Series:
1 John
Title:
Love Not as Cain
Text:
1 John 3: 11-19
Date:
December 13, 2018
Place:
SGBC, NJ
Genesis 4: 3: And in process of time it
came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the
LORD. 4: 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: 5: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not
respect. And Cain was very wroth, and
his countenance fell. 6: And the LORD
said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7: If thou
doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth
at the door. And unto thee shall be his
desire, and thou shalt rule over him. 8:
And 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 slew him.
1 John 3: 11: For this is the message that ye heard
from the beginning, that we should love one another. 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. 13:
Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
Title: Love Not as Cain
There are only two kinds of people in the world, only two
kinds of religion: children of the devil who trust salvation by the will and
works of the sinner and children of God who believe salvation by the grace of
God through the works of Christ through faith alone. All men and
all religions are summed up in these two: Cain and Abel, works and grace.
Like as these two religions are different so is love
that each manifests. True God-given love
for brethren is not the sentimental, passion which the religious world speaks
about. That love is of depraved man, patterned
after man. It is only another religious
work of an unregenerate religious man. Love
which is of God is unfeigned love given by Christ who creates a new man within
the sinner in righteous and true holiness.
John may be
contrasting the two since he knew what Christ said. John said of the child of God, “This is the message ye heard FROM THE BEGINNING,
that we should love one another.” Contrast
that with the child of the devil of whom Christ said, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts
of your father ye will do. He was a murderer
FROM THE BEGINNING, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in
him.” (Jn 8: 44)
Proposition: We learn something about the love that God gives his
people by contrasting it with the hatred Cain had for Abel.
HATE IS OF THE DEVIL, LOVE IS OF GOD
1 John 3: 11: For this is the message that ye heard from
the beginning, that we should love one another. 12: Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one,
and slew his brother.
Cain was a child of the devil, “of that wicked one.” Christ
said the devil was a “murderer from the
beginning.” Cain “slew his brother.” Why? The devil and his children hate the church
because they hate Christ. In Genesis
3:15, the devil and his seed hate the woman, who is the church. The woman’s seed is Christ who came through
the church.
Genesis 3: 15: And I will put enmity between thee and
the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and
thou shalt bruise his heel.
Therefore,
not being born of the word of God, the child of the devil would kill Christ if
possible. But since he cannot, he would kill the
believer in whom Christ abides. He does
so in his heart. Christ said,
John 8: 37:…Ye seek to kill me because my word hath no
place in you…42: Jesus said unto them, If
God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from
God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
So
contrasting Cain’s hatred we see where unfeigned love comes from. Cain was of the wicked one therefore he hated
Christ and hated his people; the child of God is of God our Father therefore we
love Christ and love his people. Cain
was born of natural flesh and was under the power of the devil; the child of
God is born of God our Father by the Spirit and is under the power of God. The word of God had no place in Cain; the
child of God is born of the incorruptible seed, the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever.
So
the child of God is like Abel. Abel was of God—chosen of God, redeemed of
God, born of God—therefore the child of God loves our brethren who are born of
God. “By faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain” (Heb 11: 4). The only way a sinner has faith is to be born
of God. He is given faith as a gift of God’s
grace. That is how a sinner comes to
have unfeigned love for Christ and for our brethren.
1 Peter 1: 21: Who by [Christ]
do believe in God…22: Seeing ye
have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto UNFEIGNED
LOVE OF THE BRETHREN, see that ye love one another with a pure heart
fervently: 23: Being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth for ever.
1 John 5:1: Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the
Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth [Christ] that begat, loveth [our
brother] also that is begotten of him.
So
unfeigned love of brethren comes from being of God the Father, being born of
God our Father by the Spirit and being born of the incorruptible seed which is the
word of God. When we are born of God,
the first Brother we love is Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God. And we love all who are begotten of him. Unfeigned love comes from us being all of
one.
Ephesians 4: 3: Endeavouring to keep the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace. 4: There is
one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5:
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6: One God and Father of all, who is above
all, and through all, and in you all.
CAIN’S WORKS EVIL, ABEL’S WORKS
RIGHTEOUS
1 John 3: 12:…And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his
brother’s righteous.
