WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.780 Genesis chapter 4, let's start at verse 1. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:14.359 Now Adam knew Eve, his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:17.980 And again, she bore his brother Abel. 00:00:19.239 --> 00:00:23.160 Abel was a keeper of sheep, Cain a worker of the ground. 00:00:24.600 --> 00:00:28.939 In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. 00:00:30.820 --> 00:00:35.159 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. 00:00:36.920 --> 00:00:42.379 The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. 00:00:42.380 --> 00:00:46.900 So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 00:00:48.600 --> 00:00:51.700 The Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? 00:00:52.580 --> 00:00:54.180 Why is your face fallen? 00:00:54.859 --> 00:00:57.040 If you do well, will you not be accepted? 00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:02.480 And if you do not well, sin is crouching at the door. 00:01:03.800 --> 00:01:08.240 Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it. 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:11.699 Cain spoke to his brother. 00:01:13.159 --> 00:01:18.199 And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 00:01:21.159 --> 00:01:23.879 Then the Lord said to Cain, where is Abel your brother? 00:01:25.459 --> 00:01:26.819 He said, I do not know. 00:01:26.939 --> 00:01:28.039 Am I my brother's keeper? 00:01:29.759 --> 00:01:31.379 The Lord said, what have you done? 00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:36.539 The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. 00:01:37.759 --> 00:01:44.019 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 00:01:45.179 --> 00:01:48.979 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. 00:01:50.199 --> 00:01:53.959 You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. 00:01:55.620 --> 00:01:58.739 Cain said to the Lord, my punishment is too great. 00:01:58.739 --> 00:02:00.640 It's greater than I can bear. 00:02:00.780 --> 00:02:03.679 Behold, you've driven me today away from the ground. 00:02:03.819 --> 00:02:06.099 And from your face, I shall be hidden. 00:02:07.679 --> 00:02:10.500 I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth. 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:12.699 And whoever finds me will kill me. 00:02:14.019 --> 00:02:16.280 The Lord said to him, not so. 00:02:17.359 --> 00:02:21.979 If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. 00:02:21.979 --> 00:02:28.539 And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:36.439 And Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 00:02:37.659 --> 00:02:38.000 Amen. 00:02:40.060 --> 00:02:47.039 The opening lines of this text are teeming with redemptive potential. 00:02:47.039 --> 00:02:59.079 Chapter 3 described for us how Adam and Eve's sin brought the reign of death on humanity, invoking the judgment of God. 00:03:00.099 --> 00:03:06.120 And yet it also reveals to us the great grace of God in judgment. 00:03:06.120 --> 00:03:13.240 He promised that he would bring from the woman and from her seed a deliverer. 00:03:13.480 --> 00:03:19.340 A deliverer who would deal a mortal blow to the head of the serpent who had deceived her. 00:03:20.480 --> 00:03:24.840 As we saw last week, Adam and Eve trusted God's promise by faith. 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:33.200 And the first sign of its fulfillment came in the birth of their firstborn son, Cain. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:40.339 And Eve understood the redemptive potential of this birth immediately. 00:03:40.619 --> 00:03:43.719 It's seen in her exclamation in verse 1. 00:03:43.819 --> 00:03:45.119 Just set your eyes on it again. 00:03:45.679 --> 00:03:46.780 Adam knew his wife. 00:03:46.979 --> 00:03:48.419 She conceived and bore Cain. 00:03:48.479 --> 00:03:51.819 And she said, I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord. 00:03:53.479 --> 00:03:56.339 The Lord blessed her with a son. 00:03:56.340 --> 00:04:03.200 Only she didn't use the term for son, but the term for man. 00:04:03.980 --> 00:04:05.800 Literally, Adam. 00:04:07.080 --> 00:04:07.680 The Lord. 00:04:08.960 --> 00:04:12.599 From the Lord I have gotten an Adam. 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:28.339 Eve's firstborn son represents a new Adam with the potential of fulfilling God's redemptive purpose that was pronounced for us back in chapter 3. 00:04:29.800 --> 00:04:36.620 But of course, that potential was ruined by Cain's indwelling sin. 00:04:36.620 --> 00:04:50.840 Not only would he commit terrible sin, he would prove himself to be a seed of the serpent at war against God and those who righteously trust and obey God. 00:04:52.079 --> 00:04:55.660 We see Eve had another son, Abel. 00:04:56.639 --> 00:05:01.060 And the two brothers were as different as any other brother. 00:05:01.060 --> 00:05:04.759 Cain was a worker of the ground like his dad. 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:08.160 Abel, a shepherd of sheep. 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:14.680 And Abel is certainly an important figure here in the text for a number of reasons. 00:05:14.800 --> 00:05:23.079 In fact, we might find by the time we get to the end of our text, we might find that Abel in some sense is the most important figure in the text. 00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:25.360 But at the end, this is really Cain's story. 00:05:25.500 --> 00:05:27.139 It's not Abel's story. 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:29.840 Cain is the focus here. 00:05:31.060 --> 00:05:35.639 It's fundamentally a story of sin and judgment. 00:05:37.399 --> 00:05:42.620 As the firstborn son, Cain would have had a privileged status. 00:05:42.620 --> 00:05:50.100 There would have been an expectation on him to mediate the blessings of God to the rest of the family. 00:05:51.019 --> 00:05:59.439 And yet failing to trust God and obey God, he faced the severity of God's judgment instead. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:03.459 Now I want you to consider who would have been the first audience of this book. 00:06:03.459 --> 00:06:07.839 It's the ancient Israelites, is it not? 00:06:07.959 --> 00:06:10.500 Wondering in the wilderness of Sinai. 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:13.680 They have been given the law of God through Moses. 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:15.159 They are the audience. 00:06:16.139 --> 00:06:21.759 And do you remember in Exodus 4 as God is preparing Moses to send him to Pharaoh? 00:06:21.939 --> 00:06:24.299 What is it that he tells him to tell Pharaoh? 00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:29.759 He says, tell Pharaoh, Israel is my firstborn son. 00:06:30.520 --> 00:06:35.240 And you must let them go or else I'm going to take your firstborn son. 00:06:35.900 --> 00:06:37.100 It's Exodus 4.22. 00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:43.720 What is the story of Cain then to the people of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness? 00:06:46.020 --> 00:06:49.820 Israel, God's firstborn, had a privileged status. 00:06:50.780 --> 00:06:52.480 They were God's chosen people. 00:06:52.660 --> 00:06:57.460 It was through them that he would mediate his blessings to the rest of the world. 00:06:57.459 --> 00:07:03.279 This story of Cain comes as a sobering lesson for them. 