The religion of Cain

Thought I would draw some thoughts from the Biblical account of Cain and Abel for some discussion.

From Genesis 4

[i][b]1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. [/b][/i]

[i][b]2And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. [/b][/i]

Notice Cain the first birth, Abel the second birth. Our second birth is the all important one.

Eve stated 'I have begotten a man of the Lord'. Oh how Satan had deceived her. How often do we hear the leaders of these modern church movements stating that 'this is of the Lord'. Satanic deception is still ongoing today.

[i][b]3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. [/b][/i]

[i][b]4And 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:[/b][/i]

[i][b]5But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.[/b][/i]

Have you ever wondered how beautiful Cain's offering must have been? 'The fruit of the ground', probably exquisitely prepared. Hours, maybe days of work. A masterpiece to look at. While Abel brings a lamb slain. What a mess. Blood everywhere and the death of an innocent lamb. But Abel's offering is accepted, Cain's rejected.

Abel's altar is beautiful to God's eye and repulsive to man's. Cain's altar is beautiful to man's eye, but repulsive to God's.

Tell a man he's a sinner and needs to repent and trust Christ's sacrifice for salvation and he'll be offended. Give a man religious respectability and he'll be pleased. Abel accepts God's way, Cain rejects it. Abel's altar speaks of repentance, of faith and of the precious blood of Christ. Cain's altar tells of pride, unbelief and self righteousness.

Oh, how much of our 'Christianity' today is the religion of Cain!? Oh how radically sin has corrupted us that we think we can get to God our way as opposed to His way. How many 'good' people are deceived by this? It breaks my own heart when witnessing when I see those trapped in this deception.

[i][b]6And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? [/b][/i]

[i][b]7If 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.[/b][/i]

Ah, amazing grace!

[i][b]8And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. [/b][/i]

The curse of religion! Cain's religion was too refined to slay a lamb, but not too cultured to murder his brother. God's way of salvation fills the heart with love; man's way of salvation inflames it with hatred.

Think of the bloodshed caused by 'religion'. May we continue on in boldness to preach the pure Gospel to a lost people.

Hi Davym,

Thanks for sharing this insight...

Cain's altar is beautiful to man's eye, but repulsive to God's....The curse of religion! Cain's religion was too refined to slay a lamb, but not too cultured to murder his brother.

In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Mat. 23:28

MC

Hey MC

Genesis is a great book. We can see that Satan hasn't really changed his ways. We can also see God's wonderful plan of salvation from before the world began.

I some times become disillusioned by this world of ours like I'm sure everybody else does. All these deceptive movements, an indifferent public and the pressures and strains of everyday life. Then I feel the warmth of God when I turn the pages of scripture. I marvel at how undeserving of salvation mankind is. How far off the mark we have actually gone. Growing up I have become so conformed to worldly principles that I completely miss the principles of God. These are so different. We must try and appreciate what sin has done to us. Humanism does a great job of hiding this, especially amongst Christians.

I kind of feel sorry for Cain because he was doing what he thought was best. Sin is a deception. It so deceives us that we don't appreciate that in our own nature we are radically opposed to God.

How often I think about somebody and think 'there's no way he/she deserves to go to hell'. I shirk from telling them their true condition. But then this is based on my own principles and not Godly, Biblical principles.
So I'm being deceived, and this type of thinking will stifle revival.

It's very easy to fall into a Cain religion of our own.

God bless

David

This has always struck me concerning the Cain and Abel account.

Genesis 4v6, 'So the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

God was concerned about his mood and his facial expression.

At least with Cain, he expressed that he was not pleased that God had not accepted his sacrifice.

Today, whether God accepts it or not, we do it, so our self-deception is more severe than even Cain's was.

God help us to have a standard that God accepts, whether the world accepts it or not.

Abel had that standard and it cost him his life.

God help us to have a standard that God accepts, whether the world accepts it or not.

Amen sister.

Abel had that standard and it cost him his life.

Yeah, humbling thought this. There are many believers round the world paying with their lives. Those deaths mainly come at the hands of religion.

In the West, it may be on the way. Islam seems to be the flavour of the month.