Cain, The Way Which Seems Right

Introduction

I took her and savor he’s in the world today. I know that he is live in fire me when they pray I see his hand mercy, I hear his voice of fear and God might be in there. He lives in Jesus live today. He wants to me and comfort me Allah my snare of the day. He lives, he lives so they can do in full of heart. He has been out of there, I tell us about it my heart in all the world around me. I see a slightly sinner, and though my heart was wavy I never will despair. I know that he is sleeping through all the stormy life. The day of it is on your ring will come. He live your sister. He wants to be a comfort me upon my way.

He live salvation through the fart. You asked me that on the boat. He let us be voice of Christian lift up your voice and say He turns them all upon the blue.

He walks with me and heart with me along the car away. Be live. Salvation through and for you have the hall. Thank you for seeing.

We have an older sister back home who not long ago told me, she said, You sure aren’t doing good. She said, When you first got here, I said to myself, This kid’s never gonna make it.

But I’m quite appreciative of your encouragement today in doing what I love to do. There is nothing else in this world that I’d rather do than what I’m privileged to do, to preach and teach the Bible. And I appreciate your invitation to come and do that with you this week. Tony mentioned my meeting this month, and then Brother Bowman in November. What he did say is that he split in the middle, and he’s going to speak on our lectureship this summer in June. And we look forward to hearing Tony and being a part of his efforts that week.

In Genesis the fourth chapter, I want to ask you to turn there as we introduce our character for tonight. Remember, we’re studying building character from Bible characters. And tonight we’re going to look at it from a different angle as a character that we should not try to emulate. And let’s see if we can figure out why that is. In Genesis 4, we’ll start our reading at verse 1. Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. And she said, I have gotten a man child with the help of the Lord. And again she gave birth to his brother Abel, and Abel was the keeper of flocks, but Cain was the tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord to the fruit of the fruit of the ground.

And Abel on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and for his offering he had no regard. So Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is for you, but you must master it. And Cain told Abel his brother, and it came about when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. And the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother?

He said, I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground, and now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you.

And Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is too great to bear. Behold, thou hast given me, driven me this day from the face of the ground, and from thy face I shall be hidden, and I shall be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and it will come about that whoever finds me will kill me. So the Lord said to him, Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, lest anyone finding him should slay him. Genesis, we often refer to as the book of beginnings. And obviously, it’s the book of many firsts. The first man and first woman, the first sin, and now in chapter 4, we have the first son born of a union of man and woman.

And while this is obviously the first time that Cain and Abel are mentioned in the scriptures, it is not the last. Abel is referred to by both Jesus and John as righteous. And that his blood spilled here in Genesis 4 through his faith, he still speaks in Hebrews 11. He’s mentioned in the great hall of faith. For Cain, however, he does not have such notable distinction. In 1 John chapter 3, he is mentioned as being of the evil one whose deeds were evil. But the phrase I want us to focus tonight on tonight is found in Jude verse 11, where Jude talked about those who follow after their instincts and said, Go the way of Cain. Jude verse 11.

Because just as the blood of Abel still speaks, just as Abel through his faith still speaks today, is it not so that many still go the way of Cain? Follow after the example of Cain. Try to emulate in their character the character of Cain. Two times in the book of Proverbs, Solomon says that there is a way which seems right to a man. But the end thereof is destruction. Or some versions say the end is death. I want you to know tonight that the way of Cain is a selfish way. And it may seem right for some to go this way, but the end thereof is death. What is the way of Cain? What is the example we have here in Genesis 4 that we ought to stay far away from as we seek to build a character that hopefully conforms us to the image of the Son of God.

1. No Regard for God's Will for Worship

Well, I want to notice with you three things from our text tonight. First of all, the way of Cain shows no regard for God’s will for worship. The way of Cain shows no regard for God’s will for worship. It came about that Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. And while they were siblings, they were very different. Sometimes people ask me about my family. How are your kids doing? Or maybe they don’t know us yet, and they say, Do you have kids? And what I usually say is, I have one of each in every sense of the word. I have one that you could go in her room, and it looks like a bottle of pesto bismal has exploded. There’s just pink everywhere. Pink, everything.

And then on the other side, I’ve got a wrestler who likes to do things that boys do. And so, well, two siblings very differently. Well, Cain and Abel were that way. And these were both boys. We read in the text that Cain was a man of the fields. He liked to sow, maybe he had a garden. He liked to sow and wreath the crops from the ground. Well, Abel was a keeper of flocks. He probably had goats and sheep and lambs that we talked about this morning. Well, both of them decided that they were going to bring an offering to the Lord. But our text tonight says that the Lord had regard for one and not the other. That he regarded Abel’s offering, but not Cain’s.

