189-How to Understand That Only Those Who Practice Righteousness Are Righteous#
189-How to Understand That Only Those Who Practice Righteousness Are Righteous (1)
(JP Text Group - Yongxian Compilation)
1 John 3:1-12
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed (literally “seed”) remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother or sister.
For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your willingness to fill us with joy and peace every day. Thank You for giving us the beginning of a new week, allowing me to worship and praise You here. At this moment, I offer my heart before You. Please comfort me, help me, renew me, and help us to be filled in Your presence. Lead each person's heart, renew us, and supply us. In the name of Lord Jesus, we pray, Amen!
Brothers and sisters, peace in the Lord!
We share the topic: How to Understand That Only Those Who Practice Righteousness Are Righteous
How are we called righteous? By faith! But in this article, it particularly tells us, "Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray; the one who does what is right is righteous." How do we understand this? Does it contradict the truth that we are justified by faith? Many people do not understand this verse and do not know how practicing righteousness makes one righteous. Today, I will clarify this issue for everyone.
Let us first look at the content of verse 1, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us." The word "great" indicates a sense of amazement. The love that God has given us is so great that we can only express it with astonishment. When we talk about the Kingdom of Heaven, you will find that the entire Kingdom is filled with exclamation marks! Once you enter, you will no longer ask questions. Right now, we have many questions like, "Lord, why? Why did this happen to me? Why did this bad issue come to my attention?" We ask God many "whys," but when we get to Heaven, you will no longer ask God why, because it will all be exclamation marks! You will say, "So this is how You have treated me! So this is how good a God You are!" It will all be filled with amazement!
In 1 John, John tells us, "See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are." Are we children of God? How do you become a child of God? When you accept Jesus, God calls you His child, and we truly are His children! "The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." Do you know why the world dares to look down on Christians? Because they do not know our Lord! If they knew our Lord, they would treat the children of God with great caution and would not casually condemn them!
We look at verse 2, a very important verse, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known; but we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." The Bible is so interesting! It depends on what mindset you use to interpret this passage. If you are filled with the law and are uncertain about God's salvation, this verse becomes very dangerous!
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.
How do some people interpret this? That's right, "You are already saved, justified by faith, you are a child of God! What about the future? It's still uncertain! Can you enter the Kingdom of Heaven in the future? It's still uncertain."
Although you say you have entered the Kingdom of Heaven by faith, what about the future? Can you dare to say you will enter?
Many people say, "Look at what the Bible says, what will happen in the future has not yet been made known. It is a future matter, and no one can say! You dare to say you have entered the Kingdom of Heaven; you are too arrogant, too proud!"
But is this the meaning of this passage? No! So it depends on which angle you view this passage from. Originally, it is a very good verse, but some people interpret it as, "You are saved now, but it does not mean you will always be saved! Whether you can enter the Kingdom of Heaven in the future is not up to you!"
Some even say, "Yes, the matter of entering the Kingdom of Heaven is not up to us! It is up to God! If God allows me to enter, I can enter; if God does not allow me to enter, what can I do?" Is this pushing all the responsibility onto God?
But what is the meaning of this passage? "Now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known." We need to interpret this passage through the Bible. We can see that "now" emphasizes our identity, highlighting that you are a child of God. Once you become a child of God, you cannot lose your salvation!
How do we interpret this passage?
In the original text, it says, "what we will be has not yet been made known," which is a simple past passive voice. It tells us that those of us who believe in Jesus today, those of us who are called children of God, have a great hope, a glorious hope! We are children of God, but do you know what you will have in the future?
Do you know what you will possess in the future for the little work you do for the Lord? God will give you a rich reward! Right now, you are just a child of God, but what will happen in the future, you cannot even imagine! No matter how much you try to imagine, you cannot fathom the glory God will give you! This is what this passage tells us. You need to have a very good hope for the future! You need to know that God will give us an indescribable great glory in the future!
