Here Comes Sin – pt. 1 (Genesis 4:1-8)
Here Comes Sin – part 1
Genesis 4:1-26
December 8, 2013
Well, you know where we are in our study of Genesis.
God made a wonderful and perfect creation,
And now that seems like a distant memory.
• God’s paradise has now become tainted.
• God’s wonderful garden has been ruined.
Man had everything he could possibly need,
But through temptation he chose to transgress the command of God.
And sin entered the world.
The immediate consequence of sin was shame.
• No sooner did Adam eat the fruit than did he go to looking for a covering.
The continual consequence of sin was the curse.
• Enmity between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman.
• Pain in bearing children
• Toil as you work the ground
And the ultimate consequence of sin was death.
• Adam and Even driven from the garden
• Guarded from the tree of life
• Adam was destined to die
God would not permit man to live forever in a sinful state.
Adam came from the ground and to the ground he must return.
Death was coming.
All of this because of sin.
And you would think that at this point
Mankind would realize they had opened Pandora’s box
And would do everything they could to never open it again.
You would think that man would have learned their lesson
And would now leave sin alone completely.
And yet that is not at all what happens.
In fact, we get just the opposite.
Looking at Genesis chapter 4 Moses now shows us what sin can do.
I call this chapter “HERE COMES SIN” because we see how quickly it can spread, how far it can spread, and how devastating it can be.
When man let sin into the world, he introduced a foe that would not stop.
• In chapter 3 we learned that sin separates.
• In chapter 4 we learn that it also slaughters and spreads.
But in order to make sure that everyone understood exactly
What sin’s agenda is, Moses gives us a very telling chapter.
You can break this chapter into 4 main points,
And each of those you can break down further.
This morning we will look at the first 8 verses.
But the main objective here is so that you will see
Beyond a shadow of a doubt
That sin is nothing to be messed with.
Let’s look at the first point this morning.
#1 THE SCHEME OF SIN
Genesis 4:1-8
• What is it that sin wants to do?
• What plans does sin have for your life?
• If you follow sin’s tempting, where will it take you?
The first 8 verses of Genesis 4 paint that picture very clearly.
Having been driven from the garden, Adam and Eve now set out to scratch their life from the dirt of the earth.
But having been clothed in God’s mercy,
Adam knew Eve was given to bring life on the earth and so they had two sons.
The first eight verses deals with what sin desired to do in their lives.
Let’s take these first 8 verses and look at four things.
1) THE SONS (1-2)
Before we get too far into the story of Cain and Abel,
It is important once again that you recognize the goodness of our God.
It was in the very last chapter that Eve willfully broke the command of God
And ate fruit from the forbidden tree.
And we all remember the curse pronounced to her.
Genesis 3:16 “To the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you.”
God made a promise to Eve,
And that promise was that child bearing would be hard.
It would be painful. – That was her curse. – That was her punishment.
God told her it would be hard.
And yet, as Eve begins to put that curse to the test for the very first time, who do we see right there to help her?
“Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have gotten a manchild with the help of the Lord.”
God pronounced the curse, and yet there was God
Right there to help her handle it.
Psalms 103:6-14 “The LORD performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”
And no doubt God’s compassion
Helped Eve’s decision to have a second child.
(20) “Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”
Now first, let’s just do a little damage control.
I’ve heard people over the years say, “Adam and Even had two boys, where did all the people come from?”
Let me remind you yet again that Genesis is not a history book,
Although it is historically accurate.
Moses is not trying to answer all your curiosities here.
Moses is trying to teach you a theological point.
We do know this:
Acts 17:26 “and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”
We know that God made all humanity through Adam,
But we don’t know how He did it.
What we do know is that truth is not essential to your salvation.
If it was, God would have told you.
What is essential to your salvation is understanding the role of sin in your life, and that is what Moses is revealing here.
And I want you to know that even by verse 2 sin is already at work.
Really? How?
Moses gives a very important piece of information.
“And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.”
Now listen, we are not saying that somehow Abel chose a pleasing profession,
Whereas Cain chose a bad one.
No, God is no less pleased with farmers than He is with shepherds.
The point is however that Cain chose a profession
That caused him to battle the curse of sin day in and day out.
Genesis 3:18-19 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”
Every day of Cain’s life was a struggle right into the effects of the curse.
Abel, on the other hand chose Adam’s previous profession.
Abel chose to be a keeper of animals.
Now certainly Abel fought the curse too, but Cain fought the ground.
Cain fought the curse every day of his life.
