The Result of Sin

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I. Introduction

Be turning in your Bibles to Genesis Chapter 4…we’re going to begin looking at verses 1 through verse 8. We’re going to be talking about the result of sin....In the garden, sin entered into the world. Genesis chapter 3 tells us about how Adam and Eve were instructed not to eat the fruit of the tree and how they were disobedient…and they stole fruit from that tree and THAT was the moment that man fell from communion with the Lord....that is what we call “the Fall of Man.” Now that was the first sin…but as you will see, sin is never isolated, it has other consolation prizes coming along with it. We’ll talk about that a little bit today.

a. Scripture: Genesis 4:1-8

And as always, I’m going to ask you to stand with me, if you are able, as we read from God’s Holy, Perfect, Sufficient and inerrant Word.

<Pray>

Thank you, and you may be seated.

II. Major Points

Sin Escalates

Sin is Followed by Consequences

Learn to Be Content in Your Lot

III. Point #1: Sin Escalates

Explanation Now I want you to understand something very plain here in this story. First of all, Cain did not simply lose control in a moment of passion and kill his brother.

In fact, I would argue to you that I simply don’t buy that…I don’t believe in a crimes of passion....what a load of garbage. Because what a crime of passion insinuates is that a person had NO thought whatsoever before they acted and then they acted on sheer animal instinct.

The fact is, we are not merely clever animals. We are made in the image of Almighty God…and part of that image is that we are able to think critically and introspectively about ourselves and our lives. We are able to think existentially about life....why am I here? What am I here for? What is my purpose? These are questions about our existence…animals don’t think like that. If they’re anything like my animals at the house all they think about is eating, sleeping, and getting scratched behind the ears. I guarantee you Kirby doesn’t sitting around wondering what his purpose in life is...

ANIMALS act totally on instinct and passion most of the time....more clever animals like dolphins and wolves, for example, they hunt in groups and plan out certain actions....but those are rare cases. Humans are different…we reflect on things like eternity and the meaning of life.

Illustration

Application Cain did NOT just attack his brother in a moment of passion. Let’s look at exactly what he did do here:

Step 1: Cain is unhappy with his job. Look at verse 2. Cain was a tiller of the ground....the ground was cursed, wasn’t it? So his job was hard. I have a lot of farmers in here, yall know exactly what he was dealing with....but no combines…no plows....nothing. His hands and the ground. So Cain is feeling some unhappiness about his lot in life. We will discuss that later…but look, people who are unhappy with themselves can’t be happy with somebody else. Discontentment leads to wrong thinking about life…Our minds begin working about how we could have it better or different....then we begin getting jealous for what we percieve to be a better situation from somebody else.

Step 2: Cain loses His connection with God. Let’s understand this very clearly: the wages of sin is DEATH. Sin had already entered into the world. Abel brought the the best, stainless lambs of his flock and sacrificed them to the Lord. He gave the Lord his absolute best. Listen to Hebrews 11:4:

Hebrews 11:4 NASB95

By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.

Abel gave, not only his best, but he gave the proper blood sacrifice. Cain’s sacrifice was not appropriate. God wasn’t looking for fruit....or vegetables. He was looking for a blood sacrifice. And you say “well Vic, he was a farmer…he wasn’t a she hearder like his brother.” No but there were other animals out there. Cain could have traded something of value for one of his brother’s sheep....he could have hunted and brought another animal. Either way, the gift he brought was inappropriate…AND it was not his best. God wants something both appropriate AND your BEST....so in his bitterness, Cain approached God irreverently.

And folks when we get caught in sin, we begin to lose our proper reverence for God. We begin to ignore Him and his standards....We begin to fail to come to Him appropriately....we begin to give Him less than our best. When we do all of that, we lose our close connection with God....that ALWAYS is a bad thing…

Church listen to me: when we begin to have distance between ourselves and God, that is when sin becomes more apparent in our lives....it begins to lose its sting in our hearts and it becomes easier to sin.

Step 3: Cain becomes angry. When God disregards Cain’s offering, he becomes angry. Now we all feel anger from time to time and that is totally appropriate. However, when we begin to let that anger take over, it begins to shape our thinking. How many of you know that acting imediately in anger is rarely a good idea? Anger, as a definition, is a strong feeling of displeasure aroused by a wrond, whther that wrong is real or percieved. That means no real…some people are angry about things that never even happened, but they thought they did. You see when let anger take over, our countenance falls. What is your countenance? It’s your presentation....your facial expression....in other words: you appear to be angry when you are angry. It is very difficult to hide. In other words: Our guard becomes so let down that we don’t even hide it anymore....Cain was filled with RAGE by this point. God says here that if we let our guard down, sin is at the door....so we have to work at mastering our tempers.

Step 4: Cain gave in. Cain took it out on his brother....he was jealous of his brother....he didn’t like his job....the work was hard....he lived bitterly, he gave God less than his best, didn’t like the results of that, got convicted by the Lord....and now: He raises up and KILLS his brother. Now let’s be real clear here: Cain wasn’t mad at Abel…he was angry....with God. And he couldn’t take it out on God....but he could take it out on His brother....a man totally innocent in thsi scenario.

