more than just a case study of murder. It is in fact a case study of what to expect
in life outside of the garden of Eden. Genesis 4 exposes three realities
which are ever present in everyday life, in every part of life outside of the garden.
There are always three things that are operating in life, three things in a world destroyed by
rejection of God and that is sin, grace and the ever-present possibility of salvation
and that's the outline for this morning, secret sin. The first place in the Bible where the word
sin is used is in verse 7 of chapter 4. The point that I want to make here is though that sin had
its beginning before the actual action of sin, of murder. Sin was existing before the actual
commitment of murder here. There is a run-up action if you like to murder and we see it
in the difference between Abel and Cain. Both of them are respectable human beings working hard,
both of them believe in God, both of them are worshipping God, both bring an offering to God.
There's no difference on the surface between these two. So why is it then that Abel's offering was
accepted but Cain's offering was rejected? Some have thought that it's, well, it's because that God
prefers animal sacrifices rather than grain sacrifices. That's his preference. But you read the rest of the
Old Testament, that's not the case at all. Both harvest sacrifices, you know, the offering of grain and the
offering of blood sacrifices, both honoured by God and both instituted in the sacrificial system,
in Leviticus. So what's the difference? The clue is in verses 3 and 4 where it says,
Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil but Abel brought an offering, fat portions, from some of the
firstborn of his flock. The words fat there, fat portions and firstborn mean that Abel gave to God
the pick, the best, if you like, the very best. And this is in contrast to Cain's indifference
difference to what he brought to God, some of the grain. That is, what we see there subtly in verses 3 and 4
is a heart difference between the two. A heart difference, an attitude of the heart. Cain's heart
is exposed in verse 7. If you do not do what is right, this is God speaking to Cain,
sin is crouching at your door. It desires to have you but you must rule over it. What a metaphor that
is right there. Sin is hiding itself. It's crouching down, trying not to be noticed with the intention
that it is going to pounce on you. We've got this kitten in our home at the moment and it does it
all the time. Hides behind a door and next thing you know you walk past and pounces on your feet.
Or it sits there like just with the ears popping up, peeking at you over the top of the stairs,
waiting for you to come down the stairs so it can pounce on you. That's the description here of sin.
Right here. On the surface, these two brothers look exactly the same but there's something wrong
with Cain's heart. It is subtle. In fact, it's so subtle that not even Cain notices it.
Sin does not want to be noticed. Sin, in fact, is so subtle it will even present itself as a virtue
or as a non-issue or as a small issue. Sin will try everything in order to stay hidden
or present us with something else until it has us and then it comes out of the shadows.
See, in the early stages of pride or prejudice of addictions of anger, we tend to think that we
have it all under control. We think it's not a problem. I can manage this. It's not a problem.
And when sin comes out of the shadows, it becomes a power in our life that it controls us.
Verse 7 says, sin desires to have you, control you, master you.
You see, before long, it takes over, takes control. You see, if we do sin, sin will ultimately do us.
There is no stronger controlling power in our life than a power that is invisible to us.
Gossips will find themselves gossiped about. Haters will hate. Cowards will be deserted.
Those who will do anything in order to be popular will be cancelled.
Sin is not just a choice we make. It is a power in our lives that controls.
And so, I suppose, do you know what your crouching sins are in your life?
Our weak points are the things we don't think are that bad right now.
The things that we think we're controlling, things that we think we have a power over.
In fact, our weakest point is often the place where we are, in our own perception, the strongest.
And I managed to recently, in the middle of the year, drag my family along to a military museum in Singapore.
And I used the word drag intentionally.
They were there under US, for sure.
The fall of Singapore in 1942 to Japanese forces was, in fact, by Churchill's regard,
the greatest military defeat in the British Empire's history.
The island's defences for the entire time up to that point were designed to protect the naval base at Changi from sea attacks.
But it left the northern shore of Singapore vulnerable.
That is, Singapore's defences were facing south out to the sea.
For decades, the assumption was that Singapore's weakest spot was a seaborne invasion.
That's its weakest.
