Rom. 4:3 For what does the Scripture say? "And Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness." (4) Now to the one who works, his wages are not accounted according to grace, but according to what is due. (5) But to the one who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted as righteousness.
[Part 2 of 3] What were the results of the offerings of Cain and Abel? The Bible tells us that "the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect" (vv. 4-5). God accepted Abel and his offering, but not Cain and his offering because Abel pleased God in accordance with the way of salvation established by God, while Cain tried to please Him through his own flesh. Cain's offering implied that even though man had sinned and was fallen, he did not need to die; rather, he could work on his own and use the labor of his work to please God. Man thinks that the leaves he cultivates can cover his shame and produce from the land can be offered to God to please Him. Cain relied upon his works to come before God; he had not passed through death. He thought he could please God by his own effort. But God did not look upon it and would not accept it. Abel's offering seemed to say, "O my God, the skin You have ordained enabled me to be a proper man. I now offer You the fat under the skin to please You. The skin is for me and the fat is for You." Both the skin and the fat are the results of death. Only through death could Abel obtain skin to clothe himself, and only through death could he obtain the fat to offer to God. (Continued tomorrow)
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Watchman Nee, General Messages, Vol. 37, in The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, p. 47. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
To unsubscribe from the mailing list, either: Send an email to: [email protected] (No subject or message needed; a blank email will work) or visit www.emanna.com and fill out the unsubscribe form there.
