Able Vs. Cain

by Frank Walton

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. --Hebrews 11:4

Abel's worship is presented as an exemplar to us of faithful, God-honoring worship. It was a "better sacrifice" (NASB; lit., "a more sacrifice"; Greek, pleion, "plenary" means "fully constituted"). This means it was the fullest example of supreme devotion in obedient worship that pleases God. Fausett observes it "partook more largely of the true virtue of sacrifice." This is a good reason to learn the difference between the acceptable worship of Abel in contrast to the unacceptable worship of Cain.

Acceptable Worship Must Be By Obedient Faith

Why was Abel's worship accepted and Cain rejected? Abel was "righteous" (Heb. 11:4, Matt 23:35) and therefore his attitude and action in worship must have been according to God's righteous will (Ps. 119: 172). Yet, Cain's worship was not, and it is listed among his "evil works" (1 John 3:12). Worship to God is supremely concerned with offering what God wants, not in fulfilling selfish human desires.

The "faith" to be "righteous" before God comes from doing God's will and following His directions (Heb. 10:36-38). How would Abel know that God wanted an animal sacrifice (kill it and burn it up as an offering), unless God had given instructions? How then did Abel and Cain come to offer their worship at the same time? Both contextually point to God having given some specific instructions about worship He wanted.

A. R. Fausett observed: "Now faith must have some revelation of God on which it fastens. The revelation was ... God's command to sacrifice animals ... in token of the forfeiture of men's life by sin" ( JFB: NT Commentary, 2:566).

How do we get "faith" to believe that what we offer to God is acceptable? "Faith ... comes by hearing the Word" (Rom. 10:17). Faith is a trusting response to God. The "righteous live by faith" (1:17), which is to "walk by faith" (2 Cor 5:7). This means following God's instructions in "the obedience of faith" (Rom. 16:25-27; Heb. 11:7-8, 17, 28, 30).

Faith to rightly obey must rest on divine testimony. The rejection of Cain and his offering of worship would also entail his lack of faith to not fulfill God's instructions of acceptable worship. God accepted both the worship and the worshipper in Abel's case, whereas He rejected both in the case of Cain.

No Substitutes for Blood Sacrifices Required of Sinners

Cain's offering was rejected because he failed to offer, by faith, the needed blood sacrifice to be right with God. For sinful men to approach a holy God, His grace and mercy ordained the life-blood of an innocent substitute offered to make atonement. "All things are cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb. 9:22). This substitutionary system was planned from the foundation of the world, since Christ Himself was "a Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8, ASV). This principle of blood atonement was operative in covering Adam and Eve's shameful nakedness, as visible evidence of their sin and alienation, which needed to be remedied in restoring fellowship with God (Gen. 3:7-11). In Hebrew, "to atone" means "to cover." In Genesis 3:21, God mercifully restored fellowship with Adam and Eve by slaying innocent animals and "made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them." Ryrie observes, "The garments of skin were God's provision for restoring Adam and Eve's fellowship with Himself and imply slaying of an animal in order to provide them." The Hebrew writer says that Jesus' "blood ... speaks better things than the blood of Abel" (Heb. 12:28). Abel's blood sacrifice was only a temporary provision for man's sin problem. Animal sacrifice was provisional and could only look forward to the perfect sacrifice of Christ, which would fully and finally mediate the lasting covenant between God and sinful men (Heb. 10:1-7).

We understand that Cain must have substituted a more convenient vegetable offering instead of the needed animal sacrifice. It wasn't that Cain just had a bad attitude. The text specifically says God "did not accept Cain and his gift" (Gen. 4:7, NCV), meaning both Cain himself and His worship were unacceptable to God.

Cain was the first religious innovator, which illustrates the error of "will-worship" (Col. 2:23) or "self-chosen religion." Those who "reject authority" (Jude 8), as in worship and add unauthorized items, have dangerously entered "the way of Cain" (v. 11). This is the way of rebellion against God's appointed way of acceptable worship and fellowship. In prompting Abel's murder, Cain's unauthorized worship is specifically enumerated as "his works were evil" (1 John 3:12). A rebellious person is a selfish person, who is more concerned with presumptuously doing what he wants in religion than submitting to what God requires. O Lord, keep us back "from presumptuous sin" (Ps. 19:13)!

An Internet blogger observed: "Cain ... showed that he desired to be independent of God by worshipping Him according to his own ideas, and his offering of the fruit of the ground displayed the fact that he was trusting in his own good works, and not in ... [God's grace] for justification. ... If we think we can worship God correctly without his Sovereign prescription, why should we think that we can't be saved as a result of our own efforts? If we are entirely dependent upon God's grace for salvation, then we must also be entirely dependent on the instructions of God's word for our worship."

 

Other Articles by Frank Walton
Someone Cares
For What am I Working?
Heavenly Power in Human Relations
Bible Authority and Church Music