But one thing is certain: when Jesus Christ returns, we will be like Jesus and will have a body like His! This is the glory that God has destined for us! Right now, when you pray for someone in Jesus' name, that person can be healed! Compared to the glory in the future, this is nothing! You think Jesus loves me like this, and one day, not only will you see how God loves you, but you will also see Him with your own eyes! This is the hope that we Christians should have: you think it is already good now, but God will give you something better in the future! Right now, relying on Jesus, you can live a joyful life, but in the future, you will be even more joyful!
Today, we live in the flesh, and we are limited. You cannot be here and there at the same time; you cannot just jump down from upstairs, but in the future, we will have glorious bodies like Jesus. Do you know how great a blessing you will inherit? At that time, you can eat or not eat, and you will not die! You can enjoy all the glory that God wants to give you! Hallelujah! So when Jesus Christ comes again, we will surely see His true body!
At that time, Jesus will come and change our current bodies; what He brings is the power of transformation! This is our greatest hope! At that time, we can see the glorious body of Jesus Christ. If we have such hope today, we will keep our hearts and continue to believe! Do not let some people mislead you! This is clearly a very good verse, yet it is misinterpreted as being saved now does not necessarily mean you will be saved in the future! This has nothing to do with it. So we should live like Jesus in the world, but not be polluted by others! This issue will be mentioned soon.
Starting from verse 3, it says, "Everyone who has this hope in him purifies themselves, just as he is pure." This purification is not something we do ourselves; it is God who purifies us. The meaning is that when you firmly know that today you are glorious and that we will have even greater glory in the future, you will have a completely different way of living from the world! Because you know what kind of blessings you will inherit in the future! If you give a cup of cold water to the least of these little ones, God will not fail to reward you in the future! This is the glory to come! "What will happen in the future has not yet been made known," but we know that this matter will surely be made known!
We look at verse 4, "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness."
What does this mean? Here, I want to use the original Greek to explain this passage. The "sin" here, we always think of it as a verb, but in Greek, it is a noun, referring to "that kind of sinner," who is an unlawful person. All sinners are unlawful!
"That kind of sinner" refers to those who do not believe in Jesus. Such sinners are all lawbreakers. In Chinese, it is called "breaking the law," but the original text refers to "unlawful people." Conversely, it is the same; unlawful means sin.
The original text explains that unlawful is sin, and sin is unlawful. In Chinese, it translates to "Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness." But here, "sin" refers to "sinners." Breaking the law is sin; remember, here it is a noun. What does the noun mean? Today, when you accept Jesus, are you a sinner or a righteous person? A righteous person is an identity.
Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.
Do you still sin today? Yes. Then you have broken the law, and you are doomed!" If you interpret it this way, it will get more confusing as you go along. So the reason I am particularly explaining this to everyone is that after your life is changed by God, your identity changes! For example, when you accept Jesus and let Jesus live in your heart, and then the Holy Spirit resides within, from that point on, you become a righteous person. A righteous person is not an unlawful person! No! A righteous person is a righteous person! It is like the analogy of pigs and sheep; they are two different lives. When you accept Jesus, your life, meaning your identity, is that you are a child of God.
Verse 5 says, "You know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin."
This verse refers to when the Lord Jesus preached on earth for the first time, dying on the cross for our sins, thus taking away our sins. The word "sins" here is in the plural, referring to all our sins being taken away by Jesus! Why is the word "sins" in the plural? It is all your sins throughout your life, not just one sin being taken away! All sins have been taken away by Jesus! Amen!
There is no sin in Jesus, so those who live in Jesus Christ are also righteous, not those who are called sinners! So here, remember, "You know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin." Those who are in Jesus Christ do not wish to continue sinning, referring to a lifestyle; this indicates a habit.
Those who continue to willingly sin refer to a lifestyle of sin. Of course, this sin does not refer to being occasionally overcome by transgressions. Some people continuously sin, persistently living in sin, which the Bible refers to as the style of pigs; you clean them up, but once you let go, they go back in! They willingly live in sin, continuously, and the Bible calls such people unlawful, meaning those who do not know God and do not accept the Lord Jesus.
