"Cain's Inheritance"

Genesis 4.1-8 "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. [2] And she again bare his brother Abel.  And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.   [3] And in process of time  it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. [4] And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat  thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: [5] But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth,  and his countenance fell. [6] And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen?  [7] 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.   [8] And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him."

If we could all see sin as God sees sin, if we could truly have its impact revealed to us today, then we as humans would run, run like the wind to get away from it.

Sin has moved into the world around us, quietly encroached on our families, entered into our Church assemblies and fellowships, and has done so in such a way as to be innocuous or non threatening. Many elements of the Christian Church today have not only tolerated, but have judged sin as "normative behavior". Former President Jimmy Carter made the news lately when he decided to walk away from the Southern Baptist Denomination in order to follow the Christian Baptist Fellowship. His excuse: The SBC has become ever intolerant of homosexuality and women in pastoral positions, and he just can't go along with that.

Quite frankly, I can think of many valid reasons to leave the SBC, reasons much more valid than the two that Carter espoused. I do not believe in branding homosexuals or excluding them from our fellowships, though I stand firm that the Scripture regards such behavior as abominable. I do not believe in going into Churches that have chosen women to Pastoral positions and "chase them women out" with a whip. My goodness, if that's your doctrinal viewpoint at this time then follow it - just don't ask me to come along on the ride. As Paul said:

Romans 14:22-23 "Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."

There are some areas that we can debate as Christians and as humans all day long and never come to a conclusion. I cannot see women pastors, but you can. Fine, do as you wish but do not drag me into it.

But that is not true of all sin, for there are certain things that are specifically sinful and evil. These things are not of faith, but are of arrogance. Anything, ANYTHING that God has decreed as sin, if we take it to our breast after that declaration then we start a chain reaction that eventually leads to destruction. This is nowhere more evident in Scripture than in the historical account of Cain and Abel.

Genesis 4.1-2 "And Adam knew⁽¹⁾ Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain,⁽²⁾ and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. [2] And she again bare his brother Abel.⁽³⁾ And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground."

Adam and Eve had already seen this truth, sin corrupts the beautiful, when they fell prey to Satan in the Garden. They were in a beautiful place that had no weeds, no fear, no anger or strife. Food was freely provided every day from the wide variety of trees and plants. It was beautiful - then Adam and Eve fell away from God and under the curse of sin.

That which was beautiful was corrupted for their sake. Weeds were introduced, animals began killing one another, survival of the fittest became the creed that all nature followed. The peace that was over all creation was turned to terror. Locks had to be developed for our doors, lest our neighbor steal from us. Our wives could no longer walk outside at night, lest they be molested. We had to develop banks and weapons to protect that which we owned. Sin took the beautiful and corrupted it. But I jump too far into the future.

Genesis 3:21 "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them."

John 1:29  "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

The first thing that God had to do after Adam's fall was to make an animal sacrifice, spill the blood of the innocent on the ground to pay for the guilty. Imagine the first animal that was killed. It had been created and placed in a beautiful environment. Food was plentiful, and the weather was perfect. This animal, minding its own business, is approached by God who kills it, splashes its blood on the ground, then skins it for man. I know that animals live by instinct, but the thought of this fairly makes me shudder.

The last thing that God did after Adam's fall was to take His Son, the Lamb of God, and spill the blood of this innocent on the earth. Jesus went, sorrowfully but willingly, to that tree for us. He who had known no sin or pain, much like the animal that God killed in the Garden, was made sin for us. Pain was introduced into His life, sin was poured out on Him. The first Adam had something killed for his salvation, the last Adam Himself became the sacrifice for the world.

As I said before, sin caused corruption to enter creation. Beauty was scarred with evil. Weeds came into our lives, and only a sacrifice would reunite us with God.

