Now let us turn to Genesis chapter four. Genesis chapter four. Four chapter of Genesis. And verse one. 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 Sheehan, but Cain was a pillar of the ground. One was a shepherd, and the other was a farmer. He would think they had some relation. And in the 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 factor of the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. But under Cain unto his offering he had not respect. Cain was very rough, and his countenance fell. The Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted, and if thou doest not well, sin lies at the door. Adunceth thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain talked with Abel his brother, came to pass when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and slew him. Verse sixteen. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and dwelt in the land of Narn on the east of Eden. That's all the reading for this morning. We've been taking up a series of studies on the precious blood of Christ. started out in First John chapter one, and if I remember correctly, we took up three sermons on the subject of the blood from that section. Last Sunday we were speaking on the blood of Christ as the basis for clothing. There's absolutely no clothing, no attire, no robe apart from the precious blood of Christ. That is an attire that fits you for heaven. A lot of people are seeking to make their own robe for glory, but it will come short because it's the works of their own hands. And the human fingers and needles they're trying to weave and trying to make some kind of a garment that will make them presentable to God, acceptable to Him. Only in that coming day will find that their fig leaf aprons will wither. in the presence of Almighty God. You remember the Lord Jesus Christ when here on earth nineteen hundred years ago, he came upon a fig tree, and he looked for its fruit, but he found none. I understand that type of a fig tree. The fruit is hidden, and you have to lift the leaves to see it. And the Lord Jesus, he looked for fruit. We found none, and it says there were leaves only. And a curse had it with a guy. Last week we were speaking of Adam and Eve having their coats or aprons of fig leaves. They had sowed fig leaves together to cover themselves or fool themselves and try to hide their sin and make themselves presentable, expectable to God. He also pointed out that that did not suffice. They ran and hid behind the trees of the garden, and God had to kill animals. Blood had to be shed in order for them to be rolled rightlessly and to have a standing in his presence. You know, it's strange today the people who are still busy making fig leaf aprons. But there's no fruit. What does that hidden fruit suggest? The hidden fruit of the fig tree speaks of the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit. Christ was simply teaching this lesson. There were the scribes and the Pharisees, the religious rulers of the day, who went about with their long faces and said long prayers, had their lovely garments, their rose, the phalactories on the hens, a little... compartment or box that had the Old Testament scriptures, and also a ribbon of blue around their garment to indicate they were supposed to be heavenly men, heavenly-minded with a heavenly walk. The Lord Jesus Christ said, it's all external. It's all outward. It's just an empty shed. There's no reality. I see absolutely no fruit at all. The Spirit of God is not in your heart. Yes, yes, ritual. Religion without reality. Religion without the Redeemer and the fig tree withered up. And friend, that's what's going to happen to every person who's trying to get to heaven without the precious blood of Christ and being born of the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit that quickeneth the flesh profiteth not. Only a person with the implying Holy Spirit can produce fruit to God. Only one born again is in God's family. And oh, the all-seeing eye of our Blessed Lord can see through those big leaf aprons and there's no fruit. The leaves may be nice and green. They may look healthy. The tree may look to be very healthy. Having great potential. He says there's not one pick on the whole thing. Cut it off. He said that in the thirteenth of Luke and the other case. It withered away. And, friend, there are men and women today that are trying their best to make themselves suitable for heaven with the works of their own hand, self-righteousness and all the wretch, and there's not one thing of fruit. in their entire life. They've never been born again. They that are in the flesh cannot please God the Bible. You've got to be born under the Spirit of God. That's the thing we're constantly emphasizing and will constantly emphasize. Men and women need to be born again. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he has none of him. When I speak of the Holy Spirit, I'm not referring to anything such a lot that is carried on today under this opposed billing of the Holy Spirit. My Bible says that everything be done decently and in order. And if a meeting is marked by disorder, rolling on the floor on a lot of things of this nature, handling snakes, I cannot reconcile that with the Bible. God speaks of his gatherings as orderly, decent, respected. People can be born again with the Spirit of God and still maintain dignity, dignity, sobriety, and piety, the fruit of the Holy Spirit of God. The Lord Jesus Christ. gave orders to cut their onesie down and the other with it up because it just had the leaf. Outwardly you may appear unto men to be a Christian. Oh yes, you have a good bearing. A nice personality like that lovely fig tree. The leaves are nice and green and shiny. Surely that man's a Christian. Surely that woman's a Christian. They live good lives. They're members of the church and so on. They're a credit to our community. But our Lord sees the young men, and there's no fruit at all. The Spirit of God is not there. And he was exposing those scribes and Pharisees. Later on he became more permanent turn. He says, woe unto you, scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites. You're not only deceiving yourselves, you're deceiving other people. You're blind readers of the blind. Plenty of leads, but no truth at all. That's true today. Plenty of religion, but no redeemer, as the foundation. So we were speaking on that last week, how Adam and Eve were clothed by coats of skin after God slew the animals. There had to be bloodshed before there could be forgiveness of sins and acceptable to God. Now this morning we come to a second incident. I think three or four years ago we were taking up Genesis. We made reference to these two young men, but I want to speak on them again because Abel's acceptance with God was on the basis of blood. Once again you have the story, all these two lines running throughout the Bible and running throughout human history, you have Christianity, you have religion. You have that which is of God and that which is of men. Let me tell you something. Christianity began in eternity. Religion began in time. How do you explain that? The Bible says that Christ was the lamb slain before the foundation of the word. God in his foreknowledge had the death of his son in mind, and Christ in the reckoning of God, he saw his son as the lamb slain. Of course, sinners. the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. There you have bloodshed. And forever Christ will wear the scars that will speak fluently, eloquently forever, forever of the sacrifice he made when he shed his blood. And the theme of our song forever will be unto him who loved us and watched us from our sins in his own blood. And so you have Christianity beginning in eternity past, continuing in eternity to come. Man's religion began with man on earth. It will end in judgment. You have that suggested in these two men. You might look upon these two young fellows like two rivers. And here's where it started. Here's one river, and it's the river that came just started. The river of human effort, human merit, the river of work, doing the best you can. That's it. It started. And it broadened. And it has many tributaries. as that river has been flowing down through the generations and through the centuries. Today that river of man's religion, with its hundreds and hundreds of tributaries pouring their various ideas and doctrines into that stream, now has become like the Mississippi River, the strong and powerful rolling onto the sea of grass-wrapped and no man can stop. That is man's religion. But God's scripture, Amade, is that crimson stream. It began there really in the garden, but it was really perpetuated with Abel. You see, in the garden, Adam and Eve's faith was more or less silenced. They didn't get the animals. God got the animals and slew the animals and clothed them. Their faith was factored faith. But in this case, Abel went and got his land. He did something. He offered it. And there are always two sides to God's salvation. What God did on what you've got to do. What did God do? He gave his son. He laid all our sins on Jesus Christ. He punished him for our sins at Pelfrey. That was what God did. Nineteen hundred years ago. But what have we got to do? We've got to accept that fact. And trust that wholly if we ever expect to be in heaven. I live a life consistent with it. Your life does not add to your salvation. You're saved through the blood of Christ alone. So you find that mighty river of religion, but thank God just like the Gulf Stream that flowed through the Atlantic. Isn't that a miracle? Here's that Gulf Stream flowing right through the Atlantic with its warm waters. The waters of the Atlantic made the ice cold, but oh, there's a warm river flowing. And I like to think of that warm stream. as true Christianity based upon the blood of Jesus Christ, for the waters of this river are red. Speaking of sacraments. And in the midst of this wide river of the religion of men, with all its converging tributaries, there is that which is of God. This is it. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. This is Christianity. It's all based on sacrifice. That's the river, friend, that all who are saved are staining on the glory. How wonderful in the midst of all the confusion, the chaos, the Babylon of tongues, men's religion. There is... God's wonderful foundation. That stately old ship, the church, is sailing in crimson waters, trusting in the precious blood of Christ, take her to heaven, all on board. Are you trusting in the blood of Christ this morning? Well, Abel did, figuratively. Cain was just a religious man. You know there's no middle path here. No such thing as an intermediate position. You're either one or the other. You're either saved or lost. You're either just a religious person or you're redeemed by the blood of Christ. It's just one or the other. These two young colors had thoughts of their standing before God. That's evident because both of them