Verse 6 says, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him."
Remember: here, sin becomes a verb. A person who lives a lifestyle of continuous sin does not know Jesus Christ. We look again at verse 6, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning." Do you still sin? You must remember, you may still sin; do not be afraid to admit this, saying you are without sin and do not sin at all.
If someone says, "I have no sin," then you are just a step away from heresy. After believing in Jesus, we still may sin. But here, I just mentioned, it does not mean that one does not commit a single sin in their lifetime. It refers to those who live continuously in sin, who willingly continue to sin; such a person does not know Jesus.
However, those who live in Jesus Christ do not wish to continue sinning. Although this scripture may be a bit convoluted, it is very important. Many people use this verse to bind others, saying, "If you still sin in Christ, you are of the devil! Those born of God do not sin! Those who sin are of the devil!" They immediately put you in the devil's camp.
But here it refers to those who willingly live in sin continuously. How many Christians are there who believe in the Lord just to continue sinning? If there are such people, they do not know the Lord. In other words, they are not saved! Isn't that simple?
So, "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning" refers to those who do not continue to sin deliberately and willingly! Hallelujah! "Everyone who sins" refers to those who live continuously in sin.
Some people, under the banner of believing in Jesus, live in sin, such as lying, immorality, and all sorts of messy sins, continuously doing so! This can only prove one thing: this person does not yet know the Lord Jesus. Because they are continuously doing these things.
Verse 7 says, "Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous."
Many people do not understand the context and casually interpret the scripture, saying, "Do you see? 'Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray; the one who does what is right is righteous,' so I say, it is not enough to just believe in Jesus; you must also have good behavior. If you do not have good behavior, you are still not saved." Isn't that a logical conclusion?
When we hear it, we think, yes, that makes a lot of sense! The Bible says so, do not be led astray; it is not enough to just believe to be saved; you must also have good behavior! So, the one who does what is right is righteous! Are we caught in this trap again?
Let me ask everyone another question: Is our salvation related to behavior? No! When this is once again linked to behavior, we need to think, did I misinterpret something? The Bible is not wrong.
Verse 7 is a present active imperative, meaning do not let anyone continue to lead you astray; this refers to the content mentioned in the first chapter of 1 John, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves," which is a passage aimed at the Gnostic heresy.
They said: We are without sin; although we sin, it is the flesh that sins; our souls are holy! John here criticizes those people: do not be led astray by those Gnostic heretics; the one who does what is right is righteous! Here, "the one who does what is right is righteous" does not mean we become righteous by doing what is right! It refers to whom?
Once again, it uses the term "continuously, constantly doing what is right," who? It refers to Jesus Christ! The only one who continuously and constantly does what is right in this world is our Lord Jesus Christ. This indicates that the Lord Jesus says, do not get it wrong! The Apostle John tells us, do not believe in Gnostic heresies, do not believe in other gods; you must believe in that one! That one is the one who continuously and constantly does what is right, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ! Those who continuously sin belong to the lifestyle of the devil.
Verse 8 says, "The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning."
Here it again mentions that those who continuously sin belong to the lifestyle of the devil. Look at some people today who continuously sin; are they not living in the lifestyle of the devil? Are we like that? No! Because the devil has been sinning from the beginning! The following tells us the reason: "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work." The Son of God refers to Jesus Christ; the purpose of Jesus Christ appearing was to destroy the works of the devil.
That is to eliminate the lifestyle of those who continuously sin and belong to the devil! Because in the past, we were enemies of God! When Jesus Christ came, He cut off our lifestyle of continuous sin. Why does a person continue to sin? The reason is simple: they do not yet know the Lord!
Today, when we look at the people around us, your husband or family members, who continuously curse and commit sins, what is the reason? Because they do not yet know God! Just as Romans 5 tells us, we are sinners, so we will continue to sin. But do not reverse it and say: because we continue to sin, we are sinners. You must not reverse it!
