"NOT LIKE CAIN..."

INTRODUCTION--

1. Character studies of people mentioned in the Bible are very profitable.
   
   1. We usually choose the lives and deeds of those who are righteous.
      
      1. From their examples, we should learn how to please God.
         
      2. In fact, imitation of the righteous is commanded to us in Scripture.
         
         1. James 5:10-11 "Take, brethren, for an example of suffering and of patience, the prophets who spake in the name of the Lord. Behold, we call them blessed that endured: ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, how that the Lord is full of pity, and merciful."
            
         2. Hebrews 6.11-12 "And we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fulness of hope even to the end: 12 that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."
            
         3. 1 Corinthians 11:1 (Paul said it in the most concise way),"Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ."
            
   2. But, what if we take example from the evil characters of the Bible?
      
      1. The Bible describes the evil traits in the person as well the good.
         
      2. It even shows the moral and character failures of the righteous.
         
      3. There are even confessions by the writers of their failures. In Deuteronomy 3:23-27, Moses wrote, "And I besought Jehovah at that time, saying, 24 O Lord Jehovah, thou hast begun to show thy servant thy greatness, and thy strong hand: for what god is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy mighty acts? 25 Let me go over, I pray thee, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. 26 But Jehovah was wroth with me for your sakes, and hearkened not unto me; and Jehovah said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. 27 Get thee up unto the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan."
         
2. I have chosen the evil example of the first thoroughly evil person, Cain.
   

LESSON--

1. The first example of sin in the Bible was not Cain's, but that of his parents.
   
   1. God had forbidden the eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
      
   2. Eve was tempted by the Devil, and the result brought calamity. Genesis 3:6
      
   3. For this sin, they were cast out of the garden of Eden, and placed under the curses of labor and pain (and eventual physical death).
      
   4. Obeying God's command to be "fruitful and multiply," they had children.
      
2. Their first two children were as different as Esau and Jacob, spiritually.
   
   1. The Holy Spirit wastes no words on the means used by Adam and Eve in raising these two sons to manhood, so we cannot know what psychological and spiritual influences they had from their parents.
      
   2. Instead, we see their adult actions, and the consequences. Genesis 4:1-5
      
3. Now the violent character of Cain begins to unfold.
   
   1. Cain's disobedience to God's will is rebuked. Genesis 4:6-7
      
      1. Cain is warned that when a person does not do what is right in God's sight (that is, make a proper sacrifice), other sins may follow.
         
      2. It is the obligation of the sinner to rule over any desire to sin further.
         
   2. Cain ignored the warning, and fulfilled the dire prediction of God by rising in wrath to kill his brother. Genesis 3:8
      
      1. James 1:20 "The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God."
         
      2. 2 Timothy 3:13 "But evil men and impostors shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."
         
4. The murder is also followed by a useless lie, and by a foolish self-deception.
   
   1. First, the lie. Genesis 4:9 "And Jehovah said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother's keeper?"
      
   2. Then the Murderer thought that he could hide is sin, a self-deception, for God knows all. Hebrews 4:13 "And there is no creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do."
      
   3. The all-knowing God visits divine justice on the sinner. Genesis 4:10-12
      
      1. Heb. 10:31 "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
         
      2. Romans 12:19 "Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of God: for it is written, Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense, saith the Lord."
         
         1. The dead victim of a murderer has no way to take vengeance.
            
         2. Even if a jury acquits on lack of evidence, the court of God is still in session, and God will execute justice. (An aged Pol Pot died in bed!)
            
5. Now, we see Cain as an unrepentant sinner, and a whiner. Genesis 4:13-14
   
   1. God reserved vengeance on Cain to Himself, by preserving him from those who might want to kill him. Genesis 4:15
      
   2. Cain's reaction to God was to leave His presence, and live apart from the "sons of God" descended from Seth. Genesis 4:16
      
   3. His descendants followed the natural course of their own worldly desires.
      
      1. Lamech was a polygamist, and a copycat murderer. Genesis 4:19, 23-24
         
      2. Three of Lamech's sons invented useful occupations, but did not return to the Lord. Genesis 4:20-22
         
6. What followed in the years to come is an example of how appealing sin is to others, and how the righteous can be corrupted by association with evil men.
   
   1. The descendants of Seth began to call on the name of God. Genesis 4:25-26
      
   2. These "sons of God" were gradually corrupted by intimate association with the descendants of Cain. Genesis 6:1-3, 5-6, 11-13
      
   3. Noah's family was the only exception, by the favor of God.
      
   4. God's people must maintain spiritual separation from evil. 2 Corinthians 6:17-7:1 "Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing; And I will receive you, 18 And will be to you a Father, And ye shall be to me sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty......(7:1) Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."
      
      1. We are not to be recluses. 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 "I wrote unto you in my epistle to have no company with fornicators; 10 not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world:"
         
      2. Jesus prayed that his immediate disciples remain aloof from sinful influence. John 17:15-16 "I pray not that thou shouldest take them from the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world even as I am not of the world." (This prayer seems to include us, because of Vs. 20, "Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word;")
         

APPLICATION--

1. There is ample reason not to follow Cain, even though others have.
   
   1. In describing such people, Jude writes, "Yet in like manner these also in their dreamings defile the flesh, and set at nought dominion, and rail at dignities. 9 But Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing judgment, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. 10 But these rail at whatsoever things they know not: and what they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason, in these things are they destroyed. 11 Woe unto them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah." Jude 8-11
      
   2. We must guard against hatred of any brother, in order to avoid its evil consequences. 1 John 3:11-12, 15 "For this is the message which ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another: 12 not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous....15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
      
2. The contrast between the righteousness of Abel and the wickedness of Cain is a matter of FAITH. Hebrews 11:4 "By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaketh."
   
   1. Cain also leaves a legacy, but not one to be followed.
      
   2. The faith of Abel turned to action (as in all the cases of Hebrews 11), and it is that obedient faith that we should imitate, to be righteous before God.