I tell my children that for every thing they do or say there is a consequence. Consequences are not always bad. If you do good and right things, you may find good done in return. But with wrong choices will always come bad or negative consequences. It’s all based on the choices we make. Satan wants us to believe that there is no reward in obedience and that there is no punishment in wrong. This is a deception he wants us to believe. And if we believe them, we will more easily be deceived.
Some believe that the “good” they get in their wrong doings, will far outweigh the consequences of their decision. This is the secret power of lawlessness.
Let’s take a look at Cain, Adam’s firstborn son. Cain was a farmer. His brother and Adam’s second born son, Abel, was a shepherd. We know that both brought an offering before the Lord. Cain brought an offering of fruit of the ground and Abel brought and offering of the firstborn of his flock. Then we see, “The Lord accepted Abel and his offering, but he did not accept Cain and his offering.” (Gen. 4:4-5)
There is a saying that goes through the church that says, “God will accept you as you are.” If this were the case, God would have accepted Cain as he was. Truth is God WILL accept us, IF we repent. Look at Ananias and Sapphira. Did God accept them as they were?
Acts 5:1-11, “But a man named Ananias and his wife Sapphira sold some land. He kept back part of the money for himself; his wife knew about this and agreed to it. But he brought the rest of the money and gave it to the apostles. Peter said, ‘Ananias, why did you let Satan rule your thoughts to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep for yourself part of the money you received for the land? Before you sold the land, it belonged to you. And even after you sold it, you cold have used the money any way you wanted. Why did you think of doing this? You lied to God, and to us!’ When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. Some young men came in, wrapped up his body, carried it out, and buried it. And everyone who heard about this was filled with fear. About 3 hours later his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened. Peter said to her, ‘Tell me, was the money you got for your field this much?’ Sapphira answered, ‘Yes, that was the price.’ Peter said to her, ‘Why did you and your husband agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ At that moment Sapphira fell down by his feet and died. When the young men came in and saw that she was dead, they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. The whole church and all the others who heard about these things were filled with fear.
Does this say that ‘God will accept you as you are?’
God didn’t accept Cain’s offering nor did he accept Cain. That doesn’t mean that Cain’s future was one of continual rejection of God. What it does is shake up our thinking of total acceptance, by God, as is. When we have the false sense that God will take us as we are, it takes away the fear of the Lord from our hearts. It is that very fear that causes us to turn from sin. Exodus 20:20, “Then Moses said to the people, ‘don’t be afraid, because God has come to test you. He wants you to respect (fear) him so you will not sin.’”
When Ananias and Sapphira were carried out the scripture says that a great fear came upon the church. No longer was disobedience a casual matter.
“ I would like to slightly modernize the story of Adam’s
two sons in order to bring it forward. His sons were raised in a home that
called on the name of the Lord. Both brought an offering to the Lord, which
represented their lives. The Bible says we are to offer our bodies as living
sacrifices (Rom 12:1). Whenever a sacrifice is brought before God, it represents
our service to Him. So we are not talking about Abel, who served God, and
brother Cain, who did not.”
“Cain wasn’t hanging out at the sports arenas, strip
joints, or bars and avoiding any possible church attendance. Don’t mistake Cain
with a man who doesn’t want anything to do with God. Both would presently be
considered believers who had communication with God.”
“Both men were diligent n their work to bring an offering
to the Lord. In fact, we could safely say Cain worked harder than Abel. I know
very little about farming and shepherding, but I know enough to know
shepherding is work, but farming is harder. With shepherding, you have
responsibilities in the morning and afternoon, but usually in the heat of the
day, you can rest under a shade tree and sip on a cool drink.”
“Farming is more labor intensive. Cain’s offering came by
the sweat of his brow, brought forth by toiling against the very ground of
rocks, stumps, and other debris. Then he plowed and cultivated the soil. He
planted, watered, fertilized, and protected his crops. He expended a lot of
effort to supply an offering.”
So why wasn’t Cain’s offering accepted? Especially when he most likely worked harder for his offering. The answer is found with his parents.