He would not be the last to turn his frustration for this against God.
But we have the sons.
2) THE SACRIFICES (3-5)
“So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. 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.”
Many have wondered at this event.
• There was no Law yet.
• There were no commands yet.
• How did they know to sacrifice?
• How did they know what God wanted?
Some have traced their answer back from chapter 3 and said,
“Well, God clothed Adam and Even in skins so obviously they knew that God wanted blood.”
“And obviously that was Cain’s problem, he didn’t bring blood”
But look, that is a reach.
Certainly if bringing a blood sacrifice were of such importance
God would have made that known, and Moses would have recorded it.
There is no reason to assume that these men knew to bring blood.
Others have taken a page from the Law and said, “Well God wanted the first fruits of the harvest which Abel brought, but Cain did not, and that is why God was not pleased with Cain’s offering”
But again, there is no reason they should have known to bring the first.
There was no Law.
There were no commands.
The only Law that existed was the Law written on the human heart.
Here is what they would have known:
Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
Romans 2:14-15 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,”
They had no written Law.
They had the testimony of Creation
And they had the conscience inside of them.
The only Law they had was written on their heart.
God had not commanded them to sacrifice.
• The only possible reason for doing it would have been gratitude.
• The only possible reason for bringing anything to God would have been
just to tell God thank you for His help in obtaining it.
There was no sin for not bringing it.
The only reason to bring it would have been to say, “Thank you”
It is like the giving we are commanded to do.
2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
I’ve heard it my whole life like you have, but if you’ll read, you’ll notice that titheing is not commanded in the New Testament.
That was Jewish Law dealing with provision for the priest and the poor.
It was as much an income tax as anything.
Gentiles are not under that.
• The New Testament does not command some 10% given under compulsion.
• The New Testament commands cheerful giving as your heart so moves you.
God doesn’t need your money,
And He doesn’t even want it if you don’t want to give it.
What God wants is the offering of a person
Who truly longs to give to Him based on gratitude.
Now that is where Cain and Abel were as well.
• There was no command.
• They didn’t have to do this.
So God was not looking at WHAT they brought, but WHY they brought it.
And that is why Moses says, “And the Lord had regard for Abel AND for his offering; but for Cain AND for his offering, He had no regard.”
God didn’t just reject the offering He rejected the one who brought it.
God was looking deeper.
• One man here was eager to approach God
• One man was grateful for what God had done
• One couldn’t wait to give back to God from his success
• He was so eager that he took the first
That was a grateful heart
That was a heart that loved God
But the other was different.
It is obvious that his sacrifice was not for reasons of gratitude.
• Cain was either doing it out of some sense of duty
• Or in order to manipulate God into giving him more.
People do both today.
Some give grudgingly because they think they have too.
Some give hoping to prompt God to bless even more.
And either way, God was not pleased with Cain.
“So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.”
And you can see the bitterness of Cain.
He had toiled with the ground day in and day out and now, he’s trying to get God on his side by bringing some of that produce back to him.
And when God won’t accept his offering, Cain gets angry.
It is built up frustration – anger – bitterness
And these were the sacrifices.
• For one, the struggles of this life drove him to God, and God’s obvious help led then to thanksgiving and praise.
• For the other, the struggles of this life made him angry at God, and the curse led him to try and manipulate God to make things easier for him.
You can already see that these two boys are on very different paths.
The Sons, The Sacrifices
3) THE SERMON (6-7)
“Then 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.”
No doubt this would have been good information
For everyone that Moses was preaching to.
Here we find the scheme of sin.
Here we find what sin wants from you and for you.
God recognized that Cain’s bitterness was about to boil over,
And so God had some very important advice for Him.
And this is very good information for you and I.
FIRST OF ALL, THERE IS NO REASON TO BE DISHEARTENED WITH GOD
Cain’s countenance had fallen
And God wants him to know that this was unnecessary.
“If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up?”
We live in a day where people just want God
To love and accept them in spite of their sin.
• I want to do what I want to do and I want God to accept me this way.
• Some even seek to blame it on Him saying, “You made me this way”
And there is a whole theological movement seeking to cater to this desire.
“Who will love me for me? Not for what I have done, or what I will become?”
It is this desire to stay in sin and be accepted anyway.
God told Cain that is not how it works.
God would be more than happy to approve his offering,
But first Cain had to “do well”
• God wasn’t going to applaud him for not trying.
• God wasn’t going to regard him for bringing junk.
• Such an offering was actually an offense to God.
