FAITH BEFORE THE FLOOD – PART 1
12-27-09
“FAITH BEFORE THE FLOOD – PART 1”
INTRODUCTION:
-the faith that we live by as believers in Christ Jesus is the same faith that every child of God has lived by since the days of Adam and Eve
-faith is not merely a New Testament concept; it is a core element of righteousness that can be seen from the beginning
-when I say ‘faith’ I am referring to a kind of belief that is all-encompassing in its nature; it is not merely saying ‘I believe’ something exists; it is a resting upon, a complete surrender to
-millions of people every day have faith in the structure and aerodynamics of an aircraft; they put their whole life on the line every time that aircraft takes off
-to stand on the tarmac and say, “Yes, I believe it can safely transport 300 people from one destination to another,” is totally different than entering it yourself and taking off
-many people today say they believe that Jesus came to die for the sins of the whole world, that He was a great prophet and religious figure, that He should be followed
-but they are like those staying on the tarmac in our illustration; they haven’t entered the craft, the ark as it were
-true Biblical faith is a total commitment of life, heart and soul to the One who died for them and bore their sin: Jesus, the Word of God incarnate
-remember that the recipients of this epistle were Hebrew believers in Jesus as their Messiah
-they had the veil lifted from their hearts to understand that indeed Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah; they had trusted Jesus for their eternal salvation
-they had stopped trusting in the sacrifices of animals and offerings to gain for them right standing before God; they now trusted in the Lamb of God, Jesus, who was righteous
-but because of the difficulties that had come their way since believing in Jesus, some of them were considering going back to the old covenant under Moses’ Law
-so the writer of Hebrews sought to reason with them and show them why the sacrifice of Jesus was greater and more worthy than anything the old system could provide
-in ch. 11 we read of many who lived under that old covenant who actually chose a higher way of life than mere outward performance of ritual
-each of them had their own testimony of a life lived out in faith; this was brought out to show that the just shall live by faith, as mentioned at the end of the previous chapter
-today we are going to consider just the first two of these examples: Abel and Enoch
-each of their lives ended differently; each of them testify of some aspect of a life of faith in the promises and person of God
-I will bring out applications to our own lives as we explore these two testimonies of faith
-read Hebrews 11:1-7
; pray
I. THE FAITH OF ABEL SHOWN THROUGH WORSHIP V. 4
A. Through Faith He Offered a More Excellent Sacrifice v. 4a
-the record of Abel’s life is found in Gen. 4; here is what we read:
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord .” 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord . 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” 8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother;* and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. NKJV
-Abel’s was the first recorded sacrifice in Scripture, other than the implied sacrifice of the animal slain to provide skins for naked Adam and Eve
-when Abel offered his sacrifice as an expression of his faith in God and in the hope of a coming Redeemer, it cost him his life
-his godly act of worship brought persecution and death to him
-this still is the case with those who worship the Father and the Son in faith
2 Tim 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. NKJV
Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” NKJV
-living godly is different that simply identifying oneself as a Christian; living godly means that you take every arena of your life and order it in the fear of God
-doing so will eventually cause some to belittle you, to disrespect you, to mock you, to even persecute you
-it is one thing to be obnoxious and to have an ‘in-your-face’ attack mode and then cover it with ‘I’m just serving the Lord’; that will bring trouble for sure
-but to deal respectfully, lovingly, gently with others as you live out your life according to the fear of God shines God’s light upon the darkness
11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. NKJV
-Cain was religious, but not righteous; Cain brought his own efforts in fighting with the curse to produce a harvest; his was not a faith-based sacrifice
-Abel offered a sacrifice based on faith in the revelation laid out back in the garden with his parents
-Cain brought his sacrifice based on his own reasoning, showing his goodness through his efforts to be acceptable to God
-Abel was the first martyr of faith recorded in Scripture
-why was Abel’s sacrifice ‘more excellent’ than Cain’s? I believe for two reasons
-first of all the sacrifice followed revelation; secondly the sacrifice was offered in faith to the revelation
-Jesus referred to Abel in Mt. 23:35 as “righteous Abel”
B. Through Faith He Still Speaks v. 4b
-Abel’s sacrifice was an expression of hope in the Seed of the woman who would crush the head of the serpent
-how does Abel still speak? his testimony of faith pointed forward to a better sacrifice: that of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world
-these Hebrew believers to whom this epistle was written were living in the fulfillment of Abel’s hope
II. THE FAITH OF ENOCH SHOWN THROUGH WALKING WITH GOD VV. 5-6
A. The Faith that Passes Death v. 5
-let’s take a look at the section of Scripture that records Enoch’s testimony
21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah. 22 After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. 24 And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him. NKJV
-Enoch is the second example of a life of faith in Heb. 11
-with Enoch his life was not cut short by martyrdom but with rapture, a catching away to heaven, ‘God took him’
-Enoch walked with God three hundred years; what is implied in this term?
-fellowship with God; daily prayer and communion with God; bringing God into every arena of life and running all things by Him
-this term ‘walking with God’ comes from the implied desire of God at the very beginning of time when God first created Adam and Eve
Gen 3:8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. NKJV
-this is still the desire of God: that we walk with Him daily; this is why the Christian life is referred to in the New Testament as a walk
- it is recorded that Enoch had sons and daughters besides Methuselah
-Methuselah was the oldest recorded living human being: 969 yrs. old–he died just before the flood came
-Methuselah lived during the building of the ark of Noah; maybe a room in the ark was being prepared for him
-what impact did Enoch have upon his sons and daughters? it must have been a pattern that affected them; but still they made their own choices of life
-the wickedness of the world was increasing at this time; Enoch’s generation included Lamech, who had married two wives and boasted of his murder
-Jesus said as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man
-we are approaching those days rapidly; but before Jesus returns at His second coming, He will be coming for His church to gather her to Himself
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. NKJV
B. The Faith that Pleases God v. 6
-pleasing God; this not only tells us that we CAN please God, it also implies that it is possible to displease Him
-whether God is pleased or displeased with an individual, He still loves them
-I want to live a life that pleases God; do I think that God will love me more if I please Him by the way that I live? no, the Scriptures tell me that’s not so
-so why should I live a life that pleases God? it centers on a loving relationship
-when a couple fall in love, they want to behave in a way that blesses the other person; to see them blessed causes blessing in the other person
-but without faith it is impossible to please God; living by faith involves risk, the risk of being wrong, the risk of having circumstances get worse because of the step you have taken
-we are told here that we must believe that He is…; this I believe is more than believing that God exists
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble! NKJV
-believing that God is ties in with His name, Jehovah, I AM; I AM what? I AM each and every thing that you need
-not only so but we must believe that He is a rewarder what we diligently seek Him; diligence implies there are things that resist that effort
-what are some of those things? temptations, laziness, selfishness, distractions of life, cares of the world, anxieties and fears
-pressing against them in faith, holding onto the promises and the person of God is the way through it all