A SHORT COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF HEBREWS  - CHAPTERS 11/12

" By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain."  Hebrews 11:4.

The essential teaching of the Old Testament sacrifices was that, as a sinner, you could not approach God without blood. This was God's appointed way of forgiveness and acceptance. The sacrifices pointed to the blood of the Lamb of God. Abel followed God's Word ( Adam would have taught him the example of Gen.3:21) and worshipped God in God's way, and suffered for it ! 

The offering ( of a lamb) had to be by faith. Without faith whatever we offer to God is not accepted ( Heb.11:6). Cain thought that he could worship God in any way he pleased - his worship was neither approved nor accepted by God. God accepted first of all Abel by faith, and then He accepted his offering (Gen.4:6). Without faith there is nothing we can do to please God. 

Worshipping God according to Scripture is a very important matter. God looks on the heart when it is done. Without faith no-one will seek to worship God according to His Word - it will be the worship style of Cain. Faith looks to the blood of Christ for forgiveness. Have you faith in His blood ? ( Rom. 3:25). When you worship God, are you like Abel or Cain ? Cain went his own way, to hell, but Abel was the first man to enter heaven, by faith.

" By faith Noah, being warned by God of things not seen as yet,moved with fear, prepared ... "   Hebrews 11:7

Noah believed God when most of the world did not. He stood out simply because he believed and did something about it ! Many say they believe, but their lives do not show it. Faith acts on what God says. God said there was a devastating judgement coming, but many thought this was just a story for children. And anyway nothing was to be seen, not a cloud in the sky. But Noah said it was coming, and like John the Baptist, would say to others,' Flee from the wrath to come ! " Flee to the Ark which God has provided as the only way to escape wrath ( 1 Thess.1:10).

Many thought that if there was a God He would never do such a thing as destroy most of the life on earth, but Noah believed God. The judgement wasn't yet seen, so many did not believe that it would happen. But those who have faith will prepare for the future. 120 years later the Flood came, while they ' were eating and drinking, giving in marriage " etc. Christ said that when He returned for judgement, the world would be just like this ( Matt.24:37-39 ), with few alive who had the faith to believe Him.

Noah had fear, he trembled before God's judgement. He did as God said and he was safe inside the Ark when the judgment came. Many do not prepare today, because they do not believe it will happen, but faith believes God according to His character revealed in the Bible, and not in men's opinions. " Christ is the ark for all God's Noahs " said an old preacher. ' God is our Refuge," said David ( Ps.46:1).

Do you believe God ? Are you prepared ? Is Christ your only hope ? The judgement is not yet seen, but it will be. Be reconciled to the Judge before then. " Being justified by faith we have peace with God." ( Rom.5:1).

" By faith Abraham..."  Hebrews 11:8-10.

Abraham was called by God to leave his home country and follow God's guidance for the rest of his life. God did this by words ( and not sentimental feelings), and persuaded and enabled Abraham to trust Him and obey Him. The Christian is not called to leave his home or his country, but He is called to follow God. Indeed, everyone has a duty to trust and obey God but now, as in Abraham's time ,few actually do so. Some make a start and start out but stop halfway, like Abraham's father Terah ( Genesis 11:31,32), who settled down in this world and by doing so hindered Abraham. But God made sure that Abraham left Haran, where his father died,  and went all the way.

Abraham was called to live a pilgrim's life, he could never feel at home here - because his home was somewhere else. He lived in a tent, always ready to move on when God told him to. God moved him onward to his inheritance, which was not in this world ( where everything is temporary ) but in heaven, where everything is permanent, unchangeable. Abraham thought often upon God's promises to him, and thought of all the things he couldn't see here ( vs.1) but God promised him he would see them there. He was a citizen of this country, as we are, but he was also a citizen of heaven. One day God called him up, not up to Canaan this time but up to heaven.

Is your heart on this journey to see King Jesus, or are your plans only made for this world ? Abraham, despite the difficulties ( and he made mistakes), was determined not to go back to what he was before - despite all the temptations to. He was like a man on this shore of the ocean, looking out, seeing only the sea, but knowing there was another shore beyond, an eternal one, and he knew God would send for him - He had promised.

" Lord take me o'er the water,

  Had been my loud demand ;

  Take me to love's own country,

  To Immanuel's Land.

" By faith Abraham...with Isaac and Jacob."  Hebrews 11:9,10.

What these three had in common was that they not only had personal faith but also lived in tents, and not in a city ( as Cain did. Gen.4). They chose to live in tents, which was symbolic of their journey through this world. They did not feel that they could settle down here. Faith is always restless to get Home and this world is not our home. Canaan, where they lived, was not for them the Promised Land, not the end of the journey. Home lay beyond this world, but they had to get through this world to arrive there. We often hear the dead described as ' the departed.' It would be more accurate to describe them as ' the arrived.'

Faith looks forward, it does not love the world, as Demas did. Demas sacrificed the world to come for the love and enjoyment of this world. Many, who started out so well, make the same mistake, and become sleepy in the " Enchanted Ground." ( Pilgrim's Progress). How did the two Pilgrims stay awake ? By talking about Christ and their destination. Many , who do not talk about either, show that they have settled down here. Their talk and plans are about this world, they fit in with the worldly church. But the Pilgrims were attacked at Vanity Fair ( the media of the world) because there was something other-worldly about them. 

