Abel was a son of Adam and Eve (Genesis 4:2); and he was a shepherd.  His faith is praised as one of the first great examples of faith in the Bible (Hebrews 11:4). What can we learn about faith from his life?

First of all, when God commanded him and his brother Cain to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, Abel did exactly what the Lord told him to do. He “brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat.” And because he complied with the Lord’s command, “the Lord respected Abel and his offering.” (Genesis 4:4). The lesson is this: when a person does by faith what the Lord says, the Lord respects both him and the worship he offers.

However, when a person attempts to worship God in a way He has not commanded, the Lord will not respect him or what he does in worship. This was the situation with Cain. Cain had decided if he offered God the crops he had grown (instead of the animal sacrifice God commanded), that God would still be satisfied. He was mistaken. God “did not respect Cain and his offering.” (Genesis 4:5). When Cain reacted in anger, God told him, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?  And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.” (Genesis 4:7a). God stated the simple principle of obedience. Obeying God results in acceptance; disobeying God results in sin. In Cain’s case, sin would lead to further sin as he refused to submit his will to God.

The writer of Hebrews speaks of Abel’s act of faith: “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...” (Hebrews 11:4a). And although Cain in uncontrolled jealousy slew his righteous brother (Genesis 4:8), Abel’s example of righteousness still lives on for us today. “...and through it, he being dead still speaks.” (Hebrews 11:4b).

Let’s not make the mistake of Cain and be fooled into thinking that we can come to God on our own terms. It is displeasing to God when we decide to worship God in whatever way we please. For instance, man, to please himself, has invented all kinds of religious laws, initiations, ceremonies, hierarchies, and systems that have no resemblance to what God has commanded. Such worship is vain (Matthew 15:8-9). Since we live in the Gospel Age, we must turn to the New Testament to see what God expects of us today (Hebrews 1:1-2; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-47). How people became Christians and how they worshiped God is a pattern for us (Acts 2:36-42; 2 Timothy 1:13). Let’s be modern-day Abels and comply with what the Lord wants us to do (2 John 9; 2 Timothy 3:14-17). As Abel had hope through a righteous and obedient faith, we can have the same assurance of eternal salvation (Hebrews 11:13-16). “...God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” (Hebrews 11:16b).