Introduction
We saw last week that there would be enmity between the two humanities
that descended from Eve—those who followed Satan in his rebellion
against God versus those who followed her trust and cooperation with God.
This enmity is immediately evident in her first two children, Cain and
Abel.
This passage breaks up into three sections. We’ll explore the meaning
and application for each section.
Two ways to approach God
Read 4:1-5. As mentioned above, we find that the problem that results
in the first murder is a spiritual problem. God accepted Abel’s offering
(or sacrifice), but he did not accept Cain’s. (We don’t know
how God communicated this.) They represent two ways to approach God
that have been at enmity ever since.
Why would God accept the one offering and not the other? Was God being
capricious? Is it that he doesn’t like vegetables?
Some commentators say that God required blood sacrifice, as he later
ordained in the Old Testament law. While this is possible, there is
nothing in the text that indicates that the problem was what they
offered. Both Cain and Abel brought to God the fruit of their vocations:
plants and animals.
No, the issue was not what they brought to God, but rather the
attitude with which they approached God.
Notice that in 4:4,5 their names are mentioned before their offerings
(“ . . . the Lord had regard for Abel and
for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering he had no regard . . .”
God was more concerned with the person than with his offering.
The New Testament (written by the same ultimate author) confirms
this (read Heb. 11:4). Abel approached God by faith; Cain did
not.
Here is the beginning of the two humanities (reiterate SCHAEFFER
QUOTE). Later, the Serpent’s seed will devise gods of their own
imagination, and deny God altogether. But it began with Cain coming
to God in his own way rather than in the way God prescribed.
But wait a minute! Cain certainly had faith in God. Yes, he did—and
in fact he is the exemplar of the kinds of faith that God doesn’t
accept.
He obviously believed that God existed. But this mental assent
faith is not enough.
The demons have this kind of faith (Jas. 2:19), but it won’t
profit them in the day of judgment.
Over 90% of Americans believe in the existence of God, but I doubt
that anywhere near that many are going to be in heaven.
He engaged in religious ritual. He approached God with an offering,
as God evidently instructed them to do. But God still turned him down.
This is the beginning of religious formalism, which has a rich
legacy in the rest of the Bible. Religious formalism refers to the
notion that what matters in approaching God is that we observe the
proper rituals, recite the proper prayers, etc. It is an emphasis
on the outward trappings.
God reserved some of his harshest words in the Old Testament for
this attitude (read Isa. 29:13; Ps. 51:16,17). Consider the
supreme irony of Matt. 6:7ff. This is all around us today (DESALES
YESTERDAY) . . .
As God says in Isa. 29, the issue is the heart-attitude. The faith
that God responds to is that which humbly trusts God’s mercy versus
the self-sufficient attitude that approaches God on the basis of your
own righteousness and works.
Jesus gave an updated version of this in Lk. 18:9-14 (read).
Read Gal. 2:16. How can it be any clearer? The faith that God responds
to is a faith that trusts in God’s work for us rather than in
our works for God.
This is the problem with so many people—maybe with you. “I’m
a pretty good person. I’m certainly not bad person. I’ve
done some good things in my life . . . Yes,
I think things will be OK between me and God.” What are you
saying? “I trust that my works are good enough to deserve God’s
acceptance.”
Yet Paul says in this passage that not one person will ever be
accepted for this reason! Not Mother Theresa, not Billy Graham,
not you, not me, not anyone. This is an affront to God because it
compromises his perfect righteousness and replaces it with our own
imperfect moral accomplishments as the ultimate standard. This is
the way of Cain, and God will reject you if you come to him with
this attitude.
But if you’re willing to humble yourself, and come to God
trusting only Christ’s work for you—then God will respond
to you and forgive you and accept you permanently, regardless of
what you’ve done (TEXAS EXECUTION >> THIEF ON THE CROSS).
Does this offend you? Then you are still in Cain’s line, saying
“Take me as I am—here’s my own works, they are good
enough.”
Relationship between feelings and attitude/behavior
So Cain came to God with the wrong attitude—and God turned him down.
Now let’s see what his reaction was (read 4:5b). Even his face showed
that he was angry—he took on a moping, brooding look. He didn’t
question himself about his attitude toward God; he got furious toward
God for embarrassing him.
So God approached Cain and counseled him (read 4:6,7). He’s not
very sensitive, he doesn’t validate Cain’s feelings, and he
is not a non-judgmental listener. “You feel bad? That’s because
your attitude is wrong! Turn it around, and you’ll feel better!
If you don’t turn it around, things can get a lot worse, so deal
with it now!”
What a fascinating piece of counsel! God grants us insight into the relationship
between our feelings and our attitude/behavior.