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:12.459 That their privileged status as God's chosen people would not preclude God's judgment against them 00:07:12.459 --> 00:07:18.979 if they were to fail in the same way that Cain, Eve's firstborn, failed. 00:07:20.039 --> 00:07:22.379 And that's true for you and me as well. 00:07:22.379 --> 00:07:36.019 Your proximity to God and whatever that may be externally will not prevent God from judging your sin. 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:43.920 Your privileged status, whatever that may be and however you may consider that 00:07:43.920 --> 00:07:48.279 and your proximity to Christianity or your proximity to the church, 00:07:48.279 --> 00:07:52.959 that status in and of itself, the closer you are to Christianity, 00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:57.639 doesn't mean the less severe God's judgment will be on your sin. 00:08:00.039 --> 00:08:07.519 The aim of the text then is to press into our hearts the fact that redemptive potential 00:08:07.519 --> 00:08:13.119 is ruined by the pervasive presence and power of sin, 00:08:13.679 --> 00:08:17.119 not only in Cain, but in each and every one of us. 00:08:18.279 --> 00:08:27.959 The text acts as a mirror so that as we look at Cain, we see ourselves in its reflection. 00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:35.980 It exposes the true heart of sin that is ours by nature. 00:08:35.980 --> 00:08:44.480 It describes the work of sin as our hearts always reveal themselves in real behavior, 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:48.259 in real life, in the things that we do, in the things that we say, 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:51.159 in the places that we go, in the way that we live. 00:08:51.240 --> 00:08:54.820 It's always an exposition of what's true of our hearts. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:55.840 And we find that here. 00:08:55.840 --> 00:09:02.639 The text also threatens the judgment of God for sin, 00:09:03.580 --> 00:09:11.940 seen ultimately in the expulsion of the sinner from God's presence and from God's goodness. 00:09:12.240 --> 00:09:13.540 That's what this text is about. 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:15.160 This is a heavy text. 00:09:16.280 --> 00:09:18.840 This is not a story to entertain you. 00:09:18.840 --> 00:09:21.820 This is a mirror to show you who you are. 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:28.139 But that doesn't mean that the text is without hope either. 00:09:29.340 --> 00:09:33.720 It's only in acknowledging the truth of our sinful condition 00:09:33.720 --> 00:09:40.340 that we can begin to see the glorious grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ, 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:43.800 God's true firstborn son. 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:47.319 We're going to work through this text together. 00:09:47.439 --> 00:09:49.519 We're going to see ourselves in Cain. 00:09:49.599 --> 00:09:53.979 But by the time we get to the end, we're going to look at Abel again. 00:09:54.359 --> 00:09:57.059 Except we're not going to see ourselves in Abel. 00:09:58.819 --> 00:10:01.859 We're going to see Jesus in Abel. 00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:04.539 And it's going to make all the difference for us. 00:10:06.099 --> 00:10:09.279 So notice with me first, I want you to see the heart of sin here. 00:10:10.039 --> 00:10:11.079 The heart of sin. 00:10:12.079 --> 00:10:13.479 Look again at verse 3. 00:10:13.799 --> 00:10:20.219 In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. 00:10:21.099 --> 00:10:26.039 And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. 00:10:27.939 --> 00:10:30.579 And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. 00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.459 But for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. 00:10:37.559 --> 00:10:40.819 Interesting, the conflict of the text begins at church. 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:49.100 At a designated time, Cain and Abel appeared before the Lord to offer sacrifices of worship. 00:10:49.220 --> 00:10:51.080 This isn't a sacrifice of atonement. 00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:52.780 It's a tribute to the Lord. 00:10:52.879 --> 00:11:03.700 It's meant to be an expression of praise and of worship based on the value and the worth that they held for the Lord God. 00:11:03.700 --> 00:11:04.700 Cain brought the fruit of the ground. 00:11:04.700 --> 00:11:08.580 Cain brought the fruit of the ground as a worker of the ground. 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:15.440 Abel, as a shepherd, brought sheep from his flock. 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:21.980 And the conflict arises here when we read that God had regard for Abel and his offering. 00:11:22.120 --> 00:11:29.780 He accepted Abel and his offering, but rejected Cain and his offering. 00:11:30.040 --> 00:11:33.840 And the question is, why did God favor one over the other? 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:41.840 The explanation, I think, lies in the description and the emphasis of Abel's offering. 00:11:43.060 --> 00:11:51.200 Abel gave of the firstborn of his flock and of the best portions of that firstborn. 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:54.420 The fat portions, the best of the best. 00:11:55.540 --> 00:11:59.639 But Cain did not give the first fruits of his harvest. 00:11:59.639 --> 00:12:09.379 Abel gave the best of what he had in recognition of the goodness and the perfections and the holiness and the glory of God. 00:12:10.439 --> 00:12:13.039 Cain reserved the best for himself. 00:12:15.199 --> 00:12:21.059 And what we find is that both the gift and the giver are under the scrutiny of the Lord 00:12:21.059 --> 00:12:28.519 because the nature of one's worship reveals the condition of his heart toward God. 00:12:29.639 --> 00:12:36.740 And in God's evaluation, there was a fundamental difference in the nature of their worship. 00:12:37.379 --> 00:12:41.039 And the writer of Hebrews helps us understand what that difference is. 00:12:41.539 --> 00:12:42.679 Hebrews 11, 4. 00:12:43.059 --> 00:12:49.399 By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, 00:12:50.580 --> 00:12:53.179 through which he was commended as righteous. 00:12:53.179 --> 00:12:58.279 God commending him by accepting his gifts. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:04.719 And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 00:13:05.059 --> 00:13:09.799 Do you hear that in the writer of Hebrews' affirmation? 00:13:09.919 --> 00:13:15.079 It is by faith that Abel offered this sacrifice to the Lord. 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:21.860 And it is because of Abel's faith that God received it and counted Abel as righteous. 00:13:22.280 --> 00:13:29.060 Not on account of the goodness of the sheep, but on account of the faith that Abel had as he offered it. 00:13:30.480 --> 00:13:34.780 God didn't accept his offering because he prefers lambs over grain. 00:13:34.980 --> 00:13:38.560 Both of them are represented throughout the law as pleasing to the Lord. 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:52.199 He accepted it because Abel demonstrated a true heart of worship that believed God, trusted God, and therefore obeyed God. 00:13:53.559 --> 00:13:57.059 But Cain's offering, on the other hand, revealed something different. 