Sin Crouching By Our Door

Genesis 4:1-16

If you leave your house one day, and notice some animal crouching outside your door, what would you do?  If it is a small, harmless critter, you might feed it, possibly even take it into your house.  However, if it is dangerous you will want to do whatever you can to get it away.  You don’t want anything dangerous and harmful around.  It’s good to be warned, as such things left crouching near us are never good.  Our Scripture today tells of someone who did not heed such a warning, and what it led to.  Let’s take a look at the narrative of this person from the Book of Genesis.

As our Scripture opens, we read of the birth of Cain, and then his brother Abel.  The Lord tells us that Abel tended sheep while Cain grew crops, both respectable jobs (vs. 1-2).  Then one day the two brothers bring an offering to the Lord.  Abel brought the firstborn of his flock, while Cain brought some fruit and/or vegetables.  As we read, God accepted Abel’s offering, but not that of Cain’s (vs. 3-5).

The Scripture here doesn’t tell us specifically why God accepted the one but not the other, but there had to be a reason.  We do have a few clues, though.  In the Book of Hebrews we read that Abel offered his offering in faith, which Cain did not (Hebrews 11:4).  Everything we bring to God must be done through faith.  Another reason could possibly be that Abel offered the firstborn of his flock.  He offered his best.  Cain, though, just brought whatever he gathered.  The Scripture does not say that he picked and brought anything special, that he looked over and brought the choicest and best-looking fruit or vegetables.  It is possible that his basket contained bruised, withered, and otherwise fruit that was less than the best.

A third reason could be depending on what type of offering this was.  If this was a sin offering, then it needed the shedding of blood for it to be accepted.  Scripture teaches that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).  If it was a sin offering, then Cain would have needed to trade some of his crops to Abel for one from his flocks.

Whatever the reason, Cain knew of it and instead of telling God he was sorry and would do better next time, Cain just got angry and sullen (vs. 5-6).  God told him that if he did well, he would be accepted, but he needed to be alert for sin, which was crouching at his door.  Sin wanted dominance, but God said he could rule over it if he wanted and tried (vs. 7).  The word “lies” in verse 7 in Hebrew is “rabas”, which suggests an animal which is hunting, crouching as he closes in on its prey, ready to pounce on it.  That is a great picture of what sin is like, ready to pounce on us, overpower us, and bring us down.  Rather than heed God’s warning, though, Cain let his anger boil over into a murderous rage, and shortly afterwards he killed his brother (vs. 8).

Uncontrolled and lingering anger is sin.  We must master it, otherwise it will rule over us, leading to serious consequences just as with Cain.  Sin is a contaminate, like a biohazard, that needs to be kept away and removed before it destroys us.  Sin is a grave and dangerous enemy.  In life we have a choice - to do or not to do what is right.  When we choose to do what is right we choose life and master sin.  When we choose to do what is wrong, we open the door to sin, which leads to disaster.

Just like Cain did, we love to make excuses (vs. 9-15).  We love to blame others - our parents, teachers, leaders.  We cry “injustice”, and never feel sorry for those we have hurt, but only for ourselves.  We demand things we don’t deserve, just as Cain did to God.  Cain was totally self-focused, while God was gracious.  He gave Cain every opportunity to repent.  However, Cain was so full of himself, that instead of confessing his sin and seeing the pain that he caused, he complained that things were unfair for him!

In closing we read that God asked Cain where his brother was, though He knew all along what had happened to Abel.  Cain dared to give God a very sassy, smart-aleck response, and asked Him a question back (vs. 9).  He asks God if he is his brother’s keeper.  He implies that he is not, that he is not responsible to watch over, keep track of, or care for his brother.  The answer, though, is Yes!  We are our brother’s keeper.  In a world of danger, we are called to watch out for others.  Just as Adam was to care for the garden, Cain was to care for Abel.  Throughout the Bible God tells us that we are to keep watch over the vulnerable, and care for the needy.  Unlike Cain, we need to be on the lookout for sin crouching at our door, and we need to care for our brothers and sisters in this world.

