I DARESAY a great many of you have taken the ground of being worshippers. Is it in Cain’s way or Abel’s? That is a serious, a most important question. I do not know any question more important. Observe that Cain draws near, but upon what ground? He, brings to God the outcome of his own diligence―the fruit of the earth. And you may say, Was he not doing right? was he wrong in giving to God the fruit of the diligence of his life?
But stop! Do you know what Cain really did? If you understand that, ―and I think we have all gone in the “way of Cain” to begin with, ―you will see he entirely overlooked the fact of the fall. It is the fashion now-a-days to overlook the fall. He over, looked the fact that he was outside God’s presence, as a sinner, and because of sin. It pleased him to forget the fact that sin had come in between God and man, and that man was a sinner, away from God. It is sin that shuts man out from the presence of God, and Cain was outside God’s presence. How then is he to draw near to God? He must draw near in the way that suits God, and that is in keeping with the character of God.
Abel, knowing that he is guilty, and unable to draw near to God as he is, sets the death of another between himself and God. He recognizes the judgment of sin, and has faith in a sacrifice by which expiation of sin is effected. Cain has not the conscience of sin, for he brings as his offering the fruits which are a sign of the curse. His heart is blinded, and his conscience hardened. He takes for granted that all is well between him and God, and that he will be received. Why should he not be? The just sense of sin and ruin is completely wanting, as also any knowledge of the right way to draw near to God.
You may turn to me and say, But how could Cain know the way that suited God? I reply, How did Abel learn it? That he learned it, is certain. There are two men sitting side by side tonight in this room, and one has learned the way to God and the other has not. Wherein lies the difference? Are not both sinners? Yes! Were not Cain and Abel equally sinners in the sight of God? They were. The Spirit of God reveals the secret of the difference in each case. “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he, being dead, yet speaketh” (Heb. 11:44By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (Hebrews 11:4)). I wonder if you ever heard a dead man speak yet? You say, A dead man speak? That would be the last man I would expect to listen to. A dead man speaks to you tonight, and he plainly says, You will never get to God if you don’t go in the way I went. What does Abel say? He tells you the truth in the simplest language possible: I put between my sinful soul and God the dead body of a sinless victim offered in sacrifice.
Abel teaches us the way to God most clearly, as he puts between his guilty soul and God the body of the victim offered in sacrifice. He had the knowledge that death was upon him, and that he was a sinner out of God’s presence. Death was ahead of him, as well as judgment. You may say, But how did he learn it? He had heard how God had dealt in righteous judgment with his parents in the moment of the fall. His parents had doubtless told him the sad tale of sin, and its judgment, which Genesis 3 records. You too have learned the truth from your parents. Whether it has yet brought forth fruit in your life is another question. God knows that, and you know too. Clearly the parents of these two young men had told them of how they had been driven out of the garden of Eden, and of the way in which God had clothed them with the skins of beasts. Abel had believed and deeply profited by this lesson, while Cain ignored it.
Abel, so to speak, is heard saying:―I am a sinner, I am under sentence of death, and I know the wages of sin is death; and the only way I can draw near to God is by putting between Him and me the dead body of a sinless victim; that sacrifice I will offer, and upon that ground I will draw near to Him. BY FAITH he offered unto God “a more excellent sacrifice.” And he found he was accepted. You have the very kernel of Christianity foreshadowed in his action. You have the truth of the cross, and of the death of the Lord Jesus for poor sinners like you and me. Abel’s action most simply points to the cross, and to the death of the Saviour in the room and stead of the guilty sinner. That is the lesson I learn from his action.
Now Cain’s road, on the other hand, only ends in rejection, death, and judgment. It never leads to God. Abel’s path leads certainly to the knowledge of acceptance with God. “BY FAITH Abel offered unto God a MORE EXCELLENT sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was RIGHTEOUS, God testifying of his gifts; and by it he, being dead, yet speaketh.” He is one of the wonderful cloud of witnesses to the value of faith, found in Hebrews 11, and if I put him in the witness box, and inquire, Abel, what have you to say? he replies, I am accepted. By whom? By God. How were you accepted―on the ground of your works? I had none; I brought forth nothing but sin. I am accepted on this ground. By faith I put between my guilty soul and God the dead body of a spotless victim. I offered the firstling of the flock, and the fat, ―the excellence thereof, ―and God accounted me righteous. He accepted me in the value and excellence of my offering. That is a good testimony from a dead man.
