Mr. Tom Kirkpatrick
Sermon Transcript
June 1, 2002
The Way of Cain
There is a judgment of God recorded for us in the book of Jude. It’s not one of the judgments that we would want to have applied to us, certainly. It says, Woe to them...now this is not a blessing. This is not somebody who is spiritually prosperous, like the Beatitudes, the blessings. This is a woe. Woe to them, now let’s notice what it says, for they have gone in the way of Cain.
Here is a condemnation of those, a condemnation from God, of those who go in the "way of Cain." The question I want us to address today in the second split sermon is, what is the way of Cain? What is that way? What does the Bible teach us or tell us about the way of Cain?
Let’s go back to Genesis, where Cain is introduced. Genesis, chapter 4. It’s sort of ironic, isn’ it, that the first human being ever born didn’t turn out too well; and there is a very severe judgment of God recorded in the New Testament for any who would go in the way of the very first born human being. (Of course, Adam and Eve were created specially.) Let’s begin in verse 1 of chapter 4:
Gen. 4:1 — Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the Eternal." This was the way that she expressed herself at the birth of this baby, and that was the origin of the name of Cain. If you see in the margin of your Bible (oftentimes it will show a marginal note), the word "Cain" means acquire, acquisition. See, "I’ve gotten something." She said, "I’ve gotten something from God." "Acquired." That was the name that she gave this baby.
Verse 2 — Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
So, the very first baby ever born was involved in agriculture, was a tiller of the ground; and the second baby ever born was involved in animal husbandry, was a keeper of sheep, a shepherd.
Verse 3 — And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Eternal. Now, if you just stopped right there and the story ended, well, that doesn’t seem too negative to me. Does it to you? Here is an individual who is aware of God, who doesn’t, on the surface, appear to be totally selfish or wrapped up in himself or totally disassociated with the things of God, does not appear to be unmindful of God. The clear record is, {he} brought an offering of the fruit of the ground, which had taken his efforts to produce; and he brought it and gave it to God. It seems like a good thing. At first glance, what could possibly be wrong with that?
Verse 4 — Abel, his brother, also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering...
Now, just in those four verses, God does not spell out...there’re all kinds of endless speculation in commentaries and other Bible references and, perhaps, among us in our discussions. Perhaps you’ve heard over the years all kinds of discussion as to what the problem was; but all I would say is, with a fresh reading of those four verses, I think it’s safe to say that God does not spell out, clearly, anyway, what was wrong with Cain’s sacrifice; but it does say that He did not respect Cain, in verse 5, and his offering.
He doesn’t spell out what was wrong, specifically; but that there was something wrong. And as we begin to study about Cain and the way of Cain, this first thing that jumps off the pages at us, I believe, is that things that you and I may not see, God DOES see. Things that to human eyes appear innocent enough may, in God’s judgment, not be so innocent. Things that to human observation look perfectly fine and upright may be not so pleasing to God. It was certainly the case of the first baby ever born on this earth, that what would appear to be a good thing to a casual reader of the account, God was not pleased with.
Now, even though God does not spell out specifically what was wrong with Cain’s offering or with Cain himself, we are told later, clear back in one of the last books of the Bible, that Cain’s works were evil.
Hold your place. We’re going to come back. Let’s go clear back almost as far as Jude where it referred to Cain, in I John, the epistle of I John. We do have this very clear testimony inspired in I John, chapter 3; and we will begin in verse 11.
I John 3:11 — For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another...Now, how do you argue with that? If you had to distill the commandments of God as Jesus did...He distilled them into the two great commandments of love–love God and love neighbor. John, known as the apostle of love, talks about love. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." And, then, what came to John’s mind under inspiration was the counter example of Cain. Verse 12 says, Not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his, that is, Cain’s, works were evil and his brother’s righteous.
Now we see a little more detail than is apparent in just looking at verses 1-4 of Genesis 4. On the surface, what an armchair quarterback would see, what a fly on the wall would observe, was something that appeared good; but it was not good and God did not respect it or the doer of that act.
