It doesnt tell us anything about the quality of what he brought, it just says he brought something of the fruit of the ground, something of the fruit of his own labor. He is the original apostate who, when confronted by God with the opportunity for forgiveness and the opportunity for deliverance, refuses. Then on top of that, he rejects the very Word of God, who comes to him in a gracious way and offers him forgiveness. Pastor John MacArthur March 9, 2023 Facing a Tolerant World with Intolerant Truth (Selected Scriptures) Pastor John MacArthur Jan. 1, 2023 The Life-Giving Shepherd (John 10:1-11) Pastor John MacArthur Dec. 25, 2022 Prayer: The Believer's Constant Conversation (Ephesians 6:18-24) Pastor John MacArthur Dec. 18, 2022 GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Use semicolons to separate groups: 'Gen;Jdg;Psa-Mal' or 'Rom 3-12;Mat 1:15;Mat 5:12-22', There are options set in 'Advanced Options', The Whole Bible When you cultivate the ground, if you try, itll no longer yield its strength to you. Youre never going to be able to produce anything out of the ground. I have been so preoccupied and so devoured by the theme that we have been dealing with in the morning that its a challenge to be able to sort of unthink all of that and replace it with the matters before us tonight. Cain was to be a vagabond, aimless, detached, no roots, roaming the earth under the sentence of God. He was born a sinner because his parents were sinners. You will never stop anywhere. God designed capital punishment to be carried out by society, not as a matter of personal vengeance. However, he brought the fruit of the ground, which, apparently, as the text indicates, is unacceptable to God. The Gospels On the other hand, verse 7, If you do not do well, or if you do not do what is right, you havent seen anything yet. And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is for you, but you must master it. Cain told his brother Abel- or spoke, rather, to his brother Abel, and as a result of that conversation we read on, It came about when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him. God places that vengeance in the hands of a duly constituted government, a court, but no personal vengeance. The New Testament His denial, of course, is absolutely useless, but it is the desperate attempt to silence the voice of God by a lie- and that is no defense at all. Thats the saddest comment yet- no repentance. Either you come to God and your sins are forgiven and youre delivered out of that realm of sin into the world of righteousness or you spend your whole life in a losing war, trying to master this lion that wants to chew you up and spit you out. All rights reserved. Johannine Writings The sinner inevitably runs from the scene of the crime and tries to hide the sin. The right of capital punishment belongs to a duly constituted government and is never, ever to be an act of personal, private vengeance. Such are the children of Cain. of Scripture. And lust, when it conceives, brings forth what? Poetical Books Written by John MacArthur. Hes initiating a conversation, and hes going to the heart. Wisdom Literature God never seeks information. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a God would see that he never, ever was able again to make another offering of the fruit of the ground. But in the case of Cain, if you dont do whats right, if you dont embrace true worship, youre going to have a predatory lion crouched at your door your whole life, devouring you. The creation account is laid out from Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:3, and the outline of the book of Genesis falls into two parts. Patriarchal history spotlights 4 great men: 1) Abraham (Gen. 12:125:8); 2) Isaac (Gen. 21:135:29); 3) Jacob (Gen. 25:2150:14); and 4) Joseph (Gen. 30:2250:26). The New Testament From the Theology of Creation series. Every crime committed, every sin committed rises to God, cries to God. Grace to You radio, video, audio, print, and website resources reach millions worldwide each day. range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed But it says in Romans 3:10, There is none righteous, no not one. Questions and answers with John Piper. Were born sinners. The historical background for the early events in Genesis is clearly Mesopotamian. Might have been the best thing to kill him rather than have him go on with the horrible life he lived, but if God had killed him, then there wouldnt be anybody to see what an ungodly life is like. God is prompting dialogue. The New Testament Wisdom Literature Cain told his brother (could be talked with, spoke with his brother) and the conversation either occurred in the field or set up a meeting in the field. Is that not amazing? The heart of Cain wasnt right, it was self-righteous, and the offering, therefore, was