It was considered for decades that the jungle from Malaysia through to Singapore was impenetrable for a large army,
and certainly by a mechanised army, until the 8th of February, 1942,
when the Japanese army arrived on Singapore shores.
Where we think we are strong, where we think we are okay, where we think we are safe,
is often where sin is crouching ready to pass.
So I ask you again, what are your crouching sins in life?
What sin are you currently turning into a virtue?
I'm not greedy, I'm just frugal.
I'm not angry and bitter, I, in fact, are just simply expressing righteous moral outrage.
I'm not a workaholic, I'm productive and I'm diligent.
I'm not gossiping, I'm just sharing prayer points.
Sin is always crouching down, but in the end, it will have you.
Now, against this narrative of devastating sin and murder,
we encounter a God of gentle grace.
My second point.
Genesis 4, in fact, none of Genesis at all,
but even in Genesis 4, it does not present us with a God who is a cosmic policeman,
but instead a God who refuses to choose between justice and mercy.
A God who's not just angry and smite,
but neither a God who just,
oh, we'll let bygones be guygones and we just embrace and sing kumbaya.
He does not choose between justice and mercy.
We saw in chapter 3,
and so again, God graciously initiates here in chapter 4.
God does not turn up after the murder of Abel.
He turns up as soon as he sees sin crouching.
Before sin has become a power over Cain.
Notice verse 5.
So Cain was very angry and his face was downcast.
The original language, the word downcast means his face fell.
What that means is Cain could have taken God's communication to him
about his offering as a rebuke,
as a correction,
and he could have in that moment sought God's forgiveness.
Instead, he starts to spiral down.
And it's only then we read in verse 6,
Then the Lord said to Cain,
Why are you angry?
Why is your face downcast?
If you do what is right,
will you not be accepted?
But if you do not do what is right,
sin is crouching at the door.
It desires to have you,
but you must rule over it.
Cain did not call out to God in any way.
But God came to Cain.
God is always there.
God always initiates.
He always steps in.
And notice the other thing here that God graciously and gently affirms.
God comes not as a policeman,
nor even as a teacher,
but as a counsellor.
He doesn't show up angry.
He doesn't push back at Cain.
How dare you get mad with me?
How dare you, Cain?
Don't you know who I am?
I'm the creator of the universe.
Let me just sit down and I...
Verse 7, he comes to Cain and says he wants him to master sin.
God is encouraging him to master sin
and make the right choice.
You see, grace always initiates.
It always affirms and it always exposes.
See, there in verse 6 is where God really is the counsellor exposing.
Why are you angry?
Why are you angry, Cain?
That's a good question, isn't it?
Why is Cain angry with God?
Why is he angry?
You see, he looked on favour with Abel's offering,
but not on Cain's.
So why does this infuriate Cain?
I mean, he could have gone and got another one,
another offering, had another crack.
Could have said sorry, moved on.
Why is he so infuriated?
Well, the clue is in their name.
The name Cain means things like productive, fruitful, successful.
Abel means breath, vapour, mist, meaningless, nobody.
That's the clue.
Unfortunate name for sure.
And you see it actually hinted at it in the text, in the narrative.
You know, Eve was so excited when Cain came along,
but there's nothing with Abel.
Have a look.
Verses 1 and 2.
With the help of the Lord, I have brought forth a man.
Speaking of Cain, later she gave birth to Abel.
You see, in the text here, in their names,
we see Cain's the winner, Abel's the loser.
Cain gets angry when God's favour landed on the loser,
on the spare.
That's not his life at all.
The nobody was regarded as a somebody,
and the somebody was disregarded.
That's Cain's problem.
Cain's identity was constructed from his relationship to his brother.
He was great because he was better than Abel.
And when God turns up and favours Abel,
Cain can...
He either had to readjust his sense of self,
or he had to eliminate Abel.
You see, when God is confronted with God's...
Sorry, when Cain is confronted with God's measure
of what truly matters,
and what is truly great,
he has no choice in the end,
or this was the choice that he had,
was either have a new sense of identity in God,
or he has to exclude both God and Abel.
You see, the premise of Cain's life goes something like this.
If Abel is who God regards him to be,
then I am not who I understand myself to be.
