Calling on the Lord, Genesis 4:16-26 (Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost, October 29, 2017)

Transcription

1 Calling on the Lord, Genesis 4:16-26 (Twenty-First Sunday After Pentecost, October 29, 2017) 16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. 17 Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name 18 of the city after the name of his son, Enoch. To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad fathered 19 Mehujael, and Mehujael fathered Methushael, and Methushael fathered Lamech. And Lamech 20 took two wives. The name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. Adah bore 21 Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother s name was 22 Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe. Zillah also bore Tubal-cain; he was the forger of all instruments of bronze and iron. The sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23 Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to 24 what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech s is seventy-sevenfold. 25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, God 26 has appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killed him. To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. PRAY We are working through the early chapters of the book of Genesis this fall. We started chapter four last week and looked at the story of Cain and Abel, the first two human beings born on planet earth. Cain killed his brother Abel. This week we are going to finish up chapter four, and one of perennial questions asked of this text is where did Cain s wife come from? I know a preacher who was once asked this question and he said, I don t know, but I d tell you if I were Abel. Did you like that? The fact is we don t know where Cain got his wife. Earlier in chapter four in verse fourteen we read that Cain is worried that someone will kill him. But if the only people on the planet are Adam, Eve, and Cain, who exactly is Cain worried about? Who are these people that potentially threaten Cain? There are lots of interesting theories out there on these questions but Moses, who wrote the book of Genesis, isn t interested in telling us that information. I certainly don t have the answer. But I don t think those questions are the point of this last part of Genesis 4. Instead, Moses wants us to learn about the line and lineage of Cain he teaches us of the story of Cain and his descendants. We see two things very clearly about them. First, they are gifted people. Cain builds the first city on earth. His grandchildren, Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal-Cain, are creative and are innovators. Jabal pioneered animal husbandry. Jubal was a musician, the father of wind and stringed instruments. Tubal-Cain developed the new technology of iron and bronze working and created the first metal tools. This is a gifted family. ã 2017 J.D. Shaw 1

2 But, on the other hand, they were very wicked. Cain did build a city, but in doing so he violated a direct command of God and did it only after killing his brother. And then there is Lamech. Lamech is one of the most unsavory characters in all the Bible. He is apparently the first man to pervert the institution of marriage and take two wives. Genesis 2:24 is clear that God s plan for marriage is monogamy one man, one woman, for life. Lamech engages in polygamy, a practice that demeans women, that does not please God, that was never a part of his plan, but which has continued even up to this day in parts of the world and is trying to make a comeback even in the United States. More than that, Lamech is a proud, vengeful, violent man. God up in verse 15 comforted Cain by saying, Yes, Cain, your punishment for killing your brother will be restless wandering on the earth. However, I m going to protect you. I m going to put a mark on you so that no one will touch you, because anyone who does will be repaid seven times over. But in Genesis 4:23-24 we read that Lamech takes God s protected of Cain and twists it by saying: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed 24 a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech s is seventy-sevenfold. Lamech took a kindness God gave Cain and turned it into a threat of vengeance for anyone who dared get in his way. The line of Cain: on the one hand they show so much promise, so much talent, so many gifts, yet on the other they reject God and bring into the world new and spectacularly destructive forms of sin. What do we make of this? I think this passage gives us insight into a Christian doctrine that is pretty rarely talked about (in fact, I ve never devoted an entire sermon to it), is pretty easily misunderstood, yet vitally important if you re going to understand the world in which we live in. It is the Christian doctrine of common grace. Common grace means the gifts God bestows on the world and in all people, whether those people are Christians or not. All people on planet earth are recipients of common grace. Matthew 5:44-45 might be the clearest expression of common grace in the 45 Bible: But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. The sun shining and the rain falling is a gift of God, it s grace we don t deserve it and we didn t do anything to earn it. However, sunshine and rain don t just fall on Christians, the rain doesn t just fall in a deacon s yard, then skip the atheist s yard, and then start back at the Sunday school teacher s yard. It falls on everyone it s common. I want us to see two things about common grace: first, what we can learn from common grace. Second, the limits of common grace. Learn and limits. First, what we can learn from common grace. If you are here this morning and you are not a Christian, first of all welcome. We are glad you are here. It humbles me to know that you d spend your Sunday morning with us, so thank you. ã 2017 J.D. Shaw 2