Verses 13-14 — Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. Well, Cain hated Abel for no apparent reason, and that pattern has been followed for the last 6,000 years. The wicked hate the righteous. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
We also notice in Hebrews, chapter 11, another very brief mention of Cain. As I say, there’s not a lot; but when we put together what we are given, we begin to see the story unfold. In Hebrews, chapter 11, the faith chapter, and verse 4, it says:
Heb. 11:4 — By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain...All right, now, there is a detail that was not given to us in Genesis, chapter 4. What is given to us in Genesis 4 is only what you and I, as observers with human sight and with human discernment, would have been able to notice; and that is, both brought an offering and they both gave it to God. Then it had to be revealed to us that God was pleased with the one and not with the other. And now we begin to see at least augmentation of that fact or elucidation of that, that it says Cain did not give as excellent a sacrifice as Abel. A more excellent sacrifice was offered by Abel than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks.
So, again, to repeat the point, God does not spell out on the surface in Genesis 4 what was wrong with Cain or his sacrifice; but that’s the point that I think we get, the first point about the way of Cain. Service to God is a matter not only of outward form–now, outward form is important–but it’s a matter not only of outward form, but of the heart, which only God can see.
There are so many places in the Bible where God tells us that, and I think it’s directly relevant to understanding the way of Cain. Just a few, I’ll mention briefly.
I Samuel 16:7, which I’ll quote for you. The Lord does not look as man sees. You and I look at Genesis 4, chapter 3, and we see Cain doing a very good thing. "Oh, righteous Cain. How pleased God must be with him." But I Samuel 16:7 tells us:
I Sam. 16:7 — ...For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
That’s when God was choosing David, not his older brothers. God said, "Samuel, don’t look at outward appearance. I know the heart, and I’ve chosen David."
We also see in I Kings, chapter 8, verse 39...this is Solomon’s prayer at the dedication of the temple.
I Kings 8:39 — Solomon’s prayer was that God would look down and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You, only You, know the hearts of all the sons of men)...
Solomon was right in that regard. Only God knows and discerns the heart. You and I can’t do that. Now, maybe to a small degree we can have perception, and different people have greater degrees of perception, and others have lesser degrees of perception of fellow human beings; but really the depths of the matter on those areas like...look at Cain, look what he’s doing. He’s giving an offering to God. Look at Abel, what he’s doing. He’s giving an offering to God. Tell me which one is acceptable to God. I don’t know. God does. He sees the heart.
Now, as I say, there has been endless speculation because the term "firstlings" is mentioned with regard to Abel’s sacrifice; and it just says, "of the fruit of the ground." Perhaps that’s a clue. Perhaps Cain just threw together something at the last minute. Maybe it wasn’t of the firstfruits. Maybe it wasn’t the finest of the produce of his garden or of his crops. That might be it; but again, I don’t know. Maybe we’re reading too much into it. That’s possibly it; but I think, actually, it goes deeper than that. That would be a symptom of something deeper. Yes, Abel did bring of the firstlings, and that might be a part of the story; but the heart underlying–even if the difference was that one gave first and another gave second or fourth or fifth–it was the underlying heart that mattered as to what would motivate one to give the first and the best and somebody else just something thrown together.
Jeremiah 17, verse 9, we all know; but how about verse 10? God really says it. I, the Lord, search the heart and I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways.
This life, I believe, is a series, almost an endless series of tests. It isn’t that long. We don’t have that long, and I believe in this short period of time, God is making a decision as to whether He is going to give us eternal life. So it’s very important that in this brief time that we have, God tests and knows our hearts, just like He tested Abraham. "Now I know that he fears Me," after he passed one test. But I believe this life is basically almost an endless series of tests, and we’re all going to be judged by how we respond to the various tests that are before us. Every day of life is a test, and God tests the heart. Sometimes more directly and more intensely, but life is a test.
