Nana Yaw Aidoo
Introduction
In order to emphasize the magnitude of the sin of certain false teachers and the danger of their course, Jude made reference to three Old Testament errorists, the first of which was Cain: “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain…” (Jude 11).
It might interest the reader to know that when Jude penned these words, about 4000 years had elapsed since Cain lived and yet the way of Cain was being trodden in his day. If it existed 4000 years after Cain’s death, we can be sure it still exists. Therefore, we would be better served to learn what it is so we desist from it.
What the Way of Cain is Not
A great way of learning what a thing is, is by learning what it is not. I used to think that Cain’s great sin was the murder of his brother. I no longer do due to John’s words in 1 John 3:11-12:
For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of the wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
Notice the distinction between the murder of Abel and something John calls Cain’s evil works. Why did Cain kill Abel? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. You see, there is a distinction between the murder of Abel and Cain’s evil works. The text suggests to me that if there were no evil works, there would have been no murder. These evil works then constitute Cain’s great sin. Abel’s murder was wrong but the murder was simply the consequence of something that had gone wrong before. That which had gone wrong before, John calls Cain’s evil works. Because Cain’s works were evil, they were not accepted by God. And it was the fact that God didn’t accept his works but accepted Abel’s that led Cain to murder his brother. However, the sin that led to the murder of Abel, was evidently not the murder itself but something that John called Cain’s evil works.
In order to know what these evil works were, we need to go back to the Old Testament to learn what it is that Cain did before he murdered Abel.
And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 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: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell (Gen. 4:3-5).
Passages like this one really impress on my mind the fact that God’s ways and thoughts are different and higher than the ways and thoughts of men (Isa. 55:8-9). What did Cain do prior to the murder of Abel? The Bible says he brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. What could possibly be wrong with this? Yet it was rejected by God and was called evil by inspiration. Notice also that John called Abel’s work righteous. Why was Cain’s offering rejected and called evil and Abel’s offering accepted and called righteous? What was the difference between the two?
At this point, let me impress on your mind that the difference between Cain and Abel was not that one believed in God while the other didn’t. Both of them believed in God the same. Therefore, the way of Cain is not unbelief in God.
Also, the difference between Cain and Abel was not that one of them was willing to worship God while the other wasn’t. Both of them believed God ought to be worshipped and both in fact offered a sacrifice unto God. Therefore, the way of Cain is not a lack of willingness to worship.
Again, the difference between Cain and Abel was not that one worshipped the true God while the other didn’t. The same God to whom Abel gave an offering was the same God to whom Cain gave an offering. Therefore, the way of Cain is not the worship of a false god.
Here are two blood brothers, who both believe in God Almighty, who both have the same willingness to worship God and who both offer a sacrifice to God. Yet, one’s offering is accepted while the other’s is rejected and called evil. I tell you friends the real difference between the two is what Jude calls the way of Cain.
What Then is the Way of Cain?
Friends the answer to the above question is found in Hebrews 11:4: “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.”
I have heard some with speculative spirits say Abel’s sacrifice was accepted because he offered the best of his flock to God whereas Cain’s was rejected because he offered rotten cabbages and tomatoes to God. Nothing could be farther from the truth. What the Bible actually says is that Abel’s offering was accepted because it was done by faith necessarily implying that Cain’s was rejected because it was not done by faith.
What does it mean that Abel’s sacrifice was done by faith? Paul gives us the answer in Romans 10:17: “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Since faith comes by God’s Word, it follows then that Abel offered his sacrifice by faith because he did what God had told him to do. There is no real biblical faith without God’s Word and so evidently God had told the brothers the kind of offering to bring to Him. It turns out Abel did what God required, which made his offering done by faith while Cain brought what God had not told him to bring, offering to God something of his own choice, which made his offering not done by faith.
Herein lies the answer to the question, what then is the way of Cain? The way of Cain is the way of will or self-ordered worship. It is the devil’s lie that so long as you have an honest heart and are worshipping the one true God, you can worship Him with anything you choose and He’d accept it. It is the lie that we have a choice in the kind of offerings we bring to God in worship.