" Faith is hope looking forward," said an old Puritan. How do you see this world, and do you think of the next ? Get faith from Christ, and then get through the world to meet Him, face to Face. Is our heart in tents ? Are we moving forward each day ? ( Rom.13:11) Faith can only face one way. Talk to dying Christians and you will see it in their faces.

" By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac."  Hebrews 11:17

When Abraham was commanded by God to give up Isaac to death, He believed that God would keep His promise about Isaac. When Abraham was tested he trusted. He obviously believed in the doctrine of the resurrection from the dead. Note what he said to his servants in Genesis 22:5, " WE will come again." This was a great test of faith, and it required God's strength ( Rom.4:20) to bring him through it. Abraham knew God, and because He knew Him he trusted Him ( 2 Tim.1:12), although he did not understand the purpose of God's guidance at this time. Trust and obey was his motto for life.

You yourself will need great strength to cope with the great trials that will come upon you, and your natural strength is not sufficient. Feeling strong is not the same as being strong ; you will not see this until the crushing weight comes upon you. Great sacrifices will be demanded from you in the Christian life, you will have to give up things ( and people ) as dear to you as Isaac when God calls for them. Life is mysterious, we do not have all the answers. Weak faith requires great prayer. Start praying, as Abraham did, for the experiences God has prepared for you. You will meet them one at a time. Abraham struggled but intended to obey, and God was with him. Have you the same faith as Abraham ( and there is only one faith, Ephes.4:5) ? Then God is with you also.

" By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with them that believed not."  Hebrews 11:31.

How often people do not turn out the way that you thought they would. How often people who are slandered disprove the slanders by their lives and deaths. Rahab was a Gentile, who grew up without hearing any Gospel, and went astray publicly and not privately. Can you go astray without anybody noticing ? Yes, the Prodigal's brother was lost at home, just as lost as his brother...but nobody noticed this, except God ( Luke 15). Rahab and the prodigal were sinners, they knew it, but they also knew the Saviour. Joshua passed on a promise to Rahab, not his promise but God's promise. Faith does not take hold of man's promises, but God's ; and all faith is in Christ.

The people who lived round about Rahab were, in the world's eyes, better people. None of them were harlots like she was. But they perished whereas she did not. Why ? Because of their unbelief. You can be a very morally upright person, but without faith in Christ God sees you as wicked ( Heb.11:6), because you have no faith, and you reject His Beloved Son. Unbelievers do perish - the second part of John 3:16 is carefully missed out in many sermons nowadays. No matter how bad your past has been, it's how you finish your life that matters, and Rahab lived and died in faith. She was an ancestor of Jesus, what an honour ! Like the woman of Samaria ( John 4 ) she had a past, but, on believing, she had a future with Christ. Is your future with Christ ? Remember you need to live by faith ( in Him ) in order to die in faith ( verse 13).

" These all, having obtained a good report through faith."  Hebrews 11:39.

Few unbelievers are remembered later for their unbelief, except by unbelievers ! However, men and women of real faith have always stood out, in the OT and in the NT. They were different because they believed all that God had said and done, and wanted to be taught by God concerning doctrine, worship and practice. ( Insincere Christians will always pick and choose among these, according to their taste) Christians are different because they have a noticeable likeness to Christ ( Acts 11:26 ), the Christ of the Bible,that is. Is there another Christ ? Yes, the Unbiblical one made up by the world, and sometimes by the church itself. There are some people who are different who like to be different ; they see some kind of merit in it, and use it to establish their self righteousness - just like the Pharisees.

Those who have a faith to live by ' obtain a good report '; their lives pleased God (Heb.11:5,6). God remembers them when others don't ( Luke 23:43). An old preacher once said, " There are those who have a great reputation on earth, but none in heaven ; and vice versa." The saints in Hebrews 11 were remembered after they died in faith. How will you be remembered after death ? Death seems far away to young people, but there are many small coffins lying in graveyards, waiting for the resurrection. Let the dying thief's prayer be your prayer, " Lord, remember me." - But do not wait until you are dying !

RUNNING THE RACE.  " ...the race set before us." Hebrews 12:2.

In the Olympics there needs to be physical speed and strength in order to qualify and enter the race. In other words, you need a natural ability. But in the race to heaven, to receive an incorruptible crown, as Paul says, you need a spiritual qualification. You must be born again, said the Lord Jesus. When born again you will see the Door to enter the race and you will have the strength from the Spirit to run that race. Many start out religiously but that is not the same as starting out spiritually. The former either fall out of the race or run on a parallel track, which has no finish line, alas. " We believe in the perseverance of the saints, if they are saints," said Spurgeon. 

Unless you run on the track as marked out by the Words of God, you may be running...but you are already disqualified by God. You can have no assurance that you will reach heaven unless you are running on that path. Sometimes you will stumble, but repentance will bring you back on the right line. At the end the Lord says to all who ran this way, " Well done..". They go at their own pace through this world, but speed does not matter. It's how you finish that matters ! If you started rightly you will finish rightly. When Paul came to the last few steps he could say, " I have finished my course." Can you say this ? On what path are you running on - your own, the majority's, or Christ's. Are you qualified to run ? Have you taken the first step ? Then you will not run alone.