not right, either. Donate Now; Automatic Giving; Legacy Giving; Ways to Give; Unleashing God's Truth, One Verse at a Time . Hes bowed down, not in contrition and brokenness, hes bowed down and slumped in anger, fury against God and his brother, and God offers forgiveness. John MacArthur Sermon:The First Sacrifice (Genesis 3:20-24). Help Grace to You bring important resources like this to people in your community and beyond, free of charge. Perfect vengeance in a perfect measure. When you cultivate the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. The New Testament Not a nomadic shepherd, thats different. This is more than I should have to bear. Genesis 1250 (patriarchal history) explained to Israel how they came into existence as a family whose ancestry could be traced to Eber (hence the Hebrews; Gen. 10:24, 25) and even more remotely to Shem, the son of Noah (hence the Semites; Gen. 10:21). And to reinforce his resentment, he recites the curse, as if such a recitation in Gods ears is going to make God change His mind. Stripped in Shame, Clothed in Grace. God is saying to them, I do not accept you. As I said, Cains wife would be his sister, and there would be a family proliferation through the years, and everybody would want to kill Cain. The word killed- end of verse 8- common word in the Old Testament for intentional murder, not manslaughter, not an inadvertent kind of killing. And it came about when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him. In Johns own words, And there shall be no more curse (Rev. So God says to Abel, Either you come to me and do whats right or you lose the battle your whole life. Adam was a believer, as weve learned, Eve was a believer, and this passage indicates to us that Abel was a believer. You are cursed from the ground. This, by the way, is a direct commentary on the offering of Cain. Prophets Then the Lord said to Cain, Where is Abel, your brother? And he said, I do not know. Luke-Acts The Gospels If he wanted to have a conversation, he only had one person he could pick except his parents, so he had to hang around this righteous man. . This narrowed their view from the entire world of peoples in Gen. 111 to one small nation, Israel, through whom God would progressively accomplish His redemptive plan. I dont know what it is. So it is reasonable to assume that somewhere along the line- and its hard to be dogmatic about this. 4:4) and the NT (Matt. Oh, Lord, may they repent at your invitation to do whats right. Here is God saying, You can repent, you can do what Isaiah said, Cleanse your hearts, you sinners. You can go back after youve repented and ask for cleansing and offer God the sacrifice that is acceptable from a right heart. Thirdly, the doomed resent the true people of God. In todays climate, of course, as we said this morning, all religion is to be treated as equal, and nobody is to say, Ours is the truth and yours is not. It is intolerable to the non-Christian, it is intolerable to the doomed people, it is intolerable to the false worshipers for us to say that ours is the only truth and we are the only people of God. All have turned aside. Theres nothing in this conversation to indicate that Cain suspected it really wasnt God. Johannine Writings Not somebody who has sort of a mobile tent and moves around. Sin was deeply embedded in him, it was inherited and it was actual, yet he wasnt inevitably to live under sins mastery. Even the damned and the lost and those people who reject God and are apostate and refuse to believe, they are worshipers. Please see Blue Letter Bible's Privacy Policy for cookie usage details. Thank you for registering. When that first son was born, she thought he might be her seed who would bruise the serpents head, and it turns out that Cain was actually the seed of the serpent himself. 1405 B.C.). And the same is true in the personal life. Again, here is a sinner who is a fixed sinner, affirming his rebellion. At that time, they will partake, wearing robes washed in the blood of the Lamb (Rev. Even though sin is inherited and actual, it can be defeated- but only as we come to God on His terms, embracing His sacrifice for us, with no hope of self-righteousness. You either worship the true God in the true way or you worship the true God in a false way or you worship some other gods, who are demons, or you worship yourself. Sin is in us, but its not inevitable that we be always mastered by sin unless we choose not to do whats right. The Lord said to Cain. Now, I want to stop there for a moment just to say this is really the direct Word of God- no more direct than the Bible, but this is the direct Word of God, right from Gods mouth to Cain. God had regard for Abel and his offering. For details about this sermon and for related resources, click here: https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-379 