Without faith, we can have no relationship with God.  The Hebrews writer put it like this:

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

There is no pleasing God without faith regardless of how good a person may be.  This week, let us observe some familiar examples of faith and thereby learn some of the characteristics of saving faith.  I will take these examples from the Hebrews 11, the great chapter on faith, and begin with the example of Abel.

Hebrews 11:4 (ESV)
⁴ 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.

What kind of faith did Abel have?  He had the kind of faith that leads to righteous living.  He did all that God required of him.  That is what saving faith looks like—it always leads to obedience to God.  If you have God-pleasing faith, you are doing all that God requires of you.  If you are not doing that, you are not righteous because, according to the inspired writing of John, only those who do righteousness are righteous (1 John 2:29; 3:7), and only the righteous have saving faith.

What was the difference between Cain and Abel?  The difference was, while Abel did what was required, Cain took his own way instead of God’s way and ended up not doing what God required.  That made him unrighteous.  We know what kind of man Cain was because, after his rejection by God, he murdered his brother; however, even if we did not have that information, we would know that Cain was not righteous because he did not do what God required of Him.

It does not matter what kind of person you are—whether you are a seasoned saint or a babe in Christ, there is only one kind of person in scripture that is ever described as righteous, that is, the one who is a doer of righteousness.  It does not matter if you are a perfect husband or wife; if you are a wonderful father or mother, or if you are a great citizen in society, if you are not doing all that God requires of you, you are not righteous, and you do not have the faith that was possessed by Abel.

It should be noted that Abel’s faith was not seen by a single act.  His faith led him to a life of obedience.  God did not just accept one sacrifice from Abel, He accepted many of them.  Read it again.  The record says that God commended Abel “by accepting his gifts.”  What this denotes is ongoing fellowship between God and Abel.  And one thing the Bible is clear about is that God can have no fellowship with unrighteousness (1 John 1:5-7).  So, Abel lived righteously.  He was morally upright.  That is what proper faith does, and it is the only way we can be pleasing to God.

Do you have the kind of faith that Abel had?  He is a good example for us to follow.  We must obey God in all things.  Taking our own way instead of God’s way will always result in disaster, at least so far as our souls are concerned.  Cain found this out the hard way.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.