Okay again welcome and good morning. Welcome both to this live streaming service and welcome to our series on Hebrews chapter 11. I’m amazed to actually learn every week of some new people who have been tuning into this live streaming program, and I’d like to welcome you if you have not yet already done so. Now let me read our passage for today. What we are looking at this morning is Hebrews 11:2-6. Verses 2 through 6. Alright, this is the Word of God.

“For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”. Now let us again bow in prayer and seek God’s help.

“Eternal God and our heavenly Father, we again draw near this morning, gathered as Your people from different places, to offer praises to You. We come to worship the One and the only true God. We pray that even as we draw near to You that You might draw near to us. We want to thank You for this facility, for enabling us during this time of lockdown, that we are still able to gather to worship as Your people. And yet Lord we do long for the day that we might again be able to gather physically as Your people to worship. And so we do look to You for Your mercy that if You might be pleased that You would remove the virus or to enable us to find a vaccine. And so Lord we commit this whole matter unto Your hands.

Now we do want to pray that during this time of pandemic, we know that it did not come to us by chance. Lord, we know that it is something that You have brought so that we might hear Your truth, that we might hear what You want to say to us. We pray for the world that we live in, the people in general. Lord help us all to realise how vulnerable we are. Help us to understand indeed it is vanity of vanities to live just for this world, and to help us realise that everything is meaningless apart from God. Lord, we pray for the church in particular.

Now we know that we go through this suffering together with the rest, and we know that You too have a word for us. And we pray that You’ll humble our hearts. Open up our minds, that we too might be able to grasp the lessons that You want us all to learn during this time. Perhaps to reorient our priorities, perhaps to help us learn to draw near to You more, and perhaps help us to understand that we are to set our minds on things above and not on things on the Earth. Whatever the lessons might be, Lord we do pray that we would not be hardened in our hearts, that we might indeed learn the lessons well.

But Lord, we do pray once again for Your mercy, and we plead for the day to come that we might again be able to gather physically. But for now, we do pray for Your blessing upon this time. And we pray that You might do good to our soul as we open up Your Word. And we pray that You’ll help us understand Your truth. So for this we pray and ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Alright, we are looking at Hebrews chapter 11 on an immensely important subject, that is the subject of faith. Now, this morning we are looking at verses 2 through 6, and we are going to look at the question ‘why’. Why is it important to have faith? I hope you still remember the first verse. Now in verse 1 it deals with the ‘what’. What is faith? And you still remember that verse, and I hope that you could actually commit it to memory, where the Bible says in Hebrews 11:1 that by faith alright, that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”. Now that is in the New King James Version. If you’re using the other translation, that verse says: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen.”.

Now that verse basically defines faith. It gives us a definition, saying to us that faith is really that assurance, that there’s something that you are very certain about. About what? About the things that you hoped for. What is the thing or what are the things that we are hoping for? Now those are the things promised by God and the convictions of things not seen. So we are very sure and we are very convinced of them. And because of this assurance and conviction, now this faith in a sense influences our lives. It influences the way we behave or we live our life. So that is what we have dealt with in the first study as we look at verse 1 on the definition of faith, and I have shown from the rest of the chapter the illustration of it.

So this morning, let us come to this question of the importance of faith. Why is it important for you and for me to have faith? Now from verses 2 through verse 6, now the answer is twofold. Now here then are the reasons why it is important to have faith. Number one, it is because faith pleases God. Faith pleases God. Now I want you to look first of all at verse 2. It says: “For by it”. The ‘it’ there refers to faith. It says here for by faith the elders, the elders refer to the Old Testament saints. So by faith, the Old Testament saints obtained a good testimony (or in some translations it says there “obtained approval”). Now that is another way of saying that it is by faith the elders or the Old Testament saints pleased God.

And then when you look at verse 6, and verse 6 says but or for “without faith it is impossible to please God”. So you see the contrast. The elders or the Old Testament saints, they pleased God by believing. And if they did not believe, it is impossible to please God. And so that is the reason why we must have faith because faith pleases God. And to show this truth or this principle, now the author here now gives us two examples. Two examples of this truth that faith pleases God. The first example is the example of Abel in verse 4, and the second example is the example of Enoch in verse 5.

So in verse 4, the author here or writer here mentions Abel to illustrate the principle, as I say, that faith, it is by faith the men of old gained approval or pleased God. And then Enoch as the second example. But the problem is this. The problem with these two examples is that faith is never mentioned in either of the stories of these two men. Now the story of Abel is in Genesis 4, and the story of Enoch is in Genesis 5. Now if you were to look at those stories, you don’t find those passages mentioning their faith. So how do we know that these men had faith? Now the answer is we know that these were men of faith, that Abel and Enoch had faith by their lives.

