God & Cain
Notes
Transcript
What did we learn about God and Man so far?
What did we learn about God and Man so far?
Prefall
Prefall
Post-fall
Post-fall
but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
Death - Separation
Death - Separation
Spiritual Death - Separation from God
Spiritual Death - Separation from God
But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
Branch
Physical Death - Separation from the physical body
Physical Death - Separation from the physical body
part of the punishment
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”
Eternal Death - Final Separation from God for Eternity
Eternal Death - Final Separation from God for Eternity
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
But there is hope...
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
How is that?
This is what the Lord says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches,
but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
Kindness, Justice and righteousness
Kindness, Justice and righteousness
We were created in His Image - Holy and Righteous.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed, they were no longer righteous, and deserved justice.
Kindness
Kindness
Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
3 terms:
Mercy, Grace, Patience
Mercy, Grace, Patience
Mercy - NOT getting what one deserves
Mercy - NOT getting what one deserves
Mercy - God could have condemned them to eternal separation then and there, but he did not.
They did die in that they were separated from God, their Creator and source of life. But God did not put them to death for eternity. There is a time when God will justly condemn people to eternal separation, eternal death. This is called the second death in Revelation.
Mercy - Adam and Eve did not repent and Confess though God came and prompted them with questions. He was patient. That was mercy.
Grace - GETTING what one does NOT deserve
Grace - GETTING what one does NOT deserve
And, after he gave a punishment to teach and instruct them, that they might know their sin. Teaching and discipline is Grace
And what is more, he went further and taught them about sacrifice and substitutionary death, a way that they could cover their sins so that they might have a relationship with God. Providing a way to come to God. Grace...
Patience
Patience
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
And that is what God wants… repentance
Faith - Repentance
Faith - Repentance
God expects faith - trust and obedience
When we fail to trust and obey, God expects repentance (change of mind), confession and a return to faith.
Today, we are going to see a lot more mercy, grace and patience.
Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man.” Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil.
In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
The Offerings
The Offerings
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
This is what the ancients were commended for.
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
Mercy - God did not give Cain what he deserved for lack of Faith - Trust and Obedience
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
patience and grace - God came to Cain and gave warning and instruction
Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
Man - hard hearted, sins
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
Mercy
Grace and Patience
The Lord said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
Patience, Mercy and Grace
Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is more than I can bear. Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
Man - despises discipline
But the Lord said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the Lord put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him.
Patience, Mercy, Grace
So Cain went out from the Lord’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
Man - despises discipline
Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.
To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.
Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.
This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom
or the strong boast of their strength
or the rich boast of their riches,
but let the one who boasts boast about this:
that they have the understanding to know me,
that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,
justice and righteousness on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.
What do we see about God?
God expects
Kindness of God - Mercy, Grace, Patience
To lead us to Repentance
