Audio Worship 2/16/2-25, "Sin and Grace", Genesis 4.1-16

Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1673

February 16, 2025

Genesis 4.1-16                          Click here for audio Worship.

Dr. Ed Pettus

(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)

 

“Sin and Grace”

 

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?” And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” Then the Lord said to him, “Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.” And the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him. Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

 

 

 

  • Propagation of Sin

 

We live in a culture that no longer talks about sin. In fact, we live in a world where some churches say absolutely nothing about sin. Either they do not want to offend, or they just want people to feel good about themselves and fill up the church pews and bank account. One problem with not speaking about sin is that it robs the gospel of its power to save. If no one sins, what difference does the cross make? If God loves you just as you are without ever confessing sin or repenting of that sin, does that kind of love matter? Sin destroys life. Sin is rebellion against our Creator. Sin is breaking commandment, as our Confession states, “Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God” (Shorter Catechism Q 14).

We are all sinners by the fact of the first rebellion in Adam and Eve. Their disobedience was passed on to all generations. We see this in today’s Scripture reading in the sons of Adam and Eve, certainly in Cain who kills his own brother.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Sin Crouching at the Door

 

Sin is seen in Genesis 4 like an entity crouching below the peep hole of a door so that you cannot see it right away. If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

a) Sin is like a lion ready to pounce, Jeremiah 5.6, “Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.” Sin not just in breaking commandments, but sin is an aggressor – Romans 7.15-17, “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” We have to be on guard against sin. We have to wrestle with sin and pin it down that it might be crucified in us. Ephesians 6.12, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

 

b) Sin has a desire for human beings, Genesis 4.7, “its desire is contrary to you”. This desire is destructive as we see here, in the Cain and Abel story, as it leads to death. Here it is manifested in physical reality in the death of Abel, but we also know of the spiritual death that comes with sin. In this story of Genesis 4, the sin destroys not only the one murdered, but destroys the murderer as well. Sin is piercing in its destruction. All the more reason why we need a Savior who has overcome sin and death.

 

As we read this story we have to imagine the “why” of one offering received and one not. Cain's offering was not received while Abel's offering was. We have no specifics behind why one was regarded worthy and the other not, but we do know that it led to anger and disappointment in Cain. Again we read Genesis 4.7, If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” The assumption I believe we can make is that Cain's offering was not done well, was not authentic, was not an offering of the first and the best of what he could have offered. Because he did "not do well, sin is crouching at the door". This is such a vivid image of sin ready to pounce! I imagine a large cat, not a house cat, but a mountain lion sneaking up to the door of our hearts. Sin is a predator, not unlike the devil who prowls around like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5.8) seeking to devour.

We normally think of sin as that which we do against God's commands or what we fail to do, and rightly so, but there is another aspect of sin, revealed in this text, sin depicted as a predator. As we look back at the serpent, he was more subtle and deceptive while this image of sin is that of an aggressive posture waiting to attack. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God's command, sin grew into fear, leading to shame, and blaming others. Sin was passed on to Cain and Abel. While we do not have a clear motive for Cain's action, it is clearly sinful even prior to having the commandment not to murder. Cain knew in his heart that he had done wrong. Romans 8.7 speaks to the mind of Cain, "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot." May we set our minds on the Spirit and God's Word, so that crouching sin may not have power over us.

 

 

 

 

 

  • Rule Over Sin

 

c) Here is the rub! Genesis 4.7 ends with this phrase, “but you must rule over it”. This is not just a suggestion of trying hard not to sin; but a command. Sin can be ruled, conquered, to have dominion over sin just as we are commanded to have dominion over the earth and all its creatures. Take charge of one’s life, be a man of God, be a woman of God who does all things possible to rule over the weakness of our lives that is pursued by sin. Cain did not rule over his sin but sin ruled over him.

Genesis 4.7 signifies the freedom of our will. We are free to sin or not to sin. It is a measure of self-control. Now, the blessing we have is that God has given us His Spirit and the fruit that comes with the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5.22-24, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” We have the capacity, with the help of the Spirit, for self-control, to decide not to sin. And we have this self-control only because of Jesus Christ who died that we might crucify our fleshly passions and desires.

2 Timothy 1.7, “...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” Sin only leads to fear, but that is not what God has for us. We have the Spirit of power, love, and self-control. This is the gift of life in the Spirit of God. It is what truly enables us to rule over the desires of the flesh and to reign over sin. Thanks to Jesus Christ, we have this victory, because He defeated sin and the devil with the victory on the cross.

Galatians 2.20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” That final phrase of Genesis 4.7 signifies that we are capable of ruling over sin. We have a choice to make in our free will: do well or not do well. We can take every thought captive in Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5). We can crucify the flesh in Christ (Romans 6.6; Galatians 2.20; 5.24). We cannot do this on our own. We need the sacrifice of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome temptation and sin, the sin that is crouching at the door. Thanks be to God we have the victory in Christ, justified in His work of atonement, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

 

 

  • Consequence of Sin

 

The last part of our reading for today is when God declares the judgment on Cain just as he did with Adam and Eve and the serpent. The ground is cursed, the work increases. He will be a fugitive and wanderer. But I think the worst judgment is in verse 16, Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” Now, this may just mean that Cain moved away, but it may also demonstrate a separation from God in a deeply spiritual sense. That is certainly a consequence of sin. Sin harms us, others, and our relationship with God. As Christians, that does not mean we risk our eternal security, but it can harm our fellowship with God and with His church. There is forgiveness in Christ when we repent and confess our sins for the promise of forgiveness is sure. Grace is the antidote to sin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Sin and Grace

 

Romans 5.18-21, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Where sin increased grace abounded even more. This is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the good news we reveal to people who are walking in sin and do not yet know the grace of God. This is the good news that Jesus Christ has taken our sins upon Himself and crucified them on the cross. That is not to say we will never sin again, but it is to say that we now, in Christ, rule over sin and sin does not rule over us. All because of Christ. In Christ, through Christ, He is the reason. Trust in Him. Put faith in Him. For He is our righteousness and our Savior from the sin that crouches at the door of the heart. Amen.