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Speaker: Jerry Cisar

Jude 1:11 speaks woe to those who have taken “the way of Cain.” What is the way of Cain? As Genesis 3 describes original sin, Genesis 4 describes what one author calls “the original crime.” The patterns of sin and victimization that are exposed in this chapter are certainly also passed down to our very day.

A modern reader tends to read this account and think there are gaps, the author wrote it and was focused on what was important to his point. We think he left important things out; he thinks he included only the important parts. If we are going to understand what these events have to say to us today, we should stay focused on what it tells us, and not try to fill in the “gaps” with our speculation.

After the account of Cain and Abel, Cain and those who descend from him move further away from God than was warranted by the fall alone. But not all humanity moves further away. Why some and not all? Why was Cain’s offering rejected while Abel’s accepted? What did God mean when he said, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?” And what does it mean that sin is crouching at the door?

Handout: http://media.gccc.net/2015/11/20151108.pdf