Now let's come to God's word this evening again to Genesis and chapter number 4. Genesis and chapter number 4 as we return to the study we've been on for quite some time. I think this is week number 19 of it or study number 19 of this little series we're doing. Where did it all go wrong? and really to understand sin, and to understand salvation, and to understand the reason why the Lord Jesus Christ came to be the savior of the world. We've had to go back to the beginning to see indeed where it all went wrong, and we've been progressing well through this study, and we're coming now to Genesis chapter number four. And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. In a process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof, and the Lord had respect unto Abel. and to his offering. But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect, and Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." Let's just pause and pray together and ask for God's help. Father, we come to you this evening, and Lord, we want to thank you for your word. We thank you for the reading of it. We thank you that this is the inspired and inerrant word of God. And Lord, we believe every word to have been breathed out of your mouth, our Father. And Lord, as we come now, we need the help of God to understand it, to show the things of Christ to us. Our Father, we pray that you would speak to all of our hearts, Lord. Shut out all distractions, and may we hear the still, small voice of God speaking to each of us tonight. For we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Really, the title of tonight's message is Two of a Kind. And we're looking tonight at perhaps what is the two most famous brothers in all of the Bible. In fact, they are the first brothers in the Bible, that of Cain and Abel. And, you know, sometimes on a Sunday evening, yes, our focus is often primarily upon the gospel. We call this the gospel meeting. We mustn't neglect at times if there's opportunity to look at some ministry for believers. And so really tonight there's a lesson for both believers and a challenge for unbelievers in our message tonight. Having been in paradise since the start of our study, we now move a long way from that place. With the gates of Eden solemnly slamming behind us, man is now placed into a new state. Where he is on the outside and God is on the inside. Suddenly now man and God are separated because of sin. Remember how we looked last time, that Adam and Eve sinned. when they were tempted, particularly when Eve was tempted by Satan. And then she, of her own accord and of her own will, took of that forbidden fruit, and in eating of it, gave to her husband. And the both of them directly disobeyed God. And it's not that there was anything within the fruit that caused sin to come into the world. Rather, it was the principle of disobeying the direct command of God that brought about sin and separation. When you come to the end of chapter number three, you'll find that the Lord placed, after he banished Adam and Eve from his presence, from the garden, he placed a cherubim who now stands guarding the gates of Eden. He stands guarding with a flaming sword in his hand. No longer has man free access to the garden of God nor to the tree of life. The leaving paradise. The narrative now turns to follow Adam in his new habitat outside the gate and his new position separated from God. However, in Genesis chapter 4, Adam and Eve haven't gone far. They are still living within the sight of the splendor of Eden. But life would be greatly different now because man would have to fend for himself. He would toil and tire. He would hunger and thirst. He would live and die. Life would be very different now on the outside. However, as we often see, we here see the goodness and the severity of God mingled together. For while God in his severity had put man on the outside, God in his grace didn't completely strip man of all his eternal blessings. You see, God would still make a way for the two to commune together, albeit on limited terms. Genesis 4, however, is proof of how quickly serenity evaporates. and sinfulness escalates. It is like a disease. Sin starts in one small localized area, just in the eating of fruit, just one bite, and it spreads at an unprecedented rate. For as we move from Genesis chapter 3, and we aren't told how long is in the gap between Genesis 3 and 24 and Genesis 4 and 1, But in that short space of time, we move from bliss to brokenness. We move from there being no sin to a multiplicity of sin. In fact, by the time Genesis chapter 4 reaches its conclusion, we will have been introduced to envy, to anger, to hatred, to murder, to lies, and to polygamy. Remarkably, at least five out of the ten commandments were broken. before they were even written. Nevertheless, the saddest part of the whole story is that it centers not around two strangers, but around two siblings, two of a kind. Of course, down through history, there have been many famous fallouts between siblings, but perhaps none so serious as this one, the first ever family fight. We're gonna spend a number of weeks looking at this chapter together, and particularly even this message tonight, we're only gonna look at one of two parts of it. But this evening, I want us to consider a number of things together. Number one, as we come to Genesis 4, I want you to see two offspring. It says in verse number one, And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I've gotten a man from the Lord, and she again bare his brother Abel. We have, first of all, as we think about two of a kind, we have two offspring. You see, while Adam and Eve had failed to obey God's command, they hadn't failed to heed God's commission. Back in Genesis 1 and 28, you'll read how that God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth. God had a desire and had designed mankind to be fruitful, to produce family. And this wasn't only a condition God gave to Adam and Eve, but indeed when God started again with Noah, he