And the essence of sin in the Bible
is to build an identity
outside of the identity given to us
by our Creator God.
That's the essence of sin.
It's to say,
what makes me cool,
what makes me okay,
what makes me significant,
is I'm living up to
what my parents say I am.
I'm living up...
I'm a success in life.
I've accumulated
these vast resources.
I have all of these experiences.
I am this.
I am that.
And that means I am a somebody.
And anyone who doesn't have what I have
is a nobody.
And when God shows up,
he has an entirely different value system.
And Cain goes berserk.
His whole life
has been defined
as him being the number one son,
the better brother.
And he can't handle it.
You see,
an identity built
outside of our Creator God
is so fragile.
fragile.
And every time
someone kicks
the golden calf
that is my identity
at the core
of my being,
there is one
emotional response
linked to a challenge
to my deepest value.
You know what it is?
Psychologists will tell you this.
Anger.
And every single one of us
has built a life
outside of our Creator God
and our identities are fragile.
There are some things
that we will do
anything to keep
because losing it
means we lose ourselves.
And so God
graciously,
gently comes after Cain,
probing him
and convicting him
to see if he knows
why he is angry.
What is it
that's been attacked
in your sense of self
in this moment?
In every single issue
of life,
sin is a factor
and God's grace
is a factor.
At every point,
God is pushing us
to examine
the very foundations
of our lives.
to take a look
at what it is
that we build our lives on
and how fragile it is.
Every single problem in life,
everything that makes
our face downcast,
in God's grace,
is an opportunity
to reflect,
to identify,
to search,
and to grow.
And he does it
in life for us
consistently
because it is only
in our creator,
God's approval,
his love,
his grace,
his forgiveness
that we can have
a completely
unchanging
and secure
and sure identity
and a sense
of ourself.
So that means
that in every moment
of life,
not just sin
and grace operate,
but in every moment
of life
is a possibility
for salvation
for each of us.
And we get a glimpse
of the possibility
of salvation
in these verses
where there's an opportunity
to cooperate
with God's initiating grace
and to escape sin.
None of us
has to end up
like Cain,
destroying ourselves
and others
in order to protect
the fragile self.
And to see that,
I want to just quickly
jump to the New Testament
and how it understands
Genesis 4.
Hebrews 11 verse 4
says this,
by faith,
Abel brought to God
a better offering
than Cain did.
Now,
when it says there
by faith,
that's not saying
that Abel believed
in God's existence
and Cain didn't believe
in God's existence,
you know,
why on earth
would Cain be bringing
an offering to God
if he didn't believe
God existed?
And I'm pretty sure
God speaking to him,
asking why he was angry,
would allow him
any confusion
as to whether
God existed.
It's not faith
in God's existence.
It is what we said
in Genesis chapter 3,
it is faith
in the goodness
of God,
in the grace
of God.
That is,
Abel brought
his offering
to God
completely confident
and trusting in
and leaning in
to a gracious
and merciful God.
You see,
Abel,
just like Cain,
would have heard
from his parents
fresh out of the
Garden of Eden
about the promised
head crusher
from chapter 3,
verse 15,
who would defeat
the lie of Satan,
who would reverse
the effects of sin,
the lie of Satan
which says,
God is not good,
he is not for you.
They would have heard
that from,
you know,
these boys' age,
you know,
like right through.
Would have heard it
again and again and again.
Abel made his offering
in response
to who God is.
It was an offering
out of gratitude
for God's grace
and his mercy.
Cain's offering
was not a belief
in the goodness
of God
and it was an attempt
to secure God's favour.
That's Cain's offering.
That's why God
was not pleased.
Cain's offering
was an offering
of religion,
not an offering
of faith.
Religion,
as I've often said
from here,
religion is
an activity.
It's an activity
like turning up
to church.
It's an activity
like serving
and reading the Bible
and preaching
and giving away money
and praying
and getting baptised
and taking communion
and being a moral,
upright,
good person
in the hope
and the expectation
that when God shows up
he will find me acceptable.
When we pursue religion,
we have all the marks
of Cain.
we have the attitude
in the heart
of Cain.
