Genesis 4 - The Sin of Cain
Genesis 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD."
2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.
4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering,
5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
6 So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
7 "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?"
10 And He said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.
11 "So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
12 "When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth."
One thing we must always keep in mind when studying Genesis or any Old Testament scripture is that though it is a historical account, these events are used by God to point us to His plan and the redemption of sin through Christ. Jesus is the central theme of the Bible - both Old and New Testaments. If you lose sight of this, you will miss the big picture and overlook the lessons provided throughout scripture. With this in mind, I want to take a deeper look at the story of Cain and Abel.
Works verses Faith
1 John 3 says,
11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,
12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
What were the wicked works Cain committed? It began with his sacrifice to God and continued through until he murdered his brother. God is not impressed with our works. All good works come from God and it is faith that God honors and blesses. Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Cain’s works were the works of his own hands. He tilled the soil, offered to God his best works and God rejected his works. Abel’s sacrifice was not of his own works, but of the blessing God produced. Both the sacrifices of Cain and Abel required work, but the focus was entirely different. God blessed Abel and Abel gave back to God what God had given him. It was an act of love founded on faith. A righteous sacrifice is giving back to God what He has given. This is an acknowledgment of gratitude for what God has done. Honorable sacrifice and good works is always acknowledging and laying hold of what God is doing. It is not something we are doing, but finding the will of God. This message has not changed since the beginning. It is blessing of God that produces good works. When we walk in faith, God produces righteousness and good works in our lives. Look at Titus 3:
4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Romans 4:3-5 adds explains this further:
3 For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.
5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,
It is God’s righteousness that makes us righteous. It is God’s blessing that produces good works. Cain became angry because he did not get the honor he desired. He targeted his brother in retaliation against God. When our focus is on ourselves, we will react against anyone who threatens our motives and self-interest. A godly man or woman will seek to honor God but someone with sinful motives will seek to gain their own honor. False religions flourish because people are naturally self-seeking. By nature, we want to work for our glory. We want to stand before God and expectantly show off our works so God can call us good. Cain worked hard to make his own way and presented his works before God. When God did not honor Cain’s works, he showed what was really in his heart. Instead of submitting to God and rising above his selfish desires, he decided to bring Abel down below his level. When we are self-seeking, our tendency is to stamp out anyone who threatens us or becoming angry when we don’t get the recognition or honor we feel we deserve. Instead of acknowledging our need to change, we find it easier to get rid of those who remind us of our shortcomings. Cain ignored God’s warning that sin would rule over him if he submitted to it. Sin never takes a back seat. If we choose to pursue a sinful lifestyle, it will always become the master. In the beginning, it will seem like we are in control, but unless we surrender and allow God to control us, sin will always get the upper hand in time.
Cain’s initial failure was that he desired to make a name for himself that God would honor. His works did not earn God’s favor because the works of man’s hands can never earn righteousness. God’s grace can’t be bought, it can only be received as a gift. Works then become a product of God working through us. Works can’t produce faith, but true faith always produces good works. It is not our works, but God’s works that are produced when we walk by faith. Look at the contrast given in the book of Revelation:
Revelation 2: 26 "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations -
Revelation 3:
1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ’ These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: "I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
2 "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.