3 But I want you to know there is a very clear and profound difference between you and those of us who are self-consciously Christian: that is we serve different gods. There s no two ways about it: we serve the Lord Jesus Christ, we belong to him, we are slaves to him, and you are not. That s the vital distinction between us. However, the doctrine of common grace tells Christians that we still have a lot in common. First, even though we do not agree about Jesus, we can agree on what morality is, or at least agree on many points of morality. Paul says in Romans 2:14, For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. Paul says that God has written into our nature as human beings certain notions of right and wrong, and therefore even the Gentiles (and for Paul that would have meant anyone in the world at that time who had never heard of the God of the Bible) understood morality, kindness, and honesty in them as the Bible defines those things. That is a gift from God. Think about it: if the only people on the planet who were kind, trustworthy, and honest were Christians, then no one could live here. Civilization could have never happened. Evil would have overwhelmed everything. Common grace means that God puts morality into everyone s consciences and so, praise God, we can live together. I know if you re here this morning and you re not a Christian, you might feel a little insulted right now. You may be thinking, Well, of course, I m not some barbarian. Of course, you can be good and not believe in God. I know you re thinking that, you re right to think that, and the Bible says that, too, but sometimes Christians forget that and I m talking to them right now. I m trying to remind my fellow believers of these things, so please be patient while we walk through this. Second, common grace means that some if not most of the very intelligent, very creative people on the planet will not be Christians. If you look at all the advances in science, technology, and medicine over the last fifty years, and if you took a sample of the best literature, film, and other art produced over that time period, probably you d find that most of it came from the hands and minds of non-christians. I don t think that s a controversial statement. We as Christians believe all that creativity and innovation is a gift from God, because all good things are gifts from God. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17. But God doesn t just give those gifts to his people, he gives them to all people. Common grace means Christians have plenty to learn from non-christians. This thought isn t a new one in Christian theology. John Calvin five hundred years ago wrote on this point, The liberal arts and the sciences have descended to us from the heathen [and he uses the word heathen there the same way Paul uses the word Gentiles in Romans 2]. We are, indeed, compelled to acknowledge that we have received astronomy, and the other parts of philosophy, medicine, and the order of civil government, from them. When I look back at college, I can name five professors who really took an interest in me, really invested in me, and really taught me a lot in their subject areas. Of those five, three were not Christians. But I learned a lot from them and praise God for their influence in my life to this ã 2017 J.D. Shaw 3

4 day. Even if they did not acknowledge it, they were God s gifts to me at a pivotal point in my life. Third, common grace helps us understand how to relate to those in authority over us in the government. In Romans 13:1-4 we read that Paul wrote this: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been 2 instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and 3 those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will 4 receive his approval, for he is God s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God s wrath on the wrongdoer. Romans 13:1-4. Government is the servant of God. Yet when Paul wrote Romans do you know how many Christians were involved in government? Zero. In fact, at the time Christians were more and more being looked at as an outlaw religious sect that needed to be persecuted. The Roman emperor when Paul wrote the book of Romans was Nero, the man who would eventually become most famous for blaming Christians for starting the Great Fire of Rome and had them executed by throwing them to wild beasts, or crucifying them, or burning them alive. So how could Paul say that government is the servant of God? Common grace. Even during times when what we would call bad governments are in charge, and certainly Nero s government was bad, God in his mercy still works through those in authority so that they do a lot of good. Bad governments still keep society from falling into anarchy, still punish wrongdoers, keep the streets safe, and protect the country from those outside who might want to hurt us. So Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:1-4: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just about every Sunday I quote these verses in my pastoral prayer, which is the prayer I pray before the sermon. In it I lead us to pray for some of the people in our government it may be the President of the United States or the mayor of Oxford or the city clerk. This morning I prayed for the Governor of Mississippi. Why do I do that? I can assure you it s not necessarily because I voted for that person. We have prayed for people for whom I ve voted and we have prayed for people for whom I have not. It s not necessarily because I m convinced that person we are praying for is a Christian, though I hope they all are. It s because of God s command and because I know that no matter what the religious beliefs of the person in charge they are in the position, in part, to bless us because of common grace. And they need our prayers to do the job God has given them, whether they acknowledge God has put them there or not. That s what we can learn from common grace. Now, I want to apply it a couple of ways. First, common grace keeps Christians thankful. Christians are commanded to give thanks. [G]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18. As Christians, one of our daily disciplines should involve being on the lookout for things ã 2017 J.D. Shaw 4