Cain’s
own works were evil. He was one who “doeth not righteousness.” What
did he do?
Genesis 4: 3: And in process of time it came to pass,
that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
Cain
came before God with the works of his own hands, the fruit of the ground, with
no blood. The ground was cursed by
God. Cain came with the fruit of the
cursed ground. “Without shedding of blood is no remission” of sins (Heb 9: 22). That is how sinners come to God who expect to
be accepted by the fruit of their cursed flesh. Cain’s works were evil because Cain did not
believe on Christ—that is what one does when one “doeth not righteousness.”
Why
is it called “doing not righteousness?”
Remember this from our former
messages? Cain transgressed against God
the Father and God the Son by not believing on Christ and loving his
brethren. Faith in Christ which worketh
by the constraint of Christ’s love for us is the commandment of our Lord.
1 John 2: 4: He that saith, I know him, and keepeth
not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1 John 2: 23: Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath
not the Father:
2 John 1:9: Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not
in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.
Apart
from faith in Christ a sinner is under the curse of the law. If a sinner imagines one work is necessary by
his hand then Christ is of no effect unto him.
He is a debtor to keep the whole law of God. (Gal 5: 3-4) Therefore, the reprobate who commits the sin
of apostacy, also, transgresses the whole law of God. In context, we saw that that is the sin John
speaks of—“the sin unto death.”
1 John 3: 4: Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth ALSO
the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
Abel’s
works were the exact opposite—“and his brother’s righteous.” Abel was one John speaks of who “doeth
righteousness.” What did Abel do?
Genesis 4: 4: And Abel, he also brought of the
firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof.
Abel
came to God with the blood of a substitute lamb that had died in his place. This is “doing
righteousness.” He believed on Christ.
Faith is called “doing
righteousness” because through faith we establish the law of God (Rom 3:31).
It is the exact opposite of “doing not righteousness.” John makes that plain throughout his
epistles.
1 John 2: 4: He that saith, I know him, and keepeth
not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him 5: But whoso keepeth
his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we
are in him.
1 John 2: 23: Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath
not the Father: (but) he that
acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
2 John 1:9: Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of
Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in
the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
Here
is where the difference between the child of God and the child of the devil is
manifest in their lives. God’s response to
their works stirred up Cain’s enmity and made him kill his brother.
Genesis 4: 4…And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to
his offering: 5: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance
fell. 6: And the LORD said unto Cain,
Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7: If thou doest well, [if
thou doest righteousness by believing on Christ] shalt thou not be accepted?
As
John declared in 1 John 3,
1 John 3:7: Little children, let no man deceive you:
he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as [Christ] is righteous.
Genesis 4: 7…and if thou doest not well, [doeth not
righteousness, believing not on Christ] sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou
shalt rule over him. 8: And Cain talked
with Abel his brother:
I know how the talk between Cain and
Abel went. I have had it many times. Cain said something like this, “So let me get his straight, God chose you
and Christ died for you and you were born of God because you are better than me?” Abel said something along these lines, “No, Cain, I am a sinner saved by grace. The difference is the free grace of God: God
chose whom he would by his grace. Therefore,
Christ became my Surety. It is only by being
born of the Spirit of God that I came with the blood of a lamb. It is only by the works of God that God can
receive me.” But hearing the love of
God toward Abel only stirred up the enmity in Cain’s heart.
Genesis 4: 8…and Cain rose up against Abel his
brother, and slew him.
Remember, how we saw that the word “Behold”
means “knowing?” Read 1 John 3:1,
inserting the word knowing.
1 John 3: 1: [Knowing]
what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called
the sons of God: THEREFORE, the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
The
very gospel the child of God knows and delights in is why the child of the
devil “knoweth us not, because it knew
him not.” They know nothing of the
love of the Father because they are not of God therefore they do not love Christ.
John 8: 42: Jesus
said unto them, IF GOD WERE YOUR FATHER, YE WOULD LOVE ME: for I proceeded
forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.
But
when the child of the devil hears how God’s love is manifested and how it puts
all the glory in the hands of Christ and destroys their false refuge, therefore,
they hate Christ, hate us and hate our gospel.