00:13:57.819 --> 00:14:02.299 It wasn't a heart filled with faith and trust in the Lord's promise. 00:14:02.299 --> 00:14:05.359 It was a heart filled with pride. 00:14:06.120 --> 00:14:12.359 A pride that said, I'll bring what I want to bring to God and he'll have to accept it for what it is. 00:14:13.740 --> 00:14:21.659 There's an echo of Adam and Eve and the seduction of that tree and what it represented. 00:14:23.339 --> 00:14:30.219 A life chosen to be lived in moral autonomy. 00:14:30.220 --> 00:14:33.320 We see that, an echo of it here in Cain. 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:38.000 And the heart of the problem proved to be a problem of his heart. 00:14:39.180 --> 00:14:40.399 Now here's the thing with this. 00:14:41.300 --> 00:14:47.000 The terrifying reality here is we just see this begin to unfold in the narrative. 00:14:48.139 --> 00:14:56.740 The terrifying reality is that even when our acts of worship appear to be genuine and joyful, 00:14:56.740 --> 00:15:06.620 God sees beyond the act itself to the condition of the heart of the one who has come to worship. 00:15:08.620 --> 00:15:10.220 And that's terrifying. 00:15:10.220 --> 00:15:15.120 That's why the writer of Hebrews again says, 00:15:16.180 --> 00:15:23.019 let us offer to God acceptable worship based on how God has told us to worship. 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:27.700 But he says, let us offer it with reverence and awe. 00:15:27.820 --> 00:15:29.720 That is, with faith. 00:15:31.100 --> 00:15:31.600 Why? 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:36.060 For our God is a consuming fire. 00:15:37.159 --> 00:15:40.340 And Cain finds that out soon enough. 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:43.580 But then we find a word of warning here. 00:15:43.700 --> 00:15:45.040 Look again at verse 5. 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:46.420 All of this happens. 00:15:46.560 --> 00:15:48.759 We see this is just the narrative taking place. 00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:50.659 And now we find a response. 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:52.500 Second half of verse 5. 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:56.879 So Cain was very angry about this. 00:15:58.320 --> 00:15:59.559 And his face fell. 00:16:01.639 --> 00:16:03.279 And the Lord said to Cain, 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:05.460 why are you angry? 00:16:06.340 --> 00:16:08.100 And why has your face fallen? 00:16:08.480 --> 00:16:10.519 If you do well, will you not be accepted? 00:16:11.840 --> 00:16:12.940 And here's the warning. 00:16:14.320 --> 00:16:15.860 If you do not do well, 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:18.980 sin is crouching at the door. 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:23.820 Its desire is to master you, Cain. 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:26.480 But you must rule over it. 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:31.980 There's a tremendous irony in Cain's response, isn't there? 00:16:32.860 --> 00:16:34.039 Do you see the irony here? 00:16:36.680 --> 00:16:40.519 His offering proved that he had no regard for God. 00:16:40.600 --> 00:16:44.720 And yet he becomes angry when God has no regard for him. 00:16:46.320 --> 00:16:48.180 And his countenance falls. 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:55.159 A mixture of fury and of shame that can be seen now. 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:57.980 Not merely in his heart, 00:16:58.100 --> 00:17:03.240 but in the reflection of his expression toward the Lord and toward others. 00:17:03.379 --> 00:17:05.079 It's all over his face, so to speak. 00:17:07.140 --> 00:17:09.500 And yet God is still patient with him, isn't he? 00:17:11.480 --> 00:17:13.000 What does God begin to do? 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:17.120 He begins to lead Cain toward the path of repentance. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:20.019 Why are you angry? 00:17:20.439 --> 00:17:21.739 The question's rhetorical. 00:17:22.099 --> 00:17:23.599 God's not looking for information. 00:17:23.759 --> 00:17:26.399 He's doing the same thing with Cain that he did with Adam and Eve. 00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:28.039 He's not looking for information. 00:17:28.379 --> 00:17:31.439 He's declaring that Cain has no right to be angry. 00:17:32.779 --> 00:17:37.739 How foolish for any of us to ever think that we have a right to be angry at God. 00:17:37.740 --> 00:17:45.380 Cain's circumstances were of his own making. 00:17:46.079 --> 00:17:52.420 He had no one to blame but himself because he's the one who failed to trust God. 00:17:52.519 --> 00:17:54.480 He's the one who failed to obey God. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:58.240 And he did not offer acceptable worship to God. 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:01.779 And like his father before him, 00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:10.640 he chooses rather to shift the responsibility of his own sin to God. 00:18:11.480 --> 00:18:14.860 He's angry at God because he thinks it's really God's fault. 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:16.579 There's no problem in what I brought. 00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:18.319 There's a problem in God. 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:23.059 Do you see the issue of his heart here? 00:18:25.240 --> 00:18:29.319 He does wrong, but he refuses to acknowledge it. 00:18:30.220 --> 00:18:34.279 The Holy One tries to help him acknowledge it, to see it, 00:18:34.500 --> 00:18:38.099 to see the reality of his own sinfulness and of his own failure. 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:39.700 And yet he refuses. 00:18:40.299 --> 00:18:40.639 Why? 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:44.099 Because his heart is hardened. 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:50.219 And yet there's still hope for repentance and restoration. 00:18:51.319 --> 00:18:52.639 Notice what God tells him. 00:18:52.899 --> 00:18:54.719 If Cain would acknowledge his wrong, 00:18:55.240 --> 00:18:58.459 if he would do well by trusting and obeying God, 00:18:58.679 --> 00:18:59.959 he would be accepted. 00:19:00.099 --> 00:19:01.879 Literally, it means his face would be lifted. 00:19:02.299 --> 00:19:03.939 His countenance, which has fallen, 00:19:03.939 --> 00:19:08.559 would now be lifted up in a good conscience before God. 00:19:09.399 --> 00:19:12.019 He would not have the fury and the shame 00:19:12.019 --> 00:19:15.480 because he will have done what God was worthy of. 00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:17.720 He will have done what God commanded. 00:19:18.779 --> 00:19:20.079 He would have trusted God. 00:19:22.940 --> 00:19:24.359 But then there's the warning. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.160 If he will not act in faith and obedience, 00:19:30.819 --> 00:19:35.119 sin will dominate him like a wild animal 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:38.079 ready to pounce and devour its prey. 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:40.939 And here's where we find ourselves. 00:19:42.779 --> 00:19:44.659 Cain's reaction to God's correction 00:19:44.659 --> 00:19:46.500 is now the critical issue of the text. 00:19:47.980 --> 00:19:49.000 He's disobeyed. