church

INI
Fourth Sunday After Trinity
June 27, 2010
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

FAITH Makes All the Difference
Genesis 4:3-7

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord, Amen. This morning we turn to the fourth chapter of the Book of
Genesis, beginning with the third verse, as follows:

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the
fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock
and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not
respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance
fell. So the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your
countenance fallen? 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." So far the Holy Word.

In the Name of Christ, the Ruler of the universe and the Ruler of our hearts,
Dear Fellow Redeemed,

Ananias and his wife Sapphira were members of the early Christian church in
Jerusalem, not long after the day of Pentecost. Other congregation members
were selling their property and giving the money to the church, so Ananias and
Sapphira did the same. Only this couple secretly kept back part of the money.
And when they brought the rest to the church elders, they said it was the whole
amount.

They were struck dead on the spot. The question arises: Why? After all, God
doesn't require us to sell everything we have and give the money to the church.
Yes, they did lie to the apostles, but they could have been forgiven for that.
However, Ananias and Sapphira also tried to lie to God. When they did that,
they showed that there was something big missing from their hearts: FAITH.
They were destroyed because of their unbelief, not because of their offering. It
stands to reason: only someone who doesn't believe in God in the first place
could ever think he could get away with such a lie. Faith made the difference
between the God-pleasing offerings of the other church members, and the
God-defying lie of Ananias and Sapphira. And as they soon discovered, faith
makes the difference between forgiveness and no forgiveness, between eternal
life and eternal death!

Our text for today presents a similar case. Two offerings - one accepted and
one rejected. Two people - one accepted by God and the other rejected. At the
heart of the matter lies the same big difference: FAITH. Do you worry about
being accepted by God? Do you ever wonder whether your offerings are truly
God-pleasing or not? Are you fearful of certain sins taking control in your life?
Have courage! The account of Cain and Abel holds the answer to it all! Today
we'll consider the theme --

FAITH Makes All the Difference!
I. WITHOUT FAITH, sin rules over a person,
and nothing he does is pleasing to God.
II. WITH FAITH, we can rule over sin, and can
bring forth the God-pleasing fruits of faith.

The story of Cain and Abel is a familiar one. Most of us learned it in Sunday
School. Cain was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. When it was
time to bring an offering to the Lord, both of them brought some of the fruits of
their labor to sacrifice as a burnt offering on the altar. Abel and his offering
were accepted by God; Cain and his offering were not. This raises two
questions, one we can't answer and one we can.

In the first place, how did the Lord show that He accepted Abel's offering and
rejected Cain's? We don't know that for sure. Some of us remember pictures in
our Sunday School books that show the smoke of Abel's offering rising up to
heaven, and the smoke of Cain's offering lingering near the ground -- but that's
just an artist's impression. Maybe the Lord simply told them. The Bible doesn't
say. What is clear is that God showed His approval - and His disapproval - in
some unmistakable way.

A much more important question is, what was the difference between the two
men and their offerings? Why was one accepted and the other rejected? The
Bible answers that question for us in the New Testament book of Hebrews.
This passage is essential for understanding the account of Cain and Abel. Listen
carefully again to our Epistle Lesson of this morning – it says, "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." -- Heb 11:4.

In their case, as in all others, FAITH made all the difference. Abel trusted in
God's promise of a Savior from sin. His offering was the fruit of his faith. It was
a sincere outpouring of praise and thanks to the God who had saved him.
Because of faith, he and his offering were accepted.

On the other hand, faith was absent in the heart of Cain. You see, it really
didn't matter how big, or what quality Cain's offering was, because it’s faith that
makes all the difference. WITHOUT FAITH, sin rules over a person, and
nothing he does is pleasing to God!

Our text says, The LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not
respect Cain and his offering. Cain's offering no doubt looked good and
generous. Unfortunately, looking good on the outside isn't the test of an
acceptable offering to the Lord, but rather what the motivation is behind the
offering. "For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." -- 1 Sam 16:7. And when God
looked at Cain's heart, He saw something missing - FAITH.

You run into people every day who totally misunderstand the meaning of faith.
Isn’t it true? I was amazed, e.g., during the last presidential campaign, at how
much talk there was about the definition of faith, and what it means to be “a
person of faith.” The politicians were so clueless about the real meaning of faith
that it bordered on the ridiculous. It was like the story about the three blind
men trying to describe an elephant. The most common wrong definition of faith
that you run across, of course, is belief in the existence of God. “Well, I believe
God exists,” someone will say to you, “so I must be doing pretty good.” James
explodes that false comfort in one brief passage: You believe that there is one
God. You do well. Even the demons believe-- and tremble! -- Jam 2:19.
Believing God exists is not faith. Trusting in the blood and righteousness of
Christ for your forgiveness and eternal salvation – that’s faith. But there are
very few people who understand that. Most will continue to cross their fingers
in unbelief, and do a few good works here and there as a kind of insurance.
That way, they figure they’ll have a few check marks on God’s list in case all
this "heaven-and-hell" business turns out to be true after all!

What a terrible delusion! What the world doesn't understand is this: that it's
FAITH that makes all the difference. The Bible says clearly: "Without faith it is
impossible to please God." -- Heb 11:6. You can’t put any plainer than that:
"Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God!" In other words, it doesn't
matter how nice a person one is, how much money one donates to charity, or
how many good works one does. If a person hasn't got FAITH - if he doesn't
trust in Jesus Christ as His only Savior from sin - then there isn't a single thing
he can do that will be pleasing to God!

