Now we're bringing our message
today from Genesis chapter 4, and we have the story of these
two boys, that of Abel and that of Cain. And in this story we
see the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of God's saving grace
in Christ Jesus. Now this, as all scriptures,
both Old and New Testament, sets before us the way of salvation
that God has established the way of salvation. As I've said
to you before, that salvation is all of the Lord. He's the
beginning of it. He's the end of it. Salvation
is of the Lord. And the Scriptures declare unto
us that salvation is by the grace of God alone. The grace of God
alone. God saves us by His unmerited
God favors us by His grace. And it's not something that we
merit. It's something that He freely gives. We're justified
freely by His grace. Salvation that's revealed in
this Word of God is not only of grace, justified freely by
His grace through the redemption that is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
But also, this Word reveals that it's a way of faith. How was
salvation received? Well, certainly not by doing.
Salvation is received by faith. Faith is the gift of God. The
gift of God. Forsaking all. Here's what faith
stands for. F-A-I-T-H. Forsaking all, I trust
Him. Forsaking all, I trust Him. You see, saving faith looks to
Christ. He is our Savior. He is life. And true saving faith
looks to Christ, not to an experience, not to a feeling, not to an experience,
to Christ alone, Christ alone. So it's a way of grace, the way
of faith, and certainly we know that salvation is by blood atonement,
by the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now all these
Old Testament sacrifices, all through Genesis, All through
Exodus, all through Leviticus, all those sacrifices all tell
us that salvation is by the blood atonement of Jesus Christ. These
sacrifices were appointed of God. How to approach God? Well,
not apart from the blood sacrifice. And all these things point to
Jesus Christ who is our atonement. He appeared once in the end of
the age to put away sin. by the sacrifice of himself.
Now listen to me. God has never saved any sinner
apart from Jesus Christ. What about Abraham? Well, Abraham,
our Lord said, rejoiced to see his day, the day of grace, the
day of sacrifice, the day of sin put away in Christ. Abraham
rejoiced to see that day and was glad. He believed God and
God counted that to him for righteousness. God has never justified any sinner
apart from the Lord Jesus Christ and by His grace alone, grace
alone, faith alone, the sacrifice of Christ alone that justifies
sinners. And we preach and teach salvation
by the word alone, not the traditions of men or the catechisms of the
church. but the Word of God alone. The Word of God alone. Sinners
are justified always, and any sinner that is justified, through
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, admittedly, and you'll agree
with me when I say this, we live in a most religious world. There's
religion everywhere, is there not? In every country, every
culture, every corner, on every street, among all people, there
is some form of religion. Whether it be Hindu, whether
it be Muslim, whether it be Buddhist, there is, there's religion everywhere,
is there not? I mean, there's religion, in
our country, there's religion everywhere. All religion, it
doesn't matter what you call it, what flavor it is, how you
color it, all religion can be summed up in two ways. Two camps, all religion, I don't
care what it is, what you call it. That of grace or that of
works. Now it really boils down just
to that, those two simple things. Salvation is either all of God's
grace or all of creature, work, merit, effort. It cannot be both. I tell you what this book reveals.
This book we call the Holy Bible reveals that salvation is all
by the grace of God. And if it be of grace, it cannot
be by works. Cannot be. It has to be by the
grace of God alone. The grace of God alone. Now the
way of Cain and the way of Abel picture these two ways how to
approach God. By work or by grace. Cain represents
the way of the flesh, the way of works, the way of do the best
you can, it'll be okay. Abel represents the way of grace
revealed in the Lord Jesus Christ alone. Grace, grace, grace alone. Now, these two brothers both
had proper instruction how to worship God, how to approach
God. Adam taught them how to approach God, always through
the blood substitute, always through the blood sacrifice.
