The cost of NOT being in the blood of Christ
Luke 14:25-27
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
The human condition without Christ:
1. No peace of conscience- A hardened heart drowned in pleasures and idols.
2. You'll never know full, real, everlasting joy. Supernatural joy.
3. No hope. In a world of purposeless people you'll be hopelessly poor in spirit. Even the most profitable person will loose their soul if they're not in Christ.
4. No purpose. A meaningless intensely unpleasant future.
5. No favor, only wrath. No supernatural advocate between time and eternity. The full working out of salvation will not even get started.
Jude 1:11
"Woe unto them, for they have gone the way of Cain."
It's like choosing to take the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil into yourself, and then taking the fruit of the tree of life into yourself, and thereby living forever in your sins. Inside your heart all your self worth is like rotting bones of death.
God created the way of blood for the redemption of the human spirit. Mankind created religion and the worship of God. Both Cain and Able were religious, both brought offerings. Cain brought the fruit of the earth. Able brought the sacrifice of blood. God accepted Able's sacrifice and rejected Cain's.
God commanded that somebody had to pay the death penalty. Jesus Christ paid it. Jesus Christ created the way of the cross by his blood. And in his sacrifice people who take up the cross in faith and follow in him, those people are converted and born again.
Hebrews 11:4
"It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to us by his example of faith."
Cain came by his own path, by his own ideas, by his own lusts and desires, and he killed because of his jealousy. He waged war on mankind and against God. And mankind has been committing these evils ever since.
God didn't bring down his wrath on Cain without first trying to warn him.
Genesis 4:6-7
“Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? 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."
God saw what was boiling up inside him. He knew his heart. And he offered him a simple faith option, God offered him the way of faith through the blood. He opened up an opportunity to reject his sinful mind and heart, and follow the way of the blood. And Cain chose the way of sin. Sin had his heart and Cain did not resist. He tried a false religious view. He worshipped publicly. He offered his wealth in a form of sacrifice. But he didn't follow God's commands. He weighed the cost of discipleship and decided to try his own way. He was led by his own wicked spirit, to go his own wicked way, and to create his own wicked religion. He made himself god. He made his own motivations his own divine life. He sought favor with others over the favor of God. He had his reasons. He had his own policies. He created his own offering because he had his own ideas and motives.
What was missing?
No love for God.
No love for God's love was in his heart.
No discipleship.
Cain created a cult in and of himself. He created a religion built upon himself without love. I'm sure Cain's religion was beloved by the people from whom he sought favor. I'm absolutely certain that his teachings about the worship of earthly objects was influential. It was tangible. He followed the way of earthly things and had no love for God's love. And he had no love for God's people.
1 Corinthians 13:3
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
So Cain had his religion. He gave his offering. And he had no love. And this has been the way of the world ever since.
The enemy takes advantage of people. He makes them "pay" the cost. They must offer up all sorts of things. He never makes them love one another.
God said to the world that they'd be his people and he'd be their God. And they created gods for themselves. I guess he wasn't good enough for them. So God tried a "better" offer, a new covenant in Jesus Christ. But the thing is, every offer from God required two things, love and faith. Somehow these two things, these very easy things, are a bit too much for many.
Folks,
The real Christmas story is Jesus' way has been happening since the very beginning. Almighty God came as a helpless child and the enemy tried and is still trying to kill that child. The spirit of Cain is still trying to destroy "the way". The enemy fills up the Christmas stories with love for self and things. He makes the people follow after these earthly things. And to make matters worse he gets them to think they are righteous and good, that they are Christian. Through the way of Cain the people follow their idols. Through the way of Cain the people worship their things. Through the way of Cain the people are lost in their self esteem.
And in the way of the cross, by the blood of Christ, a sinner will find peace and friendship with God.
And heaven rejoices.