1 John 3:12 – Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.

1 John 3:13 – Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.

Hello readers, today I am going to be looking at Cain. Cain is the picture of this world, a world that is on the run from God, just as he was a man on the run from God. His story is in Genesis 4… he’s the guy that killed Abel. Marvel not if the world hate you the Bible says after referencing Cain killing his brother. Murdered his brother for his sin. This world isn’t fair, never has been, never will be. This world will never be good, this world will never anything other than the abject darkness that it is. What is the world? Well it’s different from the earth, some people use the two terms interchangeably, but the earth itself is the physical creation of God. It’s “where” everything happens. But “what” happens is the world. The world is the system of life that is currently happening on this earth… the earth itself is basically like a stage for an unfolding story… a story that we know how it ends in Revelation. This world began with disobedience to God, and ever since then life consists of lust, pride, sin, curse death…. this world has a course the Bible says, it has a prince the Bible says, and it is wicked the Bible says, it lies in darkness the Bible says. But God so loved the world… it seems incredible that this world system is something that God loved so much that he sent his only begotten Son into to offer salvation from! God wants to save you out of this world, you’re like a brand plucked out the fire if you’ve been saved!

John said in his first epistle to not marvel if the world hates you. Who is “you”? It’s believers, people who are saved. That’s the one thing the world can agree upon. If you’re not hated by this world, it’s probably because you are OF the world. Because the world doesn’t hate his own, but it sure hates Jesus Christ. And John said this following a verse in which he talked about Cain. Cain was of that wicked one the Bible says. If you are of the world, you are of the wicked one. Confronting I know. People say oh God is everyone’s father… well actually he is not. Jesus said to the unbelieving Jews… you are of your father the devil. Although life comes from God, spiritually God is not your father until you get saved. You were born into a world of sin, conceived in iniquity, inherited from your father which was inherited from his… all the way back to Adam. You weren’t taught to be selfish, to lust, to lie, to steal, to deceive… it’s in you to do that. The world isn’t a great place, this world consists of three things… the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life… life in this world revolves around that, and our life will revolve around that if you are not translated spiritually out of this world into the kingdom of God where you can have a life which is beyond such basic, natural, sinful urges and desires, so you don’t have to live a life saying yessir! to the cravings and whims of your flesh. You can live a life that attains to something higher than just self furtherance and ambition, which ultimately is vanity. The world goes and behaves like it does because it’s course is not according to God, but according to the devil. One day Jesus will conquer this world, and possess it the kingdom’s of the world, and finally this earth will be the stage for righteousness, peace, justice… something that it hasn’t had since man sinned.

Because this world hates Jesus, it hates people who have believed on Jesus. A true Christian will never be accepted or loved or heard or popular in the world. It’s not going out and seeking to be hated, they won’t hate you because you are a jerk, but because you are different. Live holy and that will shine light on someone’s unholiness, truth and light exposes and reproves without any effort at all. Just follow Jesus Christ and you won’t be celebrated. You look at celebrities today, “celebrated ones”, you really think this world is going to uplift people who believe in the Lord Jesus? No. This world celebrates sin, this world is against Jesus Christ. They don’t mind “a” Jesus that doesn’t convict of sin, that doesn’t reprove, that doesn’t hold them to account, that doesn’t tell them what to do. This world doesn’t mind religion… just not the pure, true religion of the Bible that James speaks of. Cain was religious, but he did it his way. This world wants its own way, and that’s why it hates God. And it makes God the problem, when itself is the problem. Was Abel the problem? Or was Cain the problem. He killed Abel like Abel had some fault, but no the only one to blame was Cain. How often people find fault in God and in pretty much anyone else other than themselves… because… at the core of it… they aren’t right with God themselves. And it goes to show that the root cause of whether you are right with God or not will invade and pervade every other areas of your life. This is the world in a nutshell, not right with God because of sin in their life and wanting to go it their way, and making it everyone else’s problem. Running from truth. If you are unsaved today, you are a Cain. Oh but you haven’t murdered anyone… well let’s just have a closer look. Cain went from offering a sacrifice to murder… well that was a religious pretentious exercise wasn’t it? You know what… his religion was all about himself, people love to self medicate like he did… really it was all about him, not bringing glory to God. People of the world… really behind all the sham, it just all about them.