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:49.779 He's lacked faith. 00:19:49.859 --> 00:19:50.879 There's an issue of his heart. 00:19:50.980 --> 00:19:54.000 Now God has very graciously intervened 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.720 and he's calling him to repentance. 00:19:57.199 --> 00:19:58.319 What will Cain do? 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:00.460 That's the issue now. 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:03.759 We turn to God by faith. 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:07.339 Will he persist rather in his anger, 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:10.220 be mastered by his sin, 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:12.099 and face God's judgment? 00:20:13.480 --> 00:20:16.140 And that may be the critical issue for you this morning. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:19.799 Perhaps you're at a place where 00:20:19.799 --> 00:20:23.140 God is beginning to expose to you 00:20:23.140 --> 00:20:27.119 the sinfulness of your own heart. 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:31.400 Will you hear him? 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:34.080 Will you repent? 00:20:35.060 --> 00:20:36.200 We believe. 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:40.480 Or will you continue to be mastered by sin 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:41.720 and harden your heart 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:44.180 and persist in anger against him? 00:20:44.540 --> 00:20:46.080 That's the critical issue now. 00:20:47.320 --> 00:20:48.560 You see the heart of sin here. 00:20:49.220 --> 00:20:51.380 Next I want you to see the work of sin. 00:20:52.320 --> 00:20:53.480 The work of sin. 00:20:53.560 --> 00:20:54.220 Look at verse 8. 00:20:55.120 --> 00:20:55.840 What will Cain do? 00:20:55.839 --> 00:21:00.679 Cain spoke to Abel, his brother. 00:21:02.379 --> 00:21:03.579 And when they were in the field, 00:21:04.679 --> 00:21:06.459 Cain rose up against his brother Abel 00:21:06.459 --> 00:21:08.259 and killed him. 00:21:09.659 --> 00:21:11.259 I just want to let that marinate for a second. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:15.259 It's fast in the text, isn't it? 00:21:15.259 --> 00:21:17.059 It comes and it quickly goes. 00:21:17.199 --> 00:21:19.839 Just think about what's happening. 00:21:19.839 --> 00:21:24.939 Cain kills his brother. 00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:28.759 And the Lord intervenes again. 00:21:28.919 --> 00:21:30.599 He says to Cain, 00:21:30.679 --> 00:21:32.779 where is your brother Abel? 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:35.819 He says, I don't know. 00:21:37.419 --> 00:21:39.039 Am I responsible for him? 00:21:40.199 --> 00:21:41.359 Should I care? 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:43.179 Am I his keeper? 00:21:43.180 --> 00:21:46.740 And the Lord said, what have you done? 00:21:47.900 --> 00:21:49.539 The voice of your brother's blood 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:50.920 is crying to me from the ground. 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:53.240 It's interesting. 00:21:53.360 --> 00:21:56.299 Adam and Eve had to be talked into sin. 00:21:58.500 --> 00:22:00.880 Cain could not be talked out of sin 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:03.160 even by the very word of God. 00:22:06.320 --> 00:22:08.200 It's Spurgeon who is noted 00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:10.880 for saying in a sermon on Jeremiah 1 00:22:10.880 --> 00:22:13.360 that the same son which melts the wax 00:22:13.360 --> 00:22:14.460 hardens the clay. 00:22:15.360 --> 00:22:16.460 And the same gospel 00:22:16.460 --> 00:22:18.780 which melts some persons to repentance 00:22:18.780 --> 00:22:21.020 hardens others in their sin. 00:22:22.540 --> 00:22:25.100 Cain heard the message of the gospel 00:22:25.100 --> 00:22:26.320 from the Lord of himself. 00:22:26.520 --> 00:22:28.880 But he rather than repent and believe, 00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:32.700 he persisted in the sin of his angry heart. 00:22:32.760 --> 00:22:33.640 And sure enough, 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:38.040 the unrepentant heart produced murderous fruit. 00:22:38.039 --> 00:22:42.299 And Cain's action toward Abel here 00:22:42.299 --> 00:22:44.139 is it's not spontaneous. 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:46.319 It is premeditated. 00:22:47.460 --> 00:22:49.559 He lured his brother 00:22:49.559 --> 00:22:51.319 into the isolation of the field 00:22:51.319 --> 00:22:53.119 so that he might take his life. 00:22:53.220 --> 00:22:53.879 But why? 00:22:55.440 --> 00:22:58.500 If it was God who didn't accept Cain's gift, 00:22:58.659 --> 00:23:01.200 why is it Abel that Cain is frustrated with? 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:06.579 Why is it Abel that he exacts his frustrations on? 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:09.799 It's because Abel's righteousness 00:23:09.799 --> 00:23:12.980 was a constant reminder of Cain's sin. 00:23:13.799 --> 00:23:16.819 His life was a memorial of the fact 00:23:16.819 --> 00:23:19.019 that God accepted his offering 00:23:19.019 --> 00:23:20.799 but rejected Cain. 00:23:21.919 --> 00:23:23.419 And rather than repent, 00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:25.179 Cain chose to destroy 00:23:25.179 --> 00:23:27.279 the thing that most convicted, 00:23:27.720 --> 00:23:28.879 his guilty conscience. 00:23:29.460 --> 00:23:31.619 And does that not sound very much like us? 00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:36.519 God brings something or someone into our lives 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:40.039 meant to draw us toward repentance 00:23:40.039 --> 00:23:41.199 and expose our sin. 00:23:41.279 --> 00:23:43.000 And rather than repent and believe God, 00:23:43.079 --> 00:23:45.099 we do our very best to destroy the thing 00:23:45.099 --> 00:23:45.839 that God brought 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:48.579 as a sign of faithfulness and of righteousness. 00:23:49.359 --> 00:23:51.719 Evil hates righteousness. 00:23:52.579 --> 00:23:53.439 It hates it. 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:58.039 John helps us to understand this even more 00:23:58.039 --> 00:23:59.400 in 1 John 3. 00:23:59.580 --> 00:23:59.920 He says, 00:24:00.100 --> 00:24:01.380 We should not be like Cain 00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:03.840 who was of the evil one, 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:05.059 a seed of the serpent, 00:24:05.660 --> 00:24:07.160 and murdered his brother. 00:24:07.420 --> 00:24:09.620 And why did he murder him, John asked? 00:24:10.620 --> 00:24:12.380 Because his own deeds were evil 00:24:12.380 --> 00:24:15.200 and his brother's righteous. 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:17.759 And yet, 00:24:18.039 --> 00:24:20.180 even after the heinousness of his deed, 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:22.620 the Lord sought to draw Cain 00:24:22.620 --> 00:24:24.460 into genuine confession 00:24:24.460 --> 00:24:26.259 and repentance with this question. 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:29.100 Where's your brother, Cain? 00:24:31.279 --> 00:24:32.759 Where are you, Adam? 