Because we are sinners, we will continue to sin, ultimately leading to death. How does God solve this problem? After Jesus comes, He first takes away your identity as a sinner and gives you the identity of a righteous person! Then you can stop sinning, isn't that simple? For us, today, when we see a person who continuously sins, you say, do not do this, but they still want to continue! This is their life; they just do not know the Lord! What is the way to make them stop sinning? Unless they are willing to accept Jesus, they cannot stop continuously sinning.
Because continuous sinning belongs to the lifestyle of the devil. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this world in the flesh for the purpose of removing the works of the devil! Because we are sinners, we continuously sin, and when Jesus Christ comes and gives you the identity of a righteous person, you can stop living a life of continuous sin. Amen!
So how does Jesus do this? He came in the flesh and died for our sins, with the purpose of eliminating the works of the devil. This matter has already been accomplished on the cross. Your identity as a righteous person is the identity of a righteous person that Jesus exchanged for you with His precious blood on the cross. When you know your identity as a righteous person, you will have the ability not to continuously sin.
But you will still sin, brothers and sisters; we always use a term called "continuously." The distinction is here; we Christians may occasionally be overcome by transgressions, but we will not continuously sin like the world, because that lifestyle does not belong to God.
Verse 9 says, "No one born of God will continue to sin."
Many people take this phrase out of context and say, "Look at what the Bible says? 'No one born of God will continue to sin.'"
Do you sin? Yes.
Then are you born of God?
Isn't this contradictory? You sin, yet you are born of God? The Bible says, "No one born of God will continue to sin." So here, through the original text, we can understand that the children of God do not have the lifestyle of continuous sin because they are born of God. Amen! What kind of life does one born of God have? They possess the life of Christ, with the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, and through God's word, they have already been given a new life. Therefore, they do not wish to continue sinning.
So here it says, "No one born of God will continue to sin," which is still a noun. Remember, those born of God are not sinners; those born of God cannot produce sinners. Only righteousness can come from God. Those born of God are not sinners; they are righteous. Why? Because God's seed remains in their hearts. The following says, "they cannot go on sinning," which becomes a verb. Sometimes it is a noun, sometimes it is a verb; in our Chinese understanding, they seem similar, but in reality, remember: you are born of God; those born of God are righteous, not sinners.
Today, because God's word remains in our hearts, we cannot sin. This does not mean you will never commit a sin in your life. It still tells you, you cannot continue to sin continuously. Hallelujah! Why? Because you are born of God! Do you see the two states of a person? One is a sinner who continuously sins; they sin and feel nothing in their hearts; the other is a righteous person, a righteous person justified by faith, who cannot continuously sin. This continuous sinning does not mean you have a desire or ability to resist sin; it is because God's word remains in your heart that you cannot continuously sin.
So here the original text uses two words: the first "No one born of God will continue to sin" is a noun hamartia, and the latter "they cannot go on sinning" is a verb hamartano. In Chinese, you cannot see the difference, but in the original text, the meanings are different. In other words, God has the ability to prevent you from living continuously in sin.
Verse 10 says, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are."
This passage is very important! Conversely, it can be said, "Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother or sister." You must not take a single verse and apply it to anyone; this is very dangerous. Because what we talked about earlier is very professional yet very important!
In simple terms, when a person believes in Jesus Christ, they possess the life of God, and God will be responsible for their life: I will not let you live continuously in sin! God gives us this ability! Unless you say in your heart: I am willing to sin.
So verse 10 says, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are."
The children of the devil do what is unjust; the children of God can live a life of righteousness, which can be seen through their fruits! In other words, when you see a person who continuously willingly sins and does evil, you can judge that their life is not the life of God. But you cannot say because a person has made a mistake once, "That's it, they must not be saved; they must be children of the devil." You cannot judge like that! Some people's lifestyle is evident; they will continuously sin and do evil! Such people, we can know that the root of that tree is problematic.