Now that is always the principle in the Bible. And that’s why James tells us that I will show you my faith by my works. So that is how they proved or they showed that they had faith. And in the same way that is true of all of us. If you say that you have faith in Jesus Christ, don’t just say it. Don’t just make the claim, but show it by your life. And that is what we see here in the case of these two men. And so let us first of all look at the first example mentioned in this text, as that is the example of Abel. As I say, by faith Abel pleased God, or Abel gained approval or obtained a good testimony. Now how did Abel show that he had faith? The answer? In verse 4.

Verse 4 says: “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice”. Now here’s the answer as to how we know that Abel had faith. The answer is that he offered a more excellent sacrifice. In other words, the answer is in the sacrifice. It’s in the sacrifice. Now to look, to understand what the writer here is showing, now let’s now look at Genesis chapter 4. And that is where we have the record of the example of Abel. Genesis chapter 4, and look at verses 4 and 5. Alright, it is, I suppose, in your screen. Genesis 4:4-5. Now it says here: “Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”.

Now notice what is emphasised in these two verses, and it is the same. It’s the same point in Hebrew 11:4. Now what is underscored in these verses here in Genesis is the offering or is the sacrifice. It is in what they brought to God. So clearly it is stated here that Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and the Lord respected. Meaning to say and the Lord was pleased with his offering. Where else in the case of Cain, he brought a different offering. He brought the fruit of his hand. And we are told that the Lord did not respect. Or put it another way, the Lord rejected. So the Lord accepted Abel’s offering, and the Lord rejected Cain’s offering. Now here is what it makes all the difference.

You might ask: So what is the significance here about this offering? Why is in other words Abel’s offering more excellent or more acceptable? Why is that his is acceptable and Cain’s is not acceptable? So we need to understand that, or else we do not understand why, that this is a demonstration of Abel’s faith. Now to understand why, we look at Genesis 2:17. Genesis 2:17, which says, and here is God saying to Adam. He says: “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat”. Why? Because “in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”. In other words, God says that I want you to obey Me. I want you to take note of this instruction. Don’t eat of the fruit of this tree.

Now if you do not obey Me, there is a consequence, and the consequence is death. Now, disobedience is what the Bible calls sin. Sin is disobedience. It’s not following the will of God, and the consequence of sin is death. And that is what Paul was trying to explain in his letter to the Romans. And that is not just true of Adam but that is true of all of us. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Meaning to say that all of us have disobeyed God, has broken the laws of God. We do not live a life of obedience. And as a consequence, so what is the result of sin? Now Paul continues in his letter to the Romans and said: “For the wages of sin is death”.

And so we see that in Genesis 2:17, now that is the truth, that if we disobey God and that is sin, we will suffer the consequence and that is death. And then in Genesis 3:21. Genesis 3:21, and here we read: “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”. You remember that when Adam and Eve sinned against God, they discovered that they were naked. There was the sense of guilt in them, and they tried to cover their shame through their own effort by sowing fig leaves. But that was not able to cover them. And so the Lord brought to them a new covering, and that is of the animal skin.

But this verse, verse 21 of Genesis 3 tells, God is impressing a truth upon Adam, saying to them that the only way that they can deal with their consequence of sin is through an animal sacrifice. Remember the consequence of sin is death. It’s either you die or a substitute dies on your behalf. So that is the truth that is demonstrated in the giving of the animal skin to Adam in Genesis 21 (Mistakenly mentioned “21”, supposedly “3:21”). In other words, here we have the truth of the gospel. The only way to be saved, the only way to avoid eternal death, eternal damnation is by the death of another. So that is the truth.

And so when we come back to Hebrews 11:4, now we are able to understand the significance of verse 4, where the type of offering is emphasised, or the type of sacrifice is emphasised. Now when we come to Hebrews 11:4, we see why the author here, the writer here tells us that “Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice”. He offered a more excellent sacrifice because that is the only sacrifice acceptable to God, and the death of an animal. Now surely God has revealed this truth to Abel and Cain as well through their parents. As God has revealed to Adam, he would have taught it to Abel and Cain the right way of approaching God.

