Old Testament saints (3)

We are looking at salvation with particular reference to Old Testament saints. In the third part of our study we are going to look at the subject of faith.

Faith comes from God

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Ephesians 2:8 tells us that we're saved by grace through the action of faith. Not only is it impossible to please God without faith, it's impossible to be saved without faith. Faith is essential for salvation.

Where does faith come from? Is it possible for man to put his own faith in God? No. Man in his lost state neither seeks God nor understands God (Romans 3:11). All true faith in God comes from God.

Hebrews 11 contains a long list of Old Testament characters who were commended for their faith. Where did their faith come from? It came from God.

God gave them faith in himself, even as he gives us faith in himself. These were people who knew God and walked with God, and they'll be with us in heaven (Hebrews 11:39–40).

Abel: the first to be born again

Genesis is a book of beginnings; there are many spiritual truths revealed in the early chapters of Genesis.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they died spiritually, and God was left without human fellowship. However, that situation soon changed. Eve gave birth to sons—Cain and Abel—and God chose to save Abel.

Genesis 4 tells us that in the course of time Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the crops he had grown, but Abel brought an offering from the fat portions of the firstborn of his flock.

God looked with favour on Abel's offering, but not on Cain's offering. Did that happen by chance? No! Abel brought his offering to God by faith.

Hebrews 11:4 says:

By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.

God had chosen Abel to be saved and had breathed his Spirit into him: Abel had been reborn spiritually. He was now indwelt by the Spirit of God and knew what God wanted (1 Corinthians 2:11). And God used him to teach spiritual truth.

Abel bringing fat portions from the firstborn of his flock would have meant the slaughter of a firstborn lamb.

By looking with favour on Abel's offering, God was showing that justification (man being declared righteous) would come through faith in the sacrifice of a firstborn Lamb—i.e. Jesus (Hebrews 1:6; John 1:29)—and not through anything he could do himself (Cain's work in the fields).

That message is still being preached in the world today (Ephesians 2:8–9).

Abel: the first martyr

Not only was Abel the first to be saved by faith, he was also the first to die for his faith.

When Cain saw that his brother's offering had found favour with God he became angry. He then took him into a field and killed him (Genesis 4:6–8). Why did he do that? The apostle John tells us:

Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. (1 John 3:12)

Abel was born again and belonged to God, and was now living the life God wanted him to live. Cain, on the other hand, still belonged to the evil one, and was following the evil one's ways (1 John 3:10).

Having shown that man will be saved by faith, the Bible then shows that he will be persecuted for his faith (Abel was murdered by his brother).

Where does persecution come from? Persecution comes from the evil one, and from the hearts of those in the world in whom he reigns.

Jesus said:

'If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: "No servant is greater than his master." If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.' (John 15:18–20a)

Satan, and those in the world whom he moved through, persecuted Jesus to his death, and many of our Lord's followers have met with the same fate.

Persecution is such an inevitable consequence of faith that God teaches it from the beginning of the Bible. He wants us to know that those who put their faith in the Lamb of God will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12)—not necessarily murdered, but persecuted in some way.

Persecution began with the first man to be saved, it's continued throughout history, and will end with the final and greatest outpouring of Satan's wrath against the Church under the Antichrist (Revelation 13:1–10).

The cost of faith

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible teaches faith and the persecution that results from faith. God wants us to be prepared for it.

In Luke 14:28–33, Jesus taught that those who want to follow him should first consider the cost. Cost? What cost? Hasn't Jesus paid the cost so we can enjoy a blessed life on earth?

Didn't he say that the thief comes to kill, steal and destroy, but he had come to give us life, and life in all its fullness (Greek: abundance, over and above, more than enough, John 10:10)?

Yes he did. But he also said that he hadn't come to bring peace to the earth, but a sword, and that a man's enemies would be the members of his own household (Matthew 10:34–36).

Take up your cross

There are areas in the world today where, if you commit your life to Jesus Christ and are baptized, you could be put to death, and often by the members of your family—as Abel was. No blessing on earth, but only blessing in heaven. That is taking up your cross and following Jesus (Luke 9:23)!

When the Lord spoke to Ananias concerning the newly converted Saul, he said nothing about blessing him, but rather about how much he would suffer for his name (Acts 9:15–16). It all depends upon the cross God has given you—what his will is for your life (John 21:15–23).

For Jesus, God's will was a physical cross. For us it may be a life of success and prosperity (Joshua 1:8), as it is for many in the West; for others it may be a life of persecution and suffering, as it is for many in North Korea.

However, because the cross symbolizes suffering, for most of us our life will be a mixture of blessing and suffering (1 Peter 4:12–16).

How long did Abel live on earth after bringing his offering to the Lord? Not long, but we'll see him in heaven—which will never end.

Hebrews 11 says that some of the Old Testament saints faced jeers and flogging; others were chained and put in prison. Some were stoned; some were sawn in two; some were put to death by the sword.

They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and ill-treated. The world was not worthy of them. But they were all commended for their faith—and they will all be in heaven.

Faith is essential for salvation, but there is a cost to faith for everyone.

Michael Graham
October 2009
Revised December 2011

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