The story of Cain and Abel is a story about the necessity of faith, the grace of God, the progression of evil, and God’s faithfulness to fulfill His plan for redemption. As we examine this story, we will see how the elements of faith, grace, and the progression of evil are at work in our lives and in our world today.

Tyler’s Main Points

1. Faith in the Deliverer is necessary for deliverance.

2. God, in His mercy, gives the opportunity for confession and repentance.

3. The achievements of man are powerless to stop the progression of sin.

4. God is faithful to keep His promise of the Deliverer.

Key Takeaways

• Cain and Abel’s offerings are representative of two different faiths. Cain’s faith is in himself and in his own works, while Abel’s faith is in God and His sufficient works.
  
  
• Hebrews 11:1 provides our working definition of faith, “Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.” 
  
  
• If your answer for the problem of sin isn’t God, your solution does not offer salvation.
  
  
• In spite of the progression of sin in Cain’s life, God repeatedly grants mercy and offers the opportunity for restoration through confession and repentance.
  
  
• There is no such thing as freedom apart from God. If we are not following Him, we are under the influence, authority, and power of the devil.
  
  
• Cain refuses to repent and leaves a legacy of wandering, prideful independence from God, and a lineage of depravity.
  
  
• Man’s greatest achievements merely mask our inability to deal with our root disease (sin). Today, we live in a culture of affluence, achievement, and self-advancement, yet sin continues to ravage humanity.
  
  
• The progression of sin from Cain to Lamech depicts the outright abandonment of God’s good design for the sanctity of life, marriage, manhood, and submission to God.
   
• In Abel’s place, God mercifully provides another offspring and subsequently “men began to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26b).” To call upon the Lord’s name is to worship God and proclaim His worthiness to the world around us.

• In spite of sin’s progression, the hope of a future deliverer remains undeterred.
  
  

Discussion Questions/Application

Personal reflection:

• How has unconfessed and unrepentant sin progressed in your life and led to greater darkness and destruction? In spite of your sin, how has God been merciful to you throughout your life?
  
  

Discuss with your community group:

• This past week, who/what did you place your faith in to overcome the pain, penalty, and consequences of sin? Do you have any unconfessed and unrepentant sin in your life?
  
  
• What areas are you prone to live like Cain and his descendants by valuing self-exaltation, achievement, and prosperity over faithfully following God?
  
  Passages Referenced
  Genesis 4; Genesis 3:15-16; Hebrews 11:1, 4, 6.