Cain is dead also, but he does not speak. Ah! no, Cain has no helpful cheery voice from the dead. God gives you His commentary about him. The Holy Ghost says: ― “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain.” And yet Cain’s way is the popular way, mark that! It is the way ninety-nine men out of every hundred go today. Go down the street and ask the first man you meet if he is sure that he is on his road to heaven. With complacent self-satisfaction his answer will be: “Nobody can know that with certainty, but I am doing my best. I am religious, and take the sacrament, and give of my substance for God’s work. What more can I do.?” Take the second man, he will say: “I don’t like that sort of question put to me. Of course I am not what I should be, but I am not so bad as many, and God is merciful.” A third man will reject you and your query with scorn, and if you put the Gospel before him, will put it aside. It is a solemn day we live in.
Cain’s way has great attractions for multitudes, for, mark you, he was religious! I don’t think he was a skeptic―an infidel. I do not think he was a hypocrite. He was the man who inaugurated mere human religion, and became the leader of countless thousands of men, who start and continue their course in life by ignoring the fact of the gravity of sin, and of the reality of the breach that sin has brought in between God in His holiness, and man in his guilt. Cain ignored the truth of the fall. I can draw near to God―he practically said―on the ground of that which I can myself do, on the ground of that which I have produced, ―and he digs and delves, labors and tills, toils and sweats; he reaps his corn, and presses his wine; and with a well-dressed sheaf, and a flagon of well-pressed wine, he draws near to God. And then what is the result? God does not accept his sacrifice nor him. Why? He was bringing the fruit of the ground, already cursed. The curse of God had fallen upon the earth previous to this, and that Cain ignored also. The ground came in for the curse by Adam’s sin. Creation has shared in the fall of Adam. He was creation’s lord―but he fell, and as a result vanity has come into the scene, and now the earth shares in the fortunes of her fallen lord.
All this Cain forgot, as well as that he was a lost man, a ruined sinner, and at a distance from God. And, my friends, it is a very easy thing to forget that; it is very easy for you and me to ignore it. Man needs to wake up to the fact that he is a sinner. You say, Who do you mean? I mean you, myself, and every man. God has left no man out. Man as man has sinned, and between your soul and God there is at this moment―if you have not yet been born of God, and brought to Him through the blood of Jesus―a distance, a terrible distance, and it is a good thing when a man feels it. Cain ignores the distance. In calm indifference of soul he chooses to draw near to God. And people today walk in “the way of Cain,” and think that by their own doings, their prayers, their religious exercises, and by a meritorious life, they may draw near to God.
Such cases abound. I saw a lady, a few days ago, who said, “I wish I could die.” “I hope you will not,” I replied, “for I don’t think you are ready.” “But I think I am ready,” she rejoined, “for I say my prayers regularly. Will not my prayers avail?” “No, your prayers will not avail. Man does not get to God and receive forgiveness of sins by his prayers. Scripture says, that ‘without shedding of blood is no remission’ (Heb. 9:2222And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22)). And again it says, ‘To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness’” (Rom. 4:66Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, (Romans 4:6)).
The man who verily thinks that by his prayers his sins can be washed away, is truly in “the way of Cain.” He thought that the activity of his life, and the fruits gathered from it, could fit him―a sinner―to stand before God! What folly! If you are in “the way of Cain,” may God arrest you tonight. That road ends in eternal ruin, depend upon it. “WOE UNTO THEM! for they have gone in the way of Cain,” says the Holy Ghost. You had better get into the way of Abel. What did Abel do? He presented the firstling of his flock. He learned by faith that there must be between him and God the spotless victim, that tells of death undergone. That victim he offered, and God accepted him.
Now, how can you and I get salvation? Only by faith in God’s blessed Son. The lamb offered by Abel was a striking type of the Lamb of God. “Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world,” said the Baptist (John 1:2929The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29)). As I look back at the cross, I see the wonderful truth that between two malefactors there died the sinless, spotless Man―the Lamb of God―for hell-deserving sinners. What then shall I do? Shall I endeavor to put myself right with God by my own endeavors, or shall I put between my soul and the holiness of God the wonderful truth that Jesus died, and died for me? I will follow Abel I was in “the way of Cain” for a good many years, until I found that the way of Abel was the best, ―that it was the way of salvation, ―for it is God’s way, being of faith.