And Abel, in bringing an animal sacrifice, demonstrates that he believes in that truth. He believes in the gospel that his father taught him. Where else Cain, in refusing to bring an animal sacrifice, demonstrates his lack of faith in the gospel, in the way of salvation that is revealed to him by God through his parents. So the more excellent sacrifice, it is an animal sacrifice. But I believe here the more excellent sacrifice is not just pointing to the animal sacrifice that was brought by Abel, but rather it is only a picture. Indeed the more excellent sacrifice points to the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that’s why in the Gospel of John 1:29- John 1:29, when John saw the Lord Jesus Christ, he exclaimed in verse 29: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”. Now John could see that the more excellent sacrifice, finally speaking, points to the Lord Jesus Christ as the one and only sacrifice for our sin. Remember what I said just now that we like Adam have sinned against God. We live a life of disobedience, and the consequence of sin is death, and we are all going to die. And we will die not just physically, we will die eternally, we will die spiritually. We will be condemned forever.

But the only hope for us is in the death of another. The only hope for us is in the death of Jesus Christ. He is the more excellent sacrifice, in that He is the only way back to God. Jesus said: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” and all our efforts and all our righteousness are as filthy rags. Nothing that we can do or will do can commence us to God, that would be pleasing before God. The only thing that is pleasing before God is when we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as the more excellent sacrifice. And that’s why Hebrews 11:4 concludes by saying.

First it tells us that this is how Abel showed faith. He showed faith by what he offered to God, thereby demonstrating that he believes in this way of approach, in the way that God has revealed to him, in the gospel that his parents have passed down to him. And then it says here that it is through this he obtained, verse 4, that he “obtained witness that he was righteous”. Then he concludes by saying “God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”. Now, why does the writer here tells us that Abel “being dead still speaks”? Because we know from the story of Abel that because of his faith and by his action, he is proclaiming the truth that the only way back to God is through the means appointed by God.

In other words, he was by his action proclaiming the gospel, the good news of the excellent sacrifice, that is the Lord Jesus Christ. The good news that although we are sinners and condemned forever, that through Jesus Christ we might be saved. And through Jesus Christ, and only through Him, we can come back to God. Now that is what Abel in his action and by his life is doing. But we are told that the devil tried to silence that voice. The devil was active, and is active, and will always be active to try to silence the voice of God’s witnesses. And here Abel is a witness through that, to that truth. And so Satan through Cain tried to silence that voice by killing Abel.

And that’s why we know that in Genesis, Cain killed his brother Abel. And so the writer to the Hebrews here picks that up. Yes, although his voice might thought to be silenced by his death, but no, he says. That voice can never be silenced. That gospel can never be silenced although the devil may try to through all kinds of Cain’s throughout the ages. But we are told, we are encouraged, but Abel still speaks. But then you might ask: How is Abel speaking today? How is Abel speaking today? Now Abel still speaks through the preaching of God’s Word. All through the century when God raised the prophets and sent them out all over the world, when God raised missionaries and sent them out all over the world, that voice was not silenced. The devil may try, but Abel speaks through these voices.

Abel still speaks also through the hymns that we sing. Now every time we sing hymns like “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.”, or we sing hymns like “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee”, and the many, many precious hymns that we sing every week, and perhaps even every day in our lives. Don’t we realise how important it is to sing right hymns, hymns that are biblical, hymns that will proclaim the truth of the gospel? And when we sing those hymns and when we preach the Word of God, either on the Sunday, or on the Wednesday, or on the Saturday, or on whichever day, when we have Bible study, or when we speak with our friends about the Word of God, we are echoing the witness of Abel.

The message that he understood and lived out, we are proclaiming the gospel. The gospel is still being proclaimed today through the witnesses of myriads and myriads of believers all over the world, where the faithful goes out in different settings and contexts, preaching the gospel of the glorious grace of Jesus Christ. In that sense, Abel still speaks. And so that is the first example that the writer to the Hebrews brings up. He says faith, and that is what it is. And he says the reason we must have faith because faith pleases God. And we see that in the case of Abel. Now the second example he raises is Enoch. Now again Hebrews 11 does not tell us how Enoch shows faith alright. Now in what sense he had faith? Now again his story is recorded in Genesis 5.

And so if you were to look at Genesis 5:21-24, and let me read those verses. Genesis 5, beginning in verse 21, it says: “Now Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. Now after he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” So let us ask the question again: How do we know that Enoch was a believer? And the answer? He walked with God. And you’ll notice that it is mentioned here in Genesis 5 twice, first in verse 22: “After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God”. And he walked with God a long time. He “walked with God three hundred years”.

