 18:12–15). But first doubts were overcome. Faith swept in to enable her dead womb to gain the vitality needed for childbearing.”[1]

John Owens makes some interesting comments on the faith of Abraham and Sarah. He writes, “As Abraham was the father of the faithful, or the church, so Sarah was the mother of it. She was the free woman from which the church sprang (Galatians 4:22–23). And all believing women are her daughters (1 Peter 3:6; see also Genesis 17:16). Her work and obedience are held up to the church as an example, and so her faith may be as well (1 Peter 3:5–6). Sarah was equally involved with Abraham in the divine revelation. The blessing of the promised Seed was confined and appropriated to Sarah no less than to Abraham: ‘I will bless her … I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her’ (Genesis 17:16; see also Genesis 17:19; 18:10).”[2] In the end, God’s promise to Sarah came to be. It came to be beyond her wildest imagination. It was all “enabled” by her faith. My former professor, Tom Constable, says, “Sarah believed God would fulfill His promise and provide something (a child) totally beyond the realm of natural possibility. God wants us, too, to believe that. God rewarded her faith far beyond what she imagined, and He will reward ours in the same way.”[3]

[1] Larry Richards and Lawrence O. Richards, The Teacher’s Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1987), 1012.

[2] John Owen, Hebrews, Crossway Classic Commentaries (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1998), 225.

[3] Tom Constable, Tom Constable’s Expository Notes on the Bible (Galaxie Software, 2003), Heb 11:11.

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Hebrews 11:9-10, 2 Timothy 3:15, Hebrews 12:1-2

Jesus is God’s Word!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 27, 2020

Noah and Abraham heard God speak and acted on what they heard. God told Noah to build an ark. He did it! God told Abraham to leave his home. He did that! The core motive behind these acts was “faith.” They believed God’s Word and acted on it. Hebrews 11:9-10 repeats this truth for us. It says, “By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.” Hebrews chapter 1 begins with the assertion that God has given us his final Word. That Word was a “living” Word. It came to us in the person of His Son, Jesus. And the way we act on it is by believing in Him.

Just as Abraham left his home and his family and went to the “land of promise,” we too must divest ourselves of any inherited religion and personally entrust ourselves to the God who has promised us eternal life through the obedience of faith in Jesus.  Just as this was true of Abraham’s descendants, Isaac and Jacob, it’s true for every generation. We pack up and leave “Ur” by putting aside the religious garbs of the world and embracing the truth of Jesus Christ as the one and only Son of God who died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins and purchased for us a place in the “promised” land. We become heirs of God’s promised coming kingdom with all believers. We can’t see the “promised” land but by faith we trust it to be there and that Jesus is the only way to enter. He’s the way! He’s the door! He’s the truth! Noah had only one way to escape the flood. He had to build the ark! He had to act on God’s Word.  Abraham had only one way out of Ur. He had to act on God’s Word. For believers today, Jesus is the Ark! We must be “found in Him.” Jesus is the Way to the Promised Land. Just as Noah and Abraham had to forsake the familiar and comfortable and trust God’s Word completely, so too must every believer in every generation. Jesus is God’s Word for today!

When you read the rest of Hebrews chapter 11, you see the story of numerous Old Testament characters who trusted in God’s Word to them even though the promises for obedience were totally invisible to the natural senses. In his “River of Dreams” Billy Joel sings about something that can only be seen “by the eyes of the blind.” The call of God was that way for those ancient characters and it’s that way for us. Jesus told the disciples on the road to Emmaus that the Scriptures were about Himself. Jesus told the religious leaders who searched the scriptures to find eternal life that the scriptures would lead directly to Him and true eternal life in the Promised Land. Paul told Timothy that the Scriptures, the Old Testament, and its characters all teach us about Jesus. He wrote in 2 Timothy 3:15, “You have been taught the Holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.” After the litany of all the Old Testament examples, the author of Hebrews writes at the beginning of Chapter 12, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…”

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Hebrews 11:8

Obedience is believing in Jesus!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 27, 2020