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:35.500 Where's your brother, Cain? 00:24:36.319 --> 00:24:38.900 Who told you you were naked, Adam? 00:24:40.400 --> 00:24:42.640 Where's Abel, Cain? 00:24:42.700 --> 00:24:44.480 He's drawing him out, isn't he? 00:24:45.200 --> 00:24:48.460 Isn't this the grace of God at work in the text? 00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:52.200 There was still an opportunity for Cain 00:24:52.200 --> 00:24:53.279 to acknowledge his guilt, 00:24:53.400 --> 00:24:54.819 to cry out to God for mercy. 00:24:54.940 --> 00:24:56.539 If he would have just said, 00:24:57.120 --> 00:25:00.920 God, I've done a terrible thing. 00:25:01.019 --> 00:25:03.120 Will you please have mercy on me? 00:25:03.600 --> 00:25:05.920 The indication is that God would have indeed 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:07.580 responded in mercy, 00:25:07.700 --> 00:25:09.019 but Cain doesn't do that. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:11.519 His heart was too hard. 00:25:11.519 --> 00:25:15.619 He outright lies to the Lord first. 00:25:15.740 --> 00:25:16.859 He says that he doesn't know, 00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:18.740 but even more, his famous quip, 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:20.240 am I my brother's keeper? 00:25:20.680 --> 00:25:22.579 It reveals the callousness of his heart. 00:25:24.180 --> 00:25:26.279 His resentment toward God 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:29.059 led to a resentment of God's image. 00:25:31.259 --> 00:25:34.539 But God knew exactly what Cain had done, 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:38.500 and it required an act of God's perfect justice. 00:25:39.180 --> 00:25:40.859 And for the first time in the scriptures, 00:25:40.859 --> 00:25:44.339 we begin to see just how heinous of a sin 00:25:44.339 --> 00:25:46.639 murder actually is. 00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:53.279 The blood of your brother is crying out to me, Cain. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:55.980 I know what you did. 00:25:56.960 --> 00:25:58.779 I know where he is. 00:26:02.460 --> 00:26:05.420 An old German theologian said this, 00:26:05.519 --> 00:26:07.720 according to the Old Testament view, 00:26:09.059 --> 00:26:11.160 blood and life belong to God alone. 00:26:12.859 --> 00:26:15.660 Wherever a man commits murder, 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:19.799 he attacks God's very own right of possession. 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:25.680 To destroy life goes far beyond man's proper sphere. 00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:30.019 Spilled blood cannot be shoveled underground. 00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:32.399 It cries aloud to heaven 00:26:32.399 --> 00:26:36.299 and complains directly to the Lord of life. 00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:38.279 Did you catch that? 00:26:39.899 --> 00:26:42.299 Wherever a man commits murder, 00:26:42.500 --> 00:26:46.720 he attacks God's very own right of possession, 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:49.579 a possession of his own image. 00:26:49.799 --> 00:26:53.599 Such is the dignity of human life 00:26:53.599 --> 00:26:55.740 that to take it is to attack 00:26:55.740 --> 00:26:58.659 God's very own right of possession. 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:00.559 And it's for this reason 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:03.539 that Christians not only resist these acts, 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:05.339 but they are to fight against 00:27:05.339 --> 00:27:07.539 the murderous impulses of our culture. 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:11.139 Whether that be the abortion of the pre-born, 00:27:12.099 --> 00:27:14.720 whether it be unjust and immoral wars, 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:17.139 whether it be ethnic genocide, 00:27:17.140 --> 00:27:19.480 which is happening all over the place, 00:27:19.520 --> 00:27:23.000 whether it be physician-assisted suicide, 00:27:23.240 --> 00:27:25.020 from womb to the tomb, 00:27:25.240 --> 00:27:26.920 your life belongs to God 00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:29.320 and everyone else's life belongs to God. 00:27:29.920 --> 00:27:32.200 And for us to enter and encroach upon that 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:34.880 is to attack God's very own right 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:37.420 of possession of his own image. 00:27:37.420 --> 00:27:41.539 This is a terrible sin. 00:27:43.360 --> 00:27:46.820 Just as the blood of Abel cries out to God for justice, 00:27:47.180 --> 00:27:49.320 so does the blood of every life 00:27:49.320 --> 00:27:51.000 taken against the will of God. 00:27:51.220 --> 00:27:53.220 And God will have his vengeance 00:27:53.220 --> 00:27:56.640 against those who walk in the way of Cain, 00:27:57.360 --> 00:27:59.420 no matter how they might try to justify 00:27:59.420 --> 00:28:00.620 what they've done. 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:09.500 But murder is only one possible expression of sin 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:11.779 from an unrepentant heart. 00:28:14.719 --> 00:28:17.139 Just because you haven't killed someone 00:28:17.139 --> 00:28:20.379 doesn't mean that you're not also walking 00:28:20.379 --> 00:28:21.339 in the way of Cain. 00:28:24.339 --> 00:28:27.579 Heart that is fundamentally set against God's will 00:28:27.579 --> 00:28:32.599 will always expose itself to the work of sin. 00:28:33.939 --> 00:28:36.539 Listen to how Paul talked about this in Romans 1. 00:28:37.240 --> 00:28:38.939 This sounds a lot like Cain, doesn't it? 00:28:40.179 --> 00:28:43.359 Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, 00:28:44.679 --> 00:28:47.599 that is, to trust him and obey him, 00:28:48.879 --> 00:28:51.359 God gave them up to a debased mind 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:53.740 to do what ought not to be done. 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:56.539 He removed his restraining grace 00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:59.119 and what happened when these people, 00:28:59.279 --> 00:29:01.799 these sinners, sinners like you and like me 00:29:01.799 --> 00:29:03.899 did what they really wanted to do. 00:29:05.420 --> 00:29:08.159 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, 00:29:08.279 --> 00:29:12.619 Paul says, evil, covetousness, malice. 00:29:13.740 --> 00:29:16.079 They're full of envy and murder 00:29:16.079 --> 00:29:19.879 and strife and deceit and maliciousness. 00:29:19.880 --> 00:29:23.900 They are gossips and slanderers and haters of God, 00:29:24.100 --> 00:29:29.340 insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, 00:29:29.760 --> 00:29:32.040 disobedient to their parents, 00:29:32.600 --> 00:29:36.620 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 00:29:38.360 --> 00:29:41.140 Though they know God's righteous decree 00:29:41.140 --> 00:29:43.800 that those who practice such things deserve to die, 00:29:43.920 --> 00:29:44.960 they not only do them, 00:29:44.960 --> 00:29:47.860 but they give approval to those who practice them. 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:50.059 This is utter depravity. 