Now, let’s turn over to I Chronicles, chapter 28. All of this comes back to this first point about the way of Cain. The fact that God doesn’t spell it out is part of the lesson, that life before God is a life of having our hearts judged–not just our outward appearance and not just our outward deeds, even though outward deeds are important. Woe to the person that says, as some did a few years ago from pulpits like this, "Well, as long as your heart is worshiping God 24 and 7, no particular 24 hours makes a difference." That is a complete twisting of this concept that the heart is important because it throws away the form, it throws away the substance, and renders it meaningless; and it’s a twisting of truth on its head or upside down. Those with an ear to hear can hear it and understand the point; but in I Chronicles, chapter 28, we see this point as well. Verse 9, David, as he’s about to die, passing on instructions to his son Solomon:
I Chron. 28:9 — As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.
God was searching, I believe, the heart of Cain in his preparing of that offering, in his bringing of that offering, and even in the reaction to God’s reaction to the offering; and what He found as He searched his heart did not please God. He didn’t respect it.
Very briefly, just a few of the references along this same point. You don’t have to turn there. But Psalm 7, verse 9, the same point. For the Righteous God tests the hearts and minds of people. "Well, that’s Old Testament theology. Now everything is just grace and mercy." Huh uh! The same God who said that, says in Revelation, chapter 2–we heard a lot about Revelation in the first sermon–what about Revelation 2, verse 23? What about the words of Christ Himself with regard to the Church?
Rev. 2:23 — ...All the churches shall know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts...He’s still doing that. He did it with Cain. He did it with Abel. He does it with me. He does it with you. He does it with the Church. Has for a few thousand years, has for 6,000 years, for those He’s dealing with...And I will give to each one of you according to your works.
I Corinthians 4, verse 5. God changes not, and the way He deals with people is the same throughout time. Paul says, Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness...it was way down to the deep recesses of Cain’s heart that the problem lay, and no human being was able to fully read that script. That’s way down deep in a dark place, way down here; but that is something that God reads...until the Lord comes, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels, that is, the motives, of the hearts. Then, each one’s praise will come from God.
Finally, over in Romans 2:29, on this same point, he talks about spiritual Jews. It says:
Rom. 2:29 — He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from God.
Abel was praised and accepted and respected. Cain wasn’t. I think we could say, in that sense, Abel was a spiritual Jew. Cain was not. So, in studying the way of Cain, we realize that part of that way is invisible to human discernment, but is very transparent to God–the part that is way down in the deep recesses of the human heart which no other person can fully know.
Now, there’s a second point. Let’s go back to the story, Genesis 4 again; and we’ll pick it up where we left off. We read verses 1-4, and it made us discuss and think about the invisible, inscrutable judgments of God. Now verse 5:
Gen. 4:5 — But God did not respect Cain and his offering. And the reaction of Cain? Repentance? "Oh, I’m sorry, God. Please show me where I was wrong." No. Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.
What’s the way of Cain? Part of the way of Cain is a person who is unafraid to get mad at God, who is unafraid of evaluating and judging God and speaking proudly against God. You know, pride–the mother of all sins. When corrected, when not respected in his offering, instead of a repentant, contrite, tearful approach, "Oh, God, I’m sorry I didn’t please you. I know I have a deceitful heart. Please help me and give me the mind of Christ." That wasn’t his prayer. He got mad at God. Part of the way of Cain is the way of getting angry at God for judging and correcting the self.
Verse 6 — So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry?" Now, we could put the emphasis on every one of those words and get a slightly different spin on it. Perhaps, for our purposes today, it would be, "Why are YOU angry? You’re just animated dust. I’m the Creator; you’re the created. I’m offering you eternal life as a part of the plan. What right do you, Cain, have to get mad at Me?" But part of the way of Cain is to set yourself up, myself up, as our own God; and the true God, in judging us, is inflicting Himself in our space, on our territory, and we don’t like it! That’s part of the way of Cain.
