Hebrews 11:4, “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; and through it he being dead still speaks”.
We constantly meet people who refer to themselves as spiritual or religious. Most serve a god in their making, a god they are more comfortable with instead of serving the Living God. People try to offer their very best to God, question is, is it ever good enough.
In Genesis 4, brothers, Cain and Abel one time brought sacrifices before God, Genesis 4: 3-4, “3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering”. They both brought what they felt was acceptable to God. If “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”, Romans 10:17, they must have known what the Lord required of them. We see Cain bringing fruit of the ground. Now the ground was cursed in Genesis 3 and here he is trying to make something for himself, in his own effort, and he brings it to the Lord (works). On the other hand, Abel offers to God “the firstborn of his flock and of their fat”. He is offering to God what is from God, a lamb. God honored his sacrifice. Hebrews 11:4 gives us the reason God honored his sacrifice, he offered it by faith. His sacrifice by faith was counted to him as righteousness.
It’s the saving faith that honors God, receiving from us what is from Him. What can we offer God on our own that is good enough? nothing. Hasn’t the bible said already in Romans 3:20, “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight”. That in as much as we offer to God the offering from the ground, something we have worked, what we are comfortable with, our accomplishments, it’s never good enough. God requires a perfect sacrifice. To offer a sacrifice from the fruit of the ground is not to offer a perfect excellent sacrifice. We all fall short. We need to offer to God a perfect sacrifice and He is the only One who can give that perfect sacrifice. And He did, He gave His Only begotten Son to suffer and die for our sins. And by repentance and faith, we can offer to God Christ (the firstborn (position), first fruit) who offered Himself as the Lamb, the blood sacrifice to save us. Revelation 1:4-6, “4 …Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen”. He is the more excellent sacrifice.”
Galatians 3:11, “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” a different bible version puts it this way, “he who is righteous by faith shall live.” God demands His requirements be met in His way. Ritual in itself never satisfies God and is an abomination to Him. If you are trying to get saved by good works “fruit of the ground”, then you’ve disqualified yourself like Cain. What God has commanded in the law (ten commandments), He has provided in the gospel of His Son Jesus and for you and I to satisfy the demands of the law, we have to abandon our sins, turn away from them and receive Christ as the Lamb of God to wash away our sins.
Have you repented of your sins?, are you counting on your “fruit of the ground” to save you?, what you are counting on may be the very thing that will condemn you. “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; and through it he being dead still speaks”, Hebrews 11:4, Blessings Ev
He Has Magnified His Word 