The author of Hebrews used the lives of three ancient biblical characters as examples of those who were declared righteous by God because they trusted Him; Abel, Enoch, and Noah. But in Hebrews 11:8-19, he focuses more attention on the founders of those who live by faith; Abraham and Sarah. Jews, Muslims and Christians alike look to Abraham as the father of those who believe. Thomas says, “Abraham’s faith shined brightly out of a dark background. Paul spent an entire chapter (Rom. 4) commending the faith of this spiritual leader. Abraham received a call to follow God which he accepted without question. He left Haran by faith (Gen. 11:31–12:4) and let God supply the road map. He did not receive his inheritance at the time of his first call, and he did not even know the location of the Promised Land. His daring faith earned him the title of ‘father of the faithful.’”[1]

The commentary on Abraham begins with the focus on Abraham’s faith. Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Morris observed the point of the writer of Hebrews regarding this chapter when he wrote, “To leave the certainties one knows and go out into what is quite unknown—relying on nothing other than the Word of God—is the essence of faith, as the author sees it.”[2] This is what faith, even today, is all about. Wuest quoted Davidson and says, “…the life of faith must be entered on in ignorance of the way to the inheritance, or even what the inheritance and rest in each one’s particular case will be, and of the experiences that the way will bring. This is true even of ordinary life.”[3]

Whereas it might not be as clear regarding the obedience of Abel and Enoch, Noah and Abraham are commended for hearing God’s word and responding to it in obedience. It’s all about “faith” that leads to obedience! I’m afraid many suggest that to us, it’s about obedience to the law. But I’d argue just as Noah had a message from God and acted on it and Abraham had a message from God and acted on it, so too do we have a particular message from God apart from the law and are called to “act” on it by believing in it! It might sound strange to think of believing in the Gospel as an act of “obedience” but as Bob Wilkin says, “It is biblically correct to speak of faith as an act of obedience. After all, God commands us to believe the Gospel (e.g., Acts 16:31). Support for this view is seen in many passages. Acts 6:7 says that ‘many of the priests were obedient to the faith.’ Romans 10:16 and 2 Thess 1:8 speak of obeying or disobeying the Gospel. See also, John 3:36; 6:28-29; 1 Pet 1:2, 22; 2:7-8; and Acts 5:32.” He then concludes, “The obedience of faith spoken of in Rom 1:5 and 16:26 does not refer to obeying all that God has commanded. No one but the Lord Jesus has done that. Rather, it refers specifically to obeying the command to believe the Gospel. If you’ve done that, you’ve exercised the obedience of faith.” See https://faithalone.org/grace-in-focus-articles/the-obedience-which-is-faith-romans-15-and-1626/

[1] Thomas D. Lea, Hebrews, James, vol. 10, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 201.

[2] Leon Morris, “Hebrews,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 118.

[3] Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 10 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 201.

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Hebrews 11:7, Habakkuk 2:4, Genesis 9:6

Jesus is God’s Word to us!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 27, 2020

In Hebrews 11:7, the author moves from Enoch’s faith to talk about Noah’s. In verse 1 of this chapter we read that faith consisted of believing in something that remains unseen. Then in verse 6 we learn that faith consists not only of believing in God’s existence but also believing that he is a good God who has our best interest foremost in mind. He loves us and will keep all His glorious promises. Noah’s faith seems to illustrate both of these dynamics. He believed in a promise-keeping God to keep a promise that he could not see. Lane says that Noah’s faith, “demonstrates a spiritual sensitivity to the reality of God that enabled Noah to endure the scorn of his contemporaries and the occasional doubts of his own mind, firmly persuaded that the safety of his family would be the reward that would follow a period of persevering expectation.”[1]

Hebrews 11:7, says, “By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.” The last phrase is the most significant phrase to me. All Jewish literature of the first century and even our time makes claims to the righteousness of Noah in and of himself. But the writer of Hebrews clarifies the nature of Noah’s righteousness by connecting it to the comment about how righteous people live in the book of Habakkuk. Again, Lane says, “Noah responded to God with a full measure of faith, and this accounts for the attestation of Scripture that he was righteous. It also anticipates the prophetic oracle that ‘my righteous one shall live by faith’ (Hab 2:4), which was cited in 10:38 just before the catalogue of attested witnesses.”[2]

