God is faithful and good. God is sovereign. God is our redeemer.
How does sin and death spread?
Act Three: REbellion, Week 4
Before the break, we looked at the consequences of rebelling against God: sin, death, and separation from God. We voiced how thankful we are for the gospel—that the curse and cost that we deserve was paid fully by Jesus' death and resurrection. We agreed that God has been a good, faithful, and loving Father despite every one of our rebellious acts!
This week, as we answer the question "How does sin and death spread?", we get another glimpse into "parenting problems by Meghan."
There was a time when I was convinced that it was ONLY food dye that was the culprit for all of my boys' disobedience and "immature" behavior. Somehow, I had narrowed down that Red #3 dye caused louder voices and recklessness. Thinking I had all the wisdom and understanding I needed, I made every effort to keep this dye out of our bodies. I had little to no faith in much else, let alone that God had a better way. In this week's lesson, God knew Cain's heart. He used the offering Cain gave to show how sin and death spread—to warn us. For me, He used Red #3 (what I thought was a sacrifice in my life) to open the eyes of my heart to my lack of control and lack of faith.
If we don't remember anything else from Act 3: Rebellion, I hope we remember this truth: it is a lack of faith that causes sin and death to spread. It is a lack of faith that causes us to rebel in disobedience to a loving and patient God. It is a lack of faith that keeps us from repenting and receiving forgiveness. Our unbelief is not God's fault, but ours. He has given us freedom to choose. God has surrounded us with evidence of His character, His goodness, and His faithfulness. He is completely sovereign! He reigns! God is asking us, "When faced with trial, who will you choose?" As God's story of a rebellious people plays out in the coming month of our study, we will see the blessings of faithfulness and the curses of rebellion. We will see the impact of a spiral of sin.
It is by faith alone that our broken relationship with God is restored. It is by faith that the gospel of Jesus Christ spreads instead of sin and death (see Romans 1:16–17).
The story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 demonstrates an experience we face every day. Just like these men, we bring our offerings to the Lord. Abel offered a portion of his flock. Cain offered a portion of fruit. One was regarded by the Lord, the other was not. Was it because one was meat and the other fruit? No, it was bigger than that. It was about the heart behind the offering. It was about faith. "By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts" (Hebrews 11:4). Abel had faith, Cain had his own way (this was me, I “walked in the way of Cain,” working and working to keep the Red #3 out of the boys' bodies). Our way is not always wrong, but whatever does not come from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
When the Lord graciously pulls the scales from our eyes and shows us our sins, will we respond with humility in our hearts to Him and one another, or will our countenance, like Cain's, fall and grow angry? Bitterness hardens our hearts, gratifying the deeds of the flesh (Galatians 5:15-16) and leading to a death that divides us from God.
The Lord warned Cain about this, didn't He? "Sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is to rule over you, but you must rule over it" (Genesis 4:7). God didn't just warn Cain; He is warning us, too (Jude 11). Sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is to rule over us. When we let it win, it grows worse and spreads, just like it did after Genesis 4.
What causes sin and death to spread? A lack of faith that leads to disobedience.
But for everyone who has faith, the story changes. "For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5).
Faith in Jesus stops the spread of sin and death.
♥️ Meghan