After all this ugliness brought on by disobedience, Adam knew or had sexual relations with his wife, and she bore a son. This was obviously a big deal to her. So much tragedy (albeit, introduced by her disobedience) in their lives, and here comes the first born child. She named him "acquired", or Cain, because he was a gift from God. I suspect that Eve was expecting a little girl the second time she was with child, because she named this one "nothingness" or Abel. But regardless of that, the despair of creation's fall was slowly receding into the rearview mirror. God was giving them children, and through the children blessings. Life was good, though hard.

But sin would be allowed into this family by man's decision and, just as it destroyed the original Garden bliss, it would tear this family apart.

Genesis 4.3-5 "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. [4] And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat⁽¹⁾ thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: [5] But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect...."

Now, it is important that you understand these events as they occur. Here are two children, both proud of their chosen professions or callings. Abel is a shepherd, Cain a farmer. Both professions are honorable and needed in society of all ages. In fact, of the two, Cain's profession is the older and more revered. Remember that God, when He placed Adam in the Garden, put him:

Cain literally followed in his father's footsteps, became a farmer like dad was, and there's nothing wrong with that. So honorable, so beautiful. Yet when it came time to sacrifice to God, God demanded an animal sacrifice, not a crop sacrifice.

Why is that? Well, as you well know Jesus Christ had to come to pay for the sins of the world,

God used the sacrifices for teaching aids, to prophetically tell humanity that one day a mammal, a Son, Jesus, would come and be the sacrifice that paid for what Adam did in the Garden. Now, I am certain that God didn't reveal every reason as to why He demanded animal sacrifices. Adam, Eve, and young humanity was unable, at this time, to grasp the concept of God the Son dying for us. God just said "Do it!", and demanded that the sacrifice be committed just as He demanded.

Cain didn't look at the fact that God demanded a certain sacrifice. He, just like his father before him rather than following the Lord began to question "well, why not?". This is a dangerous path to walk down. Adam questioned "Well, why not?" on the forbidden fruit, watched Eve eat it, then took humanity down with him. Churches and people today are ever hearing God forbid certain action but, like the forbidden fruit, are asking "Well, why not?". Churches and people are hearing God say "I am the Way, the Truth, the Life - no man comes to the Father but by Me" and are, instead of coming by Jesus, saying "Well, why not?"

This was the attitude that Cain had. He was a farmer and proud of it. He was the firstborn child, the blessed of God, and surely God would accept his sacrifice over Abel's. Cain heard the command of God, heard the words of Jesus, and rationalized them all away. He became erratic in service to God, for sin was in the heart, in the life, in the Church.

Cain presumed on God, and moved himself toward damnation.

Genesis 4.5-7 "... Cain was very wroth,⁽¹⁾ and his countenance fell. [6] And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? [7] If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin⁽²⁾ lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him"

In this passage you see the clearest representation of God as "Father" in Scripture. All fathers want and demand the best for their children. God loved Adam enough to, even after he fell and blamed God for the fall, still promise a coming Redeemer. God loved man enough to commune with this sinful creature, to tell him to make atonement through animal sacrifices. God was willing to temporarily overlook the sins of man if man sacrificed animals. God was willing to give up His Son, Jesus, for our sins.

Father told the Adamic family exactly what He expected of them, and Cain, in arrogant pride, decided that his way was better. How many times have we been guilty of this? "Yes, God, I know what You said - but what can a little of this hurt? I'm a big boy (or girl). What can it hurt?"

Well, it hurts both us and God. Sin, I fully believe, is an act of insanity by an ungrateful creation. How many times have I justified a "little sin" only to have the seed of that diseased plant blossom into full destruction? When we sin, and have our works rejected by a kind and faithful Father, we have a tendency to rail at Him. "How dare you not accept my sacrifice? How dare you refuse my service?". God, in loving reply, says "If you'd do as I ask, you'd be blessed. Why are you mad at Me? You made this decision, not I. You fell into this pattern of sin, not I. Why blame Me? Repent, and you will be blessed".

