Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Pt. 2.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon Pt. 2. Genesis 4:3-7. What does it mean to rule over sin?

To rule over sin is to enjoy a lifestyle of godliness characterized by consistent heartfelt worship and lifelong willing obedience. It is these two things that Cain rejected in choosing a lifestyle of disobedience from the Lord.

It’s important to realize that the Scripture is describing two ways of life in this passage and not just a series of one time actions. Either Cain and Abel were going to enjoy a lifestyle of worship and obedience for a lifetime, or one or both would choose to follow the pathway of sin.

Last week we focused on how the story of Scripture is the story of redemption. We also found how Jesus Christ provided a far better and complete sacrifice than Cain did, one that paid the price for the sin of all God’s people.
This week we’ll look at this passage again to see what Christ did to set us free from following a lifestyle of sin and free to follow a lifestyle of godliness.

Like addiction to alcohol, gambling, eating, shopping or pornography the sinful nature within us desires to dominate every aspect of our being and lead us down a path eventual destruction. This is the first time God uses the term ’sin’ to describe an act of disobedience toward Him.
As used here and many other places in Scripture the term isn’t confined to a series of isolated actions but a way of life defined by consistently and willingly deviating from God’s clear path of righteousness that He speaks of in His word.
The Scriptures teach that since the disobedience of Adam every person born (except Jesus Christ) has sinful human nature. That is our very human nature is corrupt from our conception. We are born with a natural bent to disobey God, resist His will and ways and by ourselves are totally incapable of pleasing God or even believing the gospel.
Since we cannot break the power of the sinful nature on our own we have to depend on God’s grace through the Spirit to break its power and give us a new godly nature that desires to obey and delight in God and the things of God. This is what Scripture is talking about when it speaks of the new birth.
How do you know you’ve been born again? You know it because of your appetites and desires. Do you have a sincere appetite to know and live by the word of God? Do you now want to really worship the Lord where before it was really didn’t seem to matter to you? Do you have a genuine desire to stop your old, ungodly sinful actions, habits and patterns and adopt new godly ones? If so these are a good indication that you’ve been born again.

Now just because you have an appetite for the things of God and really desire to live a consistently godly lifestyle doesn’t mean that it happens automatically. That’s because the Scriptures teach that though the power of the sinful nature has been broken, it has not been completely eradicated.

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. Rom. 6:6-7
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Rom 6:12.

How does our sinful nature desire to dominate us? The apostle Paul said it aptly when he wrote that the sinful nature has in effect declared war on us and the Spirit of holiness within us.                                          

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Gal. 5:16-17.
In this war as in every war the enemy seeks total victory, total domination and their adversary’s total submission.

The sinful nature wants to dominate our appetite and desires. Rather than have us to feed on the word of God, seek satisfaction in the worship of God, commit ourselves to the word of God and devoted ourselves to the service of God the sinful nature wants us to live self-focused, self-centered and selfish lives.

The sinful nature wants to dominate our minds, thoughts and perspective on life itself. Instead of saturating our minds with the glory, perfections, grace, beauty and righteousness of God the sinful nature wants to use our minds to meditate on the things of this world and the temptations we’re sure to face in this world. The sinful nature wants us to devise and logically work out why it is always necessary for us to sin and disobey God in any given situation rather than submit ourselves to our Lord and obey Him for our own good and His glory.

The sinful nature wants us to become cold toward, indifferent to and eventually hostile toward the things of God. That’s the warning God gave to Cain. By grace He spoke the true word of God to Cain letting him know that his sinful nature was taking him down a path in which he would constantly and willingly reject God and the things of God.
The sinful nature wants us to reject the Lord as our God and live life on our own terms and for our own glory and purpose.
The sinful nature wants us to redefine God in our own image. In this way the sinful nature wants us to reject the God of Scripture and construct a new god that serves our purposes and helps us to rationalize our disobedient lifestyles.
The sinful nature wants us to fail to take God seriously. It wants us to put more weight into following ungodliness and even using religion to justify our love for the world and things of the world.
Finally the sinful nature wants us to grow cold, indifferent and hostile toward the worship of God. The sinful nature wants us so absorbed in ourselves that we fail to see the blessedness, joy, privilege and responsibility to give ourselves over to God in worship.
The sinful nature want to continue to dominate our wills so that we don’t act on godly impulses but carry out and fulfill ungodly ones. Before the Spirit gave you new life which led to your believing in Christ for salvation you didn’t have a free will. Your will was captive to your sinful nature. (see Rom. 6:6-7)

If the sinful nature is allowed to run its course, achieve complete domination of our thoughts, speech, actions, habits and patterns it will lead to our total and complete death.

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Rom 8:12-13.

Are you struggling with sin? Does your life resemble an ongoing war between desires to follow God and follow sin? Do you feel that in your heart and deepest desire you want to obey and follow God 100% of the time, but struggle to do so?
If so, you’re living the normal Christian life. If you have no struggle, if following the cravings of the sinful nature seems easy to you than you should wonder have you really been born again?

Through His sacrifice on the cross Jesus Christ has broken the power of the sinful nature for all His people.
Those who’ve been born again have simultaneously been given a new nature even as the old sinful nature’s power over us was broken.
We’ve been given this new godly nature so that we might live in what the Scripture calls the newness of life. That simply means that we now have the ability to adopt and practice new godly thoughts, speech, actions, pattern, habits and lifestyles.
The Scripture declares that as Christ’s physical body was crucified and our old sinful nature was crucified with the result that it no longer has power over us.
Since Christ died once for sin and suffered the penalty of sin but rose from the dead thus proving that death no longer has dominion over Him, so all who believe in Him must consider themselves dead to the power of the sinful nature and alive to the our new nature through the power and ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Is that how you see or wish to see yourself? Do you understand that faith in Jesus Christ has placed you into a whole new way of living? Do you realize that through the work of Christ you no longer have to dominated and trapped by your old ways of thinking, acting and living?

Through the grace of God, the work of Christ and the power of the Spirit you too can live a new life.
Our new lives are an ongoing act of worship. As I said previously the root of Cain’s offering wasn’t just one particular poor sacrifice. It was to be real offering that was symbolic of the direction of his life. In the same sense our acts of worship today also symbolize and illustrate the direction and intention of our hearts. Cain was to bring the very best of what he’d grown as a gesture acknowledging that not only did his whole harvest, but he himself belonged to the Lord. In this way worship is not just a one time act but a continual lifestyle where everything we have an everything we are is given to God for His glory.
Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Living our new lives begins with the act of worship itself. We set aside apart of the time God has given to offer our praise, thanksgiving and worship to honor, adore and bless our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the salvation He’s given to us.

We live new lives by steadily dropping old, ungodly and unfruitful thinking, ways of speaking, actions, patterns, habits and lifestyles while adopting new ones.
Ephes. 4:22-24 (NIV)
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

We increasingly give ourselves over to God’s service using our time, resources, talents, abilities and skills to do good in the Name of Jesus and open up avenues to proclaim the gospel.
Ephes. 2:8-10 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- [9] not by works, so that no one can boast. [10] For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This is the new life we’ve been graciously called to live. It is a lifestyle modeled on the life of Jesus Christ. His entire existence was an offering to God for the lives of His people. Jesus gave Himself over to the perfect practice of godly thinking, godly speaking, godly actions, habits, patterns and way of living. Jesus pursued a lifestyle of good works for His lifetime. His dedication to good works culminated in His great good work on the cross.
Jesus did not follow the way of Cain and neither should we.

To Him Who Loves Us…
Pastor Lance