What is faith? Faith is the principle that links the soul with God. Cain is the leader and first exponent of what I may term natural religion for spite of his sin―yea, because of it―man is a religious being. He has the sense that there is a supreme Being, and knows he must appear before that Being sooner or later, and he gets filled with the thought that he must propitiate Him, and do something that will fit him for God’s presence. Hence he often strives in order to do that something. Many a young man has done that, when he has found out through practical failure that he is a faulty creature. Many a young fellow sets out from his father’s house with his pockets well lined. He finds the world a fine place as long as he has plenty of money. While you have plenty of money, you will be asked out, and much made of. But let the resources dry up, and you are not able to do as you formerly did. How shortsighted will your friends become! When the nap of your coats and the silk on your hats have become worn, and you are a little shabby, it is strange how suddenly your old chums fail actually to know you. The world seeks you when you are a pigeon to be plucked, and whenever that is done it throws you over. The world wants you as long as you can be of use to it, and no longer. When that day arrives, it bids you good-bye. That is the world. There is many a man who has experienced that, and has learned what a disappointing thing it is, Then it often is that a man, weary of the world, seeks rest in natural religion. He tries “the way of Cain.” A round of religious exercises is commenced, in the hope that these may expiate his sins. “I will appease Him with a present,” is man’s thought of God. But this is fatal folly, for “without shedding of blood is no remission” is God’s irrevocable dictum. Works never saved a man yet, nor ever will.
How absolutely in contrast with this is God’s way of dealing with needy man. He loves to bless him, and his need only becomes the occasion for the display of God’s grace. This is displayed in the cross of Jesus, which is the perfect answer to all our need as guilty sinners before God. What you could not do, Christ has done. There has been laid down before God the spotless life of Jesus, in order to our redemption, and to bring to God the guilty sons of men, who simply believe in Him, and trust in Him, and who, like Abel, put Him as the sacrifice between their guilty souls and God. If you have not believed in Jesus, turn to Him now. Come to the Saviour now, yield your heart to Him. His blood cleanses from all sin. Truly, “it speaketh better things than that of Abel.”
Observe that God accepts Abel on the ground of his sacrifice, and does not accept Cain on the ground of his works. What was the next thing? “Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” Is not that strange? I have known people get terribly angry when they have heard a simple Christian say he knew he was saved. You may ask me, Are you saved? Thank God, yes; saved for time and eternity. Christ has died for me, given Himself for me, and it is alone through Him that I am saved. Ah! says one, I don’t believe that. Don’t you? But, my friend, I do. I know it certainly, on the same authority as Abel. Had you met Abel coming away with a beaming face, and said, You look happy, Abel! would he not have replied, “I have a good right to be so; I am accepted by God, and know it”? But what have you done to ensure this? Nothing. I have brought to God nothing that I did. God has accepted me on the ground of the death of another, and He has told me so.
It was this assurance of acceptance by God which Abel possessed that so provoked his elder brother. “Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth?” If a man says, I don’t believe that any one can know he is forgiven, then I know he is not forgiven himself. If you were forgiven, you would know what I know, viz., the joy of a present salvation through faith in a glorified Saviour, and the precious privilege of serving Him. Acknowledge that you are in “the way of Cain,” and you may get out of that way. That is what I am here for tonight. I want to get you out of “the way of Cain,” and into the way of Abel. I want to get you to know and to enjoy the truth of God’s salvation. But how is that obtained? By the acceptance first of the fact that you are ruined, and then by the acceptance of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. If there has never sprung up in your heart trust in the Lord Jesus, and if you have not yet found salvation, then I beseech you to listen to the voice of Abel, that dead man who yet speaks. What does he say? “Trust the sacrifice, sinner; put between your guilty soul and God the body of the spotless victim. Between my soul and God I put one that was the type of Him who is to be placed between your soul and God, and I am accepted.” Truly “he being dead, yet speaketh.”
Cain’s voice, we have seen, is silent. Cain had the same opportunity of securing acceptance and blessing as Abel, but he missed it. Mark that! “And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin (or, a sin-offering) lieth at the door.” The Lord says in effect to Cain: You can go and do as Abel did. Follow your brother. Why don’t you take his road? Alas! Cain did not like it; and a little while after, he “talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him.”
Do you know why he slew him? Four thousand years after this terrible murder, God gives the reason for it. In 1 John 3:1111For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (1 John 3:11) and 12, He says, “This is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not 68 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.”
W. T. P. W.