1
John 4: 9: In this was MANIFESTED THE LOVE OF GOD TOWARD US, because that God
sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10: Herein is love, not that we loved God, but
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Love is kindled in our hearts when we hear of the
Father’s love manifest in sending his Son to be satisfaction for our sins that
he might give us eternal life. But in
those who are of the devil enmity is enflamed.
As Christ said,
John 5: 42:
But I know you, that ye have NOT THE LOVE OF GOD IN YOU. 43: I am come in my Father’s name, and
ye receive me not: [I am come to declare his righteousness, to save my people
from their sins; since ye have not the love of the Father in you, ye receive me
not] if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
Cain hated Abel because his own works were wicked and Abel’s were righteous. In verse 1, John quoted Christ, but Christ used even stronger words when he said it.
John 15: 18:
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19: If ye
were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
There is the love of God bestowed on us that the
apostate hates—God chose his people. But
we love that work because by it Christ drew us out of the world so that we are
not of the world.
John 15: 20:
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his
lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have
kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
There is the love of God bestowed on his people that
the reprobate hates. They receive not
the love of the truth that they might be saved.
But it is that same gospel by which we are born again unto unfeigned
love of the brethren.
John 15: 21:
But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they
know not him that sent me. 22: If I had
not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke
for their sin.
There is the love of God bestowed on us that the child
of the devil hates. Christ’s word exposes
their sins, ripping away their disguise.
But it is that very word that we love.
It makes us see we are guilty so that we take sides with God against our
own selves.
John 15: 23:
He that hateth me hateth my Father also. 24: If I had not done among them the
works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both
seen and hated both me and my Father.
There is the love of loves which the devil and his
seed hates the most! Christ did the
works none other man did. He fulfilled
the law and the prophets for his helpless, sinful people. This declares the very best law-keeping of
the self-righteous to be only sin. So
they hate it. But it is Christ’s work of limited atonement that
makes his people the righteousness of God in him and that is the gospel his
people love. We put all our trust in the
LORD our Righteousness.
John 15: 25:
But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in
their law, They hated me without a cause.
Unfeigned love is of God. The first message the child of God hears when
we are born of God and given spiritual discernment is the message of unfeigned
love Christ our elder brother laid down his life for his brethren, God’s elect—"For
this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one
another.”
Unfeigned love of brethren is inseparable from
holiness: God’s love is manifest by Christ laying down his life for us to make
us holy and righteous through which he creates in us a new man in righteousness
and true holiness, giving us unfeigned love of brethren.
Titus 3: 4…the
kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, 5: Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6: Which he shed on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7
That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the
hope of eternal life.
Cain
was filled with enmity because his own works were evil and his brother’s
righteous. But same as Christ slew the
enmity between Jew and Gentile by fulfilling the law, so too, Christ slew the
enmity between all his people by fulfilling the law for us and making us all
righteous in him. Every believer knows
we are only sinful worms who owe all our salvation to Christ who made us the
righteousness of God. So we are honest
with one another and love one another with unfeigned love.
Ephesians 2: 14: For he is our peace, who hath made
both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; 15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even
the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself
of twain one new man, so making peace; 16: And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the
cross, having slain the enmity thereby: 17:
And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were
nigh. 18: For through him we
both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19: Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
We love brethren and cease being hypocritical when we are
made honest by God. Christ humbles us by
his effectual command teaching us to love one another.
Galatians 6: 1: Brethren, if a man be overtaken in
a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 2: Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
3: For if a man think himself to
be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
MARVEL NOT
1 John 3: 13: Marvel
not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
So, believer, knowing what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed on us that we should be called the sons of God. And knowing that this very love is what the
child of the devil hates. Do not be
amazed when the world hates you. It
hated Christ first and still does.
2 Timothy. 3: 12: Yea,
and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
The moment the world hears us attribute all
our salvation to the will of a holy and sovereign God—our election, redemption,
and regeneration—persecution
is sure to arise. The more religion a
child of the devil has—being destitute of the love, grace, and mercy of God—the
greater persecutor that person will be.
AMEN!