If you look back at Genesis 3, verse 21, unto Adam also and
to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skin and clothes
them. Through the blood sacrifice,
God clothed Adam and Eve. Now, Adam tried fig leaf, didn't
he? Didn't work. He tried to cover
his nakedness by the merit of his own hand, and God said away
with it, I will not have it. Fig leaf religion won't satisfy
God, and it certainly won't hide our sin. certainly won't put
away our sin. Adam taught both these boys,
because God taught him how to approach God, how to worship
God. Cain had heard the truth from
his own dad, told him how to approach God. Cain refused the
way of grace, and he thought his way to be much superior or
much advanced. Adam, you know, you're just kind
of old-fashioned. That blood sacrifice and that blood substitute,
that's kind of old-fashioned. I think I'm going to improve
on that. I think I've got something better. My friend, we cannot
improve on what God has told us, God has provided. We know,
we read in Proverbs, there's a way that seems right unto men,
but the end of that way is death. The way of works, I know, appeals
to our fallen, ruined, sinful nature. But my friend, that's
the way of death. works, the way of Cain is a way
of death, not life. Abel, on the other hand, while
Cain refused the way of grace, he refused the way of Christ
and his sacrifice. Abel believed God. Abel obeyed
God and brought the blood sacrifice that was pleasing unto God. He
brought that first lamb unto God. Again, we see here the sovereign
mercy of God. What made the difference between
those two boys? Well, God was pleased to reveal
the truth unto Abel and to justify him by His almighty grace while
Cain was left to his own thoughts, his own wisdom, his own logic,
his own way. My prayer is for me and for you
that God will not leave us to our own selves. that God would
teach us a way of grace and reveal Christ unto our heart. God granted
faith unto Abel, granted salvation unto Abel, and left Cain to his
own fallen nature. God had singled out these two
sons of Adam to teach us a way of grace in the Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation comes to sinners through
the blood sacrifice of Christ. Salvation is in no other. There's no other way. No other
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. You see, Abel brought the blood
sacrifice of the Lamb, and that is typical of substitution satisfaction. Someone else died in the stead
of Abel. Abel's substitute died. That
speaks of Christ crucified in our room and in our stead. Cain, he brought the labors of
his own hand, typical of those who try to approach God on the
best you can do. Now, have you ever come that
way? All of us have. All of us try to approach God
on the best we can do. And God says, away with it. You
see, man in his best state, the best you have, the best I have,
God says it's filthy rags. Away with it, it's vanity. So
we can't come that way. But thank God in Christ, He is
the way, the truth, and the life. Now, let's consider, here's my
first point, let's consider what was wrong with Cain's offering.
What was wrong with Cain's offering? Now, I'm sure that Cain brought
the best that he had. It says in verse 2, in the process
of time, this is Genesis 4-2, in the process of time, came
to pass, it came, brought of the fruit of the ground, an offering
unto the Lord." Now, you see how he's trying to approach God
and try to come to God apart from a blood sacrifice. He brought
here, it says, the fruit of the ground. You remember what God
said to Adam when he sinned? He said, Cursed be the ground
for your sake. He brought an offering that was
cursed of God, not blessed of God. What was wrong with his
offering and the way he approached God? Well, first of all, it was
a bloodless sacrifice. I'm sure that he brought the
best that he had. He labored all year to bring
the best before God. But it says down in verse 5 that
God had no respect, no respect to that offering. Cain's sacrifice didn't satisfy
God's offended justice. Matter of fact, hold your place
there and find 1 John chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3, and you
know what the scripture says of his sacrifice? You know what
he said? 1 John chapter 3 now, 1 John
chapter 3 verse 12. 1 John 3.12, Not as Cain, who was
of the wicked one, and slew his brother, wherefore slew he him?
Because his own works were evil. His sacrifice was evil. And his
brothers were righteous. Cain's offering didn't satisfy
God's offended justice. And we can work and do and work
and do and give and sacrifice But it'll never put away sin. Sin's hard to put away. The blood
on those Jewish altars that flowed for years and years and years,
the blood of bulls and goats, never put away one sin. Not that it pictured the way,
but it never put away sin. We need a blood sacrifice that
speaks better than that of Cain. Better than that of Abel. We
need the real, not the picture, but the real time. The best we
have and the best we can do will never satisfy God's holy, holy
justice. Our works will never save. Our works will never sanctify.
