Oftentimes, when doing a topical Bible study, I turn to the book of Genesis. The primary reason is because it’s God’s original revelation to mankind. From the start, it’s free from any taint of sin or imperfection. The “root” of the tree of mankind is laid bare in Genesis. Second, starting from “In the beginning” (Gen. 1:1), it deals with virtually every topic that we might be interested in. In my own experience and that of others, the first mention of something in the Bible will often tell us everything we need to know.
In my inaugural post, The Meaning of the Crucifixion, I had missed a very important point. That is, one of Jesus’ major purposes behind the crucifixion was to set an example for his followers. We too are called to take up our crosses and follow him. Instead of somehow trying to squeeze that into point #8 in what was already a lengthy post, I will cover it below.
The call to take up our own cross is distinct from the other purposes in the sense that it isn’t a direct benefit of Jesus’ crucifixion. Rather, it’s something that we’re privileged to do ourselves. We’re called to do it for Jesus’ sake, for the sake of others, and ultimately for own benefit.
The way of salvation hasn’t changed since Genesis 3-4 because Jesus’ sacrifice was present even then, symbolically, in the form of animal sacrifice. The main purposes behind the cross of Christ – removal of guilt, covering of shame, reconciliation with God, and even reconciliation with other people – are all easy to find in the stories of Adam and Eve, and of their sons Cain and Abel. Even though Cain rejected God’s path of salvation, the Lord laid it out so clearly for him that we can easily see what he should have done.
1. Confess Your Sins
Anyone who wants to have a relationship with God needs to start out on the same “page” with him by understanding that we have sinned against him both by things we’ve done and by what we’ve failed to do. We’ve sinned against God both through the harm we’ve done to others and by having failed to live up to our own potential.
Adam, Eve, and Cain all tried to hide their sin from God, but the Lord knew what each of them had done. Their confessions, or perhaps I should say acknowledgements, of sin were far from the standard of true sorrow and repentance that God desired to see. I think the ideal prayer for forgiveness can be found in Psalm 51, quoting vss.1-2:
Have mercy upon me, O God, According to your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
2. Accept God’s Sacrifice
Have you ever met someone who did something that caused you great loss or pain, and afterwards thought that because they mutter a simple apology, you should instantly forgive them and forget all about it? I know the feeling!
Since God is an infinite and holy being, how much less should we expect to be able to make things right with him merely by telling him we’re sorry?
The reconciliation between God and man can only happen on his terms. The Bible makes it clear that God’s way of salvation is through the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave his life for us. The first messianic prophecy appears in Genesis 3:15, which foretold that the Messiah was going to crush the serpent’s head.
Jesus’ sacrificial death was foreshadowed in animal sacrifices that God required since the time of Adam and Eve. Levitical law required that the Israelites offer an animal with no blemishes. These sacrifices pointed forward to Jesus’ moral and spiritual perfection when he died on the cross.
God also required that the firstborn of both Israelites and animals be dedicated to him (Ex. 13:1). Jesus was the first person to be physically resurrected and reborn into the kingdom of God.
As I had mentioned in my post on The Meaning of the Crucifixion, Jesus’ sacrifice covered our shame. Most readers miss it, but Genesis 3:21 describes a rather intimate scene. After having slayed animals and made clothing for Adam and Eve, God clothed them himself. They had to come out of hiding, remove their fig leaves, and allow God to clothe them. There’s no room for pride or self-sufficiency here. God wants us to completely surrender to him.
It’s amazing how much love and concern God showed for them by having done this. Since God himself clothed Adam and Eve, how much more does he cover our shame and guilt by applying the righteousness of Christ directly to us!
3. Surrender to God What He Asks of You
After having surrendered our hearts to God, the next step is to surrender our will to him. Before I continue, please, don’t let this part scare you. The Lord deals with us gently, one step at a time, according to our level of faith and how well we know him.
You probably know the story... Abel sacrificed lambs from his flock to God and his sacrifice was accepted. Cain, on the other hand, sacrificed to God from what he had been able to produce as a farmer. Notwithstanding however hard he had worked, God rejected his sacrifice.
