One of our great needs in the church is to look again at the things of faith and true religion, and humble ourselves to be taught by God about them.

It is very common that many believe and are taught that faith is opposite to religion, when faith is the spirit of true religion. We are quick to think we understand a greater wisdom because we do not keep these external sacrifices, and yet we so often show that we aren’t really any better than Cain in our religion. This is because we do not humble ourselves to understand Abel’s example spiritually, nor take warning from what God spoke to Cain.

Abel was accepted by God because of his religion, his righteous regard of God. This is what faith is. And though we do not have external sacrifices, we can busy ourselves with much of the same vanity as many of the Jewish people did. Our activity is no different, it doesn’t matter what form it takes. If our religion is not of this substance of spiritual godliness and righteousness, then our religion is also rejected by God.

God shows us that the sacrifices of Israel were an expression of the very same spiritual error and sin that happens within many. Where we can lack spiritual religion in the heart.

The issue of faith in the Bible is God continually trying to show mankind about this very issue of the heart.

If we look at what Paul speaks about in Romans 2, we can see this example in circumcision:

“For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision… For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter…” (Rom 2:25, 28-29)

Circumcision could just be a physical act, and it meant nothing if it wasn’t done from a spiritual religion within. Whereas the point of what we see in Abel, and later in Abraham, are physical things done from this spiritual religion within, which is what faith is.

What often deceives Christians is that they quickly think they understand faith merely because they do not lean on outward physical acts in their religion, but they do not see how legitimate these physical acts were when they were done from this spiritual faith in people.

If we miss this right understanding of faith then we are in danger of running into the very same vanity that we act as if we are above. We just cannot see it because it is carried out in a different way.

Though our vanity is not carried out in physical sacrifices and external acts, still our vanity can come from the same spirit, where we are busy with something or other in the name of religion all while neglecting the entire purpose of God’s religion, to bring us into a spiritual and full godliness and righteousness of life. To bring us into a spiritual knowledge of God, and into doing His will.

What we see in Cain is the sin of the heart that was rejecting this purpose of God, which Abel was walking in it. Though their external sacrifices could have been the same in quantity, God rejected Cain’s because it was not spiritually right, it did not come from godliness and holiness within.

“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the LORD;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats…
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes;
cease to do evil, 
learn to do good;
seek justice,
correct oppression;
bring justice to the fatherless,
plead the widow’s cause.”
(Isaiah 1:11,16-17)