Our works will never justify because they can never satisfy
God. By the deeds of the law, how
many will be justified by the deeds of the law? By the deeds
of the law shall none be justified before God. You see, the law
exposes our guilt, but it does not remove our guilt. It exposes
the way of works as filthy rags, but it cannot justify us. Our works will never save, justify,
because they will never satisfy God. So, first of all, it's a
bloodless sacrifice. Secondly, Cain came unto God
in a way that denied he was guilty before God. He approached God
on the ground of his own merit, thinking he deserved a reward,
rather than one who came stripped before God, deserving condemnation. Cain was proud of his efforts
and thought it sufficient to please God. There's two reasons
why we cannot approach God like Cain. Can you think of two reasons
why we cannot approach God like Cain? First of all, God is holy. He's too holy to look upon sin
with favor. And secondly, we're guilty. We're
sinners. Everything I produce is sinful. It must have the blood atonement
of Christ to put our sin away. Now, my question for you is this. Have you fallen into the error
of Cain? It says in the book of Jude,
chapter 1, verse 11, Woe unto them that have gone the way of
Cain. Are you trying to approach God or am I trying to approach
God, approach God and worship God upon my merit or upon the
Lord Jesus Christ alone? Woe unto them that have gone
the way of Cain. Do you believe that your works
will cover your sin? Well, then you deny you need
a substitute. Do you still deny that you're
guilty before God, deserving of His wrath? You think, well,
the wrath of God is deserving to this man, to this man, to
this man, because this man did that. What about you? What about
me? Have you ever seen yourself as
deserving of God's justice and judgment to you? Like David said,
I'm guilty before God. Do you still refuse to come to
God by the only way described in the Word of God? Through Christ
alone? He said, come unto Me, all you
that labor and heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Our Lord said,
I'm the way, I'm the truth, I'm the life. And then He said, no
man comes to God but by and through Christ the way, the truth, and
the life. You know, Adam lost all three
of those. He lost the way, he lost truth, and he lost life. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we
have the way, we have truth, and we have life. He is salvation. He is life. Woe unto them that
have gone the way of Cain. My friend, don't go this way.
It will not work. Works will not satisfy God. Works, religion, will condemn
you and all who believe that they can satisfy God on the basis
of their merit. Don't go that way. Now, my second
thought is this. Why did God have respect under
Abel's offering? Why did God have respect under
Abel's offering? Several reasons. First of all,
it was an offering that demonstrated his faith unto God. We read that in Hebrews chapter
11. By faith, Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice
than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous.
He believed God concerning the sacrifice, sin being put away
through the Lord Jesus Christ. It was an offering that demonstrated
his faith. Abel, like Abraham, came to God
and believed God concerning the gospel, and it was given to him
for salvation, for righteousness. Secondly, it was an offering
typical and typifying the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God. Now look back at the text again.
Genesis chapter 4, Genesis chapter 4 and verse 4, Abel, he also
brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof,
and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering." What
did Abel bring? He brought the Lamb. The Lamb. And that speaks of, and is typical
of THE Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. God said, when
I see the blood, I'll pass over you. You remember the story of
how Israel was in bondage in Egypt. And God said, it's going
to pass through that night and kill all the firstborn. And He
instructed them to take a lamb, put it up and observe it. And
then on a certain day to kill the lamb and put the blood on
the door, on the door post and the lintel. And God said, when
I pass by, when I see the blood, I'll pass over you. And it all
speaks of Christ, our Passover, that sacrifice for us. The Lord
Jesus Christ, He is the Lamb of God that takes away our sin. So this offering was typical
of Christ. The firstling of the flock, which pictures the Lord
Jesus Christ as the first begotten of the dead. He's the only begotten
Son of God. God said, this is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
firstborn Lord of every creature in heaven and earth. He created
all things by the word of His power. And certainly He's the
firstborn from the dead. He's the firstling. In all things
the Lord Jesus Christ must have the preeminence, the first place
in all things. And then it says here, the fat
thereof. Abel brought his best prized
lamb without blemish and without spot. You read all through the
book of Leviticus and it talks about those Bullocks and goats
and lambs that were brought unto the Lord for a burnt offering
or peace offering or sin offering. They always had to be the lamb
without blemish and without spot. And that speaks of the blessedness
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had no sin. He knew no sin. And He did no sin. the fat thereof,
the best thereof. Such a high priest became us
who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sin. This Lamb,
like the Passover Lamb, had to be slain. Had to be slain. The Lamb had to be slain to make
atonement for our sin. And we know the Lord Jesus Christ,
in the fullness of time, God sent forth His Son to redeem
us. How did He redeem us? With His
own blood. being made a curse for us. Christ
died as our substitute to put away our sin. Here's the third
point. It was an offering. Abel's offering
was an offering typical of Christ. Thirdly, it was an offering that
confessed his sin. That confessed his sin. Abel
was openly confessing when he took that knife and held back
that lamb and cut that lamb's throat, he's saying before God,
this is what I deserve. I deserve death because I'm guilty. I deserve to have my blood shed.