This morning, I heard a testimony about a brother from a church who said he accepted grace. Today, we do not judge whether this person is saved or not; I just want to tell you what his lifestyle is like. Up to now, he has talked about many girlfriends, and they are all living together. When the church says, "You should not live this way; this lifestyle is not beneficial to you," what does this person say? "God has forgiven my sins; Jesus does not condemn me! Why do you stop me? I have peace in my heart when I do this."
Brothers and sisters, is this peace normal? Many people are like extreme charismatic groups, saying when you do something, you should judge whether you have peace in your heart; if you have peace, it is from the Holy Spirit. If you do not have peace, it is not from the Holy Spirit. So he also uses this trick, saying, "I have accepted grace; Jesus is so good; Jesus does not condemn my sins, so I live with different women, and I have peace in my heart."
This lifestyle of continuously sinning, I do not want to say whether this person is saved; I just want to say that when you see a person continuously sinning, we can judge that they do not have the life of God within them. Because a person with the life of God would not do such things.
For example, the Bible mentions those hypocritical Pharisees; they also claimed to be descendants of Abraham, but their behavior showed they were children of the devil. For us, it is not enough to say that one believes in Jesus to be saved; they must have the life of God within them! I want to tell everyone that this person may have just believed in the Lord, and their life may not have been updated by God in time, but they will not continuously live the same lifestyle for 3 years, 5 years, or 30 years. If they are still the same as before, that person may truly not have the life of God.
So it says, "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are;"
Because "Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child."
When a person possesses the life of Christ, they will bear the fruits of righteousness and good behavior sooner or later. Brothers and sisters, think about this: if a tree is healthy, will it bear fruit in due season? Even if it grows very slowly, can it bear fruit after three years? Yes!
The Bible often uses the vine as a metaphor; you see the vine, it may not bear much fruit in the first three years, but after the third year, it begins to bear fruit. Unless that tree has a problem. If it is a healthy tree, it will surely begin to bear fruit in due season!
And the life of a Christian is the same! You say they just believed in the Lord; perhaps their behavior has not been updated by God yet, but if they have believed for 3 years, 30 years, and are still the same virtue, still continuously living in sin, that person may not have the life of God. Because we know that the life given to us by Jesus Christ will enable us to love one another and will bear the fruits of righteousness. We should understand that righteousness is a gift given by God, not something you earn through effort or behavior.
Look at a passage from Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast."
Once again, I emphasize that justification is not related to behavior; it is related to belief! When you believe in the salvation that Jesus accomplished for you on the cross, you are justified by God. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." This mentions human faith.
Let me ask everyone a question: Is faith a gift from God? That means whether we are saved or not is determined by God. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith."
Many people will say, "Lord, why can’t I believe in You? Because You did not give me faith; how can I believe in You?" They push all the responsibility onto God.
"Why do my prayers not work? You did not give me great faith!"
Is this all God's fault?
This must be clarified through the original text of the Bible. "This," there is an important word here: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves," this, what does "this" refer to? Is it our faith? "This" refers to the free gift of salvation given by God, not something you asked for or earned through your behavior. It is given by God!
To put it simply: our salvation is not earned through your efforts; it is a free gift given by God! So what should we do? Believe in Him! Here, people have the right to choose; you can choose to believe that God has given you free salvation, or you can choose not to believe that God has given you salvation. People have this freedom of choice!
Do not push all the responsibility onto God, saying, "You did not let me be saved; You did not give me a heart to believe in You; how can I believe in You?" Do not push all the responsibility onto God; here, justification and behavior are unrelated! Today, God has prepared everything; we believe in Him, and you will receive it!
1 John 3:11-12
We should love one another. This is the message you heard from the beginning. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.
Should Christians do good deeds? They must! If you continuously live in sin, perhaps you do not have the life of God within you. First, you must have hope, saying, "Lord, I believe in You; I can live a good life," this is practicing righteousness!