Cain is mad
at God
because God
isn't affirming
his sense
of self.
God is not
giving him
what he expects
God to give him.
You see,
if we think
that God
owes us
a particular
kind of life
because of who we are
or because of
what we've achieved
or because of
what we've done
in his name,
we are Cain.
We are not able.
We might even believe
that God exists
but our confidence
is in ourselves
and not
that we are saved
by his grace
and his mercy.
So how do we turn?
Where do we look
in order to go
from Cain
to become an Abel?
And the answer
is just a little bit
further on
in Hebrews chapter 12.
You have come to God
the judge of all,
the one who brings
justice to all,
to the spirits
of the righteous
made perfect,
to Jesus,
the mediator
of a new covenant,
and to the sprinkled blood
that speaks
a better word
than the blood
of Abel.
You see,
many,
many centuries
after Abel
came a greater Abel,
Jesus Christ.
And like the first Abel,
the greater Abel
was murdered.
murdered.
Not killed by
the outcast,
the bad people
of society,
not by the prostitutes,
the pimps,
the thieves,
and the whatever else's,
but murdered
by the good people,
the religious people.
Why was he murdered
by the religious people?
Because he turned up
and he said
outrageous things
in a sermon
much better than this one,
Matthew chapter 5,
in fact,
the greatest sermon
of all priests,
the Sermon on the Mount.
He turns up
and he confronts
the religious people
with attitude
of the heart.
He said,
you know,
you've heard it said,
do not commit murder.
I want to say to you,
if you've been angry
with your brother,
you've committed murder
in your heart,
even if you haven't
stabbed them with a knife.
Your problem
is an attitude
of the heart.
He said things like that
to the religious people
and they were furious
with him
because he exposes
the attitude
of the heart.
And they're nailed
into a cross.
But it was God's plan
of mercy
and grace,
Jesus' death
on the cross,
God's plan
of mercy
and grace
in order
to secure justice.
Jesus' blood
was the just payment
for crimes
against all
of humanity,
all of the Cains
who followed
on from Cain,
every human being.
Genesis 4,
verse 10,
God says to Cain,
what have you done?
Listen,
your brother's blood
cries out to me
from the ground.
Although Abel's body
was covered by dirt,
it could not be hidden.
Sin would not be hidden.
His blood cried out
for justice.
According to the Old Testament,
blood and life
belong to God alone.
murder is a direct
assault
on creators,
on our created God's
right of possession
of another human being.
Spilled blood
will never be covered.
It cries out
directly to the Lord
of life
looking for justice
for a life
that's been taken.
And Hebrews 12
tells us
that Jesus' blood
cries out
for justice
too.
but it cries out
for justice
differently.
It's better
than the blood
of Abel.
1 John 1,
verse 8
tells us why.
If we confess
our sin,
he is faithful.
He is good.
He is merciful
and just
and will forgive us
our sins
and purify us
from all unrighteousness.
If we confess
our sins,
he is faithful,
he is good
and just
and will forgive us
our sins
and purify us
from all unrighteousness.
You see,
what that says there
is that
God does not just,
he's not just
the great eternal
grandfather
sitting on a throne
just,
you know,
wanting everyone,
just hugging everyone
and just bearing
with all the failures
and the faults
of the world.
He's not just
sitting up there
waving a wand,
cancelling debt,
just loving everyone,
just forgive,
peace man.
He actually
absorbs our debt.
That's how he deals
with the issue
of justice.
He absorbs our debt.
It is because
he absorbs the debt
that we owe him
for being murderers
in our hearts
for our sin
against him.
It's because
he absorbs the debt.
He is therefore
able to forgive.
You see,
what 1 John 1
tells us
is because
he's not just
gracious
but he's just
and deals
with the debt
himself,
our debt
against him
himself,
it tells us
exactly how
secure we
actually are
in the salvation
he offers.
How secure
we are
in his love
and his mercy
and his forgiveness.
You see,
too many
Christians
live
each day
thinking
in the back
of their minds
that if they
commit the wrong
sin
or if they
commit too
many sins
then God
is just
going to
be like
the God
of the Simpsons
and just go
Flanderers
again.
