"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. And the LORD said unto Cain, Why
are you wroth? and why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and
if you do not well, sin lies at the door" (Gen. 4:4-7).

At least three sins committed by Cain are recorded in the first few verses of Genesis 4. The LORD
responded to each one. The first sin has to do with the offering Cain brought_the fruit of that
which was under a curse. It may not seem all that serious. But Cain surely had learned from his
parents what the LORD desired in an offering. Whether he was stubbornly rebellious or forgetfully
insensitive to God’s will, Cain missed the mark (which is the literal meaning of the word for "sin"
in both the Old and New Testaments). The LORD responded by not having respect "unto Cain and
to his offering," whereas He "had respect unto Abel and to his offering" (Gen. 4:4,5). We are not
told what the LORD did to show His respect and lack thereof to the two offerings. Perhaps He sent
fire down to consume Abel’s, but not Cain’s offering (see 1 Ki. 18:38; 2 Chron. 7:1).

Cain’s second sin was in becoming angry when the LORD did not accept his offering. This time
the LORD appealed to Cain to think about why he was angry. He told Cain that there was still
opportunity for him to turn around, do the right thing, and be accepted by the LORD. However,
if Cain would not turn around, if he were to continue in his angry, rebellious spirit, then notice
was given to him that "sin lies [or crouches] at the door." In other words, Cain would be opening
himself up to the potential for even greater sin. Sin is presented here in the figure of a crouching
wild beast, ready to pounce on its victim (see 1 Pet. 5:8 for a similar picture).

Cain did not heed the LORD‘s warning, did not control his anger, and allowed sin to pounce on
him and consume him. "Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him" (4:8). Once again,
the LORD spoke to Cain:"What have you done? the voice of your brother’s blood cries unto Me
from the ground. And now you are cursed" (4:10,11).

(It might be noted here that at least one Bible scholar translates verse 7 as "a sin-offering lies at
the door. The Hebrew word here is commonly translated both "sin" (as in Gen. 18:20; 50:17; and
many other places) and "sin offering" (as in Lev. 4:3,8 and many other places). The context must
be used to decide which translation is appropriate. While it is wonderfully true that God has made
full provision for man’s sin, it does not seem fitting to use "sin offering" in the particular context
of Gen. 4:7. Using that would essentially be saying, "If you do not bring your anger under control
and continue sinning, don’t worry:there is still a sin offering available for you." Such language
takes away the gravity and seriousness of sin and does not seem to fit with the rest of Scripture.)

There is an extremely important point to be made from this passage (a point that is entirely missed
if we use the translation "sin offering" in verse 7). We all sin, we all fail, we all make
mistakes_often, and in a great variety of ways. The major problems that have occurred
throughout the history of the world are not, I suggest, a result of man’s basic propensity to sin per
se. Rather, they are a result of man’s pride and ego not allowing him to receive reproof and
correction and to confess and acknowledge his sins and failures. Cain’s original failure_bringing

a faulty offering_could easily have been remedied, and all would have been fine. Even his second
sin_anger toward the LORD_could have been repented of and he would have been accepted. But
Cain passed up these opportunities to make things right, and added to his fame as mankind’s
firstborn son the infamy of being the world’s first murderer. A curse was pronounced upon Cain
and perhaps the ultimate result of that curse is that every single descendant of Cain died in the
great flood in Noah’s day.

In Matt. 18:15-17 the Lord gives us instruction for dealing with fellow believers who sin against
us. "Go and tell him his fault between you and him alone:if he shall hear you, you have gained
your brother." If every sinful act were dealt with in this way, and if the sinner were always to
respond in the right way_hearing his brother_what a different world we would be living in
today! Think what this would do to the rate of marital separations and divorces, employee firings,
student suspensions, divisions in the body of Christ, and wars within and among nations!

That original sin or offense or trespass referred to in Matt. 18:15 might be a relatively small
matter, say a nasty or slighting word spoken to another. But if the offender stubbornly refuses to
acknowledge that there was anything wrong with what was said, the end result could be
excommunication and being treated as a heathen by the local assembly (18:17).

What is it that keeps us from "hearing" our brother? It is our pride, our ego, our self-esteem. This
"pride of life" (1 John 2:16) was the very first sin of the human race (Gen. 3:5,6), and no doubt
is the very last sin to be eradicated from the most mature Christians.

God has many ways of showing us our sins. "All Scripture … is profitable … for reproof" (2 Tim.
3:16). "The Comforter [or Holy Spirit] … will reprove the world of sin" (John 16:8). "I charge
you … reprove, rebuke, exhort" (2 Tim. 4:1,2 along with Matt. 18:15 and others). If I do not
respond to the teachings and reproofs of Scripture and the Holy Spirit, God may send a human
messenger to reprove me. (I think we all would far rather be reproved by Scripture or the Holy
Spirit than by a fellow human being!)

When reproved by another, how do we respond? The Book of Proverbs describes those who
do_and do not_respond to reproof. On the one hand, "he who regards reproof shall be honored
… is prudent" (13:18; 15:5); the ear that hears the reproof of life abides among the wise"
(15:31,32). On the other hand, "he who refuses reproof errs" (10:17); "he who hates reproof is
brutish … shall die" (12:1; 15:10).

Let us not despise reproof just because it may be given to us by one younger than we. Remember
how the LORD gave young Samuel a message of reproof to deliver to old Eli (1 Sam. 3:10-18).
A fellow who is serving a life sentence in the state prison once told me that his children appealed
to him to change his way of life … and he ignored them. Just a few weeks later he was arrested
for murder. The exhortation to Timothy, "Rebuke not an elder," means literally, "Do not rebuke
an elder sharply, or strike him with your words." The Apostle goes on to say, "But entreat him
as a father" (1 Tim. 5:1).

May we allow the Holy Spirit to do His needed work of showing us our pride and delivering us

from it. Thus, may we be faithful in hearing and receiving reproof before "secret faults" develop
into "presumptuous sins," and these in turn lead to "great transgression" (Psa. 19:12,13).