Real Worship
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The Worshiper
The Worshiper
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”
When you remember God’s promise in Genesis 3.15
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
You also must remember Adam’s faith to make sense of this verse- Adams’ faith is seen in how he named is wife- “woman” which means the mother of all the living. His naming of her is faith in God’s promise to him.
The translation of this verse could mean, “I have gotten a man- the Lord”. It could be understood that this child would be the promised seed- the Lord, but we know that wasn’t right.
When she named “Cain” it means “acquired”- it tells us that Adam and Eve looked at Cain as a gift from God.
2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
“Abel” means “vanity”. it is suggestive of the futility of life apart from God,… note that there is a division of work- Cain worked the ground. Abel is a keeper of sheep. Cain is a worker of the ground that God had cursed, abel is a keeper of the flock that God had created.
3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,
Worship
4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,
Note what Hebrews 11.4
4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks.
Abel offered a gift by “faith”. We know from Romans that faith comes by “hearing”- somehow God had communicated to Adam’s small family how to properly worship Him.
Remember Hebrews 9.22
22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
The sacrifice of blood was needed for the remission of sin.
5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
Cain, who bruoght a bloodless offering, may have been sincere, but it was not accepted. He seemingly had no faith to back it up.
You wonder if God actually sent down fire and accepted Abel’s offering and left Cain’s lying there on the altar.
Cain had developed a godless religion.
5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
Look at 1 John 3.12
12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
This should help us to examine our own faith.
Cain practiced a false righteousness of the flesh
He was not righteous by faith, but by the flesh. He was a Pharisee before there were Pharisees.
I think sometimes the world’s charge of “hypocrisy” towards the church is founded on the fact that many of us are just this way.
I want to take you for a minute to something Jesus said, in Luke 11.37-51
37 While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. 38 The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 And the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. 42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.” 45 One of the lawyers answered him, “Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also.” 46 And he said, “Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. 48 So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
The Blood of Abel…linked to faithful prophet’s blood, etc.,
When Jude would write in Jude 11
11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.
The way of Cain is religion without blood, religion that is based on how good you are and how good you tell everyone you are!!!
There are only 2 ways to heaven.
The way of Abel that depends on the blood of Christ and his finished work on the cross
The way of Cain that depends on good works and self righteousness.
Jesus said in Matthew 7.13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
The Murderer
The Murderer
Remember James 1.15
15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Remember the danger of sin growing. It always does. In Genesis 3 Adam sinned against God. In Genesis 4 Cain sins against his brother. And it continues to this day.
Like weeds. Like fire. It grows.
6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
History would remember Cain in this way, in 1 John 3.12
12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
The Wanderer (4.9-16)
The Wanderer (4.9-16)
The first 2 questions in the Bible:
Adam, where are you?
Cain, Where is your brother?
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.
11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.
Previously God had cursed the serpent. Then the earth. Now he curses Cain from the earth- meaning the ground would not yield for Cain- he would wander from place to place in order to live, as a fugitive and a wanderer.
12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Cain did not repent. He may have been remorseful- but he actually blamed God. “You have driven me out!”
He was rejected by heaven and refused by earth. His only recourse was to wander or to come to faith. And it seems he couldn’t do it.
He was hopeless. He knew if he was found , he would be killed.
15 Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.
God’s grace is seen in this verse.
Probably not a literal mark, but an assurance to Cain that he would not be killed.
16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
But Cain became a living signpost of what sin will do to us. He preached the consequences of sin in his being.
Cain did not wander- he settled. He built a city- but in his heart he wandered. From God.
He built a civilization- a substitute for God’s gifts to him.
False Worship Is Real Sin
False Worship Is Real Sin
The story of Cain and Abel started in church. The story of Cain and Abel ended in separation from God. The story of Cain and Abel is a moment in time that yielded eternal results. A momentary decision brought eternal consequences.
Why are you here today?
What have you sacrificed for God?
Is your attitude correct in what you’ve done?