Cain is like the world today, they think they can escape the law. They are on the run. They want a land, a home, an existence, a world without God. Running from the law. Running from judgement. Running from knowledge. Running from light. Running from truth. He was a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth. He was a man on the run. Man wants to escape being answerable and responsible to God. People don’t even want to hear! Don’t preach at me! Shut up Christian! Eye rolls and sighs when that idiot talks about the Bible again. Look at Psalm 2:2,3 – The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. People want away from God. Even though it started with God, their breath, their life, the planet they live on… they are more than happy to take it from here. In fact the only part they want from God is… ease my punishment God. See, Cain was only interested in God so far as not paying for his crime, avoiding reaping what he sowed. People want God in tragedy, or tough times, or as their escape out of trouble clause… but beyond that… I want to do what I want to do and you ain’t saying otherwise. This world hates God, runs from God, wants to do life without God. People reject Jesus Christ, because the word of God brings judgement, light, accountability… and people don’t like that. Repentance… well that’s just off the table. That’d take humbling myself, that’d take ceding to someone greater than I… no way! I’ll never admit I’m wrong! I’ll never admit I’m the problem! Cain excused and justified himself… isn’t that what unbelievers do in the light of God’s word? It’s finger pointing, it’s justifying, it’s excusing, it’s blaming, it’s running. And what better way to run than to shut your ears, to get the Bible out of your thinking, to … in ever facet of your life … evict God. No wonder in the letter to the final church (!), Jesus stands outside, at the door… knocking.

We live in a world today that seeks to escape the law of God. They want God out of their thinking, out of their mind, out of their life. They are running, but they can’t. You can’t escape ultimate accountability to God. When you die your spirit will return to God who gave it… Ecclesiastes. You can run from the authority, and you can run a long time, but that law of God is hot on your heels… payday will come one day. Cain was running, but the law was coming for him, death was coming for him, judgement was coming for him. It is important to note that man has chosen this path. Man has chosen to run… God pleaded with Cain to repent, and so he does with this world today. But no, Cain was upset at God, even though he was the one to blame. He could’ve offered the acceptable sacrifice. He could’ve brought a lamb and he would’ve been accepted. He could’ve repented of his sin. But no, pride and wrath took over, sin took command of his life. Sin drives you from God. And you won’t be in hell because God didn’t strive with you or give you a chance to repent… you will be in hell because you chose to go there. You will walk over the blood of Jesus Christ to what the Bible calls… your own place. What is your own place? It is where you belong, it is the place you’ve chosen to go, the place to which you belong.

Cain is this world… they’re wicked, they’re dark, they’re guilty, they’re unrepentant. The blame, they excuse, they justify, they run. They’re interested in me, myself and I. They want to do whatever they want to do and not have God do anything about it. They want a life and a future without God. They want to make their own way, according to how they think and feel and know. However in all this, God gives them the opportunity to put it right. He gives them TIME. What you see in Cain’s life is time. Time, time, time. See, maybe God let’s wickedness go longer because they’re the guys that need time. Abel didn’t get time here, because he has forever… forever belongs to the saved. But for the unsaved… the time here is all they have… and God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. Abel was long time dead while Cain lived, married and built. God showed mercy to Cain. This world despite hating God, despite lying to him and themselves (this world gladly kids itself), despite their awful deeds… experiences the mercy and longsuffering of God day in and day out. Because God wants to pull everyone out who wants out before the whole thing is done away with. It’s because eternity is so serious and so long. Abel got the raw deal, he didn’t do wrong, but he paid for someone else’s sin. It was so unjust.. but God lets it happen, because eternity is a long time. We place so much emphasis on this short little life here, but God sees the whole picture.

