Genesis 4, verses 6 and 7, if thou doest well

 

Genesis 4:6 ¶  And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7  If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

            There at two streams flowing here. One has to do with worship that is pleasing to God and the other has to do with sin itself. We need to consider everything that has happened until now. Adam and Eve sinned following Satan’s deception disobeying the one command that we know of that their Creator had given them. Abel offered up the sacrifice that God required for without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22). “Why are you angry, Cain? Do what is required and your offering will be accepted. If you do right, you will conquer sin and sin will not rule over you, but you over him.” See how sin is personified as having a desire toward Cain in the right circumstance as the woman is to desire her husband and submit to him? See 3:16 for the definition of what it means for Eve to desire her husband and submitting to him as a consequence.

3:16  Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

            But if Cain or we will not obey God’s word then sin awaits to control or dominate us.

Romans 6:5  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

 

            You may not have thought of yourself as a servant to sin but just ask any alcoholic, drug addict or someone addicted to porn and they will tell you who their boss is. Ask someone engaged in an illicit affair with another person and they might tell you they feel compelled to do what they are doing, drawn like a moth to a flame, without any ability to say no.

With regard to religious expression Christians have the Bible definition of religion, the outward expression of our inner faith.

James 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

We do not offer up animal sacrifices as Christ was our sacrifice once and for all.

Ephesians 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

Hebrews 9:28  So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

 

Hebrews 10:10  By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

1Peter 3:18  For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

Christians have the Bible definition of the proof or fruit of the Spirit of God dwelling inside of us.

Galatians 5:22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Are our lives and our worship pleasing to God or simply pleasing to ourselves, our own fears, our own bigotry, or our own paranoia and self-justification? Are we Cain or are we Abel? Obedience to God is tied into our ability to overcome sin. While we have been saved from the penalty of sin, have the power to be saved from the power of sin, and will be saved from the presence of sin we still must deal with our flesh.

These verses link the state of our relationship to God and our obedience to His word, what He has said He wants or requires, to our ability to resist sin. We come to God on His terms not ours. He came to us on His terms not ours. Whether it be the nature of our worship or the way we live, sin waits to control us if we will not obey Him. Again, are you a Cain doing things your way or are you an Abel doing things God’s way?