Why did God reject Cain’s offering? Blood was an essential element of sacrificial offerings because blood represents life. Animal sacrifices were linked through time to the shed blood of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, a sacrifice of grain/vegetables/fruit could only have reminded God of his curse on the ground due to Adam’s sin (3:17).
Cain became angry and dejected when he saw that God had not accepted his sacrifice. God said to him, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (4:6-7). Even after this encounter, however, Cain still refused to offer the proper sacrifice.
We can’t simply give God whatever is easiest for us to give him and think that’s going to be acceptable. One person might find it easy to attend church because they like to socialize. Someone else might find it easy to give money out of their abundance. Another person might find it easy to pray before every meal because it’s become a habit for them.
The Lord’s first priority after establishing a relationship is to help us overcome sin. There are only a few basic types of temptation. These are described in Genesis 3:6… “the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise” (cf. 1 Jn. 2:16). These temptations correspond to sensuality (i.e., food, drink, sex), greed/materialism aroused by sight, and pride. Pride is often related to a person’s actual or perceived level of education or knowledge (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26). The serpent opened with an appeal to pride by having falsely promised Eve that she could become like God. We can become like God (1 Jn. 3:2), but that comes through self-control, not by becoming enslaved to sin.
The Lord might ask us to change certain behaviors such as bad habits or addictions, or to give of our money or possessions. He wants each of us to be willing to risk our career, our reputation, our future plans, any relationships that might get in the way, and perhaps even our very lives.
Jesus called us to take up our cross and follow him. Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mt. 16:24). If there’s little or no self-denial, we can’t be following Jesus. If we’re following Jesus, we’re going to die to sinful passions. As Paul wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
4. Resist Envy
Again, Adam and Eve experienced the common worldly temptations of lust, greed, and pride. A different temptation comes into view with the story of Cain, which is the sin of envy. This sin is particularly abhorrent since it led Cain to murder and resulted in a direct curse on him (4:11). He departed from God and founded a city that the Lord afterwards condemned through the flood in Noah’s time.
Since our modern understanding of the word envy differs from the biblical meaning, let’s look at how Strong’s Concordance defines the Greek word commonly translated as “envy” in the New Testament (see the boldface):
5355 phthónos (a primitive word, perhaps akin to 5351 /phtheírō, "decay, break-down, corrupt") – properly, strong feeling (desire) that sours, due to the influence of sin; (figuratively) the miserable trait of being glad when someone experiences misfortune or pain.
At first glance, it may be difficult for the average reader of this Substack to relate to the emotion described above. When we think about it, however, surely we’ve all experienced brief moments of pleasure when someone who we inwardly considered to be a rival experienced a disappointing failure. That’s envy.
If you’re following the way of the cross (#3 above), you’re most likely going to be able to quickly dismiss envy from your mind. Still, since this sin is given so much attention so early in scripture, it’s clearly something that God wants us to be aware of.
When God didn’t accept his sacrifice, Cain became angry and dejected. He found it difficult to tolerate Abel’s very existence. Cain himself probably didn’t fully understand the reasons why. We know from 1 John 3:12, however, that Cain hated Abel because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
Again, God had told Cain that He would accept him if only he would make the proper offering. Since the Lord is willing to fully accept each of us, there’s no reason why any of us should ever envy another person.
God wants all people to enjoy a healthy sense of self-worth and self-love. We all have inherent value and worth as individuals because, whether we are male or female, each of us was created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26-27).
Unfortunately, Cain looked only at his current circumstances. He didn’t believe in his own potential to change, even after having heard God’s promise that he could become equally as righteous as Abel if he would only change his behavior. Had he believed this, his sense of envy would have dissipated in the light of God’s grace.
Cain embraced a false sense of self that failed to take into account God’s ability help him change, one day at a time. Anyone who becomes a child of God should accordingly embrace a new, positive self-identity. Whatever God calls us to do, we’re not too important to do it; we’re not unworthy to do it; and we’re certainly not unable to do it.
In fairness to Cain, sometimes it seems like life is unfair, and that other people, including people who may seemingly be less deserving than ourselves, have it easier. That being said, comparing oneself with other people is a treacherous trap that can lead down dark paths. If we find ourselves envying another person, may we by the grace of God transition as quickly as possible to self-acceptance and love.