brought an operation. That simply implies this, that Cain had thoughts of God. He believed in the Supreme Being. And he must have had some consciousness of the fact that he had sinned and that this God had to be satisfied, he had to be appeased, and therefore he brings an offering. But I want to mention one thing. And if this sinks in, I've mentioned it many times in my life's ministry. It's the first day I think God gave it to me from His word. The offering and the offerer stand or fall together. If what you are offering God, God accepts, and that's our subject this morning, acceptance through the blood. Last week it was covering through the blood. close to the blood. Today it's acceptance to the blood. God willing, in two weeks of this morning it will be sheltered to the blood. But acceptance, that's it. You read in Hebrews chapter eleven, by faith Abel offered unto God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. Abel's offering was acceptable. Cain's offering was rejected. It was unacceptable. And a person's offering in the Old Testament, in type and figure, and also in the news, a person's offering depends upon whether he'll be accepted or not. If God accepts what you're offering to him, he'll accept you on the strength of your offering. If God rejects what you're offering to him, he'll reject you. The offering and the offerer stand or fall together. Now these two boys... There was no difference in their birth. They were born from Mother Eve. Their births were similar. They were bouncing boys. No difference there, no difference in their nature. Both of them a sin. They were born. No difference in their birth. No difference in their nature. They both had a fallen nature. No difference in their circumstances. They were brought up in the same home. on the same farm, in the same area, just outside Eden's garden. Well, what did they differ in their off? Now, think of Cain. There are five downward steps in Cain. The final one was he went out from the presence of the Lord, and that's the final step for all who follow in the way of Cain. The first one was Cain's self-will. What in the Eusea's self-will? Well, he must have known how God put away the sin of his parents or covered over their sin. You can understand Adam and Eve sitting down with their two boys, Cain and Abel, and going over the story. The boys, like all boys, in Christendom would say, Mother, Father, why are you covered with coats of skin? And why is it that every now and again you make an offering unto the Lord? And the parents would just tell the boys, why, boys, we were in a beautiful garden. We didn't have any cups except that covering of white, that pure white covering that God gave both of us. We knew no shame because we knew no sin. We used to walk and talk with God every evening as he came down to the garden in the cool of the day. It was the most beautiful garden you ever saw. And the beasts romped and played together. There was no fighting among the beasts. They were in perfect harmony. The lion and the lamb could romp together. The birds were in perfect harmony. The flowers were beautiful. There was no blight upon any. Why don't we live there now, mommy, daddy? Well, that's the sad story. The devil beguiled me, he says. God withheld one thing from us. It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. told us we could help ourselves to all the other trees, but not that one. And the devil came along, and instead of telling us all the good things God had given to us, he drew our attention to one thing God withheld. Much to say, God really doesn't love you. He's not giving you everything. He's holding something back. And I listened to him, says Mother Eve. I knew God says, the day thou weest thereof, thou shalt surely die. But the devil said, thou shalt not surely die. Don't swallow that. Don't buy that. God is too loving. He wouldn't punish you. And Eve swallowed that. And she disobeyed God. And they go on and explain to the boys how an awful darkness and deadness settle down upon their minds and hearts. When once God seemed so close, now he seems a million miles away. Now we knew him. Once we knew him as a friend, but now we look upon him as a foe. We became fearful and afraid. We went and hid ourselves behind the trees of the garden. Furthermore, your father and I became ashamed of each other. sense of shame and guilt grip both of us. For the first time we were there, the fact we were nation. We tried to cover it up with fig leaf aprons, but God came down. He sought us out. He was gracious to do so. And he made it plain to us that the works of our hands would not suffice, and God killed coats of skin. killed animals and clothed us with coats of skin. That's the only way he could cover us. Blood had to be shed because we have sinned, and God says the soul of sin of it shall die. Either we had to die for our sin, nor someone must die in our stead, and so God killed innocent animals. To clothe us, guilty sinners. That's the only way you can approach God. Boys, that's the only... There's no one. The two boys listen. But I can see something of an independent liberal mind in Cain. Cain thinks of itself, well, that's not the only way. I think God would accept my offering. I don't see the need of killing animals. That's cruel. Why should an animal, even an animal, die for me? I'm going to present to God... an offering without any bloodshed attached to it. And he builds his altar. And he puts on it the very best of vegetables. Evidently he went in