In the garden everything had a covering. Animals have fur, fish have scales, birds have feathers, ect. You don’t see animals wearing clothing because they do not need any more covering then they already have.
Adam and Eve also did not have physical clothes or covering. They were “crowned” with glory. (Ps 8:5)
“The word crowned means “to circle or surround.” They
were covered by it. The very glory that God placed on them was so overwhelming
that, in their eyes, it concealed their physical nakedness. For this reason
Scripture says, “They were naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed”
(Gen 2:25). They were not ruled by self-consciousness; rather their lives were
before God.”
They never even thought about clothing.
But this changed, after their disobedience. Before the spirit ruled their lives, after it was their flesh that ruled. The very first scripture after they sinned was, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked.” (Gen 3:7)
The key words in this scripture are “they knew.” Meaning it was knowledge they did not have before.
“The principle of the knowledge of good and evil is to
live life according to what is right and wrong. Before the fall, their actions
were governed not by the knowledge of good and evil, or by right and wrong, but
by the knowledge of God. They were motivated by a sense of obedience birthed
out of trust and love. Right and wrong were not in their minds, but in God’s
hand.”
Before eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they had no need to know right from wrong. God told them. After they ate from the tree, they got that knowledge outside of God. They, in a sense, would figure out for themselves what is right and wrong.
The first thing God asked Adam and Eve was “who told you?.”
How many know that when God asks a question that its not because He is looking for information? How many times have you asked your kids: “who broke this?”, “who took the last cookie?”, “who tracked mud in the house?”. The list is endless. But even if you know the answer, you ask the question. Why? It’s an opportunity to discuss, to teach, to give opportunity for confession and repentance.
God already knew they had eaten from the forbidden tree. They had replaced obedience with reasoning. He basically said, you have found a source of information outside of Me. Thus proving they had eaten from the Tree they were commanded not to.
Ok, here comes the tying in with Cain’s offering rejection:
“Immediately after their disobedience, they covered their nakedness with fig leaves, or the ‘fruit of the ground.’ Even with the covering they still felt naked and hid.”
So God asked them who told them that they were naked. (Gen 3:11) They had tried to cover themselves up with their new “knowledge” and still felt exposed. Because it was not God’s covering it was insufficient.
“He [God] demonstrated His acceptable covering, or offering for nakedness, by slaying an innocent animal and covering Adam and Eve with its skin. That was God’s prescribed way, not the fruit of the ground.”
Up till that point, Adam and Eve did not know God’s way to do right by what God was looking for from them as acceptable.
But Cain and Abel knew. They were taught what was an acceptable offering to God.
So when Cain brought the fruit of the ground as an offering to God, he was serving God in his own way, rather then doing it God’s way.
He reasoned what was a good sacrifice instead of simply being obedient to what God had said was acceptable.
Hebrews 11:4, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of His gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”
“The New Testament writer equated the obedience of Abel with faith. We will learn in a future chapter that true faith is equated with, as well as founded on, obedience. True faith operates out of obedience rather than a sense of right and wrong.”
When Cain realized his efforts and offering were not acceptable to God…
Gen 4:5 “Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.”
“This is the classic response of a religious person when he is confronted with truth. He gets angry. You will find this to be true throughout the scriptures. This anger is fueled by pride, and pride rejects God's will or ways in order to cling to its own.”
God tried to show his mercy to Cain. “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted.” Gen 4:6-7
We are doing well when we are in obedience. God desires obedience over sacrifice.
Isa 66:4 “…Because, when I called, no one answered, When I spoke they did not hear; But they did evil before My eyes, and chose [that] in which I do not delight.”
The highest form of worship is obedience.
We can reword Gen 4:6-7 slightly and not change the meaning:
“Cain, why are you angry? You don’t need to be. Learn from this. If you obey Me as your brother did, I will accept you and your sacrifice as I did Abel and his.”
The Lord warned, “And if you do not do well [if you do not obey and you persist in your reasoning], sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” Gen 4:7.
Note two things here. First, sin (disobedience) has desire.
The lord of lawlessness, Satan, is the force behind disobedience. Once this
force was granted entrance by Adam, it had one objective: to control or rule
everyone and everything.