Look at Isaiah, chapter 45. The first baby ever born, in some regard, set the pattern. You know, there’s the first man, Adam, and Christ, the second Adam. But there’s the first Cain, the first one born of a human mother, and in another sense, if I could be permitted a little poetic license, Christ is the second Cain, because He was the first one born of the Spirit. He was the first one born of the Spirit, so Cain...just like Adam can be set up in opposition to Christ, so can Cain. In everything we read about Cain, we see the opposite with Christ. The first one born of human flesh versus the first one born of Spirit; but the way of Cain, I believe, is described here in Isaiah 45, beginning in verse 9:
Isa. 45:9 — Woe to him...now we saw in the very first verse we looked at, Jude 11, "Woe to those who walk in the way of Cain." Well, let’s bring that thought over. Woe to him who strives with his Maker! The way of Cain is to argue with God. Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! That’s an equal fight. That’s dirt arguing with dirt, but what right does dirt have to argue with the Great Spirit God Creator? None. Shall the clay say to him who forms it, "What are you making?" To question God, to second-guess God. Even in those things where we don’t understand or are difficult for us to accept, that’s fine for us to not understand them or have it be difficult to accept. I imagine Herb Teitgen right now is having a little struggle accepting or understanding why his wife just had to be taken from him so suddenly, but I know Herb well enough–I don’t think he’d mind me saying this–he’s not challenging God’s judgment. He’s not bitter at God. He’s hurting, but he’s more like Abel. He’s more like Abel than Cain. I mean, I know the man; and I’ve seen his messages even since the event. Yes, it hurts and he doesn’t probably understand completely why he had to lose this wife who was such a help to him so quickly, but he is not challenging, with anger, God. I just believe he’s not; but here we see the way of Cain. It’s clay challenging the potter. "Look, I wanted to be a tall, slender vase. Why are you making this short, stubby ash tray out of me?" Bad example–what else could be a righteous thing? "This coaster. I didn’t want to be...I wanted to be a tall, slender, shapely vase, and you’re making me kind of this plain old homely coaster. What are you doing?" That’s the way of Cain.
Verse 10 — Woe to him who says to his father, "What are you begetting?" Or to the woman, "What have you brought forth?"
Job, chapter 40. The way of Cain is to challenge God, to be angry with God, saying, "God, I don’t understand what you did and I don’t think it’s right and I want an accounting from you." That’s a dangerous frame of mind. Job, chapter 40, verse 2. Now this is God’s response to Job. It’s almost the same exact response that He gave to Cain and in Isaiah.
Job 40:2 — "Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? Thank you very much. I’ll do the correcting around here," God says to Cain. "Why are you angry with Me? He who rebukes God, let him answer it."
In the process of that enormous trial that Job went through, that potential within himself to actually rebuke God and say, "God, you’re not fair in your dealings with me," emerged. When he saw that potential within himself, he repented of it; and that, I believe, was the purpose of the whole drama.
II Peter, chapter 2. Here’s the way of Cain. You saw it in a very few words in Genesis 4:5-6. I believe this is the way of Cain, spelled out in a little more detail. II Peter 2, verse 10:
II Pet. 2:10 — ...and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, and they are self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries...now, the ultimate expression of that is when Cain gets mad at his Creator, when clay gets mad at its potter. It manifests itself in other gradations, but it is the way of Cain, to be presumptuous, to be an ego-maniac, and to be so self-willed that it just resists any authority. I fight that; you fight that. If we’re honest, we’ll admit it because that is part of our human nature, being presumptuous, self-willed, and not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries. And even the righteous angels, it says in verse 11, Michael, in arguing with Satan over the body of Moses, didn’t get into name-calling, but just said, "The Lord rebuke you."
A third aspect of the way of Cain. Let’s go back to where we stopped in Genesis 4, and now look at the next verse. What does God say?
Gen. 4:7 — "If you do well, Cain, will you not be accepted? It’s not impossible for you to please me, Cain. Don’t get depressed or discouraged. I haven’t set the bar so high that you can’t jump over it. Abel did. He brought an offering that I was pleased with. You didn’t. Now, don’t get mad at me and don’t think it’s impossible and go into a pout. And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."
