| Author | Message | ||
| Psalm107v2 Registered user Username: Psalm107v2 Post Number: 611 Registered: 10-2008  |
I was reading this excerpt from Spurgeon and it reminded me of the old me. ...the old way which wicked men have trodden is a way of self-righteousness. Cain, especially, trod that road. He was not an outwardly irreligious man, but quite the reverse. Inasmuch as a sacrifice must be brought, he will bring an offering on his own account. If Abel kneels by the altar, Cain will kneel by the altar also. It was respectable and reputable in that age to pay deference to the unseen God, Cain therefore does the same; but mark where the flaw was in his religion! Abel brought a bloody sacrifice, a lamb, indicating his faith in the great atoning sacrifice, which was to be offered in the end of the world in the person of the Lamb of God, Christ Jesus; but Cain presented an unbloody offering of the fruits of the earth, the products of his own toil, and he thought himself as good as Abel, perhaps better. When the Lord did not accept his service, the envious heart of the self-righteous man boiled over with indignation, and he became a persecutor, ay, a murderer. None are so bitter as the self-righteous; none so cruelly persecute the righteous as those who think themselves righteous and are not. It was because Saul of Tarsus boasted in a fancied righteousness of his own that he breathed out threatenings against those who found their righteousness alone in Christ. The old way of self-righteousness, then, was trodden by the feet of the first murderer, and it is trodden still by tens of thousands of men. Ah, your church-goings and your chapel-goings, your carings of the sacrament, your baptism, your confirmation, your ceremonies of all sorts and kinds, your gifts to the poor, your contributions to charities, your amiable speeches, and your repetitions of your liturgies, or of your extemporaneous prayers; these, put together, are rested on as the rock of your salvation. Beware, I entreat you, for this is the old way of the Pharisee when he thanked God that he was not as other men; it is the old way of universal human nature which evermore goeth about to establish its own righteousness, and will not submit itself to the righteousness of Christ. As surely as the Pharisees were condemned as a generation of vipers, and could not escape the damnation of hell, so surely every one of us, if we set up our righteousness in the place of Christ’s righteousness, will meet with condemnation, and will be overthrown by God’s sudden wrath. Mark that old way, and I beseech you, men and brethren, flee from it; by God’s grace, flee from it now. From a sermon entitled "The Old Way Of The Wicked," delivered March 7th, 1869. | ||
| Christo Registered user Username: Christo Post Number: 211 Registered: 2-2008 |
It seems to me that in Adventist circles it was stated that Cain's sacrifice was in disobedience to a command of God. Thus making this story one of obedience, rather than heart. I reread the story in Genesis and could not find that command. I think Spurgeon stated very well what I have believed for sometime about this story, and its Gospel implications. I just wonder if anyone else out their was taught that this story was one of mere obedience. Also how the vegetables were an unacceptable sacrifice and how this could possibly be reconciled with the health message? Chris | ||
| Colleentinker Registered user Username: Colleentinker Post Number: 11057 Registered: 12-2003  |
Yes, Christo—I have also understood the issue to be the hearts of the two men rather than the issue of obedience. Enoch, thank you for the great quote. Spurgeon truly was a great preacher. He understood the Bible and its application! Colleen | ||
| Bb Registered user Username: Bb Post Number: 660 Registered: 7-2004 |
Wow, that is one powerful message!! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. I remember using the story of Cain's sacrifice to defend Sabbath keeping. I read it in one of ellen's books...she said that Cain was disobedient and chose his own method of sacrifice (i.e. choosing to worship on a day other than the Sabbath) and that Abel chose to obey what God said. At the time as an adventist it made sense to me. But how much more powerful is the analogy that Abel's sacrifice is representing Jesus, and Cain's represented the "fruit of his labor"! |