And then we read again in verse 24: “And Enoch walked with God”. Now, surely that is an emphasis. Surely that is to make us see that here is the man who walked with God. In other words, how do we know that Enoch was a man of faith? The answer? It is in that he walked with God. I want to ask you: How would people know that you are a believer? What about all of us? How would people know that we have faith? Do you walk with God? Now, what does that mean? Now, what does it mean when the Bible says that Enoch walked with God? I think it means at least two things. Now one, it means that he has a relationship with God. He has a relationship with God. 

Do you have a relationship with God? Who is God to you? How are you related to Him? Is He your heavenly Father? Are you His children? Are you part of the family? Do you have that relationship with God? Now we can only enter into a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that He gave us the right to become His children if we believe in Jesus. When we believe in Jesus Christ, God adopts us. And that is a wonderful truth that the Scriptures, the Bible teaches that when you believe in Jesus Christ, you are not an orphan anymore. That when you believe in Jesus Christ, you will be part of God’s family, and God will be your heavenly Father. 

You see, I think that is the first thing it is meant here that Enoch here had a relationship with God. But the second thing it means is this. Not only he had the relationship with God, but he had fellowship with God. He had fellowship with God. He walked with God. It is a picture of Adam in the Garden of Eden. It is back to before Genesis 3, where God would come into the evening of the cool and call out Adam, and they will be together. They would have fellowship. They would enjoy communion. But not only that, I believe that what we got here, therefore, speaks of a life of obedience. When we exalt people to walk with Christ, it is to exalt them to walk in obedience to Christ, to obey Him, to follow Him. And that is what every Christian ought to do.

Colossians tells us that “as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him”. Now that is the meaning. If you are a Christian, you need to show that, prove that by that life of doing His will. And so that is the example of Enoch. So we had these two examples: Abel and Enoch, demonstrating that faith pleases God. And their faith is evidenced by their actions, by their works, by their lives, now lives of obedience. Now that begs the question: Now why faith pleases God? Why faith pleases God? We say that yeah, we need to have faith because faith pleases God. But why? Now that’s where the last part of verse 6 comes in. That’s where Hebrews, Hebrews 11:6 comes in. So let me read Hebrews 11:6 again.

Now it says here: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him”. Faith pleases God. If you do not have faith, it is impossible to please God. Why? Because it says here: “He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”. So why faith pleases God? Now, this is the reason. The reason is because when we come to God, if we were to please God, we “must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. In other words, the answer is twofold or there are two parts here as to why faith pleases God alright- two parts here as to why faith pleases God. The first is this: faith pleases God because faith “believe that He is”. Now, what does that mean?

Now some people understand this to mean that if you were to have faith that pleases God, you must believe that God exists. He is. And there are some translations who actually translate it that way, that you must believe that God exists, that God is real. Now I believe in part that is true. It is impossible to please God if you are an atheist. If in your life you say that there is no God, you don’t believe in the existence of God, then you cannot please God. So atheists cannot please God. But then you might ask: What about those who are not atheist but they are also not Christians? They are not Bible believers, but they do believe in the existence of God. So do those people please God? Now the answer is no. So what does believing that He is means?

Now I believe that this is what it means. First, it not only means that you must believe in the existence of God, but you must believe in a God that is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures. So the word “to believe that He is” kind of reminds us of Exodus 3:14- Exodus 3:14. Now let me read this verse in Exodus 3:14, which says: and “God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’””. So here’s the first time when God revealed himself to Moses, when Moses asked Him what shall I tell the children of Israel? And God says, tell them this is who I AM. In other words, God was revealing Himself to the children of Israel through Moses.

And so “He is”, in other words, is a name that God has revealed to us. But what is in the name? In revealing His name to us, He’s revealing His character, His attribute, who He truly is. And so I believe that is how we should understand Hebrews 11:6 when God says that the faith that pleases God is the faith that believes in a revealed God, in a God who has revealed Himself in the Holy Scriptures, not simply any gods. Any gods imagined by people, no! In the True and the Living God as we find Him revealed in the Holy Scripture. Do you believe the God of the Bible, in other words? That is the kind of faith that pleases God- the faith that believes in the God of the Bible.

Now secondly, the faith that pleases God is not only a faith that believed that He is (that is He exists, and that He is that God revealed in the Holy Scriptures), but also a faith that pleases God is a faith that believes that He is a rewarder. He is a rewarder. Therefore verse 6 says that he must come to God, he who comes to God must believe that He is as He revealed, “and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. That is the attitude, the posture of how we come to God, to believe that if we come to Him, He will reward us. To believe when Jesus says all who come to Me “I will in not wise cast out”. We come with that confidence that we will be accepted if we come to Him.