Cain is such an accurate picture of this world. The more you think about his story, the more you can see how his spirit, his behavior, his attitude is reflected today in this dark world. This world is evil, just as Cain was. He was of that wicked one, and this world is of the devil. Cain was guilty of innocent blood. And this world is guilty of blood too… you see, this world rejects Jesus Christ… innocent blood… yet they don’t repent. Truth be told, we are all guilty of the blood of Jesus, because we put him there on the cross, he had to die because we were so bad. Abel paid for Cain’s wickedness, Abel did no wrong but it was he that died. Jesus died for you and to walk away from God’s extended hand of salvation… that is your decision, but it’s a decision made from a hard, unrepentant, unbelieving heart. God’s word came to Cain, it’s not he couldn’t know, it’s he chose to walk away from truth. Cain was guilty, and God’s word revealed his guilt, which is why he couldn’t stand it. He wasn’t honest about who he was or what he had done. Nor was he repentant towards God over it. This world is like that. Cain and his descendants did many great and impressive things, and this world system is enormous… but it’s Christless, it’s vain, it’s empty. Cain and Abel talked, and there are many witnesses in this world which spread the good news of the gospel, who knows who the Abel is in your life, someone who has told you the truth, but who you’ve murdered with your tongue, whom you’ve despised because they said something about your sin or offended you with the message of the cross. Cain chose to walk away, and this world has chosen it’s path. Just as Cain tried his own way, this world tries it’s own way… but it is all rejected by God. And that’s why it hates God. Cain was a tiller of the ground, and this world is all about works, but salvation is through someone who has already done the work. Cain was the problem, and you and I are the problem, it’s not God’s fault, it’s our fault… we are the ones with the dark hearts needing salvation. But this world is too proud for that.

I’ve often wondered why God put a mark on Cain so anyone finding him wouldn’t slay him. And what is that mark? Many have speculated, but miss what actually important is being taught. What’s important to know is not what the mark was… but the fact that he WAS marked, and your sin, no matter how many years back, no matter how well buried and hidden as Abel’s dead body was… it bears witness against you. Ecclesiastes 12:14 – For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Cain’s mark shows that ultimately we are answerable to God. Man can’t exact on man what man deserves. Look at the legal systems and the injustices… but God himself reserved the right to judge Cain. Because God judges in perfectly righteous judgement. The judge standeth before the door James says. It is God who will do the judging. What will he judge according to? The Bible. We know how the judgement goes and will go… we can be ready against the future if believing, we act upon what we read. That is when knowledge becomes understanding becomes wisdom. We all WILL answer to God even after a lifetime of running. There may not be justice here and now in this life, in man’s economy, in this world where injustices abound, where the wicked seem to triumph… Cain’s mark shows man’s inability to do what only God has the right to do and can do as Creator. It is God that has the ability to and will execute judgement. This world wants to escape God as Cain tried… but Jesus said… how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

How does man run from God? By putting him out of his mind. You see God has put the knowledge of God in our minds. So we need to put him out. John 3… the condemnation is that men loved darkness more than light… because their deeds were evil. It’s not they can’t have light… it’s they don’t want it. That’s why Cain left the presence of the Lord. That’s why people resist the gospel. Departing from God’s word, from truth… that IS departing from the presence of the Lord. Cain went out to build a life apart from God. You can read Romans 1 to track the progression of individuals and a society that builds a life wanting to put God out it’s thinking and life. It’s a mess. And it’s so stupid because no matter where you go or how far you take yourself… as David said… he is there. You never actually escape God, even though you are desperate to embark on an existence with him out of the picture. It’s so much more comfortable to live a life without any authority over you, without any conviction or reproof… nothing to challenge your lust or pride. We live in a land today that is “no God”. They’ve taken commandments out, prayer out, God consciousness out… people lovin’ life in Nod. But Nod means wandering… and your life will wander aimlessly, because if Jesus is life… a life built apart from Christ is not life at all… and thus unfulfilled, empty and ultimately futile. It doesn’t matter how impressive it all is… look at Cain’s descendants… so many achievements, yet plagued by sin, wickedness and death… all meaningless feats, because they were without God.

