Why did God Reject Cain's Offering and Accept Abel's?

• Without Faith It is Impossible to Please God - How can a human being please God? This has been the main preoccupation with all religions and codes of ethics since the Garden of Eden. God makes it very clear that apart from His salvation man can never please God as Heb 11:6 asserts: “ ...without faith it is impossible to please him”. Remember, the Scriptures state that man cannot save himself. God has to give him salvation (or faith) as a gift and fruit of the Spirit, as Eph 2:8-9 and Gal 5:22 declares. Only a born-again believer has been qualified to please God because after salvation, it is God who works in us “…both to will and to do of His good pleasure”, according to Php 2:13. So, we see that God is the One who is causing the “good works” in the Christian’s life, as Heb 13:21 teaches, “... working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ...”.

Heb 11:5-6 “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Rom 8:5-10 “For they that are after the flesh [unsaved] do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit [saved] the things of the Spirit. 6For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. 9But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 10And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

Eph 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Gal 5:22 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

Heb 13:21 “Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen”

• I will have Mercy, and NOT Sacrifice - In this very important verse, Matt 9:13, God insists that salvation has to do with God’s mercy and not man’s works. The sacrifice that God is looking for is the sacrifice of Christ Himself. For this reason, we understand why the Lord Jesus Christ is “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev 13:8). John the Baptist recognized this when he first saw Christ and announced in John 1:29, “...Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world”. Christ is indeed “the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel”, as Heb 12:24 tells us.

Hos 6:6 “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge [knowing him as a savior] of God more than burnt offerings.”

Matt 9:13 “But go ye and learn what [that] meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous [which trusted in themselves that they were righteous], but sinners [broken hearts] to repentance.”

Psa 51:16-17 “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

• God had Respect unto Abel and to his Offering - Both Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord according to their occupation. Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground. We see that early on, right after the fall of man, man knew that they had to bring an offering to God because of their sin. In all probability, God had given them some direction in this, which he demonstrated dramatically, when we find God Himself shedding the blood of an animal, and then covering Adam and Eve with those bloody skins without saying anything to them about the futility of the fig leaves they were wearing. Those skins pictured the righteousness of Christ, which is the only adequate covering for any person’s sin. So they knew that their sinfulness and their rebellion against God required an atonement. We read that God had respect unto Abel and to his offering, but to Cain and his offering He did not have respect. This was what brought about Cain’s anger and wrath, so that he became jealous of his brother Abel, to the point of murder. Why was it that Cain’s offering was not accepted, but Abel’s was? As far as the character of the offerings themselves, both are acceptable to God. But, “By faith” Abel brought his offering, the “firstlings of his flock” (Heb 11:4) reflecting his saved condition. He was not trusting in that offering itself – he did not think that the work of bringing the firstling of his flock and offering it up to God would justify him in God’s sight. He knew that there must be an acceptable sacrifice, a more excellent sacrifice – that speaketh better things than that of Abel and that God would be pleased with. God accepted the Abel's sacrifice because it was given by faith, counting on God's righteousness. He was looking to the day when the perfect sacrifice of Messiah, the Lamb of God, would atone for his sins and justify him before God. On the other hand, Cain brought his offering, and he thought that the very act of bringing the first fruit of the ground as offering unto God would justify him in the sight of God. Cain's sacrifice is rejected because it was offered in self-righteousness and NOT mixed with faith. He is counting on getting right with God using his own good works. The anger and hatred of Cain in murdering His brother Abel, not only highlights the pervasiveness of sin throughout this planet and the whole universe, but also reflects his unsaved condition and was underscored by his remark in Gen 4:9, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”. This sin – as is all sin – is connected to pride. To be our brother’s keeper is the essence of love. This is what is in view when the Bible speaks about loving “your neighbor as yourself”. Gal 5:14 affirms, “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. 

Gen 4:1-5 “And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 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.”

Heb 11:4 “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous [heir of the righteousness which is by faith – through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith], God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh [making a statement].”

1 John 3:11-12 “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil [self-righteous counting on his own act of sacrifice] , and his brother's righteous [counting on God's righteousness and sacrifice of lamb of God, Jesus Christ].”