said to them as they left the ark to be fruitful, multiply and replenish the earth. And that's what happened here. They'd done that, Adam and Eve had their first son. It was a boy named Cain who was then followed by another boy called Abel. Now Genesis has thrown up many questions for us as believers that we don't yet know the answers to. But here's one that I'm going to give you and you can ponder in the week ahead. Some Bible scholars have suggested that Cain and Abel were actually the first twins. The reason for that is because in the Hebrew writings of the Bible, I'm not saying this is the case, but also in the Hebrew writings of the Bible, when children were introduced, the Hebrew way would have been to begin with conception and then talk about the birth. And here, that's where it begins. And it says specifically that Eve conceived and bear Cain. And then when it comes to Abel, it simply says, and she again bear his brother Abel. And in the Hebrew, there's no There's no reference to his conception, but we cannot be sure if this was the case or not, but it isn't unreasonable to suggest these two were twins. Nevertheless, and more importantly, the first offspring of Adam and Eve were now born, and thus giving us the first human family as we would know it. The names of both boys are interesting. Cain, the elder of the two, was given a name which simply meant Now the reason for that is given as Eve confessed, I have gotten a man from the Lord. You see God in his great grace was the one from whom Eve had acquired her firstborn son. Her and Adam had been enabled by God to possess the greatest human gift, that of having another human committed to God. their care. Now some preachers would teach that this was perhaps Eve believing that she was bearing a son that would be the fulfillment of the promise given in verse number 15, where she said, or where God promised that they would come from the seed of the woman, one to bruise the serpent's heel. a serpent's head. And so some commentators have suggested that Eve believed this to be the promise of Jehovah. But I don't believe that perhaps was the case. This was a very primitive stage. I would doubt that Eve would have known enough to have believed that. Rather I think it's simply, on the surface we take the text as we find it, that she acknowledged that children, as the psalmist said, are an heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. You see, I believe Eve realized that her son had come from God. And we all do well as parents to remember that children are given by God. And I've said this recently as well in another study, they are given if he wills. You know, sometimes For reasons beyond our control and understanding, God does not permit us to be parents. There may not be any physiological reason. It may just simply be that the will of God for us is not to conceive. And while that can be hard to accept, we must accept that God is sovereign in all His dealings with His children. However, for those of us who have been blessed with children, we must always acknowledge the goodness of God's hand in permitting us to possess such precious gifts. To always remember that our children have been given to us as gifts. We have received them from the Lord, and therefore we have a responsibility before God to bring them up in the fear and nurture of the Lord. Beloved, this evening, for those of us who receive, we must remember that our first responsibility before church office, before church service, is our family. They're the first mission field, the first ministry that God has given us. Before there was any other ministry in history, there was family. And you and I have a duty to serve in the home first, to serve our children and to bring them up in the fear and the nurture of the Lord. We must learn from Eli. The man who devoted himself to God's service and his own family were lost. The second son of Adam and Eve was called Abel and his name literally means vapor or vanity. Often in biblical terms, anything that was meaningless or anything carnally connected to this life was described simply as a vapor. Now it's interesting, and this is perhaps why I don't think that Cain and Abel were twins, but it's interesting to see the change in Eve's heart here. It seems that there was a period of time had passed. Her first son is born perhaps before the full effects of the curse have been felt. Even though she has endured the pains of childbirth, she is very much indebted to the Lord for his grace. goodness. But perhaps by the stage Abel is coming along, she's beginning to realize the extent of the curse, the meaningless of everything without God, the vanity of life without the Lord. She's beginning perhaps to see the reality of what Paul was writing about in Romans 8 and 20 where the creature was made subject to vanity. Perhaps by now as Eve looked around her, plants were beginning to die, animals were beginning to die, things were beginning to fall sick. The grip of sin and the curse was taking its toll already on creation. And she names her son as she looks around her, vapor, vanity. But here's the interesting thing about these two names. The boy whose name referenced God was the one who rebelled against God, while the boy whose name was very much connected to carnality was the one who came to know and please God. What does that tell us? Very simply, and I want the boys and girls this evening who are here to listen carefully. Very simply, it tells us that our family has no bearing on our faith. Yes, our family might be a good influence. Oh, it's wonderful privilege to be brought up in a Christian home, but when it comes to personal faith, our family has no bearing. Brought up in the same home. No doubt taught the same things of God. Taught to be worshippers of God. Taught about sacrifice. Yet one went on to be history's first murderer, while the other became history's first martyr. The fact is, and here's the truth for any one of us in here this evening. No person has ever been born a Christian. No