Hebrews
Faith from Abel to Noah
Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony
Subject: Conversations, Panels, and Sermons
Lesson: 26-33
Genre: Lecture
Track: 26
Dictation Name: RR198N26
Location/Venue:
Year:
Let us worship God. How amiable are Thy tabernacles oh Lord of hosts, a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand. For the Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly, Oh Lord of Hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee. Let us pray.
Our Lord and our God, we come into Thy presence again, rejoicing in Thy grace and mercy. Thou art good to us, who too often cannot be good to ourselves. Thou art gracious unto us who so often are ungracious to others. Merciful unto us, who tend to be merciless. How great Thou art oh Lord, and how amazing Thy grace. Teach us to be faithful unto Thee, to delight in thy word, and to rejoice in every opportunity to be obedient to Thy word. Now bless us as we give ourselves to the study of Thy word, in Christ’s name, amen.
Our Scripture lesson is Hebrews 11:4-7. Our subject: Faith from Abel to Noah. Hebrews 11:4-7.
“4By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
5By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
7By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
Now as we have seen, Faith is the gift of God. It is not a human attribute, it is a supernatural gift. And at times God in His sovereign purpose chooses to humble men and nations by stripping the world of faith. Hebrews tells us of instances when it was reduced to one family as with Noah, and outwardly one man as with Elijah, and in the Christian era as with Athanasius, and other instances in the history of the faith when all the churches seemed to have gone derelict. And yet the faith not only survived but triumphed again and again.
Today we live in a time which may seem to bear analogy to those eras, the main line protestant churches have abandoned creationism which verse 3 of Hebrews 11 defines as a mark of faith. The mainline churches and some of the evangelical have denied this. And now the pope has done the same. But God has more than an Abel or an Elijah or an Athanasius in this age, in that there are millions that stand in terms of the word of God.
Now as Hebrews 11 develops the meaning of faith, we see that this gift of God becomes also a part of man’s being, so that god’s gift and man’s being become united towards the same goal; God works in man, but man is now God’s redeemed person, a new creation by God, and one in whom God works His will.
Faith therefore is not an alien power controlling us, but the essential part of our new nature in the Lord. Paul in 2nd Corinthians 5:17 tells us: “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (or creation) old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.” To be a new creature or creation means that whereas before we sought to be our own God and law, now we strive to be what God intended man to be on the 6th day of creation. Instead of striving to be original, hence our original sin, we are happily derivative. We know ourselves to be God’s creatures and not our own. We are not self-made men; we therefore know that not only our faith is His gift, but all our being. And every atom of our being is of His making.
In verse 4 we are told: “By Faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and by it ye being dead, yet speaketh.” Genesis gives much evidence that God had revealed His law to His people long before Moses. Sacrifices of atonement had to be clean animals. Cain’s sacrifice was one of thanksgiving, not atonement. Abel’s sacrifice was alone acceptable to God, and it alone set him apart as a righteous or just man. Jesus himself speaks of Abel as righteous, in Matthew 23:35. In 1 John 3:12 we are told that Cain’s works were evil, and Abel’s righteous. While dead, Abel still speaks to us. In a fallen world the Godly are hated, but theirs is the victory in Christ.
In verse 5 we have the remarkable case of Enoch, who was transferred from this world to heaven. He did not see death. We are not given the details or highlights of his life other than that he pleased God. The time of Enoch and all the godly patriarchs before the flood was one of extremes. The conditions which marked paradise still prevailed around the world, and one consequence was longevity. Enoch whose life did not end in death was on earth 365 years, while his son Methuselah live 969 years. Without the judgement of a short lifespan, man was able to indulge freely in his will to do evil. In fact for some centuries, death was apparently a rarity because of man’s longevity. At the same time because the world was fallen, this longevity made life difficult for the Godly because the penalty of death was remote, and fallen man could be contemptuous of judgement. For this reason we are told of three of the saints of that era, Abel, Enoch and Noah, as examples of faith. Their stand was a lonely one, very difficult.
In verse 6 we are reminded plainly that without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. In verse 3 we are told that Creationism is essential to the life of faith. Now two things are added; faith means believing that God is, and also that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. God is unseen, but He is omnipresent. To believe in God means not only recognizing His absolute determination of all things as He who is, but also His total power and presence in all things. Omnipresent, but never exhaustibly present. He is the creator, the governor, and also the judge. Faith knows Him to be the rewarder, we do not determine the reward, He does. He sets the course of our life, and he rewards us in terms of His purpose, not ours.