It was an offering that confessed his sin. Abel was openly confessing,
this is what I deserve, death. The believer knows he deserves
the wrath of God and takes his place before the sovereign throne
of God as a mercy beggar. If you kill me and condemn me,
you're doing what is just. That's what I deserve. Have you
ever come to that place? Has God ever brought you to that
place knowing that you're deserving not of merit, deserving not of
grace, not of mercy, but of justice and judgment before God. Here's
the fourth point. The Lord had respect unto Abel
and to his offering. Notice what it says there in
verse 5. Unto Cain and to his offering he had no respect. Look at verse 4. And the Lord
had respect unto Abel and to his offering. Why did he have
respect? Because it pointed to God's only
sacrifice for sin in Christ Jesus. It was a sacrifice. The Lord
Jesus Christ, His sacrifice was appointed of God because Christ
came as God's sacrifice for sin. The Lord had respect unto Abel
and to his offering, that offering that's typical of Christ. It
was appointed by God. It satisfied God's offended justice. In the life of the Lord Jesus
Christ, he lived a life I could not live. His life was a life
of perfect obedience, honoring every precept of that law, and
in his death he satisfied the penalty of that law. The penalty
of that law is death. And Abel brought this sacrifice
unto God, this picturing of Christ, and he brought it by faith. Now,
which way are you going? Now, let's just be honest. Has
someone said, let's just shuck right down to the cob? How are
you trying to approach God? By the best you can do? Or have
you, like the Apostle Paul, counted everything dung and lost and
ruined that we might win Christ and be found in Him? Let's turn
over to Philippians chapter 3 and read that. Philippians chapter
3. Philippians chapter 3. You know, the old Saul of Tarsus
was a man who thought all his supposed law-keeping recommended
him to God. But when God taught him the gospel
and revealed to him the way of salvation in Christ by the grace
of God alone, it says here in Philippians 3, verse 7, But what
things were gained to me, those I counted lost for Christ, Yea,
doubtless, indeed, I count all things but loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them done, that I may win
Christ and be found in him." Now, before he met the Savior,
before he knew the truth, before he knew the gospel, he thought
all of his things that he says here, circumcised the eighth
day in this chapter. Stock of Israel, tribe of Benjamin,
Hebrew of Hebrews. Look at verse 5 of Philippians
3. As touching the law, he said,
a Pharisee concerning zeal, persecuting the church. Touching the righteousness
which is in the law, he said, I thought I was blameless. But
when God taught him the truth, he counted all his religiousosity,
all his religious work as rubbish. He uses a strong word here, dung. That's manure. That's what it
is, manure. He counted all of his so-called
Pharisee works religion, like cane of old, as dung. Dung. And that's what God says
of it. It's dung. Throw it away. You don't keep
it, do you? You flush it. Get rid of it. Separate yourself from it. Now
look at verse 9 of Philippians 3, "...and be found in him."
Now this is the key, my friend, to be found in Christ. That's what Abel looked to. Abel
wasn't looking to that Lamb itself that he sacrificed. He was looking
to the Lamb that that pictured. He was looking to Christ. Abel,
by faith, came to God, knowing and realizing he needed a substitute
to justify him before God. Be found in Him, in Christ, not
having my own righteousness which is of the law, but that which
is through the faithfulness of Christ." You see that? The righteousness
which is of God, which is of God by faith. How can I have
a righteousness of God? A righteousness that's God-given
and it's received by faith that I may know Him? The power of
His resurrection. Let me turn to one other Scripture
here. Turn to Romans 10. Romans chapter 10. Now, I'm asking
this question, which way are you going? The way of Cain or
the way of Abel? Romans chapter 10, look at this.
