We all know about Cain and Abel – but we shouldn’t forget that it wasn’t inevitable. God warned Cain, “Sin is lurking at the door, but you must master it.”
Scripture:
Genesis, chapters 3-5; Luke, chapter 2
Genesis 4:3-7 (NASB):
So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought an offering, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat portion. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his face was gloomy. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy? If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door, and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”
Observations: “Sin Is Lurking at the Door”
The story of Cain and Abel is a familiar one. Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord; Abel’s was accepted, and Cain’s was not. Cain became jealous and angry, and killed his brother Abel. This account demonstrates the depths to which sin can take people, and how easily we justify our actions by blaming them on others. Cain clearly thought that it was Abel’s fault that God had not accepted his offering, so he decided to kill Abel.
Cain did not originate the “blame game.” In chapter 3, when the serpent tempts Adam and Eve to eat the fruit, each of them blamed someone else. Adam blamed Eve; Eve blamed the serpent. (As a side note, we should not excuse Adam’s disobedience by accepting the idea that she sinned, and then led Adam astray. God certainly did not view it that way! God first addressed Adam: “Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” [Genesis 3:11]. Both Adam and Eve were responsible; both of them sinned.)
That brings us to chapter 4, and Cain and Abel. When Cain becomes angry, God addresses him: “Why are you angry? And why is your face gloomy? If you do well, will your face not be cheerful?” God challenges Cain to keep his focus on himself and his relationship with God, rather than looking at Abel. “If you do well” reminds us that obedience and blessing are not a zero-sum game. Each of us can be obedient to God; each of us can receive the blessings that God has for us. Cain had no reason to be angry with Abel; he needed to understand and do what God wanted him to do.
But…
God told Cain, “If you do well, will your face not be cheerful? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.” That phrase – sin is lurking at the door – is so important that we must not miss it. Sin cannot overpower us; Satan is a deceiver. In chapter 3, Satan deceived Eve by convincing her to doubt God’s goodness and faithfulness. While we do not have any account of a “conversation” between Cain and Satan, the circumstantial evidence points to a similar approach. “Why is God not treating you fairly? Why does God like Abel better? If only Abel weren’t around, then God would accept your offering…”
Sin was lurking at the door, and Cain opened the door and let sin come in.
“Sin is lurking at the door…but you must master it”
Satan did not overpower Cain. Cain was not helpless in the face of sin’s onslaught. God told Cain, “You must master it” – which means that Cain had every opportunity and every ability to do just that.
Application: “Sin is Lurking at the Door, but You Must Master It”
The same is true today. Sin is lurking at the door – every door. Everywhere we turn, temptation waits for us. And one of the ways that Satan tries to deceive us is to convince us that sin is inevitable. The Church (and that means us) has done a disservice by accepting Satan’s nonsense. Some “tribes” within the church suggest that we all sin every day, “in word, thought, and deed.” Others (including my “tribe”) minimize the power and prevalence of sin, as though it is irrelevant to us. We are all guilty of only telling half the story.
How have we done this? By not being precise about what we mean by “sin.” When we dig down, we find that the various “tribes” do not really disagree about the core issue. Here’s what I mean: if we define sin as “any failure to comply with God’s perfect standard of conduct and thought,” then of course we all “sin” every day. We’re not God! But as Jesus told us, God looks on our hearts. That’s where those in my “tribe,” and others like us, focus our attention. When we surrender our lives to God, He purifies us. Our desire is to please God, not ourselves. We cannot do that in our own strength, but we can do it through the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us.
But still, sin is lurking at the door. The Holy Spirit’s presence and empowerment does not make us immune to temptation. Instead, He enables us to say “no” to temptation. Satan doesn’t give up, because sin’s desire is for you – you, me, and everyone else. But when God tells us that we must master it, He also promises that with His help, we can do just that!
1 John 2:1-6
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also, walk just as He walked.”
Prayer:
Father, thank You for reminding us that while sin is lurking at the door, we are not helpless. When You tell us that we must master it, You also promise Your Holy Spirit to purify and empower us to do just that. Help us today to keep Your commandments, and to walk as Jesus walked. Amen.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In