And Cain’s, and that has brought much speculation. Well, why is it that God did that? Was it because it specifies that Abel brought the first fruits, that he brought the very best, and Cain did not? Well, here’s an instance where the Bible serves as its best commentary. What you find when you study characters like we’re doing this week is a lot is left to the imagination. Not every single detail that we want satisfied is expressly written. And so we have to rely on what Moses said in Deuteronomy 29, verse 29. The secret things belong to God. And the things revealed, he said, belong to us and our children and the future generations. Well, tonight we have an instance where one of those little curiosities is revealed to us.

Keep your finger here, but turn to Hebrews 11. As we said, Abel is mentioned here. And let’s see if we can find out why the Lord had regard for Abel’s offering and not for the Lord’s. In Hebrews the 11th chapter, here he is mentioned at verse 4. By faith, Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous. God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. Abel offer to God a better sacrifice. How did he do that? By faith. Now you tie that in with the rest of the chapter. And how did the other Bible characters become pleasing to God? How is it that they are mentioned here? Look, for instance, to Noah, verse 7.

By faith, Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence, prepared an ark. How did Noah know to do that? How did Noah know how long to make it and how tall and how wide and what kind of wood to use? Noah did that by faith because God said, You go build an ark. And he did. How did Abraham, verse 8, by faith? Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance. Sometimes Melissa calls me Abraham. She said, I go out not knowing where I’m going. Well, this time he went out. How did he know to do that? How did he know to pick up all of his things in his family and go to this other place?

Because God told him, get up from Ur of the Chaldees and go to the place where I tell you. How did Abel offer a better sacrifice? How did he know what God would have regard for, that God would be pleased with it? I say to you, the only way he could do that by faith is because God told him. Otherwise, you’re just offering it by hope. Well, God hadn’t said, but I hope he likes this. He offered his sacrifice by faith because he was doing what God had expressed through his word. And so it was God had regard for Abel’s sacrifice. But not for his brothers Cain. His brother came. The way of Cain is to show no regard for God’s will for worship. It’s to say, well, God has expressed this that he wants.

But I think he’ll be just as pleased with this. I know God has said that he wants this, but I like this more, and maybe he’ll like it too. I don’t keep in touch with most of the people I went to high school with. But there are a couple of friends that through email we still stay in touch. And one of them was telling me about the church where he goes, had just started Saturday night services. And he was saying this in a very proud way. He said, You ought to do this where you preach. He said, You can go to church Saturday and then Sunday morning come. And you can sleep in, the kids can play, you can drink coffee and read the paper.

It’s just so much more convenient, he said. Well, Acts chapter 20 and verse 7 has a change. It says, on the first day of the week, the disciples gathered together to break bread, and Paul preached to them. If that’s not convenient to your schedule, you’re going to have to take that up with the Lord. The way of Cain is a selfish way to say, it doesn’t matter to me what God has expressed. I want to do what I want to do. Jesus said, God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and truth. John 4 and verse 24. God has expressed his will for worship today. He has expressed what he wants from those who worship him. He is to be the center of our worship.

2. No Respect for the Subtlety of Sin

But the way of Cain is to go another way and show no regard. When you do that, when you show no regard for God’s will for worship, what he has expressed, can you really expect that he will regard your worship as holy? Or are you worshiping by hope? I prefer to worship by faith. To say, God said it, and that’s the way we’re going to do it. The way of Cain is to go your own way. But I want you to notice further from our text here in Genesis 4. That the way of Cain is to show no regard for God’s will for worship. Number two, the way of Cain shows no respect for the subtlety of sin. The way of Cain shows no respect for the subtlety of sin.

Cain became angry that God did not regard his sacrifice. And even the question that the Lord asked him indicates that Cain should have known better. Verse 7. Or verse 6, the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. How many times have you said, or maybe someone you know said, I just wish God would tell me what to do. If God would just open the heavens and with his own words speak to me, and I could hear them with my own ears, then I would do the right thing. I would do what it well, here’s an instance where God spoke right to him, and it didn’t make a bit of difference.

He said, You better be careful, Cain. You’re angry, and sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is to master you, but you better take control. You better watch out, or you’re gonna lose control. The kids enjoyed playing with the mock’s cat this afternoon. We have a cat at our house. And they named her princess. You can tell who got to name the cat. And that name might sound like she’s she soft and cuddly, which she is, but she also has that hunter instinct. And we put this bird feeder outside the front window where we could watch the birds come in and eat. And one day I was looking out the window, watching what kind of different birds were coming, and I something caught my corner of my eye at the at the bottom.

I looked down in the shrubs, and there’s this little black tail watching. She was watching too. She was ready to pounce when they least expected it. That’s the picture I have. Sin is crouching at the door. And when you least expect it, devours it. Its desire is for you, but you must master it, the Lord said. And with that one simple phrase throws the whole argument out the window of I was born this way. I can’t help it. This is the way I was made, and I just can’t control my urges. God himself told Cain, you can’t master it. You don’t have to get in, but you better watch out because you’re flirting dangerously with disaster. It’s right there ready to pounce, and you better take control.