Just fed up
with us.
I've had
enough
of this
and no way.
Jesus'
blood
speaks a
better word
than Abel's.
When we
come to
Jesus,
when we
confess our
rebellion
against him,
our attitude
of the heart,
our religion
and trust in him,
our sin
is forgiven
forever.
The slate
is wiped
clean
forever.
Forever.
Jesus paid
the complete
just
payment
for all
of our
sin
which means
according to
1 John 1
if he was
to not
forgive us
for our
sin
right now
if you're
a believer
in Jesus
it would
be an
act of
injustice
because
a double
payment
can never
be extracted
for a
debt
paid.
He
willingly
shed
his
blood
on
the
cross
to
bring
us
this
kind
of
forgiveness
this
kind
of
love
this
kind
of
hope
this
kind
of
certainty
forever
it's
the
justice
of
Jesus
Christ
that
will
ultimately
transform
us
from
being
a
cane
to
an
able
and
that's
the
possibility
of
every
day
of
every
moment
in
every
circumstance
it's
the
possibility
of
salvation
in
Jesus
in
verse
nine
back to
Genesis
four
God
comes
to
Cain
and
asks
him
where's
Abel
and
Cain
says
I
don't
know
am
I
my
brother's
keeper
and
then
we
have
the
only
time
in
the
Bible
where
a
human
being
is
cursed
God
curses
Cain
and
sent
out
from
that
moment
as
a
wander
of
the
earth
his
name
means
as
Eve
said
I
have
created
a
man
and
from
that
moment
every
being
wanders
the
earth
looking
for
their
home
for
their
place
looking
for
hope
and
when
God
does
that
to
Cain
absolutely
falls
to
pieces
not
because
he
felt
compassion
for
his
brother
dead
or
for
his
parents
he
felt
no
remorse
over
his
sin
against
God
at
all
his
cry
out
in
this
moment
was
a
cry
of
terror
and
self
pity
and
then
we
have
this
strange
statement
in
verse
15
then
the
Lord
put
a
mark
on
Cain
so
that
no
one
who
found
him
would
kill
him
what
is
the
mark
of
Cain
lots
of
speculation
some
reckon
it
was
a
dog
not
sure
how
they
got
to
that
point
you
can
actually
go to
a
tattoo
artist
nowadays
and
ask
them
can
I
please
get
a
tattoo
the
mark
of
Cain
it's
a
particular
kind
of
I'm
pretty
sure
it
wasn't
that
but
so
while
it's
not
clear
it
reveals
something
very
significant
it's
what
it
reveals
it
reveals
something
about
the
character
of
God
it
reveals
a
God
whose
commitment
to
justice
for
the
innocent
is
matched
by
his
care
for
the
sinner
a God who is faithful and just
and even Cain's appeal in verse 13 and 14
sorry Cain's prayer to God in verse 13 and 14
contains a hint of an appeal to God
God's answer to Cain together with his mark on Cain
is not a stigma
but a promise of self-safe conduct
in other words in this moment
God has become Cain's protector
how is it possible that God can be merciful to the unrepentant sinner
how can he be so merciful to someone who won't even budge
it's because on the cross of Jesus God's mercy and justice
meet
and the blood of Jesus shouts forgiveness to all who come to him
as we wander the earth like Cain
protected by God
until we die
in the hope
that in the circumstances of life where we see sin and grace
that we would pursue salvation
that we would not be like Cain
but that we would pursue salvation
God has brought you to this day
protected you in all of life
in all the experiences of sin
he's revealing his grace all the time
so that you might come to him for salvation
he's protecting you for salvation
the blood of Jesus washes away all of our hidden sin
his blood washes away all of our public sin
no sin
is beyond his grace
no sin
and so that
is the possibility of salvation that he offers you today
whether you're tuning in online
you're gathered here right now
that is the possibility of salvation
that he offers you today
choose Abel not Cain
choose the way of Abel not the way of Cain
don't dig your heels in
and fall to the sin
that is pouncing
and ready to destroy your life
by his grace
and his mercy
he's protected you to this point
that you might take up his offer of salvation
take it up today