Why won't God hear us if we do not take Him at His Word?
Faith is simply taking God at His Word, and without that faith no one can get first base with Him; He will not hear us. That has always been God's way. Cain refused to believe what God said about the blood sacrifice and rationalized, so God did not accept him.
Les explains that faith is taking God at His Word, the simplest definition yet the most all-inclusive. Unless we can take God at His Word, we cannot get first base with Him; He won't hear us, and it has always been by faith. The context also ties this to Christ as the propitiation through faith in His blood: without the shedding of blood there is no remission, and without faith there is no salvation. Cain illustrates the problem: he did not believe what God said about bringing a blood sacrifice, but rationalized and deceived himself, thinking God would accept him without the blood. God did not. Abel, by contrast, did what God said to do. Hebrews 11 says by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, showing his faith by doing what God said. Abel was accepted, and Cain was rejected. People today do the same thing; the human race has not changed one iota.