I get the mental image here in what God is telling Cain that it’s like every day of our lives. We get up, we get dressed, we get ready to go out and face the day, right? We go out of our front door; and there’s this hideous, snarling, just awful looking, ferocious beast on the front porch of our house. Think of the ugliest, most fearsome beast that you’ve ever seen. I think of the Tasmanian devil, as typified in the–is it the road runner cartoon? Giant jaws and teeth and just, yuck, whatever it is; but it’s waiting for you every day, right on that front porch...and it is waiting. See, it lies at the door. That’s sin, and it wants to devour you. Now, God says that’s it. Every day it’s waiting for you; but you’ve got to master it. You’ve got to rule over it. God tests the hearts before giving eternal life; and this is part of the test. We have to overcome, we have to master. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. God is involved in testing our hearts to see if we’ll put up a fight; and He’s going to do that before He gives eternal life, so as not to repeat the Lucifer-turned-Satan experience. That’s what He’s got to know. He doesn’t want to give eternal life to somebody that He doesn’t know what is at the core of their spiritual essence. Is it being yielded to God and His sovereignty, or is it resistant to God? Is it the way of Abel or way of Cain?
Romans 2, verse 6. It says, He will render to each one according to his deeds...
It does say, even to Christians, in the New Testament, after we understand about mercy and forgiveness, it does say that as a man sows, he will reap. It does say God gives to every man according to his deeds, and it says it in the last chapter of the whole Bible. Again, back to Revelation, just about the last words of the book, God reminds the human creation that He wants to save every member of it. There’s no question about that. We can quote where it says He would have all men to be saved. He’s "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come..." But that having been said, notice what it says in Revelation 22, verse 11. There comes a point where you and I are either going to choose the way of Cain or the way of Abel. There won’t be an eternal fence-straddling.
Rev. 22:11-12 — He who is unjust, let him be unjust still...there is a point where a person has set his will, his mind, to be like Cain, to fight God, to resent God’s sovereignty... he who is filthy, let him be filthy still...God is saying, basically, "You have chosen your way. The consequences, of course, are eternal death in the lake of fire, but...he who is righteous, if you’re going to be like Abel, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work. Both categories. Those who, in the final analysis, chose the way of Cain; and those who, in the final analysis, chose the way of Abel. His reward is with Him to give every man according to his works.
I think, upon a little reflection, we find another aspect of the way of Cain. I would put it in these words. Cain was measured. You know, you measure something out. Somebody comes to you and he’s thirsty. "Well, I’ll give you water, but I’m going to give you one cup. I’m going to measure out what I give you. No more." He is measured. Now, that’s not a real generous spirit. I mean, if the guy’s thirsty, why not say, "Here’s the faucet. Have all you want." No. He’s measured. "Yeah, I’ll do it, but I’m going to measure it out. I’m going to give you one cup, pal, and that is it, so drink it slowly." Cain is measured, I believe, and those who are in his way. They are measured in their zeal for the God thing. You know, a part of their life they’ll give to God. They’ll bring their offering, you know; but maybe it’s not the firstfruits. I’ll go back to that line of thought. Maybe there is something there for us. I don’t think it’s the whole thing, but I think it’s an aspect. They’re measured in their zeal for the God thing. In other words, they’re willing to carve out a part of their lives, a part of their heart, a part of their mind to dedicate to God; but it’s also like they’ve got God on the timer. "I’ll give God an hour today or two." What about 24 and 7, with the timer never on? I believe that {living} the way of Cain, we’re measured. "Here’s the offering. Take it. Be happy with it. I’ve done my thing. Now I’m going to go over here and do my real thing, what I really enjoy."
I don’t see with Cain the whole heart in unmeasured zeal for God. I believe he was measured in his sacrifice to God. There was some sacrifice, and on the surface, that looks good; but I believe it was measured out. Cain might have said, "Let’s not get carried away with this God business. Let’s give Him a part of it; but, come on, let’s find some balance in our lives." Well, contrast that. What did Jesus say? Matthew 10:39. How measured in our zeal for the God thing does God want us to be? Jesus said:
Matt. 10:39 — He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
That sort of sounds like the whole thing, 24-7. "Who loses his life..." He talks about in the verse before that to the degree that they would take up their cross. Now, to us, that’s symbolic, metaphorical language. Literally be willing to die to serve God and even die an awful death if that’s what it took. You know, that’s what it means. That’s not measured. That’s just a blank check, open-ended, no limits, the whole heart.
