Crouching Tiger, Ancient Dragon; The Story of Cain and Abel

Oct. 28

Read: Genesis 4:6,7 Romans 7:7-25

The Story of Cain and Abel;

Crouching Tiger, Ancient Dragon

“And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” (Gen. 4:7)

Our experience of “sin” in this world is like a creature outside of our door waiting to devour us. God says as much to Cain in Gen. 4:7. There is actually a lot of mystery in this verse. We are most familiar with the idea of “sins” as the wrong things that we do in this world, but “sin” as a character, a power or force in this world working against God Most High is an odd idea. Whatever the case may be, the picture the bible paints for us is clear: Sin wants to devour us, but we are designed to rule over it. (Gen. 4:7)

This idea of “sin” as a force at work in the world is spread throughout Romans. In Romans 6, sin is described as what we are slaves to. (cf. Rom. 6:17) Particularly in Romans 7 we see sin personified again… spoken of as a force at war with God and his “goodness” and seeking to lay claim on a person:

“But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness…For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.” (Rom. 7:8,11)

“It was sin, producing death in me…” (Rom.7:13)

“So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me…Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. (Rom. 7:17,20)

Here we have sin “seizing opportunities”, “producing covetousness and death”, and influencing our “flesh” which leads to us doing things we don’t really want to do. Look at how Paul speaks about sin as he nears the end of this passage: “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.” (Rom. 7:21) Just like Cain, when Paul wants to do right it is guaranteed (“a law”) that “evil lies close at hand”… like a hungry animal right outside the door eager to devour you! Again, the picture is clear of what our experience… or battle against it… what the phenomenon is like. I do not think it is by chance that the Devil is described in similar terms; “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) The imagery is exactly the same!

God’s plan and desire has always been that his image bearers would “rule over” both sin and the Devil. God’s original design was that his “imagers” would “subdue and have dominion over” everything that roamed the earth. (cf. Gen.1:28) As new creations in Christ we have been made fit - through the work of Jesus - to indeed “rule over sin” and “subdue the evil one”. We have been made fit as image bearers once again to “subdue and have dominion over”. Your old self (your sinful nature) has been done away with, yet “sin” lies in waiting… ready to pounce. Your old self has gone away, and your new self has come… yet there is still the Devil roaming about looking for a meal. You are a new creation, but when you seek to do good… don’t be surprised that evil is close at hand. This reality is AMPLIFIED when we are not seeking to do good… but actually seeking to do evil things. Look at God’s words to Cain again: “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door.” The picture of Cain is clear. He had been doing evil things… aligned with the evil one. God was calling him to repentance. (“do well… repent” v.6) God was urging Cain to embrace his role as an image bearer. God longed for Cain to “rule over sin” the way he was designed to as a representative of God Most High. The Lord was willing to forgive Cain and restore him. God knew that Cains continued rebellion against him… his “not doing well” would end in him being devoured by sin and the evil one. The most loving thing for God to do in that moment was to ignore (“pay no regard to”) his offering and pull him aside to gently and lovingly call him to repentance and turning to him… warning him of the dangers that lurked outside. He does the same for us in Christ Jesus!

As Christians, you are no longer sinners. Your old self with its sinful nature has been done away with. You have been made fit as image bearers. In Christ, you can once again “subdue and have dominion over” those evil things in the world that seek to devour you. As God said to Cain, you can “rule over” what crouches outside your door. When you seek to do good, you need not be afraid that evil may lurk nearby… because “the one who is in you is greater than that which lurks in the world.” (cf. 1 John 4:4) This is for the fame, glory, and worship of Jesus and God Most High! Do not let the deceiver dupe you into thinking you have not been transformed or that you do not have the ability to prevail. Stand firm. Do not be afraid. So how will Cain respond to God’s call? We will find out more tomorrow. Love you guys. - JDP