The truth however is that God is not obligated to accept anything we bring to Him in worship. There is nothing that God needs from us (Acts 17:25). Therefore, God only accepts that which He has required of us or told us to bring to Him in worship. The way of Cain once again is the way of will or self-ordered worship. It is the way that says you can choose to worship God with anything and He’d accept it.
What do we Learn From the Foregoing?
First, we learn that not all worship is acceptable unto God. Cain had worshipped yet God asked him, “if thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted?…” (Gen. 4:7).
Second, we learn that God will accept from men only that which He has told men to offer as a sacrifice unto Him.
Third, we learn that an honest heart does not make an unauthorized offering right. So long as it is unauthorized, it is evil in the sight of God. There is no indication of insincerity prior to Cain’s offering. I wonder if he was thinking, “I know that God says to offer an animal but wouldn’t he be even more delighted if I gave Him the best of the best of my food crops?”
Finally, we learn that only when we do in worship what God has told us to do, do we worship by faith and please Him (Heb. 11:6).
Some Applications for Today
Let us now apply our lessons to modern day religion.
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ by virtue of His death has taken away the Old Testament and established a new one (Heb. 10:9). Therefore, Christians are ministers of the new covenant and not of the old (2 Cor. 3:6). Just as God desired worship in the Old Testament and authorized what to be offered to Him, so he desires worship today (John 4:23) and has authorized what we ought to offer unto Him (Col. 3:17).
One such offering is in the area of preaching. God requires that his spokespersons in the church today (1 Tim. 3:15) be of the male gender (1 Tim. 2:11-15). Since God has authorized only men to be preachers, regardless of our “honest” hearts, three things are true. First, God will not accept worship that involves women preachers. Second, worship that involves women preachers is evil in God’s sight and third, worship that involves female preachers is not done by faith.
Also, in the area of music, God has authorized vocal music. In God’s New Testament we are to sing songs not play songs. An example of this is Hebrews 13:15. God requires that the sacrifice of His praise be offered with the fruit of our lips. Nothing is said about offering praise to God with or alongside the fruit of our fingertips. Since God has authorized vocal music in Christian worship, regardless of our “honest” hearts, three things are true. First, God will not accept worship that involves instrumental music. Second, worship that involves instrumental music is evil in God’s sight and third, worship that involves instrumental music is not done by faith.
Then again, God has authorized His saints to gather around the table of His Son on the first day of the week and only on the first day of the week (Acts 20:5-7). Since God has authorized the Lord’s supper to be served and taken on the first day of the week, regardless of our “honest” hearts, three things are true. First, God will not accept worship that involves gathering around the Lord’s table on a day other than the first day of the week. Second, worship that involves gathering around the Lord’s table on a day other than the first day of the week is evil in God’s sight and third, worship that involves gathering around the Lord’s table on a day other than the first day of the week is not done by faith.
Furthermore, in the area of prayer, God has authorized prayers be directed to Him (not Mary or dead saints) in the name of Jesus Christ always (Eph. 5:20). Since God has authorized prayers to be made this way, regardless of our “honest” hearts, three things are true. First, God will not accept worship that involves prayers not directed to Him. Second, worship that involves prayers not directed to God is evil in God’s sight and third, worship that involves prayers not directed to God is not done by faith.
Conclusion
We have seen that the way of Cain pertains to will-worship or worship in which the worshippers choose what offerings to give to God. That kind of worship can only lead to unbearable punishment in hell fire like Cain eventually received (Gen. 4:13; Matt. 7:21-23). It matters neither how much money a group gives to charity nor how many adherents it has. So long as it offers unauthorized worship to God, they need to beware for they have gone in the way of Cain. Because of the nature of the hearts of accountable men (Jer. 17:9), we ought to “know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jer. 10:23). It is God’s right to tell men how to worship Him and for men to worship Him just how He has prescribed. That we learn this lesson is my humble prayer.
