Our Pastor touched on this thought from our Lord in this weeks sermon.  

The Scripture often leaves us without the answer to our most pressing question, unless we study to show ourselves approved.  Following Adam’s fall He and Eve had two sons.  Cain, was introduced as the son, who slew his brother Able, because his own offering was not acceptable to God, as had been Able’s offering.  

This does not tell us why Cain’s offering was unacceptable.  In fact with the law that later came we can see that through the offering of the first fruits of the crops, that Cain’s offering should have been an acceptable offering.  So it could not have been the offering itself that God was rejecting.  God did not have a change of heart, and suddenly say: I made a mistake, I should have accepted Canes offering.  God in fact by making Cains offering legitimate later in His law for man was telling us something that we all need to understand.  It was not Caine’s offering but his heart attitude that was important to God. His heart was further revealed by his own actions in the murder of his brother.  One who is humble before his God, who is contrite as he offers or presents up what he has to God, does not go out the next day and murder his brother. 

Both Cain and Able were sinners as a result of their father’s sin. They were not responsible for their father’s sin, but they were both sinners as are we and they were each responsible for their own sin. 

You and I can joyfully or reluctantly give of what we possess to God.  In fact if we conclude that what we have in our possession  is ours and not God’s on loan to us we likely will be as Cain was.  And we will think to ourselves how blessed God is to have us, and to have us give Him such a generous offering.  This in spite of the fact that it all that is good has come to us by God’s own gifting.  

He gave us the talents with which we were able to market our labors.  He gave us life’s circumstance through which we learned to make decisions.  He gave us ministers, who presented the gospel.  He then gave us His call to sonship. We by His grace and His Son’s provision for the forgiveness of our sin are above all else blessed.  But many are as Cain, who was a man, who would not even confess his grave sin, not even when confronted by God Himself.  

This is the story of so many today.  They do not deny the existence of God; they even attend seminaries where they present their gifts before God. They lead churches where they encourage the sinner to attend, but not to come and be redeemed, forgiven, and changed; but instead they are proud that they accept the diversity of the queerness on display within their congregations. And there is no request for nor is there any display of repentance toward the God, whom they acknowledge.  Cain was no different than were they.  They are false prophets. Jesus and Paul both told us of them. Don’t ignore their warning.

Having pointed this out, we need to acknowledge that no one can deliver themselves from their sin. Only God can do that for us. We admit our sin to Him, we do not love our sin nor do we flaunt it, but we trust that he will give us victory over it. If we treasure our sin it will rule us. If we give it to Christ our Lord, we will have peace and victory over it.

I would much prefer to be Able, who was slain by his brother for his acceptance by God; than to be Cain who went his own way without the God that he knew while battling on his own his unconfessed sin.