for vegetables and fruit, and he wasn't a shepherd like Abel. So Cain went in for this line of things, and he brought the very best. He didn't put anything secondary on that altar. It was his very best. Polish up all the fruit. Wash all the vegetables. It was a beautiful display of the product of the soil, of the work of its own hand. Cain was proud of it. And after he's finished putting everything in order and every leap in its place, he says, Oh God, I know I've sinned, but I'm going to present this as my offering. He sees only a pound on the face of God. God says, I will reject it. And in your office, I reject you. You chose a path of self-will. You didn't follow the instruction of your parents, and I taught them the way to approach me. You departed from that way. You chose your own way. exercised your self-will. That's where it all begins. The Bible says, Oh, we like sheep have gone astray, we've turned every one to his own way. That's true of sinners today. They've turned to their own way. If you read twice from the Proverbs, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is a way of death. Oh, the people today, And their way seemeth right. But it's not the scriptural way. It's seemeth right. God says the end that off is dead. That's tragic. The next thing was that Cain sinned against light. God sought to give him light. He says, Cain, you've made a mistake. I'm going to give you a chance. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted. If you turn around now and demolish that thing and offer me a sacrifice where the shedding of blood, I'll accept you. It's the only way I will. But Cain refused that. He refused God's provision. If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? If thou doest not well, A sin offering lieth at thy door. The words sin and sin offering are identical in the Hebrew language. One word. That makes it very interesting. God says, Cain, you've been a self-will boy. And I've given you light that I won't accept that type of sacrifice or offering. And there's a lamb lying at your door. I cause that little lamb to leave the flock, which is against nature, to come over and crouch at your door, your tent door. And God says, unto thee is his desire, and thou shalt rule over that lamb. You can either take that lamb or drive it from your tent door. If thou doest not well, the sin offering lies at thy door. That's the port of it. And the reason that lamb has come there because he has a desire towards you, a good interest in you, Cain. But I'll tell you one thing, Cain, it lies in your hands whether you accept it or whether you don't. Thou shalt rule over him. You have the responsibility to accept that lamb or reject it. What did he do? He rejected it. For he went out and found evil his brother and killed him. That man who was so religious, so refined, that he wouldn't kill an animal. Oh, I think it's a shame to shed innocent blood. My religion is too lofty, it's too refined for that. I'm on a higher plane. I couldn't kill an animal. No, Cain, you couldn't, but you could kill your own brother. Yes, religious prejudice. and the most bitter kind of prejudice in the world is religious prejudice. There are all kinds of people today, and though they speak about their religion, how refined it is, how elevated it, how it exalts man. We don't believe in the blood of Christ. I can't see how a holy God, a God of love, could take pleasure. in the blood of his son, the blood of a sacrifice. That's gory. That's awful. I think my God is too refined for anything like that to demand death as punishment for sin. Yes, your religion is too refined to accept the blood of Christ and the sinner's only hope, but your religion isn't so refined that if people oppose you, you're not ready to stone them. You'll shed human blood. You'll become coarse all of a sudden when people don't agree with you and oppose your religion. That's true of religions today. There are lots of countries in the world that have a certain religion. Mohammedanism, for instance. Who it is? They just about kill you and put you to death if you oppose their religion. yet they speak about how refined their religion is that's exactly what you have with Cain so Cain went out and he killed his brother and he was branded as a murderer and I want you to notice one text in your Bible the New Testament tells us why he killed it wherefore slew he him says the New Testament because his own works for evil and his brother's righteousness. Cain couldn't take it to think that his good life, his good works, were not making him acceptable to God, and that his brother just came with a little lamb. He didn't work for his offering. All the little lamb did was drop around in the grass, live off its mother. I worked hard for this. I plowed the soil. I had calluses on my hands. I labored for my offering. I worked from the rising of the sun to the setting of the same. And I took great pains. I was sincere in producing my offering. It had excelled Abel's. Yet God rejected me. He was so mad and angry, even out killed Abel. That's man. It was his works. That's why God rejected. There wasn't a drop of blood in all that fruit, in all those vegetables. Not a drop of blood. God says, I don't want. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. The soul that shiner that shall die. God says the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls. The blood of Jesus Christ, my son cleansed us from all sin. Came. You're of that wicked one. That's what the New Testament said. You got that idea from the devil. You're a dupe of the devil. Able simply followed. what his parents had taught him because God had taught his parents. It says, By faith Abel offered in Hebrews eleven. And faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. So it means that Abel had the word of God for what he did when he offered his lamb. He went and got that little lamb and he built his little altar and he put that little woolly creature on the altar. and he took the knife. And what was he saying? O God, I have sinned. My sin deserves death. If I got what I deserved, I'd be on that altar. And you'd be standing over me with your flaming sword to kill me because I've sinned against you. But O God, you have made a provision whereby I may not die, and that this little creature will die in my stead. I'm going to offer it up. And Abel's knife came down and plunged into the hawk of that little lamb, and its wool was made crimson with its own blood. Abel says, Lord, will you accept this lamb in my place? Will his blood put away my sin? Yes, says God, it will. I either had to punish you for your sin or punish a substitute. And I'm willing to punish the substitute if you offer. God accepted Abel because of his offering. How long did God accept Abel's offering? How long did he accept our offering? Forever. I stand as a poor sinner. Maybe someone here this morning you want to be saved. You know you're not a Christian. Yours is a hope so religion like Cain. Cain's religion was a hope so. I hope I'm saved. It was based on pride, self-will, self-righteousness. You say, I'd like to know I'm saved, not just hope. All right. You willing this morning to stay, take your stand at Calvary, but on the cross is the Lord Jesus bearing your sin. God took all your sins and laid them on him nineteen hundred years ago. Why was he there as the bearer of sin if on Jesus my guilt was not laid? Why from his side flowed that sin cleansing blood if his dying my death have not paid? All our sins were laid upon him. Jesus bore them on the tree. God who knew them laid them on him. And believing I am free. Though God is a guilty sinner who has sinned, I offer Jesus Christ as my substitute, the one who paid my debt, who suffered in my stead, who met thee with all my sins upon him, who absorbed all thy righteous wrath against my sin. Lord, I present Jesus Christ. as my offering. Will God accept Jesus Christ as your offering substitute? He already has, for he raised him from the dead and took him up to heaven. Abel had to wait to see if God would accept his. We don't have to wait. The very moment we come as guilty sinners and offer Jesus Christ as our substitute, our Lamb, our Savior, God accepts us in him. He accepts us into the same place. And where is Jesus Christ now at God's right hand? And the New Testament says we are accepted in Christ. Last week closed through the blood. This week accepted through the blood. Accepted through Christ. And in Christ. God will only accept us in His Son. Accepted in Christ. The New Testament says, accepted into the same place. That means into God's eternal love and favor. For how long? Just as long as Jesus Christ is accepted. Will God ever expel his son from his presence? Never. Will God ever expel from his presence? One who has trusted that blood? Never. We're there as long as our substitute and Savior is there. Reach my blessed Savior first. Take him from God's esteem. Prove Jesus' prayers once thought of sin. Then tell me I am unclean. Nay, for he purged my guilt. His precious blood was shed. His life was for my ransom still. He died. that I might live. And I am accepted in Christ, and that's why the New Testament says, He that hath the sun hath light. I give unto my sheep eternal life, they shall never perish. We're accepted in Christ. Into the very place our offerings accepted for the same length of time, which is forever. What a wonderful Savior. Our Lord Jesus is accepted in Christ. What are you offering God this morning? Oh, you say my good life, my good deeds, and I put my little tithe on there too. You can make it just as pretty as you like. Friend, God will reject the whole business. Your only hope of acceptance with Almighty God is Jesus Christ. You offer him to God as your substitute this morning, you shall be saved. O soul, hear and say, is there not a very real ache in your heart? God is calling, is he not? Is there not a hollow sound to all of earth's music? Then listen to the sweet melody of the gospel. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God's wonderful love in Christ, believe it, thou receive him now. By bowing your head and heart in his presence, say, Lord Jesus, I'll accept you as my Savior. You die that I might live. You paid the price for my salvation. You canceled my debt with precious blood. Open your heart right now. Woe be unto them who've gone in the way of Cain, the Bible says. Blessed are they who come in the way of Abel. Will you come, as Abel did, trusting the precious blood of Jesus Christ. God's Son has cleansed from all sin. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, in the name of the Lord Jesus, thy Son, we come before thee. We thank thee for this privilege of presenting thy word. We trust that some hungry heart has partaken of the bread from heaven. We trust some thirsty soul has partaken of the living waters. Some guilty soul has been made free. O Father, bless thy word and salvation of precious souls this day. We ask it for Christ's sake. Amen.