The sin of envy can be very hurtful to victims even if it involves only body language and words. People are often envied simply for having positive character traits that either they worked hard to acquire, or that their parents/caretakers worked hard to nurture in them. As Jesus said while quoting prophecy, “They hated me without a cause” (Jn. 15:25).
Envy may start with nothing more than a mild feeling of resentment. If you’re a child of God, you’re a new creation. We all struggle with sinful thoughts and feelings, but we don’t have to let them define us. Believe in your potential to transform into the person that God is calling you to be, which is your true self. Disregard any circumstances, thoughts, or feelings that might distract you.
Finally, if you’re a victim of envy because of your good character, please don’t be discouraged. One day, that will surely become a crown of glory for you.
5. Choose Love
As we just saw, God offered to accept Cain in the same way he accepted Abel, if only Cain would do the right thing. Despite this, Cain weirdly continued to see Abel as being the problem.
Knowing Cain’s heart, God offered him a chance to escape the temptation even if he chose not to sacrifice animals: “And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door...”
The words “do well” refer to offering the animal sacrifice. Some Christians might call it a “works-based” gospel, but God wanted Cain to go to the trouble and expense of offering the proper sacrifice. Sacrificial offerings were not a “work of the law” because God mandated them here in Genesis, long before he established the Law through Moses.
The Lord continued, “sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it” (4:7). God was telling Cain that even if he chose to reject the commandment to offer a sacrifice, he could still overcome the temptation that he was about to face. Since Cain had the potential to refrain from murdering his brother, God made the appeal on Abel’s behalf. Either Cain would have to master his thought life, or sin was going to become his master. Cain could either choose to murder his brother or he could choose the way of love.
I like the contrast. The Bible challenges us to ask ourselves whether the decisions we make concerning other people are out of hatred or out of love. Is there a middle ground? I’ll leave that for you to contemplate.
Since sacrifice in obedience to God and in acknowledgement of human sinfulness was the Old Testament equivalent of putting faith in Jesus Christ, the phrase, “if you do not do well,” speaks to unbelievers. This is God’s, as well as Christianity’s final appeal to unbelievers: “If you don’t choose to put your faith in Christ, sin and Satan want to control you. Please don’t allow that or things will not go well for you.”
Depending on individual circumstances, unbelievers can attain a lot of mastery over their thought life, and they have much potential for doing good. This is only a “potential” because apart from the Holy Spirit, they’re taking a huge gamble. At the very least, based on this text (which I’m referring to as the “first gospel”), God requires that unbelievers refuse to participate in the maiming or murder of innocent people, whether it be premeditated or under some pretense.
The choice between love and hatred is as relevant today as it ever was. People are being hurt and killed in a variety of different ways today. For example, a common pretense that is propagated for injuring and even potentially killing people today is “disease prevention.” God created us as we are (Gen. 1:26-27), so we ought to not only respect our bodies but also to demand that other people respect them.
Cain refused both to offer the sacrifice and to stop nurturing his anger and envy toward his brother. He spoke to Abel and led him into a field, where he killed him. Ironically, if Abel had harbored any hatred toward Cain, he wouldn’t have been easily deceived by him. Abel was as innocent as any of the lambs that he had tended.
When God asked Cain where Abel was, he infamously replied, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
I titled this section, “Choose love,” but you might ask where I got this. Thus far in the Bible, God has not issued an explicit commandment for people to love one another. What we get instead is a glimpse into the mind of a murderer. God wants each of us to ask ourselves, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” If we appropriately answer “yes,” we can’t stop there because we then have to ask ourselves what this means.
Jesus called all his followers to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mk. 12:30-31). As he explained to his fellow Jews, the word “neighbor” is meant to include not only enemies, but also foreigners (Mt. 5:43-45, Lk. 10:27-37).
Since all humans all make up one big family, terms like “brother,” “sister,” or “neighbor” can refer to anyone. No human being is of less value than any other.
Notably, since religious Jews take the command to love their neighbor only from Leviticus 19:18 and not from Jesus, they commonly assume that God doesn’t require them to love non-Jews. However, God gave us a superior revelation through Jesus Christ, who again, calls us to love all people. Moreover, the first murderer in the Bible is on record as having presumptuously asked the Lord, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God’s disapproval is implicit here.