00:29:50.220 --> 00:29:51.380 It is the way of Cain 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:53.779 and it exists in each and every one of us 00:29:53.779 --> 00:29:54.819 by our very nature. 00:29:55.680 --> 00:29:57.960 It's easy to read Romans 1 00:29:57.960 --> 00:30:00.640 and emphasize the they's, 00:30:01.120 --> 00:30:03.960 but the truth is that everything that we just read 00:30:03.960 --> 00:30:06.819 is just as easily read as I's. 00:30:06.819 --> 00:30:11.159 I am full of all manner of unrighteousness. 00:30:11.359 --> 00:30:12.919 I am a gossip. 00:30:13.399 --> 00:30:14.639 I am a slanderer. 00:30:14.839 --> 00:30:17.119 I am disobedient to the authorities 00:30:17.119 --> 00:30:18.279 that God has put over me. 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:20.779 I am foolish and faithless and ruthless. 00:30:21.279 --> 00:30:22.679 I do these things 00:30:22.679 --> 00:30:25.379 and I often give approval to others who do them as well. 00:30:26.519 --> 00:30:28.039 It's the work of sin 00:30:28.039 --> 00:30:30.179 flowing out of the heart of sin. 00:30:31.200 --> 00:30:33.220 But there's another step in the text. 00:30:34.019 --> 00:30:35.599 It's the judgment for sin. 00:30:36.819 --> 00:30:39.480 Verse 11, 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:42.099 God continues his statement to Cain, 00:30:42.179 --> 00:30:44.519 and now you are cursed from the ground, 00:30:44.899 --> 00:30:46.539 which has opened its mouth 00:30:46.539 --> 00:30:48.740 to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:51.279 When you work the ground, 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:53.559 it shall no longer yield to you its strength. 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:56.059 You shall be a fugitive 00:30:56.059 --> 00:30:58.159 and a wanderer on the earth. 00:31:00.220 --> 00:31:01.519 And notice Cain's response. 00:31:01.700 --> 00:31:02.819 Cain said to the Lord, 00:31:02.819 --> 00:31:05.019 my punishment is greater than I can bear. 00:31:06.819 --> 00:31:07.299 Not, 00:31:08.299 --> 00:31:10.539 my guilt is greater than I can bear. 00:31:11.839 --> 00:31:13.939 My punishment is greater than I can bear. 00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:18.319 Behold, you've driven me today away from the ground 00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:20.079 and from your face, 00:31:20.159 --> 00:31:20.939 I shall be hidden. 00:31:21.079 --> 00:31:22.519 You have made me a fugitive 00:31:22.519 --> 00:31:23.879 and a wanderer on the earth. 00:31:24.099 --> 00:31:25.519 And whoever finds me, 00:31:25.599 --> 00:31:26.579 this is Cain's fear, 00:31:27.139 --> 00:31:27.859 will kill me. 00:31:28.039 --> 00:31:29.179 Now, who might find him? 00:31:29.419 --> 00:31:30.399 Well, as far as we know, 00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:32.159 there's really only one possibility here, 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:33.279 and that's his own parents. 00:31:34.880 --> 00:31:35.880 But Cain acknowledges 00:31:35.880 --> 00:31:38.160 there's going to be more people that come. 00:31:38.259 --> 00:31:40.000 He knows that God will do 00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:41.779 what he said he will do, 00:31:41.860 --> 00:31:44.140 even as his heart is hardened 00:31:44.140 --> 00:31:46.279 toward the very God who will do it. 00:31:47.360 --> 00:31:48.740 And the Lord said to him, 00:31:49.400 --> 00:31:51.200 not so, it's emphatic, isn't it? 00:31:51.380 --> 00:31:52.060 Not so. 00:31:52.140 --> 00:31:53.540 If anyone kills Cain, 00:31:54.080 --> 00:31:56.560 vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. 00:31:56.940 --> 00:31:57.940 Vengeance from who? 00:31:58.779 --> 00:31:59.900 Vengeance from God. 00:32:02.279 --> 00:32:03.539 So the Lord marked him, 00:32:04.680 --> 00:32:06.559 lest any who found him should attack him. 00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:09.740 And Cain went away from the presence of the Lord, 00:32:10.500 --> 00:32:11.759 settled in the land of Nod, 00:32:11.840 --> 00:32:12.720 which means wondering. 00:32:12.940 --> 00:32:15.640 He's a vagabond for the rest of his life. 00:32:15.640 --> 00:32:17.180 And all of this, of course, 00:32:17.380 --> 00:32:19.500 symbolizes being east of Eden. 00:32:21.980 --> 00:32:24.880 The presentation of God's judgment against Cain, 00:32:24.960 --> 00:32:27.640 it goes beyond the mere consequences 00:32:27.640 --> 00:32:29.759 of his sinful deed. 00:32:31.120 --> 00:32:32.759 It's not less than consequence, 00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:34.400 but there's more here for us to see. 00:32:36.440 --> 00:32:40.860 Like Adam, Cain's ability to reap the fruit of the ground 00:32:40.860 --> 00:32:41.880 is impacted here, 00:32:41.940 --> 00:32:44.420 only it's different than in Adam. 00:32:45.280 --> 00:32:47.700 In this case, it's not the ground that's cursed, 00:32:47.860 --> 00:32:49.500 it's Cain himself that's cursed. 00:32:49.980 --> 00:32:50.720 That's significant. 00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:55.620 Adam was banished from the garden, 00:32:55.619 --> 00:33:00.159 in that most holy of holy places in God's created world. 00:33:00.599 --> 00:33:03.139 Cain is banished from Eden altogether. 00:33:04.739 --> 00:33:07.599 He's cut off from his family. 00:33:07.799 --> 00:33:09.739 He's cut off from the community 00:33:09.739 --> 00:33:16.079 in which God will do his promised work of redemption. 00:33:16.819 --> 00:33:19.599 Cain is cut off from that entirely. 00:33:19.599 --> 00:33:23.759 If you're an Israelite wandering in the wilderness, 00:33:24.759 --> 00:33:30.219 you will envision with this being cast outside of the camp, 00:33:31.099 --> 00:33:32.819 cut off from the blessing of God, 00:33:33.199 --> 00:33:34.719 cut off from the people of God, 00:33:35.899 --> 00:33:36.240 dead. 00:33:36.240 --> 00:33:42.579 This is a portrait of perpetual exile. 00:33:44.500 --> 00:33:47.480 It's an existence that moving forward 00:33:47.480 --> 00:33:50.700 is totally detached from God's blessing and God's goodness. 00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:54.400 And the curse that is put on Cain, 00:33:54.519 --> 00:33:57.940 it establishes him in the text and in the context 00:33:57.940 --> 00:33:59.880 as a seed of the serpent, 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:03.140 and he will share in the serpent's fate. 00:34:03.140 --> 00:34:06.259 But even in judgment, 00:34:07.940 --> 00:34:10.660 Cain's heart is hardened. 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:17.760 He shows no inclination whatsoever toward repentance. 00:34:18.700 --> 00:34:20.039 Writes Kent Hughes, 00:34:20.480 --> 00:34:22.180 Cain falls to pieces here, 00:34:22.559 --> 00:34:25.619 but not because he felt any compassion for Abel 00:34:25.619 --> 00:34:27.240 or for his parents, 00:34:27.420 --> 00:34:29.980 or even because he had sinned against God. 00:34:29.980 --> 00:34:34.300 His cry was one of terror and self-pity. 00:34:34.740 --> 00:34:36.099 He, the wolf, 00:34:36.480 --> 00:34:39.800 feared that he would now be devoured. 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:44.400 This is not repentance or remorse. 00:34:44.900 --> 00:34:45.860 It's fear. 00:34:46.820 --> 00:34:47.960 It's hatred. 00:34:47.960 --> 00:34:53.159 Rather than seek God's mercy, 00:34:53.300 --> 00:34:55.400 even in the pronouncement of judgment, 00:34:57.500 --> 00:34:59.980 Cain accused God of being unjust himself. 