In the Faith, Hope, Love series, Pastor Scott Wiens looks at Hebrews 11:4 and Genesis 4 to examine Abel’s offering and the faith that made it acceptable to God. This is not a message about God being picky over religious rituals; it is a searching look at the heart behind what we bring to Him. Abel’s sacrifice still speaks because it flowed from faith, while Cain’s offering reveals the danger of half-hearted worship, wrong motives, and resistance to correction.

Scott walks through the major ways Christians have understood why God accepted Abel’s sacrifice and rejected Cain’s. Was Cain’s offering rejected because it was not a blood sacrifice? Was the issue that he brought from the end of his harvest rather than the firstfruits? Or was the deeper problem the heart behind the gift? Hebrews points us to the central answer: “By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain.” Abel’s outward offering was evidence of inward faith, while Cain’s anger exposed a heart unwilling to repent.

From there, Scott connects Cain’s response to the New Testament warnings about “the way of Cain.” When correction comes, Cain does not humble himself before God; he becomes angry, jealous, and eventually violent. His story warns us what can happen when we refuse repentance, let sin crouch at the door, and protect the parts of our lives we do not want to surrender.

Scott then brings Abel’s example into everyday Christian life by asking what it means for us to offer ourselves to God in faith. Romans 12 calls believers to present their bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. That means our faith is not limited to church attendance or religious moments; it touches our marriages, parenting, work, relationships, finances, service, and even how we respond when obedience costs us something.

This message also addresses giving with faith rather than compulsion, trusting God with our physical treasures, and using the gifts He has given for the common good of the body of Christ. If you sense conviction over areas where you have held back, Scott closes with a simple path forward: repent, ask God for increased faith, and immerse yourself in His Word, because faith comes by hearing through the word of Christ. Watch or listen and consider where God is inviting you to bring Him your best in faith.

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