Grace And Works

‘If thou doest well, shall thou not be accepted? And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire…' Gen 4:7
Here we see the outcome of two sacrifices offered by two brothers. From a casual reading one might feel sympathy for Cain. Was God partial to Abel or harsh with the firstborn? In the preceding chapter we read that God had put Adam after his fall to till the ground (3:23). The ground had become a constant reminder of his fall. For all that would God hold it against Cain because he chose to follow the footsteps of his father? I think not. Does God hold anything against farming? Of course not!
Cain joined his father to till the ground and naturally brought the fruit of the ground as an offering. It was his own work that Cain highlighted. So far, so good. Then where did he go wrong?
Didn’t Cain present in self-righteousness the fruit of his labour? In my opinion he presented it in bad spirit. It was made clear when he resented Abel. The Reason? God preferred those of Abel over his gifts. Cain felt injured.
Jesus shows how we are to serve in the gospel of Luke, ‘ …we are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do.’(Lk 17:10) If we maintain that outlook would there be any need for envy as Cain demonstrated? We are unworthy like the prodigal son to be called as sons (Lk 15:21). We are unprofitable in His service but His abundant grace covers our shortcomings in everything that we do. It ought to be always our credo as stated in Lk 17:10.
Cain was given by God (Gen 4:1) but did he give himself in his sacrifice? He held back his best part to himself. ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me.’(Ps.51:10)
Benny

Two Worlds

‘…you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.’Gen3:5


Is it not a wise thing to know good and evil? Before I proceed further let me point out to the march of events that were taking place outside the Garden of Eden. From the first verse of Chapter 6 we are given a hint that the earth was populated by men. There were men of renown who we know were the descendents of sons of God (6:5,2) Who are they? We can only guess from oblique references elsewhere in the Bible. In the second epistle of Peter we read of the angels that sinned.(2:4).Jude also mention of those angels who didn’t keep their first estate. Their sin must then owe to their straying out of their bounds. It is not difficult to guess the reason for their estrangement. Anyway a different order of mankind other than of Adam and Eve came about.
There were other people then but were they created by God? God created Adam in His image. The Bible tells so. It cannot be otherwise. Because we do not read verses of other races or beliefs in the Creation Account it doesn’t mean God has nothing to do with nations. There were people with their distinct religious practices and customs. God is the Lord of all godly nations as well as pagans. How the latter chose to live is outside the purview of the history of God’s chosen people. Only where their history collides with that of His people we get to read of it in the Book. So we shall do well to remember that there was evil outside the Garden. Of this evil perhaps Satan had much to speak about.
But Adam and Eve being a contextual substance as God, had nothing to do with evil. In listening to Satan they let evil in. As we read in the epistle of James God does not tempt man but Satan. (Jas 1:13-15) Our senses could entice us as Eve was. In Gen3:6 we see how they sinned step by step.
2.
Adam and Eve could learn from the very light of His Being. Knowledge of Good was their portion. Hence knowledge of evil was useless knowledge so to speak. By sin they were onto knowledge of evil. Death is a natural consequence of it.
Having not kept their first estate as those angels who sinned, Adam and Eve had to live with the consequences. Their knowledge was set in terms of the world. Like the man who went to London to found a salon ended up setting up a saloon Adam made it very difficult for him to find the right direction as we shall see. Knowledge of Adam among the children of darkness was at a disadvantageous position. ‘ Be ye wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.’(St. Mat 10:16) and in Luke 16:8 ‘ the children of this world are …wiser than the children of light.’
What was the use of such knowledge that gave children of light every disadvantage as we find so pertinent even in the present times?
benny