Genesis 4 repeats today all around the world. They want to live in a land without God. They don’t want the presence of God. So let’s remove any reminders, let’s not have Bibles or read them… let’s not hear anything to do with God, or anything of God. A land without the law. Without conscience. Without conviction. Without accountability. They want their blaming and excuses and justification that Cain had. The only problem was actually Cain, it wasn’t Abel, it wasn’t God. That’s this world, the one place they won’t want to look or want exposed is inside their own dark heart. They want to build their own life their own way, do their own things. How does God’s creation not know or want to know it’s Creator? The land of no God gets worse and worse. Get rid of God and you’ve severed your connection to everything that is good, that is holy, that is true, that is light. This world takes after the devil,this world which lies under his control replicates his attitude, his spirit, his desire. What you see in Cain’s life is earthly achievements, earthly works, earthly fame … but failure. A life apart from God is ultimate failure.

Cain played the blame game. Just like his father Adam. It was Adams fault he ate the fruit, but he made it God’s fault. Look at the woman YOU gave me. Man blames God when he himself is to blame. How could it all go this wrong. And why? Why and where did it all go wrong? Well go back to the start. Cain brought a sacrifice to God that was rejected. And that made him angry. Is that not this world? How upset the world gets today by the fact there is one way to God, and God has said how that way is. Anyone may come, but you gotta come to God by God’s appointed way – the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s what trips people up. It offends people. Man hates God because God rejects man’s way. They get angry at God because they are in the wrong. God’s gotta change right… not me! The problem is God not me! It’s not they can’t be right with God… the problem is pride ultimately, they refuse to be right with God. Sure, Cain took it out on his brother, but the root cause of it was a problem with God. Mark it down… people have a problem with God deep down, not because God isn’t gracious, just God hasn’t accepted their way, their person, their efforts… so they’re WROTH with him. It may manifest itself in many ways, but it always comes back to that. People hate Jesus in you, that’s why they hate you. It started between Cain and God.And you hate God because you want your way, your person to be valid… but it isn’t. You’re rejected… so you’re offended, you’re upset at being rejected, so you solve it by leaving town. Who was really at fault? God? Or was it Cain the murderer? You see unsaved man does all sorts of evil and makes it God’s fault.

The only thing man wants is that it can sin without consequences. My punishment is greater than I can bear! This world is quick to blame God for all the starving children and so on… but that is a consequence of man having freewill and exercising it. The problem isn’t God, the problem is that wicked man decides to use his freedoms to do evil instead of good. God didn’t make man to sin, man chose to sin. Man blames God for living in the consequences of the mess man himself has made. Pretty much the only thing this world requires of God is God staying out of it’s business. The Bible says let God be true and every man a liar. What a verse… it was Cain that was a liar. Never put man’s word ahead of God’s word. Jesus Christ IS the truth. He has spoken, and what he has said has been recorded and we can know his word. God’s made sure of that. Cain’s descendants followed in Cain’s footsteps. Unless you break the cycle personally by believing on Jesus, you will see sin perpetuated and intensified from generation to generation. For all of Cain’s efforts at going it himself, it was ultimately all failure. The way of man, the way of Cain is failure. What an error to reject Jesus Christ and go it yourself. You are so, so stupid if you are going that way… because even while you convince yourself of your independence and sufficiency, you’re breathing with the breath God gave you, your heart is beating because God has ordered it so, and you’re enjoying what he made… you weren’t in control of being born into it. We are really in control of nothing, it’s an illusion, we are so dependent on God, so why use that autonomy he has blessed us with to depart from him? Particularly when we need him… we are the problem. The root problem is sin, personally for each of us. Just look at your though life, your desires, your behavior, it’s just a mess. Departing from God and building without God isn’t a step in the right direction. Cain was a man on the run, and like him, you can run for now… but you can’t escape judgement… Jesus died for you and took your judgement. It wasn’t a fair deal, but it was a deal he struck because he so loved us all. It’s your choice today, don’t be a man or a woman on the run anymore.

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