The New Testament also makes it clear that love for God cannot coexist with hatred for another person:
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (Jn. 3:19)
Whoever does not love abides in death. All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. (1 Jn. 3:14-15)
Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 Jn. 4:8)
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar. (1 Jn. 4:20)
If Cain had offered the sacrifice that God required, he would have become reconciled not only to God but surely also to his brother Abel. Sacrifices and offerings later became a key element of the Law of Moses. Thus, we can already see in Genesis 4 the connection between God’s commandments and love. Paul presented this same idea in Romans 13:
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
A Warning to Unbelievers
Cain faced a stark decision. He was destined either to choose love, life, and glory or to go down the path he actually chose, which was hatred, murder, and infamy. It’s not as if our enemy, Satan, is satisfied with people making just one or two bad decisions. He wants to enslave people to sin. Jesus said that Satan only came to steal, kill, and destroy (Jn. 10:10).
An unbeliever may respond, “Just because I don’t want to become a Christian, that doesn’t mean I’m destined to become a murderer like Cain.” Yes, but when exactly does someone become guilty of bloodshed? For example, even though he knew better, Adam stood by silently while the serpent tempted Eve (Gen. 3:1-6, 1 Tim. 2:14). We’ve all been guilty of sins of omission, but they’re not to be taken lightly (Prov. 24:11-12, Mt. 25:45, Lk. 12:47, Jas. 4:17).
Someone who rejects Christ today may not immediately go out and do something evil, but whenever they are tempted, they’re going to find it much easier to give in if they don’t know Christ, and they will be held accountable.
We’re living in a time when increasingly, ordinary people are being presented with a stark choice between either doing good or doing evil. If you have a real relationship with God, he will help you think for yourself, rather than to go with the flow of our increasingly corrupt society.
While multitudes of people are knowingly doing harm to others, sins of omission can do just as much harm. As James 4:17 states, “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” When we know that we have the potential to help other people by preventing evil, we should speak out. In addition to silence, sins of omission can include everyday failures such as apathy, addictions, sins of the tongue (lying, angry/critical words), and more.
Cain didn’t trust or obey God. As a result, he ended up being afraid of both God and of other people. God wants us to be bold and unashamed, not only in his presence but also before people. Our ability to obey God comes from him. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). and our worthiness come from our faith in Jesus Christ. God “chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love” (Eph. 1:4).
Jesus said he came not to condemn the world but to save the world (Jn. 3:17). When someone is not in a right relationship with God, it’s unlikely that they have anyone who can effectively and reliably help them deal with feelings such as guilt, anxiety, fear, or depression. Through a combination of enjoying fellowship with God and turning away from sin, we can learn to master our emotions through the power of the Holy Spirit. God wants you to experience love, peace of mind, and joy every day.
God is also faithful to send us true Christian friends. People can often be a source of inspiration and encouragement for us. At other times, however, they can be the very cross that we need to carry, figuratively speaking, in love. I’ve found that the best approach to dealing with other people is to see myself as being there for them, not the other way around. Let’s see ourselves as being our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).
Conclusion
I know the way can be difficult, whether you are pondering the decision to believe in God, or whether you are a Christian who is struggling with doubt or with severe trials. It’s meant to be difficult, which is why it’s called the way of the cross. Whatever your situation, I hope to continue writing on important biblical topics while always including encouraging words for you, the reader.
Bonus
As I wrote above about being our brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, God reminded me of how this word, “keeper,” can refer in English language slang to a romantic friend worth keeping. If you also caught this meaning as you read those words, I believe it means that God sees you as a “keeper.” You’re already treating other people with love and respect, and as you continue to do so, all potential romantic partners will see you as a “keeper.”
If you didn’t catch that but you also want this blessing, all you have to do is commit to being a blessing to other people without respect of persons. It might also help if you re-read this post, subscribe to this Substack, or share this post. God wants you to be highly valued by all people as a “keeper,” regardless of whether you are single or are already in a romantic or marital relationship.
If you can afford it, a paid subscription will directly enable this project to keep going and growing. You can find the link at the bottom.