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The 7th Sunday in Trinity
Understanding Our Faith
July 19, 2009

TEXT:  (Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJ) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
 
Exactly what does this mean?—we say it all the time: by faith we are saved—it is important that we understand how we are saved and that will be our lesson for today—how we are saved by faith
 
When God created the heavens and the earth and everything in it, on it, and above it—the world was perfect—there was no need for salvation—Adam and Eve lived in the perfection of the Garden of Eden—they were married, happy, and walking with God every day
 
This worked fine until the devil tempted the man and his wife into sin—God threw Adam and Eve out of the garden and took away the perfect world they knew—Adam and Eve were separated from the presence of God
They had to work for their survival—they had to endure discomfort, pain, and suffering—they were not in the ever-presence of God—everything was different—man could now do good or he could do evil—and it didn’t take long for the choice of evil to come—Cain killed Abel—for the sake of our lesson we will investigate the circumstances of the murder
 
(Genesis 4:1-8 NKJ) Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, "I have acquired a man from the LORD." 2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 "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." 8 Now Cain 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 killed him.
 
There are many lessons for us in these few words of Genesis—first we notice that Eve named her first son Cain, which means a gift from God—Eve thought Cain was the promised one that would destroy the devil—but it turns out that Cain would become of the devil—another observation we should make is that in these “ancient days” each man was the priest of his household—this is implied in our Genesis account, and is stated clearly in the writings of the Prophet Jeremiah
 
(Jeremiah 6:16 NKJ) Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said,`We will not walk in it.'
 
(Jeremiah 18:15 NKJ) "Because My people have forgotten Me, They have burned incense to worthless idols. And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways, From the ancient paths, To walk in pathways and not on a highway,
 
The ancient times would be a reference to the times prior to God establishing the Levitical Priesthood in the days of Moses and the Tabernacle—consider the offerings of Cain and Abel in the context of each of them being the priest approaching God with their offerings—letting Scripture interpret Scripture—we go to the New Testament for understanding
 
(Hebrews 11:4 NKJ) By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.
 
(1 John 3:11-12 NKJ) For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous.
 
What made Abel’s gift more excellent?—it was Abel’s faith in the God of Creation, the God of the Promise made to Eve upon the Fall into sin—What made Cain’s gift unrespectable?—it was the lack of faith of the offerer, Cain—Cain worshipped without faith and was going through the motions of worship—just as some would do today—remember, since the resurrection of our Lord, we are members of the Royal Priesthood—we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit—we are responsible for our worship of the One True God—just as in the ancient times of Cain and Abel—each of us must examine himself to determine if we are going through the public motions of worship—or if we are worshipping in faith in the Living God and our Savior Jesus the Christ
 
If we read carefully we notice that God never asked for a sacrifice or an offering—there is no mention of sacrifices until after the fall of man into sin—this fall into sin caused not only a physical separation of man from God, but also a spiritual separation—let’s look at Scripture and see if we can understand why God accepted one offering and not the other—some believe Cain’s offering was not accepted because it contained no blood—sins could only be forgiven when blood was shed in the sacrifice
 
(Hebrews 9:22 NKJ) And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
 
This is not the reason God rejected Cain’s offering—grain offerings and drink offerings were discussed as being appropriate in Leviticus
 
We also must consider that there is no mention of Cain or Abel committing any sin—or their offering having to do with repentance—they were making an offering as part of their worship of God—Abel approached God with his offering in faith—faith is not mentioned in association with Cain—actually the contrary is recorded
 
 
 
 
 
(Hebrews 11:1-6 NKJ) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.…6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
 
Faith is the cement that bonds us to God—and that cement is provided by God as a gift—those who believe Jesus is the promised Christ—and that He died for our sins are saved—those that do not believe are condemned to eternal death—Jesus died once, for all—but that doesn’t mean that everyone is saved through His death and resurrection—and understanding that point we consider the classic explanation Jesus gave us for His coming—Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus—explaining that we must be born again—Nicodemus was a Scriptural scholar—but he didn’t see how everything fit together
 
(John 3:14-18 NKJ) "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
 
And at the end of this chapter, John summarizes the lesson in the last verse
 
(John 3:36 NKJ) "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
 
The key thought here is believing Jesus is the Son of God—it is not enough to believe in God and the Laws of God—even the heathens believe in God—the devil believes and knows God—so we know that believing in God is not enough
 
 
 
 
(Romans 1:18-21 NKJ) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
 
Knowledge of Jesus the Christ as God is even known by the devil’s workers
 
(Luke 4:33-34 NKJ) Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are-- the Holy One of God!"
 
(James 2:19 NKJ) You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-- and tremble!
 
Now as we walk in our new life with Christ—we sometimes doubt our faith—or whether we have enough faith—God knows we are weak—but He gives us the comfort of knowing we are His—if you doubt your faith—this in itself is testimony that your faith exists—because without the Holy Spirit you care nothing about faith
 
(1 Corinthians 2:13-14 NKJ) These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
 
Therefore if you doubt your faith—you can be assured that you have faith—the Apostle John gives us this comforting testimony
 
(1 John 5:10-12 NKJ) He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
 
In closing—if we know our that Jesus is our Savior—that knowledge is a gift of the Holy Spirit
 
(1 Corinthians 12:3 NKJ) … no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!