Jesus promised that overcoming would be rewarded in Heaven. Part of overcoming is keeping His works. Having an appearance of life and good works is still dead works unless it is God who works in us. It is vital to recognize that it is God’s work produced in our lives and not our works presented to God. It may seem subtle, but there is a big difference. The object of the glory is always God. When we glorify God, we will always receive the benefit. When we seek the glory, we miss the benefit and God’s honor toward us. The works of our hands may produce praise from our peers, but that is the extent of the reward. Jesus made this point clear in Matthew 6:
1 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 "Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
3 "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 "that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Responsibility and Accountability
Before Cain murdered, God warned him of the danger of sin. Lets jump back to Genesis 4
6 So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
7 "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
There is a common myth that is growing in some Christian circles who teach that we don’t have a choice but are predestined to our actions. This misconception of what it means to be predestined misleads people into a lifestyle of sin. Predestination is a heavily debated subject and can’t be fully addressed here, but for the sake of clarity we should examine it to understand this passage in Genesis. God predestines us to receive His benefit, not to inherit sin or judgement. A good passage to examine is Romans 8:
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
The focus of predestination is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Predestination does not exempt responsibility. If anything, it removes all excuses for not fulfilling our calling and inheriting God’s rewards for us. God has a perfect plan for each one of our lives. He knew us beforehand and planned our life accordingly. Because we have been given a free will, we have also been given the right to choose God’s plan or reject it and replace it with our own. I believe that when we all stand before God, we will clearly see God’s plan. We will see the amazing love of God. We will see that even though God knew that very few would follow His plan, He still took the loving care to orchestrate each step of our life with abundant opportunities to receive His goodness. Likewise, God foreknew Cain’s choice and the consequences that he would face. Therefore He instructed Cain beforehand but did not force Cain to make the right choice. God also has foreknowledge of our lives and knows us inside and out. God planned all things to work together for our good and provided us with everything we need to conform to the image of Jesus Christ. Like Cain, we are given the choice to follow God’s design or submit to sin and allow it to control us. We are predestined, called, justified and glorified when we submit to His plan. Like Cain, we all have the need of self-worth. Here we have the promise that God will fulfill that need of worth. When we glorify God, we reflect God. When we reflect God’s glory, His glory shines on us and we inherit from God the very thing that we spend our lives trying to achieve without God. God lifts up and honors those who glorify Him. We will share in that glory because there is no way to glorify God without His glory shining on you. There is no way to glorify God without being satisfied. All the good things we desire are fulfilled in Him. "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Matthew 23:12).
As we look at the scriptures reference to predestination, it is crucial that we take scripture in its entirety. Scripture doesn’t replace scripture; scripture complements scripture. Predestination does not exclude choice it complements our choice. In Christ, we know and have absolute confidence that God is for us and has perfectly planned our life. We know that if we seek God and seek His purpose and glory, we will walk in the works that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10). If we lose sight of God’s plan, we begin to try to make our own way. Then when life doesn’t go our way, we will be like Cain. We will become angry at God and will allow sin to rule us and dictate our decisions. God gives us the power to rule over sin by submitting to Him in all our ways. When I have confidence in God’s plan and don’t allow circumstances or selfish desires to take my eyes off of His predetermined plan, and then I can walk in faith and not by sight. Even during the trials and lowest times of life, I can be confident that God’s plan is right. Those who don’t live by faith, live solely by the desire for happiness. Happiness is dependent on circumstances. Only when life is going well and everything goes my way can I be happy. Joy in God is not dependent on circumstances. I can have joy even when I am unhappy. Hebrews 12:2 tells us that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy that was set before Him. The agony of the cross was far from happiness. In spite of the agony, Jesus had joy in the cross. Not pleasure, but joy. Joy looks ahead to the plan of God and the benefits of God’s plan that lies ahead. When happiness fails (and it will), joy gives us endurance and hope.
God wants us to be happy, but happiness can’t take precedence over God purpose and our goal of fulfilling our upward call. Those who walk by sight will sacrifice true benefit for temporal happiness. Their religion will fail when their happiness fails. They will reject God or abandon His plan when it conflicts with personal temporal benefit. Those who walk by faith will be willing to sacrifice happiness for the eternal benefits of God’s purposes and the joy of the Lord will be their strength. Their hope is not in fragile happiness, but in God. Like emotions, happiness comes and goes, but a Christian of faith will experience true joy. If self-fulfillment and happiness is the center of our focus, we will never be willing to endure the trying of our faith. Temporary struggles are a small price to pay for the eternal benefits and rewards of faithfulness. Anyone can follow God when He leads where we want to go, but only a man or woman of faith can follow God at a personal sacrifice. The one who is found faithful is the one who stands firm even when it will cost them something. Jesus promised that those who lose what they value for His sake will receive a hundred-fold and inherit eternal life. There is no question that the temporary exchange is well worth it. The question is, are we faithful and do we really believe God will do as He promised. Is a good economy the object of our faith or do we trust God and stand on godly values? Is the cost of honesty more than we are willing to trust God with? Do we count the investment in our kids to be greater than the investment in our jobs? Or are we willing to sacrifice our families for the sake of financial gain? There are countless ways that we choose to either trust God or follow our selfish feelings and desires. It take no faith to take the easy way out. It takes true faith to keep God’s word even when we know we will suffer for it.
*** This sermon can be downloaded as a Word document by following the link at http://www.exchangedlife.com/Sermons/gen/gen4.htm
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