Notice that the writer calls Noah an “heir” of the righteousness that comes by faith. The book of Hebrews begins by pronouncing Jesus as “the heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2). Then in the course of the next few chapters he insists that those who believe in Jesus are now co-heirs with Him. To finish my quote from Lane, he says, “The concept of ‘an heir of the righteousness according to faith’ implies that others who respond to God with the faith that Noah demonstrated will share with him in the righteousness God bestows upon persons of faith. The theme of the heir is a recurring motif in Hebrews, where the Son of God is acknowledged as ‘the heir of everything’ (1:2) and Christians are described as the heirs of salvation (1:14) and of the promises of God (6:12, 17; cf. 9:15).”[3] Of all the issues that could be discussed regarding these verses on Noah and the Genesis account of Noah, we can’t overlook the fact that the focus in Hebrews was about Noah’s faith. God gave him a “word.” God spoke to him. He believed it and then acted on what he believed. Morris put it this way, “Here in v. 7 we have the author’s one use of the term “righteousness” in the Pauline sense of the righteousness that is ours by faith. In the Bible, Noah was the first man to be called righteous (Gen 6:9). He was right with God because he took God at his word; he believed what God said and acted on it.”[4] Today, God gives us His Word in a person; His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. We act on God’s word by believing in Jesus.

[1] William L. Lane, Hebrews 9–13, vol. 47B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1991), 339.

[2] William L. Lane, Hebrews 9–13, vol. 47B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1991), 340.

[3] William L. Lane, Hebrews 9–13, vol. 47B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1991), 341.

[4] Leon Morris, “Hebrews,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 12 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 116.

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Hebrews 11:6, Mark 9:24

Jesus provides what we lack!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 27, 2020

Hebrews 11:6 explains a profound truth that sometimes eludes us in our thinking about our salvation. It says that “without faith, it is impossible to please God.” It’s interesting that throughout all time as demonstrated in the Old Testament, salvation was always dependent upon faith alone. The object of faith is always the same, God! We trust him to have our best interest foremost in mind regardless of our life situation. God is completely trustworthy. He never lies and never goes back on his promise. He keeps His Word! Throughout history the object of faith always remains the same, but the content of that faith varies. The writer of Hebrews made it clear that under the Old Economy of the Law, the content of one’s faith rested primarily in the sacrificial system that was provided to sinners who could never and would never fully obey the Law. They were to believe that the blood of bulls and goats and the rituals of the Priests would provide atonement for their sins. But in the Jesus Economy, the New Covenant, we have a far better “content” of our faith. We still believe God but his Word has now become flesh and dwelt among us bringing a far superior sacrifice for our sins and opening the way into God’s presence with full acceptance and making us well-pleasing to God!

Salvation by grace through faith alone is sometimes referred to as “easy believism” by those who give higher emphasis on moral, ethical, or cultural performance standards. I honestly don’t see anything “easy” about fully trusting in the full sufficiency of Jesus for my eternal destiny. I always want some tangible evidence that heaven awaits me. I can’t trust my feelings. I don’t always “feel” saved! I relate to the desperate man who entreated Jesus in Mark 9, pleading for the life of his sick son. Jesus told him to return home and he would find whatever he believed he would find. Then in Mark 9:24 we read, “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’” There is nothing “easy” about having complete confidence in the full sufficiency of Christ for my eternal destiny or for that of my loved ones. But that’s what the writer of Hebrews encourages us to have.

In Chapter 11 and verse 6 we find instructions on how God wishes us to think about Him. If we wish to “come to God” we need to believe that He exists. That’s the easy part. But we also must believe that he is a “rewarder.” Many commentators focus on the nature of what the “reward” might be in this verse but I don’t think that’s what the author wants. He wants us to view God as one who has our best interest in mind and will never forsake us or fail to keep His promises. The author doesn’t want us to focus on the reward but on the character of the one who rewards. We are to see him in a positive light with great appreciation of his mercy, forgiveness and graciousness. One commentary observes this in speaking about Abel, “Evidently Abel surpassed his brother in that his attitude toward God was one of confidence in God’s graciousness. Cain’s attitude, on the other hand, was one of competitiveness that thought this graciousness had to be bought by human effort or the sacrifice of a minimal offering after calculating God’s ‘price.’”[1] In the New Economy we trust Jesus to provide for us what we lack in ourselves. This is the only rest stop in life. Nothing else secures for me peace with God. Jesus is God’s demonstration of His character and attitude towards us. “For God so loved….”