Earlier, it was just mentioned that only those who practice righteousness are righteous, and then it immediately mentions two people, one is Cain, and the other is Abel. What is the difference between these two? First, they are both sons of Adam and Eve. Why did Cain kill Abel? The Bible says it was because his own actions were evil!
Do not say, "Why did he kill his brother Abel? Because he was jealous!" Yes, you are correct, but what is the reason? Because he is evil! Why is he evil? Does that mean Adam and Eve gave birth to an evil son? You must understand that his own actions were evil, and his brother's actions were righteous.
This mentions actions; in other words, before Cain killed his brother Abel, his actions were already evil. Why did he plot to murder his brother? Because his actions were evil. Both came before God; Abel's actions were righteous, and Cain's actions were evil. What did they do that distinguished one as righteous and the other as evil? That’s right, they made sacrifices.
Before this, it did not say that Cain was a bad person who committed all sorts of evil; there is no record of Cain and Abel's lifestyle before this, only that they made sacrifices! Originally, if we do not make sacrifices, we are all evil before God! But because you made a sacrifice, you become righteous; isn't that interesting?
Today you are righteous because you have offered the correct sacrifice: Jesus Christ! If others have not made a sacrifice, no matter how good they do, they are still evil! Can you understand?
Why did Cain kill his brother? Because he was evil! If we reverse it and say: because he killed his brother, he is evil. That is incorrect! He was already evil before he killed his brother!
I hope to share this story with you:
In the Garden of Eden, there was a man and a woman, Adam and Eve. You know that after they sinned, they were driven out of the Garden of Eden. When they were driven out, something happened; they were both naked and saw their shame. At that time, God made garments of skin for them. Personally, I understand that the skin was likely from a lamb! Why?
The biblical basis is that after God made garments of skin for them and drove them out of the Garden, something happened. Genesis 3:24 "So he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."
In other words, they used to live in the Garden of Eden, but after being driven out, they still wanted to go back in. But now there are cherubim and a flaming sword guarding the entrance. From then on, they were separated from God! But a strange thing happened, which is: where did the sacrificial system come from? Who invented the sacrificial system? It was God who, when making garments for them, had already told them about sacrifice. You must be driven out of the Garden of Eden and cannot live here because you did not listen to my words, so I am now separated from you. But there is a way for you to continue communicating with me, and that is through sacrifice.
You must offer the blood of an animal; you must know that this animal should not die, but because you both sinned, the animal now dies for you, which is the prototype of the sacrificial system. After God drove them out, there was a flaming sword guarding the entrance, but beside it was a sacrificial system. If they wanted to communicate with God, they had to offer a sacrifice, and then God would accept them.
So Adam and Eve told their children about this, which is why both sons went to make sacrifices. I speculate that the place of sacrifice was at the entrance where they were driven out because they were eager to return; they now realized that life there was the best.
But now the way is blocked, with cherubim guarding it. You can imagine a huge tabernacle, the place where God is present, but now this place is blocked, surrounded by a huge wall, with a flaming sword above it. The only place they could reach was in front of the altar, offering sacrifices, and then communicating with God.
In this process, your sacrifice must involve shedding blood; God must have told Adam about this. I think Adam would not get this wrong; otherwise, Abel would not have made sacrifices. So when Abel made a sacrifice, he chose the best lamb from the flock; he already knew how to offer cattle and sheep. He knew that he could not be accepted by God on his own, because his father sinned, and he was born a sinner. So how could he communicate with God? He must do so through the shedding of the blood of a lamb. Therefore, Abel did this, but Cain did not.
Genesis 4:3 "In the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord."
What did Cain offer? The produce of the land. We also believe that Cain did not offer the worst produce; it must have been the best. But why did God not like it? I have asked some people in the past; some say our God likes to eat meat, and Cain offered potatoes and cabbage, which God does not like. That is not true! The Bible already gives us the answer: without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.