Romans 10 verse 1, Brethren, Romans 10 verse 1, My heart's
desire, now this is the same man, old Saul of Tarsus, that
later that God saved by His grace and raised him up and made him
a trophy of His grace, made him into the great preacher that
went and preached the gospel to the Gentiles, Paul the Apostle,
and he weeps for his brethren. He weeps for those Jews who were
so steeped in Judaism and ritualism and tradition, and he weeps for
them, knowing that you cannot be justified by the deeds of
the law. Now look at Romans 10.1. Bread
in my heart, desire, and my prayer to God for these Jews. These
religious, self-righteous people, that they might be saved. Well,
you know what they would say? Well, wait a minute, Paul, you
don't need to pray for me, I'm already saved. No, you're not,
you're lost. A man cannot be saved until he's
lost. That's the problem with most
religious people, they're not lost. They all think they're justified,
they all think they know God. that they might be saved. Paul
said they need a justifier. They need a Savior. For I bear
them record that they have a zeal of God. Oh, they're religious.
They're zealous. But not according to knowledge.
They're ignorant of God. Now, that's a strong word to
call someone ignorant, isn't it? For they being ignorant of
God's righteousness, ignorant of the holy character of God,
and they're going about to establish their own righteousness, have
not submitted have not submitted themselves unto the righteous."
Now, look at this here. The righteousness of God. This is the righteousness that's
provided in the gospel. This is the righteousness that
comes from God, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The
ignorance of God, His holy character, and the ignorance of that righteousness
that's provided in the gospel. Christ is the power of God and
the salvation to everyone that believes it. to the Jew and also
to the Gentile. Therein is the righteousness
of God revealed." That's Romans 1, 16 and 17. Look at verse 4. This is Romans 10. Verse 3 says,
"...they have not submitted themselves unto this righteousness of God."
That's Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ, His blessed
person and His work. That's the only thing that would
recommend this sinner unto God. That's the only way God can deal
with me in mercy, be a just God and a justifier, is those who
are in Christ Jesus. The only way God can be a holy
God, a just God and Savior, and deal with me in mercy is upon
the ground and the merit of Jesus Christ, His blood sacrifice.
Verse 4, For Christ is the end of the law. The end of the law. Christ is the fulfillment of
the law. He said, I didn't come to destroy the law, I came to
honor it. Every precept and every penalty of that law, He redeemed
us from the curse of the law. Christ is the end of the law
for righteousness to everyone that, what does that word say?
Believes God. Not works, rests. True saving
faith rests in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now I ask you again,
which way are you going? The way of Cain? Or the way of
Abel? the way of works or the way of
grace. Don't go the way of works. It will drag you down, down,
and down. Now, let me give you this quickly. What was the end result of these
two sacrifices? The end result, grace or works?
Well, Abel is declared in the Scripture to be justified. Righteous
Abel. He obtained witness that he was
righteous. Cain, on the other hand, He was
angry. The religion of works yields
no comfort, no rest, no communion with God, and no assurance. Cain
was angry with God. Cain couldn't get at God, so
he reached out out of his hatred for God, and he killed his brother. That's where works religion will
lead. It will lead to nothing but distress,
anxiety and lead nothing. It'll lead to nothing but a but
a but condemnation. That's all. All it will lead
to is condemnation. Now, think about this. The first
human blood shed on this earth was over the very thing of salvation
by grace alone or works. You think about that. The first
murder on this earth was over This thing of works or grace.
Works or grace. You know, this battle still raging
among religious people today. The way of Cain still hates,
hates the way of grace alone. It does. It does. And you're
just fooling yourself if you think the way of Cain doesn't
hate the way of Abel, the way of grace. Because this old man,
this old flesh, it says in Romans 8, the carnal mind is enmity
against God. It hasn't changed. That old rotten
nature that we're born with has not changed. In that word there,
enmity, a deep-rooted, deep-seated hatred against God.