Are You One Of Us?

Mark 9:38-48

I love watching old-time TV shows from the 50s and 60s, and on one show I recently watched, the main character, a young boy, joined a club with some neighborhood boys.  However, when they wouldn’t let one of his friends join, this boy quit the club.  One of the other boys said that part of the fun of having a club is keeping other kids out.   Is it really fun to hurt others by keeping them out of clubs?  Many think so, as even adults frequently take part in such behavior, as we see in their own clubs and organizations.  Unfortunately we sometimes even see this behavior in churches.  In today’s reading from the Gospel of Mark we see Jesus address this, along with another topic, both of which we’ll look into this morning.

As our Scripture opens, the Apostle John speaks to Jesus, telling him about an incident that had recently happened with him and some of the other apostles.  He somewhat proudly tells the Lord that he and some others had stopped some other men from casting out demons in the Name of Jesus because they were not part of their group (vs. 38-41).  Just like the little kids in the club, if you’re not one of us, you can’t do this or that, and we’ll run you off if you try.  The disciples did not like it when others, those not in “their group” were preaching, teaching, and healing in Jesus’ Name.  They tried to stop them.  However, Jesus had to stop His disciples from their behavior.

There are some in the Church who do the same.  If a different denomination, one that is authentically preaching the Gospel truthfully, but has a different name on the door, some people will shun them, maybe even speak spitefully about their group.  Maybe we reject other Christians because they look or act differently from us.  Maybe their hair is a different color, or maybe they have tattoos and we think they can’t possibly honestly be following Jesus, so we doubt their faith.  Or maybe it’s the reverse, the younger group scorns the faith of those older and more traditional.  Jesus said in essence that if they are truly doing righteous things in His Name we should not vilify, censure, or revile them.  If they love Jesus and hold to His Word, we should not reject them.

Jesus proceeds with another teaching, one that has caused some puzzlement and even concern over the years.  He told His audience that if someone causes a believer and follower of His to stumble, to fall into sin, it would be better for them to have a millstone, a large heavy weight, tied around their neck and be drowned (vs. 42).   Jesus continued, that if one’s hand, foot, or eye caused them to sin, it is better to cut them off than to keep them and then burn in hell in the afterlife (vs. 43-48).  If we reach for something we shouldn’t, if we walk somewhere we shouldn’t, or we look at something we shouldn’t, are we supposed to take out the ax and start chopping off hands, feet, and eyes?

I don’t believe that Jesus was telling His followers to maim and disfigure their bodies, especially when such drastic action could possibly lead to death if the wound got infected or they bled to death.  There is more than one way to “cut off” something.   In addition to meaning literally chopping something off, we can cut something off by putting an end to it.  Sometimes certain things need to be cut off or ended in order to preserve us from going deep into sin in our life.  It may be a relationship, a job, a hobby, our TV, or computer, etc.  It likely will hurt, perhaps a lot, but it is necessary.   If a relationship is leading you away from Jesus, cut it off, end it right away.  If something we are doing on the internet or watching on TV is leading to sin, pull the plug, perhaps get rid of it altogether.  If your job has sinful elements to it, quit.  Jesus is saying to take the drastic step, whatever it is, to keep you from sin.  Run from the temptation, just as Joseph did (Genesis 39:7-12).  Run to Jesus and He will strengthen you.

Jesus spoke very clearly here about hell, and some of the aspects of that very literal place.  He spoke of hell as being a place of unquenchable fire, and where the worm does not die.  The Greek word that Mark used here is “skolex” which is defined as a worm which preys upon dead bodies, like a maggot.  Jesus might have meant a literal worm or maggot chewing away at the people for all eternity in hell, or perhaps He might have meant the “worm” of memory that will eat away at one for all eternity.  In hell one will remember all the wicked and evil things they did, and especially the times that they had the opportunity to receive Jesus as Savior, but turned Him away.  Either one will be awful, along with burning forever.

