Today's Bible Study, Authored by Arthur Cincotti. 08/08/2021
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Faith or Works Again
The paradox of faith vs.
works has caused some confusion in the church.
In Eph. 2:9&10, just
between two lines Paul says, “not of works lest anyone should boast.” and “we
are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
In Gen. 4 I believe we
glimpse and important first cause, in the account of Cain and Abel, which
speaks to this. Most commentators focus on Abel’s sacrifice being of blood,
for, we know, “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.”
Heb. 9:22, but there is an interesting negative element to Cain’s sacrifice.
Gen. 4:2&3 says,
“Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass
that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD.”
But, in Gen 3:17-19 God
pronounces a curse over the ground.
vr. 17. “In toil you shall eat of it
vr. 19. “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.”
I present that Cain’s
was a sacrifice of works. (not to say that tending sheep is not hard work) I suggest there is a
different dynamic.
No doubt Cain was proud
of his hard labor, as any of us might be.
Certainly the arduous
task produced in him a bad attitude, see vrs. 5,9,13
His labor may have even
made him stronger than his brother producing a sense of superiority. He
may have developed an overly noble expectation that his offering was excellent.
(though commentators disagree.)
The key take away is that,
works of the flesh have little value in God’s economy, especially in regard to
sacrifice and/or worship.
Is. 64:6 says, “all our
righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.” NASB20
And Jesus says in Jn.
6:63, “the flesh profits nothing”
“a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ” Gal.2:16
The law was given,
primarily to govern the outworking of the flesh:
Dietary practices
Sexual practices
Acquisition of comforts.
The culprits are
fleshly, or what Scripture calls “dead works” and bringing them before God in
order to strike a deal so to speak.
The fruit of the spirit
(Gal. 5) is very different, even contrary to what Cain brought as an offering.
Paul goes on to call the “works of the flesh...adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies,
outbursts of wrath, selfish ambition, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders,
drunkenness, revelries, and the like”
Sounds like Cain’s resume.
The offering is an act
of worship
Jesus said that, “true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth”
Jn. 4:23
We do this by faith, for we can’t see the
spirit
Both of these are at
odds with the flesh.
Faith “The just shall live
by faith ”______Abel
To fold in the dimension
of faith, we read in Heb. 11:4, “By faith Abel offered
to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain”
Perhaps Abel was
following God’s example. In Gen. 3:21 God slew and animal to make, “tunics of skin and clothed them”
Again we see the similar
contrast: Adam and Eve tried to make coverings of fig leaves in Gen. 3:7
Abel was a “keeper”
(raw-aw) also translated; pastor, companion, shepherd
Cain was a “tiller”
(aw-bad) also translated; servant and worshiper however, the five times it is translated
worshiper, it’s the worship of Baal
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