The Desire of Sin
Rev. Scott Cheatham
Genesis 4:7
KJV
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
NASB
"If you do well, will not {your countenance} be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."
In just a few short words, God outlined the root of our problems when he spoke to Cain about his feelings for his brother Abel. Very early in the Bible God spells out for us what our problem is. Our battle over the “desire of sin”
The very word desire is used in this context only three times in the whole bible. The first is in Gen. 3:16, the second is here and the third time is in the Song of Solomon 7:10. The Hebrew word is ‘Tesh-oo-KAH” and it means a ‘deep longing’. (Point out definitions!)
We must learn that sin longs for us. It’s deep desire is for us but it’s aim is to destroy us. Satan makes the bait enticing but we must learn how to flee from sin!
EX #1
2 Samuel 11:2-4
2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, "Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house.
Do you think this was a snap judgement of David. Nope! He thought about her, meditated on her beauty, fantasized about her and ultimately, gave in to sin! The rest of the story is just as bad!
EX #2
Genesis 3:6
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make {one} wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Again, the serpent tempted Eve into trying the fruit. But not before she thought about it, looked upon it with desire, longed to taste it and gave in and not only her but her husband who was put in charge! Some tell this story like Adam wasn’t there but the Bible clearly states he was with her.
EX #3
Matthew 26:69-75
Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a servant-girl came to him and said, "You too were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied {it} before them all, saying, "I do not know what you are talking about." When he had gone out to the gateway, another {servant-girl} saw him and *said to those who were there, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth." And again he denied {it} with an oath, "I do not know the man." A little later the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Surely you too are {one} of them; for even the way you talk gives you away." Then he began to curse and swear, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows, you will deny Me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.
Here’s my old buddy Peter tested severely by Satan and failing the test. Jesus told him that Satan wanted to sift him but Peter valiantly stood in front of all the disciples and told Jesus he would never deny him, even if everyone else fell away. However, once put to the fire, Peter not only denies him but does it with an oath!
God tells us clearly that we must rule or “master” sin’s temptation in our text today. The word rule here means to ‘have dominion’ over. God also tells us how, by doing well. If we do well, our countenance will be lifted up. Cain simply fell into a funk by being jealous of Abel’s willingness to give his best to God. Cain didn’t do that, knew he didn’t and then was angry that God didn’t accept his offering. Ultimately, Cain fell into sin’s claws. The lure was too strong, the desire too much. The more he thought about his angry feelings, the more he allowed sin to take it’s foothold and enter his temple (body). The rush of sin’s desire engulfed him and he killed his brother. In order for us to have success, we must “master” our emotions and feelings and in so doing, keep sin from our doors!
