GOD’S WORD OF WARNING

“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” – Genesis 4:7

Whenever sin lies at the door or temptation threatens, we must cherish GOD’S WORD of WARNING: “So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Gen.4:6-7). This text tells the beginning of human history in the wake of the first couple’s sin and separation from God. It details how Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, murdered his younger brother and lost everything. The consequences of sin became apparent: arrogance, envy, rebellion, murder, punishment, separation from family, and separation from God.

Cain and Abel worked the ground and tended sheep. They worshipped God with the proceeds of their vocation. God showed favor on his brother Abel and his offering, which obviously enraged Cain. God then warned him, seeing that he was visibly angry over the rejection of his offering (v.5). Instead of responding to God’s displeasure with a repentant attitude and a desire to change, Cain became jealous, anger, and bittern towards his brother. God, who knows the heart, discerned that Cain’s anger was rising to the point of danger. He warned him:

“If you do well, will you not be accepted?” While God had rejected his offering due to the attitude behind it, He still offered Cain this word of encouragement that he could change, repent, “do well” and “be accepted.” God’s desire is always that people should repent (2Pet. 3:9). Had Cain responded rightly, his anger would have given way to “godly sorrow [that] produces repentance leading to salvation” (2 Cor.7:10).

“And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.” God warned Cain that he was inching dangerously close to sin – transgressing God’s law. Sin begins with what is in our attitude and mind. At this point, unless he stopped himself, repented and committed to change, Cain’s attitude and mind were going the direction of hatred toward his brother, which is the root of murder (Mt.5:21-22; Jam. 1:14-15).

“And its desire is for you, but you shall rule over it.” God’s final Word of Warning to Cain was that if he continued down the road to sin, sin would eventually rule over him; he would become its slave: “whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (Jh.8:34). Sin is like slavery because it entraps one in negative behaviour that destroys life (physically and spiritually), often leads to other sins, becomes an addiction that is extremely difficult to overcome, and places one under Satan’s oppressive control.

Cain killed Abel in a fit of envy over God's rejection of him and his offering. The first human born on earth became the first murderer. God forced him to leave his family and wander the earth. However, in Mercy, God still provided protection for Cain in his wandering. He marked him with a promise of great vengeance on anyone who would kill him.

God’s warning to Cain is a warning to us all; a vivid reminder that sin is like a beast waiting for its next victim. Sin desires to own us, and our refusal to let God set the standard for right and wrong in our lives is the fast track to sin. If we aren’t careful to repent and obey the Lord, sin could pounce on us and master us, leading to deeper sin, destruction, or death: “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death” (Jam.1:15). We can take God’s warning to heart and use it to stop the damaging progression of sin in our lives! God’s Word assures us: “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom.6:14).