5 for which we can give thanks. Wayne Grudem says we should be thankful when we see the varying kinds of goodness in the lives of unbelievers When we walk down a street and see houses and gardens and families dwelling in security, or when we do business in the marketplace and see the abundant results of technological progress, or when we walk through the wood and see the beauty of nature, or when we are protected by the government, or when we are educated from the vast storehouse of human knowledge, we should realize that God in his sovereignty is ultimately responsible for all of these blessings [and] they are also continually a manifestation of his abundant grace. Christians should be known for our thanksgiving, but I fear we are known as the complaining people: known for complaining about the condition of the world, of the country, of kids, of the schools, of the government. I also think it s fair to say that Christians are known for saying how much worse things are now than, say, sixty years ago, or when they were kids, or both. I once asked my dad, who is about to turn 77, if the preachers he heard when he was a teenager back in the 1950 s talked about how bad things were getting in the world. He told me, Oh, yes absolutely. I know when Spurgeon preached in London in the 1800 s he would decry the condition of the world around him, and Jonathan Edwards, when he preached in Massachusetts in the early 1700 s likewise warned about how wild the young people in his community were. But having a strong grasp of the doctrine of common grace, that God is working in the world always, even through people who are not Christians, will limit the amount of complaining we do, and prompt us to be thankful. The truth is that some things have gotten worse in our society over the last fifty years. The sexual revolution has wrought all kinds of destruction and pain on our society, and the public sexual morals of our country have definitely declined whether we are talking about the change in views on sex outside of marriage, or homosexuality, or the legality of abortion. In that area, from a Christian point of view, things are worse. But in other areas things are way better. Things are way better in our society now for African- American brothers and sisters than they were sixty years ago. Things are not perfect, they are not where they should be, but they are better. But if all African-American Christians hear from white Christians is how things used to be better back in the good old days, back when they didn t have civil rights, how should they take that? And even with the sexual revolution Christians can find some things for which to be thankful. Yes, the sexual revolution s influence has been destructive, but one good thing that s come from it is a growing intolerance of sexual assault and sexual harassment, particularly on women. It was just swept under the rug not that long ago, and the victims were made to feel as if it were their fault. Now it s in the news every day, and increasingly there are consequences for it. We are to give thanks in all circumstances, and we should give thanks for that change because as oddly as the wrapping on it might be, this change is still a gift of God s common grace. Second, common grace helps us be good evangelists. Christians are commanded to tell other people the good news of Jesus. In 1 Peter 3:15, we are told to go into the world and honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect... Peter says that part and parcel of good evangelism is doing it with gentleness and respect. ã 2017 J.D. Shaw 5