Because what Cain offered had no blood, there was no atoning sacrifice there, so his actions became evil! In other words, today if you do not have Jesus Christ as your atoning sacrifice, no matter how good your actions are, they are still evil. No matter how good your offerings are, God will not accept them because you are a sinner. Conversely, after Abel offered the blood of the lamb, both he and his offering were accepted by God.
So Abel offered the firstborn of his flock, meaning he had to kill the lamb, shed blood, and then his sins would be forgiven. Therefore, Abel's heart was one that deeply respected God's righteousness and holiness; he knew that through the blood of the animal, his sins could be forgiven, as the innocent blood replaced the guilty person. Once the blood was shed, he knew his sins were forgiven. Because the innocent lamb had already died for him! Hallelujah!
Later, when the Israelites had a true sacrificial system, they also followed this method, which remains unchanged to this day. So when a person comes before God, they must place their hands on the lamb and say, "All my sins are laid upon the lamb," and they must kill this lamb. The priest would burn this lamb on the altar. Initially, sacrifices were modeled this way. Until later, when John the Baptist came, it was also like this: "Behold! The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" Jesus Christ became that true lamb.
In other words, do you know today that you are righteous because you have offered Jesus Christ as your atoning sacrifice? If there is no Jesus Christ, you are still evil before God! Cain's offering had no shedding of blood, so his actions and himself were both evil. Because without the blood of atonement, all human righteousness is filthy and evil!
Based on the context, we know that practicing righteousness is not by our own strength but by relying on everything Jesus Christ accomplished for you on the cross! And this is practicing righteousness! Anyone who believes correctly will have their heart moved and guided by the Holy Spirit, and they will produce the love of God!
And those who live by their own strength before God only have hatred in their hearts! Look at Cain; isn't he such a person? "I have given you all the potatoes I grew at home, and you still do not care; you actually care about him!" First, he hated God in his heart, then he hated his brother Abel, and finally, the more he hated, the angrier he became, directly killing his brother.
So a person who lives by their own strength before God lives like this. You will find many people living under the law like this: "Lord, I have prayed for so long; why do You not listen to my prayers? What else do You want? When will You save me? I have believed in You for so many years!" Is this not like the elder son? He is relying on himself!
Today, we are not like this; we are under grace, not like this. Whether you want healing or breakthroughs in relationships or finances, what do you do? "Lord, I know I cannot do it by myself, but Jesus is my atoning sacrifice; because of Jesus, You have accepted me! So please turn my situation around!" This is the lifestyle of a person practicing righteousness. First, they have a correct relationship with God. But Cain, although he did not make the correct sacrifice, did God just slap him dead? No, God personally came to find Cain because this guy was very angry and had changed his countenance!
Genesis 4:6-7
The Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why has your face changed? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."
This is another passage that is often misunderstood. Many people will use this to say, "If you do what is right, you will be accepted by God. If you do not do what is right, sin will cling to you. You must strive to overcome your sin," how rational this sounds! So what should you do? Strive not to sin! Strive to overcome your sin! You must daily crucify your old self; how logical this seems!
But this passage does not mean that. If God told Cain, "Cain, I see your behavior is not good; you should perform well before me," Cain would say, "I have offered what should be offered; what else do You want?" Cain would not know what to do. But what does God mean? We will also explain this through the original text; God is actually a very gentle God. God says, "Why are you angry? Actually, I should be the one who is angry! You did not offer the sacrifice in my way, and you are angry?" You will find that many times we are angrier than God; we are more powerful than God. "With someone like you, how can you enter the Kingdom of Heaven? I do not believe in Jesus!" We are more godlike than God!
The one who should be angry is God. God says, "If you do what is right," is Cain doing what is wrong? Here, doing what is right and doing what is wrong refers to not making the correct sacrifice! Abel did what was right because he offered the firstborn lamb; he had an atoning sacrifice! Why did Cain do what was wrong? Because he had no atoning sacrifice!
If you do what is wrong, will I slap you dead? Look at how God says, "If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it."