Now I want you to see here: it was a slow progression from bitterness and ungratefulness, to a disconnect with God, to sinful thoughts and anger, and finally a sin that can’t be taken back. It escalated didn’t it?

And that is often how it is for us. And, like with Cain, it all begins with one thing: Our attitude. If your attitude stinks, you are prone to be bitter....you are prone to get angry....and you are prone to give in to sin.

So church: we have to be careful…we have to watch our attitudes, amen?

IV. Point #2: Sin is Followed by Consequences

Explanation Now as I said a moment ago, sin is never isolated. You never just sin by itself and then that is it. Sin ripples....it has after affects.

Look at what heppened to Cain in this story....Cain is ungrateful and bitter....that’s a sinful way to be.

1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (NASB95)

Rejoice always;

pray without ceasing;

in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

When you fail to live gratefully, your attitude is affected. When your attitude is off, then working with others becomes difficult and begin working with others. You become bitter....and then you begin to drift from the Lord, just like Cain did. The further you drift from the Lord, the easier it becomes to be sinful. We begin scheming and eventually we end doing something we can’t take back:

- When we finally give in there....the consequences can be severe. Prison....a divorce....a messed up family relationship.

Imagine what happened to Cain’s relationship with his parents after he killed his brother? Ultimately he is banished and scarred....but imagine if they had tried to reconnect. What a travesty.

We need to remember church: OUR sin has consequences. They can hurt not only us, but others as well. Sin is powerful…and it destroys....there’s nothing good about sin.

V. Point #3: Learn to Be Content in Your Lot

Explanation Now many people just don’t understand this one important principle in life: If you can’t be happy with the lot God has given you, you won’t be happy with any lot you end up with.

Here are Cain and Abel, brothers, and both of them have been assigned different tasks in life in order to contribute to the family. Most of us are assigned different lots in life....Now, remember, Adam and Eve were banished from the garden…and now they had to deal with many consequences as a result of that. One of those consequences that we talked about a moment ago was that the ground was cursed. Now Abel’s job was to handle the domesticated animals....that is, the flock....so sheep. Cain’s job was to farm…to handle the ground. And one of the consequences of sin that we talked about before was that the ground was cursed....So Cain, a bit more than Abel, identified with the curse of the ground.

Now that isn’t to say that Abel’s job was easy....shepherding is hard. Sheep might look innocent and sweet when they are little but they can grow up to be the most stubborn animals on the planet. Shepherds often say that when you’re a shepherd, you don’t herd the sheep, the sheep herd you! They eat the grass of one field, and when they are tired of it, they just move on....and what does the shepherd do? He goes with them…he protects them from danger....tries to keep them from harm.

But of the two of them, Cain often felt that his job was the most difficult and the most labor intensive....he felt the most useless and under appreciated. He probably often got jealous of his brother....and probably often wondered why Abel had been given a “better lot” than him.

Illustration You know the grass is not always greener on the other side is it? And sometimes, when it looks that way, it’s an illusion. I have often heard it said that “When the grass IS greener, it’s usually because of all the manure over there.”

Application Listen church: Cain looked over at Abel and was jealous. He was unhappy and he wanted what he couldn’t have. Isn’t that just like us though? We want what we can’t have and we don’t want what we do have....

Some people will NEVER be happy. God knows us and knows what our limitations are. Listen church: if you can’t be happy with the lot God has given you, then why in the world would He give you a different one?

Paul said in Philippians 4:11 that he had learned to be content no matter what situation he was in. And Christians, when we have learned to live a life of gratitude and thankfulness, it naturally follows that we find content no matter where we are. So we need to learn to be happy, no matter what our lot is. If we can do that and be grateful to God in all situations, then we can know true happiness in this life....but folks: if we choose, instead, to be bitter....and jealous....and to want what we can’t have: sin will always follow. And we will find ourselves just like ole’ Cain did.

And listen: it’s not going to happen over night! Did Paul say in Phillippians 4:11 that he “decided” to be “content?” NO…he said he had to “learn” it…that means it’s a skill…something that has to be practiced and learned.

Most of us learned to ride a bike when we were little…but it probably took some commitment and practice before we got it just right....learning to be content is no different.

When we get down and unhappy, we have to decide intentionally to instead be thankful and grateful...

When we get angry with our jobs and our bosses, we need to thank God we have a job.

When we struggle with our families, we need to be thankful God gave us a family, no matter what their flaws are.

So understand that contentness comes from practice and making our minds up to be content.

VI. Conclusion

a. Let me ask you this morning: Do you see the results of Adam and Eve’s sin? THIS sin by Cain all began back in the garden with the very first sin by his parents…and we have been fighting sin ever since....We need to continue to resist it in this life…and it’s hard. But we CAN do it with Jesus’ power, amen?