"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" (Hebrews 11:4).

In his treatise on faith, the author of Hebrews will dissect the outworkings of faith in Old Testament characters. After detailing the creation account (11:3), he moved to his first subject, Abel.

Abel was the son of Adam and Eve and brother to Cain. We don't know much about these two men, but we do know they both offered a sacrifice to God. Perhaps God had instructed them to do so. Perhaps their parents had taught them the need for sacrifice. Whatever their reason for sacrificing to God, Genesis tells us their sacrifices were somehow different. God accepted Abel's sacrifice while rejecting Cain's, and this rejection caused Cain to rise in jealousy and kill his brother. Brotherly love turned into war, a foreshadowing of the warring systemically pulsating through history and its nations.

What Made Abel's Offering Acceptable to God?

Since we know "Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain," we naturally wonder what set his offering apart. Why did God commend Abel's sacrifice? Why did God reject Cain's?

Many have speculated an answer. Abel offered a sacrifice from the flock, and Cain offered a sacrifice from the crop. Because of this, some have thought Abel's sacrifice better because it was of blood, not produce. Others have seen life in Abel's, but a lifelessness in Cain's. Others have imagined Abel offered the firstborn, while Cain must've held back the firstfruits. Some have pointed to the stronger nature of Abel's sacrifice and the weaker nature of Cain's. And others have seen how Abel's grew spontaneously, while Cain's grew with human ingenuity. Each speculation is a delightful conjecture, enabling the interpreter to run wild with applications for the modern reader.

Unfortunately, the Bible does not thunderously endorse any of the theories mentioned above. What it does say is found here, in our text: "By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice." What made his sacrifice pleasing to God? Faith. God loved the faith with which Abel offered his gift to God.

How to Approach God

In a sense, this is a classic faith vs. works passage. Abel did not come to God on his own merit. He did not feel God owed him anything, or that by his sacrifice, he deserved an audience with the divine. Instead, he came in faith, trusting and believing his works could not get him into God's presence.

In this, Abel foreshadowed the gospel of grace. Paul wrote, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). Cain, it seems, came to God by his works, thinking in his heart that his offering should be enough to gain the favor of God. But the mind of faith rejects this premise, knowing God's grace is a gift that cannot be earned.

Go to God by Faith!

It is at this point I fear many of us stop. With our theology correctly aligned, we declare that we will never attempt to go to God by our works. Good! But then our story fades. Remember, though, that God wanted the sacrifice of Abel (and the right sacrifice of Cain). He wants us to engage with him. He invites our friendship and fellowship. He's offered the perfect sacrifice so that we might enter His throne room and presence. It is good to refuse to come by your own merit, but do go to Him by faith!

For whatever else Abel might show us -- the importance of giving God our firsts, the necessity of sacrifice for God, etc .-- he shows us the way to God. We are to come by faith. For the Hebrew-Christians who first received this letter, the concept was of utmost importance. Their very visible and human high priest had been replaced by an invisible and divine one. A better High Priest was theirs! They needed to come, not by their works, but faith. With confidence and assurance, they needed to approach God. And that assurance had to come, not from their goodness or feelings of superiority, but by grace through faith.