It is similar to a wicked scientist who released an uncontainable amount of radioactive gases into our atmosphere. The gases would permeate everywhere, even though the actual presence of the scientist would not. He set in motion a deadly and powerful force. The only ones protected from these deadly gases would be those wearing protective gear. The scriptures are very clear: “We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the power and control of the evil one.” (1 John 5:19)
Another way to view this would be to compare the desire of sin to the law of gravity. It is a constant force that is always in place and affects all matter. If you step off the top of a building, you will find its law in effect and fall to the lowest point, in fact, very hard. You may not want to fall or have an awareness of or belief in the law of gravity; nevertheless, you will encounter it.
One day scientists discovered yet another law – the law of lift. They learned that the law of lift supersedes the law of gravity if conditions were right. When you fly in a plane, you are on a level free from the law of gravity and do not fall to gravities’ lowest point. Scripture tells us, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom 8:2).
What wonderful news! I fly frequently. Last year alone I flew approx. 2 hundred thousand miles to preach the gospel globally. When I get on these jets, I’m delighted that the law of lift sets me free from the law of gravity. However, if the pilot decides to turn off the engines, and the wings fell off, the plane would feel the full effect of the law of gravity, and the plane would come down hard.
We would no longer enjoy a mastery of the law of gravity, but would find ourselves mastered by what we previously enjoyed power over. Scripture further declares in the same chapter, “therefore, brethren, we are debtors – not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die” (Rom 8:12-13).
Although the law of the Spirit of life makes us free from the law of sin, the law of sin remains in tact. Our protection or mastery of it comes from true faith or obedience. The “law of the Spirit of life” is also called “the law of faith” (Rom 3:27)
We know the law of faith supersedes the law of sin. True faith is described as having corresponding works of obedience. (James 2:19-23). Faith and obedience are inseparable because obedience is evidence of true faith. Abel mastered the law of sin and death by faith, or obedience to God. In speaking to Cain, God warned: sin’s desire is for you (not unlike gravity’s desire or influence on any solid matter); if you obey Me, you will master it (just as lift overrides gravity).
Sin is mastered through obedience.
This is where we are leaving off for tonight. Tune in same time next week for the next part of this lesson. We might have to do this one in 3 sections due to its length.
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How does modern day theology of God’s “unconditional acceptance” affect many people’s understanding of sin?
How has your own reasoning sometimes led you down paths that are not pleasing to God?
In what ways are faith and obedience inseparable?
Before Adam and Eve’s fall, their actions were guided by their (choose one)
a) knowledge of right and wrong
b) reasoning
c) knowledge of God
d) instinct
Cain’s sacrifice did not please God because…. ?
The desire of sin is to …?
The primary characteristic of sin is that it is the desire to: (choose one)
a) have extreme pleasure
b) take the place of God
c) satisfy desires
d) be self-centered
Exodus 20:20
How does this passage use the word “fear” in two different ways?
In what ways have we as a society lost both of these fears of God?
What is happening to our society as a result of this?
Gen 3:17-19
How did sin and death’s entrance into the world change mankind’s existence?
By choosing to sin, Adam chose his own way instead of God’s. Why did this simple act bring about such grave consequences?
Gen 4:6-7
In what ways does sin “desire” to rule over us?
Cain’s anger was born from God’s rejection of his sacrifice. Why does rejection of any sort often cause us to be angry and to sin?
1 John 5:19
Why is it important to understand the reach of the enemy in this world?
Why is it important to know that you are “of God” and not under deception?
Rom 8:12-13
What does it mean to live according to the flesh?
How can the Spirit enable us to overcome the flesh?
John says, “Faith and obedience are inseparable because obedience is evidence of true faith.” Is it possible to have true faith without obeying the precepts that accompany that faith? Why?
Many people in our society believe that God will accept them regardless of the things they do. In what ways is this type of thinking dangerous to true belief and faith?
Cain’s offering to God was rejected because it was not what God desired as a sacrifice. How can we avoid making sacrifices to God that He does not desire and how do we know what we are to sacrifice?
Gleaned from UNDER COVER by: John Bevere http://johnbevere.com