person is born automatically ready for heaven. Neither Cain nor Abel inherited their parents' profession. They had to come to a point personally of making their own decision of faith. And here's the thing for anyone who is here this evening, who has been brought up in a Christian home, who has been brought along to this church, who has got godly parents, second-hand faith is not sufficient. You know, the only thing any of us have inherited from our parents, from a spiritual point of view, is their sin nature. You know, nobody is born saved. Every one of us in this room, every one of us in this country, every one of us in this world, every person born from Adam and Eve has been born sinner. And you see, that is how it is possible within the same household for one brother to be lost, the other brother to be saved. We've all got homes like that. Here's the question tonight, boys and girls, older people, young people, in your family, where do you fit? Answer that question just now in your heart. Maybe boys and girls, as you sit here tonight and you think about your mommy and daddy, do you know your mommy and daddies are Christians? Can I ask you tonight, boys and girls, are you a Christian? Has there ever been a point in your life where you have come to the decision personally that you need to be saved? You see, it's not enough that mommy and daddy saved. Young people, it's not enough that you've grown up in a Christian home. Older persons, it's not enough that you are brought up in a Christian home. There must be a point when you get saved yourself. We were singing about it, and those famous words, the Bible says you must be born again. Why? Because the Lord said, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Here's the truth, whether society wants to beg to differ or not, not except a person be born a Protestant. Not except a person be born a Catholic. Not except a person be born a Muslim. So many people boast in their upbringing. They seek assurance from their family's faith. Here's the very truth tonight. You may have been born a Baptist. You may have been christened a Catholic. Your parents could have been the most devout Presbyterians that walked the face of this planet. But here's the thing. It all counts for nothing. If you want to go down that line, you could say, I was born a Baptist, but I was every bit as law. It doesn't matter the denomination we were born in, there must be a point when each of us are born again, born a second time. Born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but born of God. You know, if we think of Ace, firstborn, Cain, he represents the curse. He represents dead religion. He represents defiant rebellion. He represents the natural sinful man. He's a type of the seed of the serpent, a heart filled with all the fullness of evil, and He's just like every one of us. We're born as sinners. We're not saved naturally. But as we think about his brother Abel, the man who followed Cain, he's a type of the seed of the woman. He represents the cure. He lived a life of faith. He was a man who we will see perhaps next week, who died at the hands of a wicked man trying to please God, and how it so vividly pictures the Lord Jesus Christ. The second Adam, the true seed of the woman, the one who was taken like Abel and by wicked hands crucified and slain. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ died after having lived a life that was pleasing to God. He took our curse upon himself. He took the place of rebels and became subject, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Adam and Eve, lost one son, they went on to have many, many others, but God gave up his only son to be the savior of the world. Oh, we've just been thinking about Christmas, how he came, was born, but here's the thing, folks, he came being born to die. Except we're trusting in Christ, we will be sure to go the way of Cain. There's no good within any of us, but there is eternal good in Christ. There's eternal grace in Christ. And except we forsake our sin and seek the forgiveness of the Savior, except we've had that second birth, we can never, ever be saved. Meaning we can never, ever enter the gates of heaven. Oh, as we think about brothers, as we think about family, dear friend tonight, have you got your own personal faith? We have two offspring. But secondly I want you to see, and this is more for believers tonight, we have two occupations. You see in verse 2 we read, And she again bare his brother Abel, and Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the grind. We have two occupations. We're given an insight now, not only into primal home life, but also into primal work life. We're told that Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the ground. In other words, Abel was an animal farmer, while Cain was an arable farmer. So there you have it. If you want to set the record straight, farming is history's oldest occupation. But in spite of what we are led to believe about Earth's earliest days, there's no evidence to suggest that Adam and his descendants spent tens of thousands of years as cave-dwelling, wilderness-wandering hunter-gatherers. Rather from the get-go, working was a central part to living. It was part of their purpose as people. Albeit in the beginning work was meant to be enjoyable, not taxing or tiring, the toil of work came with the curse. But in the beginning, God did not create us to be idle. God did not create us to waste our lives. God has given us a world of opportunities. God has given us gifts and abilities that we ought to pursue in terms of a career. Of course, a career isn't for everyone. Some people devote themselves to keeping the home, which can be every bit as hard, if not harder, than going out to a job. But we ought to be busy people. We ought not to be idle, not to be ambling through life aimlessly. In fact, the apostle Paul dealt with this very point in 2 Thessalonians, if you want to turn over. And I say this is more a word for believers as we look at the origin of work and how work is a good thing to be doing. 