Another aspect of the way of Cain...and we touched on this before, but I want to hone in on it a little bit more. The way of Cain is to be embittered. Oh, that is so dangerous, for me, for you, to let bitterness...even when things don’t go right, even if...what I mean by that is even if they’re not right. I mean, even if you see good and want to promote good. Now, let’s say you’re right in that. You’re right in your judgment; and God allows less than good, or bad, to prevail for awhile. It is so dangerous to become embittered. Now, this is a fine line, and I’m probably not articulate enough to spell this out; but we all sat in a different series of rooms 15 years ago, 10 years ago, and we would put up with some that wasn’t what we thought was right; but there came a point, a breaking point, didn’t there, where we had to get out. So that’s true, we cannot compromise truth; but what I am talking about is maybe a notch below that where we see the best taking second place to the second best or the third best, and we really are right in our judgment that the best is taking a back seat. We cannot let situations like that cause us to become embittered, because, guess what? We lose!
A bitter heart, an embittered heart is one that’s going to start decaying spiritually. That’s why we are warned to avoid a root of bitterness, because once it takes root, it’s so hard to get out. So we have to, if I am or if you are Abel–not "capable of doing something," but if you are the guy who got killed by his brother Cain–if you are Abel, you’re probably taking it pretty hard when he’s beating you to death over the head out in the field. "This doesn’t seem like it’s a godly thing," you’re thinking to yourself. "I brought a good offering to God; and look at what God is permitting to happen." And you’re probably thinking in your dying moments, "This isn’t right." But you don’t die with bitterness toward God in your heart. You commit yourself to God and say, "God, Your will be done." You might even think of Christ’s words, "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing." Hardest thing, probably, that we’re asked to do, of all the many difficult things we’re asked to do, but Christ set the example–the second Abel, if you will, the good one–He set the example of not being embittered. "Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing."
The way of Cain is to become embittered, and ultimately that goes back against God. Cain got embittered and he got hostile against God when God corrected him, unmindful of what we see in Hebrews, chapter 12. You probably thought we were going to go there. We are. Hebrews 12, which is right on point. Hebrews 12, verse 5. This is spoken to both Cain and Abel down through the ages. God says:
Heb. 12:5 — And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him..." "Cain, your visage fell. You got angry." "Well, God expects so much. I try my best, and all He does is criticize me and it’s just impossible to please Him." No, that’s not what this is saying. Now, Abel, "I did my best and now God is letting my brother beat my brains in." That’s not easy. It’s not pleasant, but there’s no bitterness there. Do not be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him, for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." So even if you’re Abel, the man Abel, and you do the right thing, sometimes you take it on the chin. If you’re Cain and you do the wrong thing, you take it on the chin. Life’s a test. How are we going to react to adversities? Whether God allows it or God causes it–kind of a distinction without a difference–it happens. How do we react to it? Cain didn’t react in a very good way. Abel did.
Another point. I want to go back to this Tasmanian devil. Cain, I think, was unwilling to fight that beast every day. It gets a little tiresome. Every time you step out, this giant jaw is about ready to snap down on your ankle and take a nice bite out of you, this snarling, vicious, ugly beast. Well, that’s sin. Who wants to fight a monster like that every day. I mean, for a few days, OK, but, come on, a whole lifetime? Every day? That gets tiring. Well, that’s what God was telling Cain. "It lies at the door. You’re going to have to fight it. As long as you live this life, fight it. It wants to rule over you. It wants to take a bite out of you. You’ve got to fight it." I think Cain was finally unwilling to fight sin, to fight it off, to resist it. It’s always there, and he got tired of the fight.