In verse 7 we are told of Noah’s faith. He heeded God’s warning and prepared an ark. His act condemned the world which refused to heed God’s warning, and no doubt people mocked Noah’s faith. After all, if you are decades in building an Ark, people are going to laugh. By this act of faith Noah saved his family but condemned the world. He became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. This is a remarkable statement because men are prone to see Noah’s act in terms of the loss it entailed. The loss of kin and of possessions, and life in an empty world afterwards, with none in it save his family. But he became we are told, heir of the righteousness or justice which is by faith. He was in God’s sight now justified, righteous, and a citizen of Gods new creation to come, True, man’s longevity was soon a reduced one, and sin again had its sway. The tower of Babel lay ahead, and much much evil.
That Abraham was an heir, eternally so, is the important fact of the righteousness which is by faith. We are told of Noah that he was moved with fear, Godly fear, and this is greatly in his favor. It is a dangerous thing to be unafraid of God, and one can question the reality of faith where there is no fear. Since all things are under God’s eye, and His judgments are inescapable, the obvious lack of a godly fear is a deadly blindness. We need to fear doing wrong, we need to fear sinning. Others in Noah’s day laughed at Noah’s warnings and paid a price for it. Moved with fear, we are told of Noah. That can be rendered, also, as taking forethought. Godly fear moves wisely.
2nd Peter 2:5 tells us that Noah was a preacher of righteousness to his age. These few verses, 4-7, carry us from the fall to the flood; they tell us clearly that faith expresses itself in obedience. It acts in obedience to God. Again, to be moved with fear means far more than an emotional reaction, it means taking forethought because we believe that God is, and that He is both a rewarder and a punisher. We cannot evade the fact that we are here to serve God, not ourselves. And our response to Him will determine our future. Our faith is a condemnation of this present world order and an affirmation that God is, and that He alone is the great and final judge.
With the fall, man begins to build a world order based on man as his own God and his own source of law. This effort still goes on, God’s people in Christ represent a new human race called into being to establish God’s world order. While the world tries to build its tower of Babel. With Christ as king, what fallen men seek is to do in terms of Genesis 3:5, but it is also an act of faith. An act of faith in man, not in God. An anti-God and demonic act of faith. Our act of faith is grounded in the certainty of God as creator, Christ as our redeemer, and our re-creation as God’s ordination of a new creation in terms of His word and His purpose. Let us pray.
Our Lord and our God, we thank thee that by the gift of faith, Thou hast made us a part of Thy great and sovereign purpose for all things. Teach us therefore day by day to look not at our resources but at thine, to look not at what we can do, but at what Thou hast done, and hast declared thou shalt do in and through us. Bless us in Thy service we beseech Thee, in Christ’s name, amen.
Are there any questions now about our lesson?
Now as you can see, from this chapter, what the apostolic company is doing is to begin from the fall, and to work ahead to the present, that is their present, the apostolic age. The purpose is to show that we are in a line of succession. It is a succession in term so of God’s calling and a God appointed task, and therefore it is dangerous for us to think of our lives in terms our times and our purpose. If we begin to think, we are here in terms of ourselves, then we become self centered. “Why doesn’t this and that happen here and now?” As though this was the end time. “And why has this happened to me? Or to you?” We want to focus everything on ourselves. So as the apostolic fellowship speaks of faith, it has a forward look. It does not focus on us any more than on them, it gives us a line, a succession. That succession points to the grand finale, not to us. Yes?
[Audience Member] Rush, does this not also, this entire chapter refute the idea that faith is merely intellectual assent, doesn’t this demonstrate it’s a very living, active, vital part of our lives?
[Rushdoony] Yes, it’s a supernatural, active aspect that has a forward look. It is not of us, its purpose goes beyond us. So we cannot say anymore than Elijah could: “Why is this happening to me?”
[Audience Member] What do you think Of John Owens commentaries on Hebrews? Your opinion on John Owens commentary on Hebrews?
[Rushdoony] I’ve not looked at that lately, so I’m not familiar with it, he was a great commentator, I should have looked him up too.
Well, if there are no further questions, let us conclude with prayer.
Our Father, Thy word is truth. And thy word is a joy unto us. We thank Thee for the gift of faith, we thank thee that I points to thy purpose and to all eternity. Make us joyful in Thy gift, and faithful in Thy service.
And Now go in peace, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, bless you and keep you, guide and protect you, this day and always, amen.