Rather than repent, the Bible says that Cain "exploded in anger". Like a forest fire out of control, the flame of sin caught in his life, raged out of control, and Cain allowed it to rage. God warned Cain that, unless he repented, that this sin would assume a life of its own. Sin would take on its own personality and power, or as God said:

".. if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou shalt rule over him .."

Cain as the firstborn child was the inheritor of his father's estate. He would, according to oriental tradition, become the head of the Adamic family one day. Abel would be a tribal head under Cain, and Cain would be the big "man in charge". That is, if he got his sin under control. While Cain was blazing with anger, he was focused on his sin and not on his God. He was obsessed with self justification. He was obsessed with being better than his little brother, obsessed with his ruling authority, and in his own heart demanded that God repent rather than do that himself.

1 John 3:11-12 "... we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous."

Cain transferred his allegiances from God to sin and Satan, from God and love to hatred and murder. This destructive attitude confused Cain (for sin is confusing) while at the same time alienated and disturbed God. Cain, so terribly confused, ceased caring about serving God in his rush toward self justification.

Genesis 4.8 "And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew⁽¹⁾ him."

The seed of sin is planted in Cain's life, and the only thing that will dig this seed up is repentance from a broken heart. Cain is not ready to repent, so he does all the things that we do when we don't want to repent. When God rebukes us, we try to "talk God" into our position. "Look, God, these are perfectly good fruit. Look, even some have red juice in them. Why can't I bring them to you as a sacrifice?". God wants what He wants for our own good, not because He is petty. When will we learn that truth?

When Cain couldn't talk God into accepting the sacrifice, the next step he followed was to try and get his brother to agree with him. I want you to notice that they were both "in the field". It looks like Cain took his brother out into the field to talk to him. I can see them both now, in my mind's eye. Cain points out at the crop and says, "look  at this crop, Abel, it's beautiful! Why won't God accept it as a sacrifice?" You see, when sin can't be justified before God we like to gang up with others of like mind. There's strength, we think, in numbers, strength in having many agree with us. When will be learn that, with God, a majority is always God and I?

As he began to justify himself, Abel, I can guess, began to disagree with Cain. The Bible tells me that Abel was righteous, and Cain sinful:

Jude 1:10-11 "But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core."

Cain wanted someone to side with him against God, and Abel refused. The seed of disobedience to God was in Cain's heart. When Abel refused to fall in line with Cain, this seed, watered by hatred and self exaltation, exploded into murder. Cain took Abel's skinning knife and, in an act that will forever be remembered as pure evil, cut his brother's throat. He had seen Abel make sacrifice, and knew how to do it. So he sacrificed Abel, just as he had seen Abel sacrifice the flock.

An innocent was killed for his faith. An evil man, focused on self justification, did the killing. And I am sure that a mother, so proud of Cain, cried herself to sleep that night.

What good did this compromise with sin bring? Well, the seed of disobedience to God caused Abel to lose his life. Cain lost his place of prominence, and lost the profession he so loved:

Genesis 4:12  "When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth"

That which he was so proud of, farming, was now closed to him. God would no longer allow the crop to respond to him. He was cast away from his family, a fugitive till his death, a vagabond without hope.

Regardless as to whether you believe in the Eternal Security of Salvation, or that a person can lose their salvation by sin, you need to heed this truth:

Ephesians 5:5  "For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God"

We all have a potential inheritance in Heaven, if we heed Jesus Christ. If we have called on Him for salvation, if we are following in His footsteps alone. This is the only hope we have for an inheritance. Cain though that he would gain the inheritance of God just by being born. Sadly, this was not the case. He disbelieved God, lost it all, and suffered the rest of his natural life.

How about you? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as Savior? Fine, if that's true, then are you doing what He and He alone tells you to do through God's Word and Spirit? If not, you'd best repent today. To do otherwise is presumptuous, stupid, and may cause you to lift up your eyes in eternal hellfire one day.

That even goes for the "charter members" of this Church. Repent, follow Jesus, or lose it all.