And God wanted Cain to know that there is a way to find fulfillment and contentment, but it comes through doing what is right.
And that is what leads to the second part of this sermon.
WHICH IS THAT A PERSON MUST CHOOSE TO “DO WELL”.
Doing well does not come automatic, it must be chosen.
If you just go with the flow, you will automatically find sin,
Not righteousness.
WHY?
Because sin is pursuing you.
SIN IS NOT IDLE
SIN IS NOT INDIFFERENT
Sin is seeking you – Sin is searching you out
Sin is looking for someone to master
“sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Sin is a hunter.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
God wants Cain to know that he must “master” sin.
He must choose to avoid it.
He must resist the temptation.
Now please notice that we are already in a completely different world
Now that sin has entered.
All Adam and Eve had to do was avoid the tree.
Don’t eat from it, don’t touch it.
If they just woke up in the morning and did nothing,
They would automatically be righteous.
But now that sin has entered, it is different.
You can’t just do nothing anymore.
You can’t just be passive.
You can’t because sin isn’t.
Sin is hunting you.
Sin is stalking you.
You have to take measures to overcome it.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
If Adam and Eve were to sin they had to go looking for it.
But that is not the case anymore.
Now sin is coming looking for you.
And that is what God wants Cain to know.
And that is what you need to know.
Its hunting season right now and we know how it works.
• A mighty hunter sets up a deer feeder.
• Then he sets up a camera to see when the deer are there.
• Then he hides in a blind at the appointed time.
• Then he takes a weapon and kills the unsuspecting animal.
If a deer wants to survive he had better learn he is being hunted
And he had better learn to take precaution.
You also are being hunted.
• Do you see the feeders out there? (temptation)
• Do you see the camera? (Satan watching your response)
What you don’t see is the blind, where the enemy is hiding,
Just waiting to pounce.
And it will enslave you.
Romans 6:16 “Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?”
John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”
Sin is coming, sin is hunting, you have got to master it.
Put yourself in Cain’s shoes.
See his dilemma like so many of your own.
You are frustrated with the effects of the curse on your life, but instead of letting that drive you to God in gratitude for His help, you are growing bitter.
Watch out!
James said it like this:
James 1:12-15 “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
Sin will kill you.
You must master it!
I WOULD BE FAILING YOU IF I DIDN’T TELL YOU HOW
TURN TO: EPHESIANS 6:10-17
(Now this only applies if you are a believer)
But if you are, pay attention to what Paul says.
(EXPOUND ON EPHESIANS 6)
The Sons, The Sacrifices, The Sermon
4) THE SLAUGHTER (8)
“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.”
Obviously Cain did not master sin.
Can fell prey to its work.
Now, the murder is bad enough, but let me help you see
Why it’s even worse than you originally thought.
• God didn’t accept Cain’s sacrifice and his countenance fell.
• God then corrected Cain with a very important sermon about the path Cain was on.
And what happened?
“Cain told Abel his brother.”
• He told Abel about the sacrifice…
• He told Abel about his frustration…
• He told Abel about God’s warning…
And what do you suppose happened next?
“And it came about when they were in the field…”
Where were they?
“in the field”
But Abel wasn’t a farmer, he was a keeper of the flock.
Cain was the farmer.
What was happening?
Abel was helping Cain
Cain bore his soul to Abel about his frustration and situation
And Abel rose up to bear his brother’s burden.
• He was there simply to help Cain not be so frustrated.
• He was there to lighten the burden of the curse.
• He was there to help Cain win his battle.
But it didn’t matter.
Cain was being hunted.
• He overlooked Abel’s pattern of sacrifice and blessing
• He ignored God’s warning about sin
• He disregarded Abel’s generosity to try and help
And “Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.”
Here is that enmity that was promised.
Cain killed Abel out of enmity toward God.
The only reason Cain killed him was because Abel was pleasing.
Abel was the good seed, Cain was the serpent’s seed.
And that enmity has carried on to this day.
SIN SLAUGHTERS
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
There is the scheme of sin.
• It is hunting you
• It is stalking you
• And if you don’t master it, it will seize you
And we’ll look at it next time, but just as we saw with Adam and Eve, the decision to sin did not prove to be a good one.
Cain also received a curse.
Genesis 4:11-12 “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 will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.”
And can we again make the point?
Sin is never a good idea.
It will wreck your life.
What looks to be such a good decision can turn south so fast.
You and I must resist it.
We must put on the full armor of God and prepare for the attack.
“sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