6 But too many Christians who don t understand common grace only think of the world only as a dirty, defiling place, that nothing good happens out there among the unbelievers, and no good Christian would ever be involved in it, and if that s how you view the world, if you fall into the trap of hating the world around you in return for the world hating you (and the world will hate you), if you refuse to be thankful for all the gifts of common grace God has given you, then you will stink at evangelism. I mean you will literally stink! Paul says in 2 Corinthians 2:14-15 that we are to spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus everywhere and be the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. But if you just hate the world, disdain it as a filthy, defiling place, then you won t be a sweet fragrance or pleasing aroma to the people you share the gospel with. You ll stink. You won t be gentle and respectful with those who don t yet believe. You won t like the people you re talking to, they ll know it, and it will cripple your attempts at evangelism. Common grace will keep you from that mistake. It s a wonderful gift from God to our world. I hope you ve been encouraged by hearing all this. However I want you to know Second, the limits of common grace. In Romans 1 the apostle Paul says that all people who have ever lived understand that God exists. That s part of common grace. However, they suppress that truth. They don t give thanks to God. They don t honor him as God. They are lost. They became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21. In other words, common grace does not and cannot lead to salvation. Common grace tells all people there is a God, but we don t acknowledge that truth, and we don t acknowledge that we are all sinners. We don t acknowledge that we have offended the God of the universe with our words, thoughts, and deeds, and because of that we deserve to be punished. That s Romans 1:18: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Common grace is a wonderful thing, but it has its limits. If we are to be saved from the punishment we deserve as sinners, we need another kind of grace. We need a saving grace. We need the kind of grace that opens the eyes of our hearts so that we can see ourselves for who we really are sinners, deserving of nothing good from God. And we need the kind of grace that can enable us to call upon someone who can save us. Turn back to Genesis 4 and we ll read verses 25-26: And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, God has appointed for me another offspring 26 instead of Abel, for Cain killed him. To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the Lord. Cain and his line and lineage all knew there was a God. They had received common grace. They weren t atheists. They just didn t recognize God, nor did they honor him. They weren t worried about how they had offended God with their sins and in fact were happy to live in them. But in the other line, the line of Seth, there were those who saw their condition. A different grace had been given them, and they saw themselves for who they were, and by God s mercy they were enabled to call upon the name of the Lord to save them. ã 2017 J.D. Shaw 6

7 Common grace tells Christians that we should not be surprised when we meet an atheist, a Muslim, or a Hindu who is a very moral person someone who would not lie to us, someone who would not steal from us, someone who would help us in a time of need and open their home to us and show us hospitality. We should not be surprised when they love their wives and raise their children to respect others. In fact, Christians, we should not be surprised when we find atheists who are morally superior to us. We should not be surprised when we find people who hate the very idea of God who are better people that we are, better dads, better friends, better citizens. Now be honest: does that offend you? Does it bother you to think that there may be two hundred atheists in Oxford, Mississippi who are better people than you? It shouldn t. Why? Because as Christians you should know you are not saved because you are good person. You are saved because you have called upon the name of the Lord! You are saved by the grace of God that opened your eyes to your condition as a sinner and turned you to Jesus so you could see his sacrifice on the cross on your behalf and trust him to rescue you from the wrath of God. We are not saved because we are good, so of course there will be non-christians out there who are more moral than we are! We are not saved because we are good but because we are forgiven. Lamech said, If Cain s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech s is seventy-sevenfold. But do you know what Jesus said when Peter asked him how often to forgive others? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:22. Friends, the way you know you are a Christian is not by all the good deeds you ve done. In fact, if that s how you measure yourself spiritually, you will either feel self-righteous (because look at all the great stuff you ve done compared to the people around you who haven t done nearly as much) or you ll be crushed (because you ve done so little). Either way, looking at yourself will only lead you to despair, or hell, or both. The way you know you re a Christian is if you know, and if you glory in more than anything else, that you are forgiven. Common grace won t tell you that. Only saving grace can, the grace that opens your eyes so you can see who you really are and what Jesus did for you on the cross. He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. [The Pharisee is someone who has common grace but not saving grace knows he s moral, but he thinks he s better than everyone else and he certainly doesn t know the Lord! He s not calling on the Lord he s calling on his own record to justify himself!] 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18:9-14. ã 2017 J.D. Shaw 7

8 Everyone in the line of Cain exalted themselves, but the line of Seth called on the name of the Lord. Which are you doing? Friends, do you know that you need to be forgiven? Do you know that you ve broken God s law and you ve hurt the people around you? If so, then don t look to yourself look to Jesus. Call upon the name of the Lord. See him dying on the cross to forgive you over and over and over again. You know, when Jesus told Peter, Forgive seventy-seven times he s not saying that when you sin the seventy-eighth time God going to say, I ve had it with him and strike you down. He s saying that no matter how much you sin, I will forgive you. As Richard Sibbes put it, There is more grace in Christ than sin in us. Do you know you need to be forgiven? Then call on the name of the Lord! Look to the cross of Jesus and find all the grace you will ever need. PRAY ã 2017 J.D. Shaw 8