And Cain didn’t listen. His anger boiled over, and the first son, born of the union of the first man and the first woman, committed the first murder. And sadly, many have gone the way of Cain in this respect. Isn’t it interesting in Ephesians chapter 4? When Paul reminds the church there at Ephesus about the devil. He says in that context that do not give the devil a place, or some versions say, do not give the devil an opportunity. But have you ever noticed what context that is said in? In Ephesians chapter 4, look what he says right before that. Look at Ephesians 4 at verse 26. Be angry and do not sin, and do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.

Now, isn’t that exactly where Cain fell? He gave the devil a place because his anger boiled over. It was crouching at the door, and at just the right time when he and his brother were alone in the field, he rose up together, rose up against his brother and slew him. Let me tell you tonight, you better get control. If anger is your sin crouching at the door, you had better master it before you lose control.

And they were asked this question: What quality of your husband would you want to change more than anything else? The overwhelming response was: I just wish my husband wouldn’t get so angry.

Boy, I hope that’s not the case with God’s men, God’s leaders. If it is, you better master it. You better take control. Is discouragement your sin that’s just waiting to explode? One bit of bad news, and the whole day is shot. One story that turns the wrong way, and it’s like you’re gonna throw up your hands and say, Well, I can never win. You better take control, you better master it. It’s crouching at the door. But God said you can. You must. In 1 John chapter 3, here’s one of the instances where Cain is mentioned again in Scripture later on. Look what it said in 1 John 3 at verse 11. Now, 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 brothers were righteous. How can he slay his brother? Because he showed no regard for the subtlety of sin. And you say, Well, I’ll never go that way. I’ll never go the way of Cain. I would never murder anyone.

You ever felt bitterness and jealousy against your brother or your sister? That God had somehow favored them in some way. Have you ever been so angry that it affected your whole countenance that when somebody looked at you, they would say, Why has your face fallen the way God did to Cain? Have you ever murdered someone with your words and spoken things and struck them in ways that you can never take back? You are your brother’s keeper. When we think otherwise, we follow after the way of Cain. It’s a way which seems right. But the end thereof is destruction, death. That’s not the kind of character God wants.

3. No Concern for the Consequences of One Action

It is number three, to show no concern for the consequences of one action. The way of Cain shows no concern for what one sin do. Verse 10, God asked him, What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. You shall be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth. We seldom think about the long-term effects of our choices. Think about Cain’s parents, Adam and Eve. Think about how the world changed because of their choice. And now Cain, his life will never be the same.

He had been a pillar of the ground. That was his passion. It’s what he loved to do more than anything else. But now the same ground that soaked up Abel’s blood would be a curse to him. It would not produce the way it had in times past. And not only that, Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, but Cain would never again have a place to call his home. He would be a beggar and a wanderer, just moving from place to place for the rest of his life. And is it not so? And Cain even expressed this, is it not so that people who’ve never even read the Bible, never even gone to church, know what the phrase means, and perhaps have even used the phrase the mark of Cain.

And who uses that in a good way? All because of one action and look at the consequences that flowed from it? May I ask you tonight? What kind of legacy do you want to leave after you go the way of all the earth? How do you want people to remember you? Just this year, our nation celebrated the 100th birthday of the 40th president Ronald Reagan. And it was interesting to me that in all the accomplishments of his administration, which were rehearsed again in the news, and people talked about, even brought back people who’d been a part of his administration. We still could not revisit Ronald Reagan without going the way of the Iran Contra affair. He’s taking that with him the whole way. What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?

What kind of consequences will flow from the choices that you make that will affect people long after you’re here? Will it be like Cain? Or will it be like Abel? To remember, by his faith is still speaking today. Will it be like King Jehoram of Israel? Who we read in 2 Chronicles 21 and verse 20, listen to it, departed with no one’s regret. How would you like that said at your funeral? Well, we’ve been waiting a long time for this one, and nobody’s sad that this one’s gone. Or would you like to be like Dorcas? Tabitha, as she’s also called, who when Peter was brought up to where she had died, the widows, people who are often neglected and people didn’t think much of the widows were weeping and holding the garments and tunics that she had made while she was alive.

What kind of a legacy do you want? Then build the kind of character, make the kind of choices that will leave the right one. Sin brings its consequences. But look even further down the road that when sin is full grown, it brings forth death. Just as surely as God told Adam and Eve.

Conclusion

Let’s not go that way.

He heard the cry of innocent blood from the ground. But I want you to know tonight there is a blood that cries even louder. It is the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, who canceled out the curse of sin and death and made possible our life and life eternal. There’s a blood that cleanses you from all sin. Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? The way it came leads to death. But the way of the cross leads home. We can assist you tonight and say with all your heart, your conviction in Jesus Christ as the Son of the Living God. We can assist you by your confession of faith and repentance to have you washed clean in the blood of the Lamb by being baptized and have all your sins washed away.