00:35:01.139 --> 00:35:03.599 What you're doing is too much. 00:35:05.720 --> 00:35:09.139 This is an injustice at God's hand that he would do this. 00:35:10.280 --> 00:35:11.699 At least that's what Cain thinks. 00:35:11.699 --> 00:35:17.319 His heart is totally set against God 00:35:17.319 --> 00:35:19.159 and inclined to evil. 00:35:20.739 --> 00:35:23.679 And it's God's justice that becomes most prevalent 00:35:23.679 --> 00:35:24.779 in this part of the narrative. 00:35:27.179 --> 00:35:29.639 God's justice is not limited to Cain. 00:35:30.119 --> 00:35:34.339 Notice it extends to all who would seek vengeance against Cain 00:35:34.339 --> 00:35:36.379 apart from God's will. 00:35:37.359 --> 00:35:38.500 Now we need to think on this. 00:35:38.500 --> 00:35:42.480 Life and death are God's prerogative 00:35:42.480 --> 00:35:45.019 which he does not share with anyone 00:35:45.019 --> 00:35:47.300 apart from his divine sanction. 00:35:48.099 --> 00:35:50.900 Should Adam or anyone else 00:35:50.900 --> 00:35:53.480 wrongfully take God's life 00:35:53.480 --> 00:35:56.000 apart from God's sanction, 00:35:57.340 --> 00:36:00.239 he too will face God's justice. 00:36:02.539 --> 00:36:04.900 So that we come to understand 00:36:04.900 --> 00:36:06.739 in the justice of God 00:36:06.739 --> 00:36:08.759 and in the perfect holiness of God 00:36:08.759 --> 00:36:11.359 that our sin toward him 00:36:11.359 --> 00:36:13.000 and toward anyone else 00:36:13.000 --> 00:36:14.719 is never justified 00:36:14.719 --> 00:36:18.059 by the measure of their wickedness toward us. 00:36:22.479 --> 00:36:25.719 And God will answer every injustice, 00:36:26.299 --> 00:36:29.199 whether perpetrated against the righteous ones 00:36:29.199 --> 00:36:30.659 who belong to him 00:36:30.659 --> 00:36:32.559 or the wicked ones 00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:33.679 who do not. 00:36:37.219 --> 00:36:39.159 The final judgment for sin 00:36:39.159 --> 00:36:40.019 we find is 00:36:40.019 --> 00:36:41.960 permanent expulsion 00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:43.279 from the presence of God. 00:36:43.960 --> 00:36:46.259 That's typified in Cain's judgment 00:36:46.259 --> 00:36:48.539 but it's shared by everyone 00:36:48.539 --> 00:36:49.599 who like him 00:36:49.599 --> 00:36:51.440 refuses to repent 00:36:51.440 --> 00:36:53.279 and turn to God 00:36:53.279 --> 00:36:54.440 in faith and obedience. 00:36:55.139 --> 00:36:56.539 Just hear the words of Jesus. 00:36:56.539 --> 00:36:59.559 Unless you repent, 00:37:00.239 --> 00:37:03.699 you will all likewise perish 00:37:03.699 --> 00:37:05.420 just like Cain. 00:37:07.320 --> 00:37:08.840 This is a heavy text. 00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:11.699 It's a necessary text. 00:37:12.920 --> 00:37:15.059 It's not a story to entertain us. 00:37:15.559 --> 00:37:17.259 It's a mirror to reflect 00:37:17.259 --> 00:37:18.639 the nature of our own heart 00:37:18.639 --> 00:37:20.300 and the work of our own sin 00:37:20.300 --> 00:37:22.660 and the threat of God's judgment 00:37:22.660 --> 00:37:24.000 against sinners 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:27.019 for God alone is holy and just. 00:37:29.320 --> 00:37:31.460 You are not able in this text 00:37:31.460 --> 00:37:34.740 and I am not able in this text. 00:37:36.200 --> 00:37:37.240 We are Cain. 00:37:40.039 --> 00:37:41.740 But is there any hope for us here? 00:37:43.580 --> 00:37:44.360 Well, yeah, there is. 00:37:44.360 --> 00:37:46.760 And it comes through 00:37:46.760 --> 00:37:49.440 another firstborn son. 00:37:50.800 --> 00:37:52.099 So that in Cain, 00:37:52.200 --> 00:37:53.920 we see the redemptive potential 00:37:53.920 --> 00:37:55.220 of a new Adam 00:37:55.220 --> 00:37:57.360 ruined by sin. 00:37:58.420 --> 00:37:59.940 But in Christ, 00:38:00.800 --> 00:38:02.579 we find redemption 00:38:02.579 --> 00:38:05.420 provided by the greater Adam 00:38:05.420 --> 00:38:07.599 through his becoming 00:38:07.599 --> 00:38:10.099 a substitute for sinners. 00:38:11.300 --> 00:38:12.539 Do you see the connection here? 00:38:12.539 --> 00:38:15.559 There's a firstborn failure 00:38:15.559 --> 00:38:16.820 in Genesis 4. 00:38:18.380 --> 00:38:19.639 Cain fails 00:38:19.639 --> 00:38:20.980 and the redemptive potential 00:38:20.980 --> 00:38:22.900 is ruined by sin. 00:38:22.980 --> 00:38:24.960 But when we look to Christ, 00:38:25.420 --> 00:38:26.860 the firstborn of God, 00:38:26.980 --> 00:38:28.219 we find that redemption 00:38:28.219 --> 00:38:29.860 is truly provided 00:38:29.860 --> 00:38:33.099 not because he's a sinner himself 00:38:33.099 --> 00:38:34.539 but because he becomes 00:38:34.539 --> 00:38:36.019 a substitute for sinners. 00:38:36.639 --> 00:38:37.820 And how can we know this? 00:38:39.239 --> 00:38:40.559 Again, the writer of Hebrews 00:38:40.559 --> 00:38:41.340 helps us. 00:38:41.340 --> 00:38:43.600 Hebrews 12, 24. 00:38:44.260 --> 00:38:45.000 By faith, 00:38:45.120 --> 00:38:46.320 we come to Jesus, 00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:48.380 the mediator of a new covenant 00:38:48.380 --> 00:38:50.880 and to the sprinkled blood 00:38:50.880 --> 00:38:53.539 that speaks a better word 00:38:53.539 --> 00:38:55.240 than the blood of Abel. 00:38:56.340 --> 00:38:59.019 He's thinking about this story 00:38:59.019 --> 00:39:01.519 as he's writing chapter 12, verse 24. 00:39:02.519 --> 00:39:03.880 What does he mean? 00:39:05.280 --> 00:39:08.360 Remember what God says to Cain. 00:39:08.360 --> 00:39:10.220 The blood of your brother Abel, 00:39:10.280 --> 00:39:12.260 it cries out to me from the ground. 00:39:12.360 --> 00:39:14.320 It cries out for justice. 00:39:14.460 --> 00:39:15.820 And now the writer of Hebrews 00:39:15.820 --> 00:39:17.360 in reflection on that, 00:39:17.440 --> 00:39:17.920 he says, 00:39:18.120 --> 00:39:19.220 we come to Jesus 00:39:19.220 --> 00:39:21.720 whose blood speaks a better word 00:39:21.720 --> 00:39:23.539 than the blood of Abel. 00:39:24.140 --> 00:39:24.519 How? 00:39:25.519 --> 00:39:27.120 Christ's blood represents 00:39:27.120 --> 00:39:28.940 God's justice poured out 00:39:28.940 --> 00:39:30.559 not on sinners 00:39:30.559 --> 00:39:33.579 but on his sinless son 00:39:33.579 --> 00:39:35.260 in the place of sinners. 00:39:35.260 --> 00:39:36.900 Therefore, 00:39:37.140 --> 00:39:38.420 while Abel's blood 00:39:38.420 --> 00:39:40.160 cries out for justice, 00:39:41.000 --> 00:39:42.640 Christ's blood cries out 00:39:42.640 --> 00:39:44.120 for mercy 00:39:44.120 --> 00:39:46.520 for all who are in him. 00:39:47.680 --> 00:39:48.560 In other words, 00:39:49.300 --> 00:39:50.820 Jesus is the true 00:39:50.820 --> 00:39:52.600 and better Abel 00:39:52.600 --> 00:39:55.580 who in his perfect righteousness 00:39:55.580 --> 00:39:58.160 received God's justice 00:39:58.159 --> 00:40:00.679 so that sinners like Cain 00:40:00.679 --> 00:40:01.960 and like you 00:40:01.960 --> 00:40:03.420 and like me 00:40:03.420 --> 00:40:06.259 might receive God's mercy instead. 