That was Cain's basic problem, and that's why neither he nor his offering were
acceptable in God's sight. And that's why God called on him to repent: So the
LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance
fallen? If you do well [-if you have faith in the promise and bring forth the true
fruits of faith!], 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."

Only one force can be dominant in your life - either your sin or God’s
righteousness. Paul says, "Do you not know that to whom you present
yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of
sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?" -- Rom 6:16. God warned Cain
that, by rejecting the His promise of forgiveness in unbelief, he was allowing
himself to be ruled by sin.

The same warning goes out to us. Sin lies daily at our door, as well. It crouches
there like a ferocious beast, just waiting to devour us. Every time we speak a
harsh, unloving word to our spouse, every time we take the Lord's name in vain,
every time we allow lustful thoughts and deeds to invade our minds, every time
we let something take precedence over God and His Word -- then we're giving
that beast a little more of a grip on us. And we're taking a terrible chance.
Because somewhere along that downward spiral comes the point where we can
no longer control sin. Sooner or later we'll find that we just don't care anymore.
From that point, sin will rule over us, rather than the other way around, just as
it did in the life of Cain. Faith will be extinguished. And that's the worst tragedy
of all, of course. Because if faith is lost, all is lost. FAITH makes all the
difference!

There's a new kind of movie out these days, have you noticed? In more and
more modern films, the Bad Guy is the one who wins out in the end. I guess
they think it's more interesting when evil triumphs, and crime pays, and justice
is not done. Well, you might think that's what happened in this account. After
all, we know that the Good Guy - Abel, the faithful servant of God - ended up
being murdered by his brother. Of course, Cain didn't get away with it. But still,
it might seem like the only message in this text is a negative one: a dreadful
warning to those who are without faith and ruled by sin. However, there's a
very positive message here for us, as well. Because another thing God makes
crystal clear to us in this text is that, WITH FAITH, we can rule over sin, and
can bring forth the God-pleasing fruits of faith!

Again, IT IS FAITH THAT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE. Remember
the passage from Hebrews: "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent
sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous."
Abel was just as much a sinner as his brother Cain; they both had inherited the
sinfulness of their parents, Adam and Eve. But Abel had something that Cain
did not have. He had faith, and the righteousness that comes only by faith. No
doubt it was his parents who taught Abel the Good News about the coming
Christ: "Yes, our lives are sinful. But God has promised to save us from our sin.
In the Garden He told us that He would send His Son, the Seed of the woman,
who would crush the power of the devil once and for all, and win eternal life for
all of us."

Abel put his faith in the coming Savior. He was accepted by God, and so was
his offering. What about you people sitting here today? Today God invites you,
too, to put your confidence in that same Savior. Only for you it's easier! You
don't have to look ahead to a promised Savior -- for you the promise has already
been fulfilled! You can open up your Bible and read about the Savior who has
come, who has lived and died and risen again for you! Have you broken God's
Law? Don’t be afraid - God's Word reveals that Jesus Christ took your place
and kept all the Law perfectly for you. For "when the fulness of the time had
come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem
those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons." Gal
4:4-5. Do the sins of your past worry you? You can now set your conscience
perfectly at ease. Through Jesus' death on the cross, your sins too have been
forgiven! As Paul reminds us, "Christ also has loved us and given Himself for
us, an offering and a sacrifice to God..." -- Eph 5:2. And the sweetest words in
Scripture: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ
Jesus."

You see, FAITH MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE. It was faith in Christ
that made Abel accepted in God's sight, and it's your God-given faith in Christ
that does the same for you.

Yes, sin still crouches at your door, tempting you to disobedience. its desire is
for you, the Lord warns, but you should rule over it. And you can! With your
faith, the Holy Spirit also give you power to rule over sin in your life. For Paul
says, "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but
under grace." -- Rom 6:14. Drink in the message of what God's love has done
for you! Come regularly to this house of the Lord to be nourished with the
Good News of your salvation in Christ. Meditate on the grace of God by
reading your Bible every day. Teach this blessed story to your children. Let your
Godly example proclaim to others that nothing in this world is more important
than the forgiveness and eternal life that is yours in Christ! Let us be like St.
Paul, who said, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." -- Gal 2:20. Faith in
Christ makes all the difference. With faith, God will enable you to control sin,
rather than being controlled by sin.

Finally, faith is what will allow you to bring forth God-pleasing fruits in your
life. God accepted Abel's sacrifice, because it was offered with faith. Jesus
commended the poor widow, who could only afford to put two pennies in the
collection plate, because it was offered with faith. Likewise, everything you give
to the Lord out of love and gratitude for your Savior will be received and
accepted by God. Meager as those gifts may seem to you, the Psalmist assures
us that "The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in
His mercy." -- 147:11. And our Lord Jesus reminds us that the stronger that
faith-connection is between us and Him, the richer those fruits of faith will be.
"I am the vine, you are the branches," Jesus said. "He who abides in Me, and I
in him, bears much fruit." -- John 15:5.

In his most famous poem, Robert Frost wrote, "I shall be telling this with a sigh
somewhere ages and ages hence: two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took
the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." On that day long
ago, Cain and Abel took different roads: Cain the well-traveled road of unbelief,
and Abel the narrow path of faith. Let us receive the gift God offers us today in
His Word, the gift of faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Then, in the eternal
mansions of heaven, we will rejoice together that -- FAITH Made All the
Difference! AMEN.