Episode Details

Remsen Bible Fellowship, 11/26/2023

Introduction

One of my favorite quotes is from the Puritan John Owen, “Be killing sin. Or it will be killing you.” He says this as a comment on Romans 8:13, where the apostle Paul writes: “For if you live according to the deeds of the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”

That message that Paul wrote to the Romans two thousand years ago holds true today, and it’s the same sermon God was preaching to Cain 6,000 years ago. There is no older battle in humanity: you must rule your sin, master it, kill it. Or you will die. There is, to quote Hebrews 12:14, a “holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” And that holiness comes from putting sin to death, feeling tempted and mastering the temptation, saying no to sin and yes to God over and over, day in and day out. The Christian life is a battle, not against flesh and blood, but against the godless influence of the world, the lies of the devil, and the evil desires of your own flesh.

We left off last week with Adam and Eve being driven east of the garden of Eden, out from the presence of the Lord and the Tree of Life. And life got real ugly, real fast.

Two Paths: Honor the Lord, or Coddle Sin?

v1-7, ‘Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”’

If you remember from last week, Adam gave his wife the name “Eve”, because she would become mother of all the living. And the first two sons given to her are Cain and Abel. The name Cain sounds like the Hebrew for “gotten”, which makes sense in light of her words, “I have gotten a man [a son] with the help of the LORD.” Perhaps Eve was expecting Cain to be “the Seed of the woman”; the one who would crush the head of the serpent. 

But we find out pretty quickly that Cain isn’t that sort of son. In the course of time - sometime after they are grown and responsible for themselves - Cain and Abel each bring an offering to the LORD. And they bring sacrifices in keeping with their respective occupations. Abel brings a sacrifice of his firstborn from their flock and their fat portions; Cain, an offering of the field. 

At the end of v4 and into v5 we encounter words which ought to jar the modern reader: “the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” God accepted Abel. And he accepted Abel’s sacrifice. But not Cain’s. This is a big deal.

You might think - isn’t God the kind of God who will just take whatever we bring? Isn’t he just happy with your intentions being in the right place? Well, here’s the thing: your intentions are never completely in the right place. Your heart is deceitful and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9-10). This works its way out in disobedience. And one of the most dangerous and pernicious forms of disobedience is when we are trying to obey in our own way, rather than doing what God has said. You see this in Leviticus 10 with Nadab and Abihu - two priests bringing incense offerings to the Lord. But it was unauthorized fire - some translations say strange fire. They thought they were worshiping, but weren’t worshiping the way God ha