THE TRAGEDY OF UNREPENTANCE-III—Genesis 4:1-24
Attention:
Repentance is vital to a true Christian. Repentance is necessary to anyone really seeking God.
Need:
Why don’t I have the relationship to God that others seem to have? Where is the power of God in my life?....Does God even hear me?
Unrepentance always ends badly, in a loss. It is always tragic.
Isa. 59:1-2—“Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
Cain’s lack of repentance & subsequent grudge, ended in his brother’s murder.
Willful unrepentance opens the door to tragedy.
What is the tragedy of unrepentance?
8 losses experienced thru the tragedy of unrepentance.
We have seen previously that...A tragedy of unrepentance is a Lost...
1. AUTHORITY/Importance/Position(:1)
2. LIVELIHOOD(:2(:11-12))
3. WORSHIP(:3, 5)
4. RESPECT(:4-5)
5. COUNSEL(:6-7a)
6. ACCEPTANCE(:7a)
7. CONTROL(:7b-c)
8. LIFE/Purpose(:8)
Furthermore we find that:
9—A tragedy of unrepentance is a Lost......
CONCERN(:9)
Explanation:(:9)Connection
:9—Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?””
YaHWeH again speaks to Cain(:6-7), after his utter failure. He is asked, much as Adam was asked(3:9), the whereabouts of his brother Abel. This highlights his physical relationship & the responsibility inherent to it.
The LORD has concern for us. The LORD is concerned with our attitude toward sin. Known trespasses of which we are unwilling to repentant, are glossed over by a haughty prideful attitude.
*God sees all our sins even the ones done in private.
Cain’s sharp response reveals his spiritually cauterized heart(1Tim. 4:2). He denies any obligation to the One asking as well as toward his brother’s well-being. His concise reply makes it plain that he neither knows nor cares. This reply is of course a lie because he killed his brother by his own hand.
Cain carries such disdain for both God & his brother that he has the nerve to ask God a rhetorical question regarding his own responsibility. Had God indeed made him responsible for his brother’s well-being? Cain carries/entertains no such obligation in mind or heart.
“Know”—edy yaw-dah'—Strong—To know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically & inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; & causatively, instruction, designation, punishment, etc.).
“Keeper”—rmv shaw-mar'—1) To keep, guard, observe, give heed. Strong—properly, To hedge about (as with thorns), i.e. Guard; generally, to protect, attend to, etc.:-- Beware, be circumspect, take heed (to self), keep(-er, self), mark, look narrowly, observe, preserve, regard, reserve, save (self), sure, (that lay) wait (for), watch(-man).
Argumentation:
1Tim. 4:1-2—“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits & doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron,”
Lev. 19:17-18—“‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, & not bear sin because of him. ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.”
Mk. 12:29-31—“Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. ‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, & with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. “And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””
Gal. 5:13-14—“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.””
The implication is that even distant relationships should exhibit God’s love—closer ones obviously!
Illustration:
TV ad for the USPS/ The apathetic employee approached about saving the company money with Postal Service shipping, says, “Its not my money. I seriously do not care.”/Lost CONCERN
Application:
?Your God-intended CONCERN lost to Unrepentance?
?Your see your Unrepentant life as the Tragedy it is?
10—A tragedy of unrepentance is a Lost......
COVER(:10)
Explanation:(:10)
:10—“And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.”
YaHWeH, knowing Cain’s atrocity, then pointedly asks Cain what he had done. However Cain in not given opportunity to respond as he has already condemned himself by his terse reply to YaHWeH.
God lets Cain know in no uncertain terms that his sin has found him out. YaHWeH knows of Cain’s sin because his brother’s blood continually “cries out” to Him “from the ground” which received it. It is as if the very blood has a “voice” which a perpetrator may never silence.
YaHWeH our God knows that which we consider to be hidden. No matter our supposed cleverness, there is always abundant evidence of our wrongdoing before God.
“Voice”—lwq qowl——1) Voice, sound, noise—1a) Voice, 1b) sound (of instrument); 2) Lightness, frivolity. Strong—From an unused root meaning to call aloud; A voice or sound.
“Blood”—Md dawm—Strong—Blood (as that which when shed causes death) of man or an animal; by analogy, The juice of the grape; figuratively (especially in the plural) Bloodshed (i.e. drops of blood):-- Blood(-y, --guiltiness, [-thirsty], + innocent.
“Cries out”—qeu tsaw-ak'—1) To cry, cry out, call, cry for help. Strong—To shriek; (by implication) To proclaim (an assembly):-- X at all, call together, cry (out), gather (selves) (together).
“Ground”—hmda ad-aw-maw'—1) Ground, land. Strong—Soil (from its general redness):-- Country, earth, ground, husband[-man] (-ry), land. From—Mda aw-dam'—To be red, red.
Argumentation:
The true COVER for your sin is the propitiating cover of the blood of Christ Jesus.
God is omniscient. You can hide nothing from Him. Ps. 44:20-21—“If we had forgotten the name of our God, Or stretched out our hands to a foreign god, Would not God search this out? For He knows the secrets of the heart.”
Ps. 139:4—“For there is not a word on my tongue, But behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.”
Jer 17:10—“I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.”
Jer 23:23-24—““Am I a God near at hand,” says the LORD, “And not a God afar off? Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the LORD; “Do I not fill heaven & earth?” says the LORD.”
Isa. 59:11-15—“We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us. For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them: In transgressing & lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression & revolt, Conceiving & uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey....”
Num. 32:23—““But if you do not do so[aid the conquest of Canaan], then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; & be sure your sin will find you out.”
Eccl. 12:14—“For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.”
Ps. 32:1-2[Rom. 4:7-8]—“<> Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered[by God]. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.”
Prov. 28:13-14—“He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses & forsakes them will have mercy. Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
Rom. 3:27-28—“Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”
If you are unrepentant then you cannot live by faith! If you do not live by faith then you are not justified in God’s eyes & you will thus bear your sin into hell.
Law is behaviorally driven—Christian is love-relationship driven.
Bible Belt Southern vs. Truly Christian.
Heb. 4:12-13—“For the word of God is living & powerful, & sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul & spirit, & of joints & marrow, & is a discerner of the thoughts & intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked & open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
Illustration:
Arnold Schwarzenegger thought he had hidden his sin(adultery) from his wife Maria Schriver for years/Now looking back, she can surely see the tell-tale signs of his infidelity/Lost COVER
Our dog Little Bit/Occasionally we will discover a yellow stain on the carpet/There is no way to hide it/She never signals us that she did it/Lost COVER
Application:
?Your God-intended COVER lost to Unrepentance?
?Your see your Unrepentant life as the Tragedy it is?
CONCLUSION:
Action:
The tragedy of unrepentance are a Lost......
9. CONCERN(:9)
10. COVER(:10)
1. AUTHORITY/Importance/Position(:1)
2. LIVELIHOOD(:2(:11-12))
3. WORSHIP(:3, 5)
4. RESPECT(:4-5)
5. COUNSEL(:6-7a)
6. ACCEPTANCE(:7a)
7. CONTROL(:7b-c)
8. LIFE/Purpose(:8)
Presented 06/04/2011am to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