We know that our feelings can affect our attitude/behavior. For example,
when I feel depressed, I tend to be morose and irritable toward those
around me. When I feel inadequate, it’s difficult to perform well
at work and be open in relationships. When I feel ripped off, I tend
to withdraw and punish others.
So many of us assume that if we focus on our feelings and find others
to validate those feeling, somehow we’ll feel better.
Unfortunately, this is the theoretic for much modern psycho-therapy.
It assumes that humans are basically good and that the main problem
is emotional repression. Therefore, the role of the counselor is to
reflect feelings non-judgmentally (“I can tell that really hurt
you”), to suggest reasons why such feelings are valid (“You
are a victim”), and to urge the client to enter into and embrace
these feelings. Only when you do this will the healing begin.
God takes a different approach. He doesn’t ignore the feelings,
but he focuses on the attitude/behavior. He says that normally our attitude/behavior
has affected our feelings, and that therefore if we choose to adopt the
attitude God prescribes and take action on it, our feelings will improve
(4:7). See also Ps. 34:12-14; Jn. 13:17 for this theme.
Seen in this way, our negative emotions usually function like the TROUBLE-LIGHT
on your car’s dashboard. When it comes on (like it did with me
yesterday), I can make two mistakes. The first is to ignore it (“It’s
probably just a short. I’ll put electrical tape on it so I won’t
see it”); the second is to view it as the main problem (“If
I can unscrew it, my car will be OK”). No, the TROUBLE-LIGHT is
usually not the root problem, but rather the warning system that is
designed to alert me to a problem under the hood. I should check under
the hood and see what needs to be repaired—and then the TROUBLE-LIGHT
usually goes off.
In the same way, when I notice that I am angry, depressed, anxious,
etc. (especially when chronic), I need to “take a look under the
hood” for attitudes/behaviors that are contrary to God’s will.
EXAMPLES: confessing sin vs. justifying; forgiving vs. bitterness;
gratitude vs. self-pity; self-serving vs. self-giving; trusting God’s
loving sovereignty vs. self-reliant
As I choose to change my attitude (“repent”) and take actions
consistent with that new attitude, my emotional state usually improves—sometimes
quite quickly and dramatically, sometimes more slowly and subtly.
This should normally be our first approach to negative emotions.
If we try this over a period of time without relief, then we should
consider professional counseling and possible medication. Because
we live in a fallen world, there are cases in which this is needed—but
they are the exception, not the norm.
We can’t control our feelings in a direct way. But we can affect
them indirectly by choosing to “do well”—agree concretely
with God’s priorities. This is the way to build a positive emotional
life.
The heart of God’s priorities is relationships. He wants us to
forge and build a relationship with him, build relationships with other
people within a framework of Christian growth. Many of our addictions
and depressions and anxieties are the result of neglecting these relational
priorities.
This kind of correction is never easy to take—it’s always easier
to feel sorry for yourself. But as God warns in 4:7b, this is the path
to the downward spiral of more wrong choices, more emotional misery, etc.
This is the way of Cain . . .
The extent of God’s mercy
Read 4:8. This is the first murder and the first martyr (1 Jn. 3:12).
What follows this murder is what preceded it—God’s continued
invitation to repent juxtaposed by Cain’s continual choice to harden
himself against God’s mercy.
Remind of 4:6,7. Cain responded poorly to God’s rejection of his
offering. But God still initiated with him to help him understand how
to turn things around.
Read 4:9. God gives Cain an opportunity to admit his sin and take responsibility
for it. But Cain stiff-arms him with a lie.
Read 4:10-13. God confronts Cain with what he did and informs him of
the consequence (loss of vocation and expulsion from his family). Cain
responds with a complaint that his punishment is too great—when
in fact it is far too lenient! He projects his own wickedness onto God,
assuming God doesn’t care about him and interpreting God’s
discipline through this grid—when God is reaching out to him in
mercy.
Read 4:14-16. Cain complains that Adam’s descendants will eventually
kill him because of what he did to Abel—but God mercifully promises
to protect his life. After all this, Cain complains that God is driving
him from his presence—yet it is Cain that chooses to leave the
presence of the Lord.
This is another major theme in the Bible—humans’ consistent
rejection of God’s will, but God’s gracious patience as he continues
to reach out to us with an invitation to repent (read 2 Pet. 3:9).
Because God is righteous and just, he will ultimately call us to account
if we do not repent. But he puts that off until as long as possible, and
keeps reaching out to us as he did with Cain (see also Ex. 34:6,7).
Next
We’ll
see how the enmity that began in the first family spread beyond them to
the first two lines of descendants and their two legacies . . .
Footnote
Copyright 1998 Gary DeLashmutt