We hear the invitation of the Lord Jesus Christ again and again in the Holy Scriptures. He says, come to Me, and I will give you rest. Come to Me, and I will give you life everlasting. Come to Me. Come to Me. Do you believe that when you come to Jesus Christ, He will save you, He will bring you to the Father, He will give you eternal life? Do you believe that? Do you believe that He is a rewarder? Now God wants us to come to Him by faith, not doubting, not doubting Him. And so that is why faith pleases God. It pleases God because true faith believes that He is, and true faith believes that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Now that leads to the second part of the answer to that question “Why we must have faith?”. Why is it important to have faith? I say firstly because faith pleases God. Secondly, because you will be rewarded. You will be rewarded. If you do not trust God, if you do not come to God by faith, you will not be rewarded. Now some people have a problem with the word ‘reward’, thinking that it means that salvation is by works. But there is not the way the word ‘reward’ is used here. Sometimes the word ‘reward’ is used simply to mean that, to mean consequence, to mean result, to mean that when you do something you’ll get something alright. You come to God by faith, you get something. And yet that something is given to us as a gift.

And so we can say that you’ll be, it’s important for you to have faith because not only faith pleases God but because you will be blessed. That’s another way to put it. You will receive the benefits. You will receive the benefits. Now, remember verse 6 tells us that God is a “rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. God is a rewarder. The Bible constantly reminds us of that truth. He who seeks Me, God says in His Word. He who seek me will find Me if he seeks Me with all his heart. And that is what God says in His Word. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Seek God. Be a diligent seeker of God, and you will benefit, you will be rewarded. Now what then are the rewards of faith? What are the rewards of faith?

Now there are two things mentioned here. First, you will be declared righteous. You will be declared righteous, that we see in the example of Abel again in verse 4. Note again in verse 4, it tells us about Abel: “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain”. So that demonstrates his faith by that action, by the offering. And then he says what? “Through which”. Through that, which refers to his faith, the action revealing his faith. “Through which he obtained witness that he was righteous”. In other words, through which he gained acceptance, through which he was approved of God, or through which he was declared as righteous. That is why he was accepted by God. He was approved by God that he was declared as righteous.

We can never approach God without righteousness, but we know that we have no righteousness of our own. But there is righteousness in Jesus Christ. And when we believe in Jesus Christ, that righteousness will be transferred to us. It becomes our righteousness. We did not have that, but it was given to us by faith. And that is what it means here that because of Abel’s faith, he obtained a witness that he was righteous. Now that is the first reward of faith. Receiving righteousness, and that by being accepted by God because of our faith in the God-appointed means, and that is through the sacrifice of His Son, through the death of His Son.

But the second is this, that if you believe in Jesus Christ, if you believe in the gospel, not only you will be declared as righteous and thereby approved of God, but also you will live forever. You will have eternal life. Now that is illustrated in the case of Enoch because in verse 5 we are told here that: “By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death”. Enoch did not see death. Why? Why didn’t he see death? “And he was not found because God had taken him”. Why? Why did God take him? Because before he was taken, he had this testimony that he pleased God. Because of his faith in other words- because of his faith as demonstrated by his life of obedience of walking with God, God took him, and he did not see death.

In other words, God rewarded him with everlasting life. Now that is what Jesus said in the New Testament, in the Gospel of John 11:25-26, where He said: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe Me?”. That is the promise. That is what the Bible is saying as to the reward of faith, that if we believe in Jesus, Jesus says, we may never die. We will not die, but live forever. Do you believe what Jesus said? Same thing we hear John echoing in John 3:16, which is so familiar that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”.

That is the truth, the great truth that Enoch is demonstrating, and that is amazingly good news. If you come to Jesus Christ, you will be declared as righteous because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you will have life forever. Eternal life. Now I want to conclude this morning by drawing your attention to John 3:36. It’s not in your screen, but let me just read that verse to you. And you can, I believe, easily refer that too in your Bible. John 3:36, which says… Now listen, the Bible says: “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life”. And that’s just what I’ve mentioned earlier on. If you believe, the Bible again and again gives us the assurance that we will have life for everlasting, you will have everlasting life.

But “he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”. Now here is the warning that we must grasp. Hear this very carefully. If you believe in Jesus Christ, you will have everlasting life. That is amazingly good news. But if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, what’s next? Now the Bible says, you will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on you. God is angry because of our sin, and He will punish us with eternal punishment. But here is the good news. We can escape that. We can avoid eternal punishment by coming to Jesus Christ and trust in Him. Then we will be declared as righteous as Abel and be given everlasting life like Enoch. May the Lord bless you.

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.