[1] Louis H. Evans Jr and Lloyd J. Ogilvie, Hebrews, vol. 33, The Preacher’s Commentary Series (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc, 1985), 195.

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Hebrews 11:6

Faith Alone – In Christ Alone!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 27, 2020

Abel pleased God by his faith and through his death he speaks to us of Jesus. But Jesus’ message in the blood is far superior. It is one of forgiveness while Abel’s is a cry for vengeance. Enoch pleased God by his faith and he speaks to us in the fact he didn’t die! He was “taken” into the heavens just as Jesus was at his ascension. The only commendation God gave to Abel and Enoch was on the basis of their faith.  Abel is the hero of his story because he was the righteous one unjustly slain by his brother. Enoch is the hero of his story because he pleased God and God “took him” into heaven. Abel speaks of Jesus in his death. Enoch speaks of Jesus in his being taken into heaven beyond death. Then the writer of Hebrews moves on to share the important principal that will prevail in the lives of all the Old Testament people he mentions in chapter 11. Faith is the essential ingredient for pleasing God.

The writer of Hebrews takes some liberties when he writes about Abel and Enoch. There is no mention in the Old Testament concerning their faith, trust or belief in God. But they both pleased God according to their Old Testament accounts. Our author wants us to understand that there is only one way to please God. Abel offered a sacrifice that God accepted but not on the basis of the sacrifice itself but on the basis of Abel’s heart. Enoch didn’t offer anything to God or do any deed that we can see. Yet both pleased God on the basis of one thing only. Therefore Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Cain offered a sacrifice as well but God did not accept it because Cain did not have “faith” in God. You can do good deeds, offer sacrifices, and not please God. You can also offer no sacrifice and do no good deed and still be pleasing to God. It’s only faith that pleases God.

Faith is trusting that God has good intentions towards you regardless of the circumstances in which you find yourself. This is going to be the case for all the people mentioned in the rest of the chapter. Only faith pleases God. God spoke in the days of old through various ways. Abel and Enoch believed, had faith, in God’s Word and pleased God. But in our day, as we read in the 1st chapter of Hebrews, God speaks to us in His Son. He is the far superior message than the blood of Abel. We are called to believe in Him. This means we must trust God and rest in his sovereignty over the details of our lives.  Faith involves believing in His existence but also in the fact that he “rewards” those who look for him in the circumstances of their lives. I like the way Long explains these two dimensions of faith. He says, “To believe that God exists is to have a profound ‘conviction of things not seen.’ To believe that God rewards those who seek him is not to look for crowns or Cadillacs—such baubles and trinkets demean the idea of holy reward—but for a Sabbath rest (see comment on 4:1–11). The reward of faith is the fulfillment of all of God’s promises for mercy, peace, and salvation, ‘the assurance of things hoped for’ (see 11:1).”[1]

[1] Thomas G. Long, Hebrews, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1997), 117.

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Hebrews 11:5, Genesis 5:24

Jesus is Master Over Death!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 25, 2020

In Hebrews 11:4, it’s Abel that pleased God with his faith. Then in Hebrews 11:5 the writer moves on to another ancient biblical figure, Enoch! There’s not a lot known about Abel except that he was the first human to die and he died as a picture of the Christ’s future death. He was a martyr for his faith or trust in God. Just as his brother, Cain, bludgeoned him to death out of spite, jealousy and anger, so too was Christ crucified by his brothers who were motivated by the same sins. We know that Abel offered a better sacrifice than his brother Cain. The author of Hebrews has been pointing out how much better the sacrifice Jesus offered is than all the blood shed on the altar in the past centuries. Jesus is the “better” sacrifice. Also, just as Abel’s blood cries out for justice, Jesus’ blood brings us a better “word.” It cries out for mercy and forgiveness (Hebrews 12:24).