Some people believe that if there is a hell, it will only be for a while, and then you no longer exist.  That is not what Jesus teaches here.  The fire is never quenched.  It does not end.  I am sure that you do not want to ever go there.  There is only one way to be certain of that, and that is by confessing you are a sinner, acknowledging that Jesus died to pay the penalty of your sins, and calling upon Him as your Savior.  Do not delay, as no one is guaranteed tomorrow.  Turn to Jesus today!

Resist The Adversary

James 4:7-16

If you had an enemy who was always attacking you, bullying you, and making your life miserable, and then was told of a way to be free from your enemy and their attacks, wouldn’t you listen and follow what they said?   As believers, we have an enemy, one who is out to totally destroy us.  In our Scripture today we are given one clear and concise answer for this battle, along with other valuable instructions and help for our Christian life.  Let’s see what James has to teach us.

As most of us know, the fierce enemy in our Christian life is Satan, the devil.  His attacks against us are relentless, and can quickly bring us down if we do not use what we have available to counteract those attacks.  Our Scripture opens with James telling us from God’s Word that we need to both submit to God and to resist the devil.  When we do that, he will flee from us (vs. 7).   The word “resist” from the original Greek means to withstand, to oppose.  When we resist someone, we don’t let them get the advantage over us.  When Satan knows that someone is a spiritually weak Christian, he knows that he and his demon hordes have the advantage, and they are an easy target.  When we submit to God, He promises us that the devil will flee.

Satan is a powerful enemy, that is for sure, and many Christians want to just back away and be the one to flee.  We need to remember that Satan is a defeated adversary.   He was defeated by the Lord Jesus Christ through His sacrificial death at Calvary.  While he is a powerful foe, those who are protected by salvation, and through prayer and the Word of God, need not be paralyzed in fear at this roaring lion (I Peter 5:8-9).  We are kept by the power of God (I Peter 1:5).  No evil can penetrate the armor of God when we put it on (Ephesians 6:10-18).

Satan dangles temptations right in front of us.  But his power stops there.  He can’t force us to succumb to temptation.  When we are warned by the Holy Spirit, and decide to say no to the temptations, Satan can do no more.  He runs away.  We need to be careful, though, when old sins resurface in our lives.  We cannot allow them back in. We must submit to God, resisting, withstanding, and opposing the devil.  We have a Savior who doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, but grants us grace and power for a new start of service for Him.

We are to imitate Jesus in resisting temptation, which requires submission to God’s will, and is the key to staying on God’s side and not the devil’s.  Submission means obedience, which in turn means resisting the devil and his temptations.  Resisting the devil will move us in the direction of drawing nearer to God, and reciprocates the move towards a closer relationship with Him.  This requires confession and repentance.  The mourning in verse 9 is grief over our sins.  The laughter and joy in those verses would be showing a casual attitude towards sin.  When we humble ourselves before God, He is faithful to lift us up, forgive us, and restore our relationship with Him (vs. 10).  We become better people by humbly admitting our sins, asking for God’s help, and being honest about our weaknesses.

Our Scripture passage closes with James instructing us to put our whole life, all of our plans and dreams, into the hands of the Lord (vs. 13-16).  Mature faith makes plans but remains in a posture of humility and submission to the sovereignty of God.  We are not in control of the variables.  When we assume that our plans will dictate future events, we ignore the fact that it is God who rules over everything.  Planning is necessary in life, but the sin of presumption is the assumption that we are in control.  Life here on earth can end in a split second.  We don’t know the day or the hour when the Lord will return, nor when our life on earth will end.  The day will come when each of us will have to leave this life.  All that will matter is whether we have been prepared by believing in Jesus, and by serving Him here on earth.

The events of our lives may be uncertain, but one thing is sure - through all of life’s unexpected moments, our God will never leave us.  He is our one constant throughout life.