Hebrews 5, verse 7. You don’t see Christ saying, "Oh, well, sin’s out the front door. I’ll go out the garage way and get away so that it’s not there any more." No, He was willing to stay in there and fight; and we read one of the great battles of His life, Hebrews 5, verse 7:
Heb. 5:7 — Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear...Why, He’s down there wrestling with that devil. Literally, He did. He fasted 40 days and 40 nights, when He’s weakened, He was strengthened and He fought and He fought His whole life. God says it’s always there. Don’t give up the willingness to fight.
We see Paul not running out the garage door to try to get away. He knew the fight, and he fought it. I Corinthians, chapter 9. In other words, he doesn’t whine and complain to God, "Hey, there’s this Tasmanian devil." God says, "Yes, I know. I told you he would be there. But part of My purpose is to watch you fight him. And guess what? You’re going to get tired, and guess what that means? You’re going to have to ask Me for help. And, guess what? That’s the whole point. It will teach you you need Me. You can’t do it on your own." Jesus Himself said, "I can of My own self do nothing." So having the devil there, that monster, all the time makes us realize we’re incapable of keeping up the fight without supernatural strength and help from God, Christ in us, the hope of glory; and it’s a very good lesson, that we’ll always look to God for help. On into eternity, we’ll always look to the Father and Christ for leadership and help, and we won’t start freelancing. It will become a part of our character in this lifetime, that we need God. We’ll never not need Him. So where are we going here? I Corinthians 9:27. He said:
I Cor. 9:27 — But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
You just see a person here, fighting. You know, the previous verse, fighting. "I fight, not as one who beats the air." And again, he doesn’t sneak out the back way or the garage exit. He goes out and he takes on the challenges, relying on God for the strength.
Romans 8:13, the final verse on this point. Again, you see vivid imagery, the language of a fighter, not one who is running from the fight.
Rom. 8:13 — For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. It’s a mortal combat, and you just reach down, even though the thing’s disgusting, you reach down with your hands and you grab that Tasmanian devil by the throat so he can’t bite you, and, you know, you put up a fight, with the help of God.
Ultimately, what’s the way of Cain? Ultimately, Cain was a child of Satan. Satan was the father of lies and murder. What did Cain do? He lied. "I don’t know where my brother is. Why are you asking me where my brother is?" He knew where his brother was. And a murderer. He killed him.
John 8:44, Satan is the father of lies. The way of Cain is to follow that way...{some words missing as tape was turned over in recording}...to lie to God, of all people. How did he think he could get away with lying to God when God said, "Where’s your brother?"? "I don’t know where he is." And a murderer, because he killed him. Cain, in effect, set the pattern of the world, deceived and led by Satan, hating and persecuting God’s chosen people. I John, chapter 3. He set the pattern that we have seen for 6,000 years. I John, chapter 3, verse 13. We go back where we began. We’re not to be as Cain, who was of the wicked one, Satan, the father of lies and of murder. He murdered his brother, and why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Evil hates good and is jealous of God’s–and that’s the ironic thing–is jealous of God’s approval but is not willing to yield to God in such a way as to receive God’s approval.
I John 3:13-15 — Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Cain did not practice the way of love. He practiced the way of Cain. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Cain’s rejection by God and the acceptance of Abel by God is consistent with the pattern of God choosing the younger instead of the older, of God making decisions based on things only He can discern that we, with human eyes, cannot know. It was Isaac and not Ishmael. Logic says it would be Ishmael. He truly was the first son born from Abraham’s body, but he wasn’t chosen. It was Isaac. It was Jacob, not Esau. Esau was the firstborn of the twins, but God chose Jacob. It was Joseph and not Reuben. Reuben was the first son of Jacob of that wife; but it was Joseph, not Reuben. It was David and not Eliab. David was the youngest son. It was Cain who was born first, but it was Abel who was chosen. So I think we need to conclude and just say, God help us all to love one another, unlike Cain. God help us to reject the way of Cain, of hating, of being jealous, of fighting God, of being bitter at God for His judgments, of refusing to fight sin and Satan.