This passage in the original text has a bit of a translation misunderstanding; in the original text, the words for sin and atoning sacrifice are the same word. What God means is: "If you feel your brother's behavior is good while your behavior is not good, when your behavior is not good, you should not be angry; you should bring the atoning sacrifice I have prepared for you and offer it before me."
"Look, the atoning sacrifice is not always crouching there; you can just bring it over! You just need to bring it over and offer it before me, and you will be accepted by me."
Isn't this the state of the world? The world relies on their efforts to obtain blessings, but they cannot get them. The way they come before God is similar to Cain's. If you want to obtain my acceptance, you only need to bring the atoning sacrifice I have prepared for you and offer it before me, right?
Has the salvation of Jesus Christ been prepared? The salvation, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, has long been prepared! He has always been longing for you! For a person who does not believe, you tell them that the salvation of Jesus Christ is always waiting for you to offer Him before God! You only need to offer Him!
Do you know when to offer Him? Many people do this: "Lord, I acknowledge I am a sinner; now I believe in Jesus, who shed His precious blood on the cross for me, forgiving all my sins." This is making a sacrifice, just like Abel's offering; is there blood in it?
If you offer Jesus before God, Jesus is your atoning sacrifice. God will accept you. The atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ has always been longing for you. What does it mean to rule over Him? It means you bring Him over and offer Him before God! I have prepared salvation for you; why do you not want it and walk another path? If you walk another path, you are still evil! You are still not a righteous person! If we come before God relying on Jesus Christ, this is the correct way to approach God. In God's eyes, this is a person practicing righteousness!
What do you rely on to approach God? Ephesians 2:13 "But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ."
Brothers and sisters, you are justified before God and are also practicing righteousness because of the blood of Jesus Christ. By relying on the blood of Jesus, you have drawn near to God. Therefore, it is very important for Christians to live out good behavior, but this is not the focus of our sharing today.
The focus today is: Only those who practice righteousness are righteous. First, I want to tell you that you have a correct relationship with God; you do not please God by your own behavior, but because of Jesus Christ, God is pleased with you. When you understand this truth, you will be able to live a life of loving one another!
This is the key point of our sharing today: The righteous person is actually the one who believes in Him in the correct way! What does the Bible say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart." If you truly acknowledge in your heart that Jesus is your Lord, that He became your atoning sacrifice on the cross, in His eyes, you are a righteous person! At the same time, you can also practice the righteousness of God!
This is what we mean by only those who practice righteousness are righteous! This word is not far from you at all. So do not strive to overcome the problems in life by your own strength; that is Cain's way. You need to be like Abel! You know you have an eternal atoning sacrifice, which is Jesus Christ. Practicing righteousness is not by your own strength but by relying on the grace and love given to you by God! When you believe correctly, you will live correctly! When you believe correctly and know how Jesus loves you, you will be able to love others! Hallelujah! When you know that Jesus does not remember your sins, you will not sin.
Do you remember what Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery at the end? "Neither do I condemn you; go now and leave your life of sin!" Today, when you know your righteousness comes from believing in Jesus Christ, you will be able to live out righteous behavior!
At the end, let us pray together before God. If you say you believe in Jesus, but you find that your problems still exist, you do not believe that God is willing to bless you every time. At this moment, please, like Abel, simply believe in God, knowing that because of the offered sacrifice, God has accepted you. Know that God accepts you because of the blood of Jesus; His righteousness is upon you. You can try to pray:
"Lord, I know You will hear my prayer, not because of my good behavior, but because of the blood of Jesus Christ; the righteousness of Jesus is upon me, so You will hear my prayer. You will change and renew me, allowing me to live out the style of a righteous person, to live a life of loving one another, forgiving one another, serving one another, and living a holy life. Because I know I am a different person; I carry Your glory, and in the future, You have prepared greater glory for me. I thank You for this."
Pray loudly, telling Him everything you need in your heart; He will hear your prayer!