00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:09.159 And what we find 00:40:09.159 --> 00:40:10.219 as we read our Bibles 00:40:10.219 --> 00:40:12.440 is that God in his justice 00:40:12.440 --> 00:40:14.899 will judge every sin 00:40:14.899 --> 00:40:16.819 committed by every sinner 00:40:16.819 --> 00:40:18.119 who has ever lived 00:40:18.119 --> 00:40:19.339 and who will ever live. 00:40:19.339 --> 00:40:20.659 But he does so 00:40:20.659 --> 00:40:22.279 in one of two ways. 00:40:23.079 --> 00:40:24.899 First is the way of Cain. 00:40:24.900 --> 00:40:28.160 He judges Cain's sin 00:40:28.160 --> 00:40:29.280 by expelling him 00:40:29.280 --> 00:40:30.139 from his presence 00:40:30.139 --> 00:40:31.780 and he judges those 00:40:31.780 --> 00:40:33.260 who walk in the way of Cain 00:40:33.260 --> 00:40:34.559 by expelling them 00:40:34.559 --> 00:40:35.460 from his presence 00:40:35.460 --> 00:40:36.940 in eternal hell. 00:40:38.300 --> 00:40:39.320 And thus he pours out 00:40:39.320 --> 00:40:41.260 his justice against them 00:40:41.260 --> 00:40:42.680 for their sin. 00:40:43.019 --> 00:40:44.099 But there's another way 00:40:44.099 --> 00:40:45.700 that he pours out his justice. 00:40:46.980 --> 00:40:48.800 He pours out his justice 00:40:48.800 --> 00:40:51.280 in the way of Christ 00:40:51.280 --> 00:40:55.000 which is by judging Christ 00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:57.060 in their place. 00:40:58.980 --> 00:41:00.780 When we come to Christ 00:41:00.780 --> 00:41:03.480 what is happening there 00:41:03.480 --> 00:41:04.260 in your forgiveness 00:41:04.260 --> 00:41:06.400 is not God 00:41:06.400 --> 00:41:07.880 turning a blind eye 00:41:07.880 --> 00:41:08.780 to your sin 00:41:08.780 --> 00:41:10.100 and pretending 00:41:10.100 --> 00:41:11.820 that it never happened. 00:41:13.140 --> 00:41:14.740 No, when you come to God 00:41:14.740 --> 00:41:15.620 and he forgives you 00:41:15.620 --> 00:41:18.040 no, he's actually 00:41:18.040 --> 00:41:20.160 pouring out the justice 00:41:20.159 --> 00:41:21.819 for your sin 00:41:21.819 --> 00:41:23.420 on this sinless 00:41:23.420 --> 00:41:24.960 and perfect son 00:41:24.960 --> 00:41:26.679 on the cross. 00:41:28.059 --> 00:41:29.659 God judges every sin. 00:41:30.299 --> 00:41:31.219 The question is 00:41:31.219 --> 00:41:32.960 will you pay the penalty 00:41:32.960 --> 00:41:33.940 for your sin 00:41:33.940 --> 00:41:35.639 in death and hell 00:41:35.639 --> 00:41:38.659 or will you come to Christ 00:41:38.659 --> 00:41:39.759 and receive the payment 00:41:39.759 --> 00:41:40.679 that he has made 00:41:40.679 --> 00:41:41.879 for sin 00:41:41.879 --> 00:41:43.500 on behalf of sinners? 00:41:44.619 --> 00:41:45.719 Because here's the truth of it. 00:41:46.319 --> 00:41:47.399 Christ's perfection 00:41:47.400 --> 00:41:49.200 is so complete 00:41:49.200 --> 00:41:52.019 that his redemptive work 00:41:52.019 --> 00:41:52.639 on the cross 00:41:52.639 --> 00:41:54.200 is sufficient 00:41:54.200 --> 00:41:55.460 to forgive 00:41:55.460 --> 00:41:56.980 the sins 00:41:56.980 --> 00:41:58.360 of every sinner. 00:41:59.660 --> 00:42:01.340 He is that good 00:42:01.340 --> 00:42:06.639 and God freely offers 00:42:06.639 --> 00:42:07.300 his mercy 00:42:07.300 --> 00:42:08.139 through Christ 00:42:08.139 --> 00:42:09.840 in the gospel. 00:42:11.240 --> 00:42:12.460 In the proclamation 00:42:12.460 --> 00:42:13.280 of the gospel 00:42:13.280 --> 00:42:15.599 that he gives to Cain 00:42:15.599 --> 00:42:16.719 and that he gives to you now 00:42:16.719 --> 00:42:18.900 that if you will do good 00:42:18.900 --> 00:42:20.619 will you not be accepted? 00:42:21.059 --> 00:42:22.039 Not do good 00:42:22.039 --> 00:42:22.819 in the sense of 00:42:22.819 --> 00:42:24.079 earning your way in 00:42:24.079 --> 00:42:24.739 but do good 00:42:24.739 --> 00:42:25.420 in the sense of 00:42:25.420 --> 00:42:27.980 trusting Christ alone 00:42:27.980 --> 00:42:29.239 in your faith 00:42:29.239 --> 00:42:30.099 like Abel's 00:42:30.099 --> 00:42:31.559 being counted to you 00:42:31.559 --> 00:42:32.719 as righteousness. 00:42:35.339 --> 00:42:36.960 It's a gracious gift. 00:42:38.159 --> 00:42:39.619 It's not earned 00:42:39.619 --> 00:42:41.179 by works of righteousness 00:42:41.179 --> 00:42:42.000 on our part. 00:42:42.000 --> 00:42:43.780 It's received 00:42:43.780 --> 00:42:44.280 rather 00:42:44.280 --> 00:42:45.639 by repentance 00:42:45.639 --> 00:42:46.599 and faith 00:42:46.599 --> 00:42:48.320 in the Lord Jesus Christ 00:42:48.320 --> 00:42:49.880 as the fulfillment 00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:50.900 of the promise 00:42:50.900 --> 00:42:52.739 in Genesis 3.14 00:42:52.739 --> 00:42:54.679 which of course 00:42:54.679 --> 00:42:55.239 we see 00:42:55.239 --> 00:42:56.000 notably 00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:57.099 in a number of passages 00:42:57.099 --> 00:42:58.699 maybe most familiar 00:42:58.699 --> 00:43:00.019 in John 3 00:43:00.019 --> 00:43:01.579 for God 00:43:01.579 --> 00:43:02.539 so loved the world 00:43:02.539 --> 00:43:04.840 that he gave 00:43:04.840 --> 00:43:05.380 his only 00:43:05.380 --> 00:43:06.420 begotten 00:43:06.420 --> 00:43:07.760 firstborn son 00:43:07.760 --> 00:43:10.380 that whoever 00:43:10.380 --> 00:43:12.160 will believe 00:43:12.160 --> 00:43:12.920 in him 00:43:12.920 --> 00:43:15.060 will not perish 00:43:15.060 --> 00:43:15.760 like Cain 00:43:15.760 --> 00:43:17.460 and will not perish 00:43:17.460 --> 00:43:18.100 like the ones 00:43:18.100 --> 00:43:19.060 that Jesus pronounced 00:43:19.060 --> 00:43:20.160 those woes against 00:43:20.160 --> 00:43:22.220 but will have 00:43:22.220 --> 00:43:22.960 eternal life 00:43:22.960 --> 00:43:24.860 in his presence 00:43:24.860 --> 00:43:25.860 and in his goodness. 00:43:28.540 --> 00:43:29.760 So don't walk 00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:30.640 in the way of Cain. 00:43:33.340 --> 00:43:34.460 I want you to feel 00:43:34.460 --> 00:43:35.200 the urgency 00:43:35.200 --> 00:43:36.700 of the gospel 00:43:36.700 --> 00:43:37.500 in this text 00:43:37.500 --> 00:43:41.159 now 00:43:41.159 --> 00:43:42.940 is the time 00:43:42.940 --> 00:43:44.760 today 00:43:44.760 --> 00:43:46.380 is the day 00:43:46.380 --> 00:43:47.119 of salvation. 00:43:48.400 --> 00:43:49.400 Don't be like 00:43:49.400 --> 00:43:49.880 Cain 00:43:49.880 --> 00:43:50.800 who will not 00:43:50.800 --> 00:43:51.659 hear the word 00:43:51.659 --> 00:43:52.199 of God 00:43:52.199 --> 00:43:52.860 and acknowledge 00:43:52.860 --> 00:43:53.460 his sin 00:43:53.460 --> 00:43:54.239 and turn 00:43:54.239 --> 00:43:55.380 in faith. 00:43:57.000 --> 00:43:58.139 Hear the word 00:43:58.139 --> 00:43:58.739 of the Lord. 00:44:00.340 --> 00:44:00.980 Repent 00:44:00.980 --> 00:44:02.619 and believe. 00:44:03.539 --> 00:44:04.579 Don't wait. 00:44:04.579 --> 00:44:06.400 sin 00:44:06.400 --> 00:44:07.920 is crouching 00:44:07.920 --> 00:44:08.900 at the door 00:44:08.900 --> 00:44:10.139 and it will lead 00:44:10.139 --> 00:44:11.059 to God's judgment. 00:44:12.380 --> 00:44:13.400 Look to Jesus 00:44:13.400 --> 00:44:13.840 then 00:44:13.840 --> 00:44:15.799 and live. 00:44:17.480 --> 00:44:18.380 Let's pray together. 00:44:18.380 --> 00:44:19.460 do that. 00:44:19.460 --> 00:44:21.340 start 00:44:21.340 --> 00:44:22.340 with that. 00:44:22.760 --> 00:44:23.599 Let's pray together. 00:44:23.820 --> 00:44:24.380 build 00:44:24.380 --> 00:44:25.260 like 00:44:25.260 --> 00:44:25.820 that 00:44:25.820 --> 00:44:26.740 have to go 00:44:26.740 --> 00:44:27.320 ... 00:44:27.320 --> 00:44:27.619 ... 00:44:27.619 --> 00:44:27.780 ... 00:44:27.780 --> 00:44:28.420 back in 00:44:28.420 --> 00:44:28.660 that 00:44:28.660 --> 00:44:29.260 it will be 00:44:29.260 --> 00:44:29.660 going to go 00:44:29.660 --> 00:44:30.260 on the hope to