The Bible Column - The Doctrine of Cain and Abel

“Yea hath God said…?” Genesis 3:1
“Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” I John 3:12
A simple review of worldwide religious history and present religious belief, reveal various and divergent understandings of who God is and what He desires His creation to do. From the first days of humankind until the present, there has been truth and error in religious belief. The first sons of Adam and Eve represent these opposing beliefs. Almighty God had established that bloodshed of a perfect and innocent sacrifice would be required to atone for sin. Abel believed God and obeyed. Cain desired to set aside God’s eternal plan and rather sought to merit God’s favor through his own human effort. The conflict between the two brothers and their beliefs was so great, that Cain unable to withstand the pressure, killed Abel and then lied to seek to cover his evil deed.
From that early setting, there has developed a myriad of religious beliefs. On the one hand, there are those of Abel, who believe God. They bring to Him a sacrifice of blood in faith, and trust His atoning work without any human effort. This is salvation by grace through faith alone. Those of Cain are very different. They despise God’s method of atonement. They add human effort to the formula. The Bible is not their only guiding source. They either set aside the Bible completely, or they so add to the Scriptures that the simple message is set aside. The beliefs of Cain and Abel are polls apart. The Scripture above tells us that Cain’s works were evil and Abel’s were righteous.
Biblical Fundamentalism as a belief and position is patterned after Abel. We at Rossville Bible Church desire, with the Lord’s help, to do the same. Our eternal destiny depends upon what we believe and do today!