• Woe unto them! for they have Gone in the Way of Cain - Jude 1:11 says “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core”. Man had greatly fallen from grace and from the glory of God! Yet God tells us that there are some who go in the way of Cain. “Woe unto them”, He says, “who go in the way of Cain”. When God speaks of “the way” in the Bible, it has to do with the Gospel that someone is following – “Gospel of Grace” or “Gospel of Works”. Natural (unsaved) man in his spiritually dead condition loves the “Gospel of Works” because the true Gospel of salvation by God’s sovereign, electing grace is repugnant to him. Man’s natural, sinful pride causes him to reject the notion that God is totally in charge of His Own creation and salvation program. An unsaved person cannot bring himself to acknowledge that salvation is totally God’s work for His glory, as is clearly described in Rom 9:13-16: “... I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy”. Satan and his demonic hosts have been relentlessly – but unsuccessfully – seeking to thwart God’s salvation plan for His elect by deceiving mankind about the true nature of God and essentials of the Gospel of Christ – sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). There are a plethora of counterfeit “gospels”, or belief systems, that claim to be based on the Bible but are distortions of the Truth. Obviously, a “gospel”, or doctrine, that is false is no gospel at all (Gal 1:6-9; 2 Cor 11:3-4). Satan deceived our first parents with “the lie” in the Garden of Eden, and they tried to “hide” from God (Gen 3:8). Ever since that time, people want to hide spiritually from God behind various false doctrines, or the imaginations of their own minds, that are more pleasing to contemplate than the True Gospel that speaks of God’s judgment of sin and His eternal wrath. They want to cover themselves with the “fig leaves” of their religious works (Gen 3:7; Isa 59:6) instead of the robe of Christ’s righteousness (as we read about in Isa 61:10). This is “the way of Cain” – Cain sought to become right in God’s sight through his own works, but his own works were evil. That is true of any man who would attempt to “work” their way into Heaven using a “form” of godliness – not genuine godliness, which is salvation. In other words, what is missing is the spiritual reality, or substance. A man can think that he is doing good works – he can give his money to the poor, he can carry the Gospel message,he can prophesy and declare the Word of God, and he can faithfully gather together with the people of God, yet if he in any way thinks that these things will justify him in the sight of God then this same statement holds true for him: “his own works are evil”. Everything that we do is tainted by sin: “All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags”, as Isa 64:6 says.

Jude 1:3-4 “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. 4For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jude 1:10-12 “But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally [natural or unsaved man cannot discern spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14)], as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. 11Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. 12These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water [water typifying pure Gospel], carried about of winds [carried about by every wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14)]; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;”

Matt 23:13,16,28,33-35 “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! [typifying unsaved and self-righteous] for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.... 16Woe unto you, ye blind guides, ... 28Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity... 33Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 34Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes [typifying the saved]: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: 35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.”

• Woe unto them! for they have Gone in the Way of Balaam and Korah - In Jude 1:11 “Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core”,  God identifies three Old Testament figures to represent the false prophets or teachers, with those who profess the name of Christ yet who have never been born again. They always think that there is something that they can do, and they thereby pervert the Gospel of grace; they change it into a gospel of works.  Balaam, as we read his historical account in the book of Numbers, is a person whose language might cause us to believe that he is a child of God. He sounds very faithful as he says, “... If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more” (Num 22:18). How faithful he sounds as he makes statements like that, yet as we consider everything that the Bible has to say about Balaam, we know that Balaam is likewise he is a false prophet (2 Pet 2:15) who brought about great trouble for the Israelites. Then finally we have Korah as God says, “They perished in the gainsaying of Core”. Korah was one of the chief men of Israel who rose up in rebellion against Moses and Aaron and against their spiritual rule over the congregation. He said, “Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them [which trusted in themselves that they were righteous], and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD?” (Num 16:3). Each one is a false prophet, someone standing for and representing “another gospel”. The lying false-gospel teachers are “unproductive” with respect to the Gospel of Christ. In our day when apostasy abounds and false gospels are legion, we would do well to keep in mind the admonition of Gal 1:6-9.

2 Pet 2:1-2 “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.”

2 Pet 2:12-18 “But these, as natural [natural or unsaved man cannot discern spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14)] brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. ”

Gal 1:6-9 “I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed [or damned]. 9As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed [or damned]. ”