CAIN AND ABEL
(Genesis
4:1-8)
As we begin our study of some of the great characters of
the Bible, we are actually going to look a two people whose names will be
forever linked. I’m referring to Cain
and Abel, the first two sons of Adam and Eve.
Their story is told in the first part of Genesis 4.
Several years ago a delightful little book was published
entitled Children's Letters to God.
In that book was a letter one child wrote God about Cain and Abel.
Dear God,
Maybe Cain would not have
killed Abel if they had had their own rooms.
It works for my brother and me!"
Well, I think there is a little more to the story of Cain
and Abel than that!
There is a tendency when we approach the story of Cain
and Abel to focus on questions to which the Bible does not give us an
answer. Questions such as:
·
Where did
Cain’s wife come from? (The best
answer I’ve heard to that question is, I
can’t tell you because I’m not able!)
·
What was the
mark of Cain mentioned in Genesis 4:15?
But obviously there are more important questions to ask regarding
this story. Questions such as, “Is it possible that two men, who lived at
the dawn of civilization in a totally agrarian age could have anything of value
to teach people like us who live in the technological age at the dawn of the
third millennium after Christ?” Specifically,
what can we learn from the experience of Cain and Abel? To answer that question we need to hear their
story in Genesis 4:1-8.
What can we learn from the story of Cain and Abel?
I. We must come to God on His terms and not
ours. (I think this is the primary
lesson of this story.)
1. At first reading, it would appear that God
was unfair toward Cain...Cain, who was a farmer by profession, brought to God
an offering from the fruit of his labors...he brought a portion of his
harvest...Abel, who was a shepherd by profession, also brought to God an
offering from the fruit of his labors...he brought a young lamb...God rejected
the offering of Cain and He accepted the offering of Abel...
2. Why is that?
Was God being arbitrary and unfair with Cain? Did Cain have a right to become angry because
his offering was rejected?...the writer of Hebrews gives us a clue to the
answer to those questions when he writes, "By faith Abel offered to
God a better sacrifice than Cain..." (Hebrews 11:4)...why was Abel's
sacrifice better?...
3. It was better because it was according to
God's plan...God had prescribed a blood sacrifice for the covering of sin...that
is a basic principle that permeates Scripture…as it is stated in Hebrews 9:22 -"Without
the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."...the implication
is that both Cain and Abel were aware of God's requirement...and the reason
Abel's sacrifice was better is because it was according to God's plan...
4. As matter of fact, Abel's sacrifice was a
preview, a foreshadowing of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross...John
MacArthur in his commentary on Hebrews put it this way: "In Abel's sacrifice, the way of
the cross was first prefigured. The
first sacrifice was Abel's lamb--one lamb for one person. Later came the Passover--one lamb for one
family. Then came the Day of
Atonement--one lamb for one nation.
Finally came Good Friday--one Lamb for the whole world."
[MacArthur, p.301]
4. And point of all that is Abel brought a sacrifice
on God's terms while Cain brought a sacrifice on his own terms...and the
abiding principle is if we are going to come to God, we must come on His terms
and not ours...
1. I'm afraid we have more Cains than Abels in
the world today ...more people seeking God on their terms than on God's terms
...and that is true even for many people who claim allegiance to God…it is
interesting that Cain obviously believed in God...Cain recognized that he owed
God some sort of worship...Cain recognized the importance of relationship with
his Creator...but problem was, Cain wanted to do it his way, not God's way...
2. And whenever we choose our will over God's
will, our way over God's way, our standards over God's standards, we are
choosing to walk the way of Cain who was rejected by God rather than Abel who
was accepted by God..
3. Cain is the father of false religion...false
religion is attempting to come to God in any way other than the way God has
prescribed...God has told us in His word that they way to Him is to acknowledge
our sin and by faith accept Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins...and
the biblical message is that's the only way to God...can't think ourselves into
heaven...can't work ourselves into heaven...can't earn our way into heaven by
being good...the Bible says, "There is no other name under heaven
given among men by which you must be saved" [Acts 4:12] other than
the name of Jesus...
1.
Have you ever heard someone say something like, "It
doesn't matter what religion you are...doesn't matter what you believe ...one
religion is just as good as another...they'll all get us to the same
place."...only in the realm of religion do you hear that kind of
nonsensical thinking...
2.
