Sermon Central
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The Tragic Consequences Of An Unrepentant Heart
Contributed by Charles Wall, Jr. on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: As I read Gehazi’s story I was struck by the tragic consequences of an unrepentant heart. And behind this truth was a question that formed in my mind: I wonder what would have happened if the person, when confronted, had responded with a truly repentant
Cain reacted to God’s rejection of his offering which prompted God to confront Cain – 4:6-7...
God laid it out for him and although He didn’t use these words, He basically was saying, “Cain, if you will only confess and repent of your sin everything will be alright. All that you are feeling inside will be replaced with joy & peace. Our relationship will be restored as well and you will be victorious over sin which is trying to destroy you.”
Unfortunately, he did not repent. What I find remarkable but tragic here is the fact that God personally confronted and challenged Cain. It was not done through some other person as it is many times in our lives. In other words, it was not Cain’s parents or some other friend who confronted Cain. When it is someone else confronting a person in Jesus’ name there can always be the question of whether they did in the proper way, said the proper things and had the proper attitude. But in Cain’s situation, it was God personally confronting him so you know it was done in the right way and you know exactly the right things were said. And yet in spite of all of that, Cain refused to repent of his sin.
What are the consequences of an unrepentant heart? It will lead you to more & greater sin. Abel never would have been murdered if Cain had repented when God confronted him. Yet he did not repent and therefore his heart grew harder and it led him to murder his brother.
Now he is faced with being confronted by God again – v.9...
Instead of coming clean and confessing his horrible sin of murder, he responded with sarcasm. Whenever there is an unrepentant heart there must be judgment which God pronounces in vs.10-12.
And so what are the consequences of Cain’s unrepentant heart? It led to the murder of his brother. It led to banishment, to being a vagrant and a wanderer. It led to his special gift of being cultivator of the earth being stripped from him so that no longer would the ground yield its fruit to him. All he could do would be to wander from place to place and try to eke out a living. The earth had turned against him, God had turned against him and the people would turn against him. Anybody who met Cain would be a relative who might want to avenge Abel’s murder. Here’s the bottom line: by Cain’s refusal to repent of his sins, he created for himself an intolerable life. No matter where he lived or what he did, Cain would always be a restless man for whom there was no remedy.
Again, the question rises, what would have happened if in either situation, v.7 or v.9 if Cain had openly confessed and repented of his sin? Again, we don’t know but we do know that he who confesses and forsakes his sin finds compassion and mercy. In fact, compassion and mercy are so much a part of the character of God that we observe God extending an element of mercy to Cain in spite of his unrepentant heart – v.14-15...
If God extended an element of mercy to him in spite of unrepentance what might He have done if only Cain had truly repented? Oh, the tragic consequences of an unrepentant heart.