To receive John MacArthurs monthly letter, as well as free resources by mail, click here: https://www.gty.org/home/newtogty/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gracetoyou Twitter: https://twitter.com/gracetoyou Google +: https://plus.google.com/+gracetoyou Copyright 2009, Grace to You. Accordingly, we have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions in order to comply with GDPR. Man is now the noble savage who acts in freedom to do whatever he feels he wants to do, and thats the nobility of his freedom. Over four decades of ministry, John has written dozens of bestselling books, including The . And so the picture of substitutionary death, the substitutionary death of an innocent, has already been established by God and apparently was what God required in sacrifice. From your hand, at the end of verse 11. Theyre not desperate. And he settles- I like that word, he settles- in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Where is that? They are ultimately indicted by God and under judgment and, inevitably, they protest divine judgment. The best way we can handle it is just say, Cain talked to Abel, his brother. They had a conversation. 2:3; 2 Kin. God demonstrates compassion, God speaks to him with crystal clarity, God gives him a clear invitation to do the right thing, make the right choice, make the right move. Cookie Notice: The Persistence of Love, Part 1. The curse is further explained in verse 12. This is the sinners obstinate rebelliousness. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select an Ending Point Paul was born about the time of Christ's birth, in Tarsus ( Acts 9:11 ), an important city ( Acts 21:39) in the Roman province of Cilicia, located in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). When we talk about the gospel, when we say the only way to be saved is to come to God as a penitent sinner, broken over your own sin, realizing you have nothing to please God and falling down and crying out for Gods mercy, when you come like that, we also at the same time say, You cant offer God your works, you cant offer God your self-righteousness, nothing you can do can earn your salvation. And at the same time we say that, we are rebuking all those who come to God on the basis of their own goodness. Pastor John MacArthur May 3, 2017 Genesis 1:14-19 Series: The Battle for the Beginning Creation Day 4, A Pastor John MacArthur May 2, 2017 Genesis 1:14-19 Series: The Battle for the Beginning Creation Day 3, B Pastor John MacArthur May 1, 2017 Genesis 1:9-13 Series: The Battle for the Beginning Creation Day 3, A Pastor John MacArthur April 28, 2017 Just do whats right. God made mankind the crowning point of His creation, i.e., His companions who would enjoy fellowship with Him and bring glory to His name. The completed registration allows us to send order and donation receipts to the email address you provided. 1405 B.C.). But that doomed sinner settles defiantly into the world, went out from the presence of the Lord. John MacArthur Genesis 2:1-3 Grace Pulpit. Cain did not please God, and he is catalogued, therefore, with those who dont please God. Isnt it true that if you take a life, you give a life? And your whole life is going to be a battle to master sin.. General Epistles Destruction and misery are in their paths, and there is no fear of God before their eyes. They dont fear God, they dont care about God, they love their sin, and if it needs be, theyll kill. General Epistles 1236); and 3) Egypt (chaps. Now, this indicates that the population may have been growing, certainly soon would be growing. The Old Testament Please respond to confirm your registration. Sermon. Minor Prophets The rest of Scripture bears out the fulfillment of these promises. GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SongsIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation, Select a Beginning Point That is the grace that God extends to every reprobate, every ungodly person, every wicked sinner, every unbeliever, every doomed person. General Epistles Amen. And the purpose of it (Romans 2:4 and 5) is to lead that person to repentance. Where is Abel, your brother? And he said, I do not know. He not only flees the scene but he lies to cover. God then, by willful act and divine Word, spoke all creation into existence, furnished it, and finally breathed life into a lump of dirt which He fashioned in His image to become Adam. Theyre going to hate you. And to let it be seen what life is like for those who reject God. Pentateuch God is by nature gracious. John MacArthur's Collection of sermons and other writings Note: "After 24 years of association with the Ministry of John MacArthur, we have now been asked by Grace To You to no longer maintain John's resources directly on Bible Bulletin Board.