Went to doctor this week and got a prescription for some
type of infection I’ve been fighting in my sinuses…can assure you I did not go
into the pharmacy with a that prescription hand and say to the pharmacists, "One
medicine is just as good as another....just pick something from the shelf you
like."...
3.
But is exactly the kind of thinking many people buy into when
it comes to religion...And from Cain and Abel we should learn that we can't
come to God in just any way...must come in way God prescribes...
II. The result of genuine faith is obedience
1.
As one writer put it, "Obedience does not
bring faith, but faith will always bring obedience."
[MacArthur, p.301]...Cain and Abel were both sinful...they both needed to make
an offering, a sacrifice for their sins...Abel obeyed God and offered the right
sacrifice...Cain disobeyed God and offered the wrong sacrifice...why?...because
Abel's faith was genuine and Cain's faith was artificial...Abel's genuine faith
resulted in obedience and Cain's artificial faith resulted in disobedience...
1. Lesson for us in that is quite clear...while we
are not saved by works...we're saved by grace through faith...but if our faith
is genuine, it will always be accompanied by works...John Calvin said it well: "It
is faith alone that justifies, but faith that justifies can never be
alone."
2. A question we need to continually ask
ourselves is, “What does my level of
obedience to God say about my faith in God?” ...based not on what I say but
on what I do, would others say my faith genuine or artificial?...is my faith
merely empty profession or is validated by a life of obedience to God?..
3. Just as surely as Abel's faith caused him to
bring to God the right kind of sacrifice, if your faith is real, it will be
cause us to live the right kind of life...if we are really people of faith it
will make a distinct difference in how we--
--relate to our family...
--treat people...
--do our work...
--use our material possessions...
--and in every aspect of our lives....
4. Real faith doesn't just talk...it obeys!
III. Unresolved
and misplaced anger is always dangerous and hurtful
1.
Verses 5-7 give a graphic description
of the anger of Cain. While Cain took
out his anger on Abel, in reality he was angry at God.
2.
There is a reason the Bible has
so much to say to us about the danger of anger.
(cf. Proverbs 14:29; 22:49; Ephesians 4:6, 31; Colossians 3:8)
IV. We are our
brother’s keeper.
1.
One of the most famous
questions in the history of the world was asked of God by Cain. When God asked Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” (and He was not asking for
information; He was asking to convict Cain of the evil of his deed), Cain’s
flippant, defensive response was, “…Am
I my brother’s keeper?”
2.
The resounding answer to that
question in Scripture is “Yes! Yes, indeed, we are our brother’s keeper!” John, who had more to say about
brotherly love than any other biblical writer, used Cain as an example of how
not to relate to other people. He wrote
in 1 John 3:11-12, “For this is the
message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one
another; not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s
were righteous.”
V. We cannot hide our sin from God and
unconfessed/unforgiven sin has serious consequences.
1. It is obvious that Cain knew
his actions were wrong. Verse 8 says he
waited to strike down Abel until they were “in the field” apparently out of sight of Adam and Eve. And his response to God’s question about the
whereabouts of Cain is certainly indicative of a guilty conscience.
2. But even though Cain knew he
had done wrong, instead of confessing his sin and seeking God’s forgiveness, he
tried to conceal it and avoid responsibility. But that never works in the long run. While we may be able to fool people, we can
never fool God. That’s why Paul wrote in
Galatians 6:7-8 – “Do not be deceived,
God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall
from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from
the Spirit reap eternal life.”
3. Cain reminds us that our lives
are diminished by unconfessed, unforgiven sin.
In his case the ground would no longer be fertile for him and he was
condemned to a life of wandering the earth.
Even the place he eventually settled, “…the land of Nod, east of Eden…” means wandering.
4. The lesson from Cain is not
that we will never sin; the lesson is that we need to continually acknowledge
our sin and seek God’s forgiveness. (cf.
1 John 1:8-10)
CONCLUSION
1.
The story of Cain and Abel reminds us that every day we
are faced with the choice of choosing the way of Cain or the way of Abel.
·
We can choose to walk in the way of Cain, which is the
way of superficial faith. It is the
broad way described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount that is traveled by
most people. The way that leads to death
and destruction.
·
Or we can choose to walk in the way of Abel, which is the
way of genuine faith. It is the narrow
way described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount that is traveled by few
people. But it is the way that leads to
life abundant and life eternal.
2.
May we have the wisdom of choosing the way of Abel over
the way of Cain.
