Hebrews 11:4-7 NIV
4 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.
4 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.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
6 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.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
These are examples of faith from the Old Testament. While Abel made sacrifices and admitted he was a sinner and asked for mercy, Cain was very prideful and jealous and came against his brother and murdered him who worshipped God. Sounds a little familiar? Many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are murdered in many nations around the world just because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Abel's sacrifice was offered with good attitude of faith. We need faith to please God. Seek Him with our whole heart. Like Enoch we need to make sure that we are pleasing to God. He walked with God and pleased Him. Enoch was taken up to heaven with a complete victory over death.
Noah used "extreme" faith to build an ark. I am sure many people thought Noah was a little "off his rocker" when he started to build the ark. Imagine building a boat when you are so far from any water. But he had faith in God and had enough "holy fear" to obey God. His faith had to be extreme because the world was being condemned and then he inherited a world that had been destroyed. Noah makes it through this and then the world is renewed. He was the one who was left to witness God's blessings. He became an heir of righteousness through faith.
All the examples above remained faithful until the end. It was a persevering faith that actually pleased God. This is the kind of faith we should all be striving for. We need it for salvation and discipleship. We need faith in the past, present and the future. Faith in the past knowing that God is God and He created everything. Faith in the present to go through rough times in our lives. Faith in the future because God promised us heaven and the victory. Praise God!! Let us learn from these people in the Old Testament. Believe in Him, trust Him and worship Him for He is a Holy and Faithful God!!
