1 John 3:11-16 ESV
“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
Cain and Abel
Who was Cain? He was the firstborn son of Adam and Eve who
were the first humans God created. Their second born son was Abel. Abel was a
keeper of the sheep and Cain was a worker of the ground. In the course of time
they each brought an offering to the Lord. The Lord accepted Abel’s offering,
but he rejected Cain’s, so Cain was very angry with God.
“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.’” Genesis 4:6-7 ESV
Wow! That says a lot, doesn’t it! God is not going to accept
us if we do not do what he commands, and I am not teaching just Old Testament
here. This is what the New Testament teaches, too. We must obey the Lord or we
are not accepted by him. It doesn’t mean we will be absolutely perfect in every
way, but it means that our lives are dedicated to our Lord, to doing what he
says to do, and that obedience to him is what we practice, and we don’t
practice sin. For faith is obedience. It is surrender to the will of God.
Also, instead of getting angry with God, Cain should have
sought the Lord’s counsel, and he should have inquired of him as to what he did
wrong, and then he should have repented of his sin, i.e. he should have turned
from his wrongdoing to do what was right in the eyes of God. He should have
asked God for direction in what to do, and then he should have followed the
Lord in what he showed him was the right thing to do. But he didn’t, even though
the Lord was giving him that opportunity to repent and to be restored.
For, the Lord had not shut the door in Cain’s face. Yes, he
did not accept his offering, but he was still giving him a chance to change,
and he was letting him know that he had two choices, either to obey, and to do
what was right, and to not obey, and to do what was wrong, but that there would
be consequences if he continued to do wrong and to not do right. If we do not
repent of sin, then sin continues to have us, and it is our master, and our
Lord is not our master, and soon we add sin upon sin and we are enslaved to sin
and not to God and not to doing the will of God.
But you must rule over it. There, we are taught how to
conquer sin in our lives in the 4th chapter of the Bible. We are
taught all throughout the Scriptures how to conquer sin in our lives, and yet
many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ continue in their sin and they do
not do what the Bible says we must do to be free from our slavery to sin. And
sin ends up owning and possessing them, and although they claim to be “free in
Christ,” they are not free, for Satan still has control over their lives.
For, God’s grace to us is not just forgiveness of sins so
that when we die we can go to heaven. God’s grace, which brings salvation,
instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives in the power and wisdom of God while we wait for our
Lord’s soon return. We must deny the flesh and daily reject sin and say “Yes!”
to God and to his will for our lives, or sin will have us in its grips. For in
Christ Jesus we have the power and ability to conquer sin in our flesh if we
will.
But Cain chose the way of sin and the way of the flesh,
instead, and out of anger and resentment and bitterness against his brother, he
killed him. And then God cursed him. But he let him continue to live on the
earth and to marry and to bear offspring. Yet, I am not aware that the
Scriptures teach that Cain ever repented of his sin, and so that meant he was
eternally condemned. And all because he refused God and he chose the way of
sin, instead. And sadly this is where many people are, even many who profess
the name of Jesus but yet continue in their sins.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn
15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1
Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal
5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal
6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb
10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev.
2-3; Rev 18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]
Love One Another
So, here we have our counsel from God so that we do not end
up like Cain. We are to love one another, and this love comes from God, and God
is love, so this love is pure, honest, obedient to the Lord, faithful, upright,
godly, and righteous. It is of the Spirit and not of the flesh, therefore it
will prefer what God prefers, and in the strength of the Lord it will do what
God commands. And it is not based in how we feel, but it sometimes even goes
against our emotions, and we do what is right no matter how we feel.
And if we are loving others with this love that comes from
God, and we are doing right, we should expect to be hated by others who are not
doing right. They will hate us because we are doing right and they know they
are doing wrong. And it isn’t just those who make no profession of faith in
Jesus Christ who will hate us, but it is many who profess faith in Jesus Christ
but know they are doing wrong and so they hate (reject) us because we are doing
right and they know we are accepted of God and they are not.
But we are to return their hate with love, for we are to
love even our enemies, and we are to do good to them, and pray for them, and
say to them and do for them what will benefit them spiritually. And we should be
willing to be hated and even put to death in order to see others go free from
their slavery to sin and to now follow Jesus Christ with their lives. For this
is how Jesus loved us, and this is how we should love others.
He
Lifted Our Burdens
An
Original Work / February 15, 2014
Based
off Isaiah 9:2-7
People walk in darkness.
They abide in their sin.
It has power o’er them.
True belief escapes them.
Jesus Christ came to save them.
He gave His life up for them;
Crucified; died for our sin,
So we might be forgiven,
And have life up in heaven.
Many come to know Him.
God’s love now o’erflows them.
They rejoice in vict’ry.
Their sin is but hist’ry.
We were once bound in slav’ry.
Jesus lifted our burdens;
Set us now free from Satan,
So we now walk in freedom.
Sin has no more dominion.
Praise be to our Savior!
He showed us His favor.
He took all our burdens;
Cast them all upon Him.
He is our mediator;
The Light which shines in darkness.
Counselor in our troubles;
He gives peace now in our hearts;
Joy which is everlasting.
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