2 Thessalonians chapter number 3. And in verse number 6, listen to what Paul said as he spoke to the Thessalonians. He says, now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly and not after the tradition which he received from us. For yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we behaved among none of ourselves disorderly among you, neither did we eat any man's bread for naught, but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you. Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensemble unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would work not, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them which are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work and eat. their own bread. And what Paul's point was here is to those who could work but wouldn't work. The Christians in that church had grown lazy in their labors. They had given up work to wait for the Lord's return. And this isn't spiritual work he's talking about. This is physical work. And Paul says that's not God's design not to work. He's designed us to work just as God is a God of activity and of busyness, so that then we who have been made in His image are to be busy. God's plan is to provide for our needs through our workplace. And furthermore, when we work, whether in the workplace or in the home place, we're to do so primarily to the glory of God. Again, Paul said, Colossians 3, servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as man-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God and whatsoever you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord, not unto man. Beloved, I know at times work can be hard, work may not be pleasant, but always remember tomorrow morning when you go into work, we work first to Christ, not to a company. You remember that tomorrow morning when you put your uniform. I work first for Christ, not a company. And our workplace provides us with a platform for piety and everyday mission field and environment we can impact for the glory of God. Therefore, it's vitally important that we are putting ourselves to good use, that we seek God's face for our occupation. Young people, as we consider these two occupations, both these men had honorable jobs, neither job was superior to the other. Cain's produce put food on the table while Abel's sheep provided clothing. Of course, at this point, people were still vegetarian as God didn't authorize the eating of meat until after the flood. But it's also likely that able sheep would have been used as offerings to God. Remember the first principle God taught Adam and Eve following the fall was that without blood there is no remission, no atonement, no satisfactory covering. Which is from these two occupations come the famous controversy. surrounding their two offerings. Oh, we have two offspring, and we have two occupations, but I want you to see, thirdly, these two offerings, and we're going to just look at one part of this this evening and finish it off next week. It says in verse number three, and in process of time, it came to pass that Cain brought of the foot of the ground an offering unto the Lord, and Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof." It would appear that while the fellowship of God and man was now limited, it wasn't totally off limits. There seems to have been an appointed place and an appointed time where men had permission to meet God and present Him an offering. Now we can only but presume this meeting place was at the entrance of the garden, the beginning of the pathway to paradise and indeed the start of the way into God's presence on earth. Remember God had set the flaming cherubim to prevent access to the tree of life and subsequently into the presence of God. But it seems that these two young men have been brought up to understand that God was holy and honorable, that he was to be feared. No doubt their parents often recounted the fateful tale of the fall, hoping their sons would learn to fear God from it. They had also been taught the importance of worship, of bringing God an offering, that He wasn't a God to be approached casually, carelessly, or indeed presumptuously. God was to be approached with an offering. No doubt Adam and Eve recounted the time when God provided the coats of skins So both boys would have known about the kind of offering God accepted. However, we aren't told how Cain's belief changed, and we're going to cover that next time. But here's I want you to see first of all, as we think about these two offerings, and here's where we're going to finish tonight, I want you to see the principle of the offerings. Again, this is first of all for believer. You see in due course these two boys came to present their offerings unto God. And here we see for the very first time, and I want you to notice that sometimes teaching can be lost in the obvious application of the text in the gospel. But here we see for the first time the connection between a man's occupation and a man's offering. I want you to notice that, of acknowledging God. and of bringing God what he is due. After all, it was God who provided the great abundance of pasture and the livestock without which neither man had the makings of a career. And therefore, it was only right and proper that God got what he deserved. Commentator Griffith Thomas says, their worship took the form of offerings, and this must always be the case. Worship is giving, not getting, ascribing, not appropriating. Furthermore, it is evidence from the Freas in the process of time that this worship was regularly rendered as something habitual in their life. Now, while we will see shortly one man's worship offering was flawed, and subsequently rejected. We mustn't miss the important principle taught here. It is so very easy, we're all guilty of it, of going about our daily lives always taking from God and never giving to God. We can so easily be fine taking God and his goodness for granted. Oh beloved, we do well to