The Infection of Sin
Introduction
Two high school girls in California, both well liked, both talented and ambitious, both usually at the center stage of the school’s social activities, came to the cheerleading tryouts together. It was a friendly rivalry. One was selected, but the other didn’t make it. That night a beast came out of the darkness and bit the heart of the loser. She felt poison charge through her system, and her eyes grew dark and blazing. Her hand found a gun, and she stalked her prey. In the morning, the winner was a loser, and the loser was a demon.
Textual Idea: Sin infected Cain with murderous hatred toward his brother Abel when he rebuffed God’s correction.
Thesis: Sin infects us with hatred when we rebuff God’s correction.
Interrogative: How does sin infect us?
The Bible suggests that sin infects us with three injections of sin’s venom.
Sin Injects Us with Envy
A. Exegesis, vv. 3-5
- The Lord favored Abel’s offering because:
- a. Abel worshiped with his heart, “costly sacrifice,” “first-born of the flock.”
- b. Cain’s offering was grateful, but not wholehearted, “some of the fruits.”
- The Lord admonished Cain to do right, and he would be acceptable. But Cain did not want to be “acceptable”; he wanted to be “It.”
- Sin filled Cain with the poison of envy.
- a. Covetousness wants something someone else has.
- b. Envy wants to take away from others what we cannot have for ourselves.
B. Illustration
Shel Silverstein wrote this little prayer in one of his children’s books. It is a perfect example of envy: “Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my toys to break, so the other kids can’t play with them.” If I can’t have them, no one can.
C. Application
- Envy turns us into hypocrites, gossips, and liars.
- Envious people can never be truly thankful because they never truly believe that they have enough.
- Envy makes us focus on the negative aspects of life.
Sin Injects Us with Hatred
A. Exegesis, vv. 5 & 8
- Cain was “very angry, and his face was downcast.”
- a. Jesus taught that anger is murder not acted out, Matthew 5:22.
- b. Apostle James taught that anger “does not bring about the righteous life that God desires,” James 1:19-20.
- c. Uncontrolled and unresolved anger seethes into hatred.
- Hatred is murder, 1 John 3:15.
- Cain acted out his anger in murder, v. 8.
B. Illustration
If Cain can’t have God’s blessing, then neither should Abel. Cain went out and killed Abel. If you’ve ever been hurt in life, if you’ve ever been passed over for a promotion, if you’ve ever been laid-off, if you’ve ever been struck with a disease or a disability, then you know how well the beast of sin lurks in your life.
C. Application–When we allow anger to fester into hate, we are guilty of murder.
Sin Injects Us with More Punishment than We Can Bear
A. Exegesis, vv. 10-14
- Abel’s blood cries out for justice.
- Cain’s judgment is a curse and expulsion, a “restless wanderer on the earth.”
- Romans 6:23–>the wages of sin is death.
B. Illustration–The blood of those whom we hate and slander and gossip is crying out for justice and vengeance.
C. Application–We cannot do what is right; sin has enslaved us.
Conclusion
What is the cure for sin’s infection?
We stand in the blood we have spilt. It’s the blood that was spilled in a raging envy and hatred. How can we master sin’s infections? On our own, we cannot. Only the Master, the Lord Jesus Christ has the power to kill sin’s power in our lives. Only through His blood on Calvary’s cross can cure us of sin’s infection.
How can we master the beast that infects us with sin? Love is the only leash that can hold the beast in check. Remember how the Apostle Paul put it in 1 Corinthians 13? He said, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy.” King Saul envied the young David; he didn’t love him. Saul’s son, Jonathan, didn’t envy David. He knew David would take the kingdom away from him, but he loved David.
And you know that God showed us His love through the shed blood of His Son Jesus on the cross. The only Master of the infection of sin and the Sin-beast is Jesus Christ. We must yield our lives to Him. We must repent and serve Him as Boss / Lord of our lives.