It’s often preached that Abel pleased God by offering the right kind of sacrifice while Cain offered a blood-less sacrifice which displeased God. I don’t see the sacrifice being the issue. It’s the motive behind the sacrifice that matters. Abel saw a God who loved him and wanted only the best for him and could be trusted in all the details of his life. He trusted God; i.e., he had faith! The offering of the sacrifice was incidental and unnecessary just as Abraham’s offering of his son on Mount Mariah. It was his faith that is commended and God didn’t take the sacrifice but provided one of his own. Abel offered a sacrifice out of full confidence in God. Cain offered his sacrifice out of guilt, manipulation or for reward. Many people offer gifts to God in order to get something for themselves; relieved conscience, acceptance from others or rewards for good behavior. The point is faith! In Genesis 5:24 the Hebrew text says “Enoch walked with God.” The Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew text says “Enoch pleased God.” But neither texts recount anything of a sacrifice or a good work of any kind. It was only by faith. You can give without trusting God and you can trust God without giving! God knows the difference.

This seems to be the point of Enoch. Hebrews 11:5 says, “By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.” Enoch is the one who didn’t do a thing! We know even less about Enoch than we do about Abel. The most important thing to know is that it was “faith” that brought God’s commendation to Enoch. Pfeiffer says it this way: “Whether or not he accomplished great things is beside the point. Jude tells us that he was a prophet (Jude 14–15), yet no mention of that is made by the author of Hebrews. The most important thing that can be said of him is that he pleased God.”[1] Abel speaks to us about Jesus through his death! Enoch speaks to us about Jesus because he didn’t die. He was “taken” much as Jesus was taken or “received” into heaven at his ascension. Enoch’s faith brought God’s commendation. The author says, quoting directly from the Septuagint that Enoch “was pleasing to God.” At Jesus’ baptism the skies opened and God spoke, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”  The subject of “pleasing God” through faith is what brought God’s commendation of both Abel and Enoch. In Abel we see that Jesus is master and speaks a better word even in his death. In Enoch we see that Jesus is master over death!

[1] Charles F. Pfeiffer, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Everyman’s Bible Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1962), 93.

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Hebrews 11:4, 12:18-19, Luke 11:50-51

Jesus Cries Out for Forgiveness!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
February 25, 2020

What follows in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 after discussing the meaning of faith is how all the Old Testament characters who “pleased” God did so by faith, not by works. Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.” The phrase that is repeated over and over again in Chapter 11 regarding the testimony of all the Old Testament characters mentioned is that whatever they suffered, whatever they endured, they did it “by faith.” Every one of them “pleased” God not by works but by their faith. They trusted God through it all. But the Messiah would be the one to fulfill the ultimate role of suffering on behalf of all mankind and to do so in complete and perfect “trust” in God the Father. Thus Abel is really about Jesus!

Abel was hated by his brother because he was accepted by God and Cain was not. Cain was filled with hatred spawned from jealousy regarding his younger brother’s acceptance. It’s obvious that Abel “pleased” God and Cain did not. Cain then rose up and bludgeoned his brother to death. In Luke 11:50-51 Jesus speaks to the Religious leaders. They were jealous and angry because God had accepted Jesus and His sacrifice. Jesus told them that, “…the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah…” The religious leaders rose up and slew Jesus from their jealousy and anger. Jesus said that the characteristics of Cain were passed down to the generation of Jews who would reject him and brutalize him and murder him on the cross. The brutal death of an innocent man at the hands of sinful men foretell the Messianic story of Jesus. This story would be repeated often in the Old Testament. Isaac was loved over Ishmael. Jacob was loved over Esau.  Joseph was loved over his brothers. The one favored son, hated and abused by his brothers, picture for us Christ’s lot in life and death upon the cross. Abel’s death foretells Christ’s death and in their brutal deaths they speak to us.

The difference however between Abel and Jesus is found in the message of the “Blood.” The difference is that Abel’s blood cries out to God for vengeance! The author tells us in Hebrews 12:24 that we do not heed the call of Abel’s blood, but we listen to the blood of Jesus, “…the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Abel’s blood cries out from the ground for vengeance! Jesus’ blood cries out to God for forgiveness of all those who believe! No, the writer explains in chapter 12, our lot is not with those under the Old Covenant of “an eye for an eye.” We do not come to God on a mountain with “…blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them” (Hebrews 12:18-19). No, we have come to Mount Zion, the mountain of the living God “…and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” Like Cain, and like the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, we are all sinners! Our guilt cries out to God for vengeance but Jesus’ blood cries out on our behalf for forgiveness. It is by grace we are saved from the bloodlust of sin. It is by grace “through faith.”

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