remember that the jobs we will go to tomorrow The wages we earn, the pension we collect, the lives we enjoy have come only as a result of God's gracious hand. Therefore, when it comes to giving, God must get first. You see, one of the fundamental flaws in Cain's offering compared to Abel's is if you look at it there, it says that he also brought of the first things of his flock and of the fat thereof. Here's what it says. Abel gave God the best. You see, Abel gave God what came first, the best of his flock. Abel gave God the fat, the best parts of the animal, whereas it seems Cain gave God only what was left or what was necessary to appease his own conscience. Oh, how easy it is to give God what's left over, to harbor the best for ourselves. But beloved, we must remember This connection between our occupation and our offering. Just as these two offerings were designed to be worship offerings unto God, so too our offerings are extensions and indeed expressions of our worship and gratitude to God. The question is, do we really give God what He's due? You know, if we think about what we give to God in terms of our offering, what does it say about our worship? Does it reflect our worship? Does he get the first slings and the fat? You know, we often talk about tithing, but as Paul told the Corinthians upon the first day of the week, that every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him. We mustn't ever minimize the connection between our occupation and our offering. Back in the beginning, the two very much went hand in hand, and yet it is so very possible to corrupt this principle, to give God either in the wrong way or out of the wrong heart. That's what happened here. One offering was superficial and was given to try and wow God, while the other offering was simple and was given to God in worship. So we will see next time, and here's where we'll finish tonight. God cannot be wowed by the works of our hands. This is a word for you if you're not saved tonight. God cannot be wowed by the works of our hands. You see, there's not one person in heaven who has got there by impressing God. There's not one person who has been saved by the works of righteousness they have done. For there is none righteous, no, not one. In fact, the Bible says in God's eyes, we're all as an unclean thing and all our righteousness are as filthy rags in God's sight. Clean lives and good works draw us no closer nor earn us any favor with God than a criminal life full of bad work. God does not measure our lives in terms of who we are, what we've done for Him. Here's the thing, and I say this very carefully to you this evening. Dear friend, tonight you could go out of this church and you could fill that offering box to its capacity. And I want to tell you tonight, it'll not save you. It's not by works of righteousness. God does not measure our lives in terms of who we are or what we have done for Him. Like Cain, God looks past the performance and into our heart. Rather, we have a believing heart or a barren heart, a heart given over by faith to the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. God takes no delight in religious sacrifice. He takes no delight in religious sacraments. God delights only in the blood-stained altar of Calvary. Salvation. It's not of works lest any man should boast. Salvation is about the finished work of Jesus Christ. It's about what he has done for us, not about what we can do for him. Until we come before God like Abel, by faith acknowledging not the labor of my hands can fulfill thy laws demands, then we'll never be saved. Live for eternity. Dear friend, you're depending on anything other than faith in Christ. Faith in the shed blood of the Lamb of God, I want to tell you tonight, like Cain, you're gonna be rejected. You see, that's how this story ends. Abel was accepted on the merits of the Lamb that was offered, but Cain, for all of his effort, for all of his hard work, for all of his sincerity, he was rejected. Why? Because without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. Oh, dear friend, perhaps it is time for you to examine what am I truly trusting on for eternity, my own futile works or Christ's finished work. It's time to ask yourself tonight, am I resting on my family, my works? Whatever it is, dear friend, tonight it's only resting in the Lamb of God. If you are saved, then perhaps it's also a good time to examine that relationship between our offering and our occupation. Is the life we now live one of worship and gratitude to God? We've looked at two offspring, Cain and Abel. We've looked at two occupations, the importance of work and life. We've looked at the beginning of two offerings. We've looked at the principle of the offerings. Next time we'll look at the preparation of the offerings and then we'll look at the problem of the offerings. And then we'll look at finally two outcomes, Abel's reception and Cain's rejection. But dear friend, tonight it's time to consider Christ, to consider what you're truly depending on to get into God's heaven. Let's just pause and pray together and consider these things before God as we bring our meeting to a close. Our Father, we come before you tonight in Jesus' name. And Father, we want to thank you for the practical teaching that is here for us as believers. Our Father, as we look at our lives, Father, help us not to have idle lives. Help us, Father, as we go into work tomorrow, wherever we be in that position of influence, Father, to be, Lord, that ambassador for Christ, to work us onto the glory of God. Father, help us to examine our offerings, Lord, to give you as an extension of our worship what you so rightly deserve. But Father, for those who are not saved tonight, but Father, help us, Lord, to consider in our hearts, Lord, Lord, what we're depending on. Family is futile, our works is futile, but it's only trusting in the shed and finished work of Calvary's cross. Lord, we look to you this evening to bless the preaching of your word. In Jesus' name, amen.