Accept Responsibility (I am my brother’s keeper)

• This morning we see the first trial to happen on earth since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. 

• The crime is murder, the accused is Cain, the accuser is the blood of Abel crying out, and the Judge is God Himself. 

• Now a formal legal system had not been set up at this time, that would not happen until Genesis 9:6, and so we see here God taking a personal role in the trial. 

• So how does the trial play out? 

• Of course we know that Cain is guilty, he murdered his brother. We talked all about that last week. 
• And before God confronts Cain, an accuses comes before the Judge, God, and accuses Cain of murder. This of course is the blood of Abel. And this, mind you, is not the only time that those who are murdered cry out, remember in Revelation when the martyred saints cry out to God “When will you avenge us?” 

• That was Revelation 6:10, and the martyrs had to wait a little while longer, but Abel did not have to wait long at all. 

• Because God Himself puts Cain on trial, and God starts with the accusation, here in the form of a question. 

• “Where is your brother”. 

• Now how many of y’all know that God does not ask questions in order to gain information… God already knew exactly were able was, God is all knowing. 

• This question is an accusation, unbeknownst to Cain, it seems. God is saying “You murdered your brother, now is your chance to confess”. 

• Then Cain replies, he gives his plea. And how does he plea? He pleads not guilty. 

Genesis 4:9 NKJV  Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

• God asks Cain “Where is your brother”? Knowing that Cain knows full and well where his brother is… but Cain says “I do not know”. 

• So now Cain has added bearing false witness to His sin, and he becomes the first ever human to be recorded as a liar. He is a liar and a murderer… his sin has taken full grasp. 

• Then Cain says this “Am I my brothers keeper”… shifting the blame away from himself “It’s not my job to look after him… If you care so much about him God why don’t you go look after him!” 

• He shifts the blame, he lies, he tries to act like this is not his fault… he had nothing to do with it… 

• But God has NONE OF IT. 

• And God curses Cain. 

Genesis 4:11-12 NKJV  So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.  (12)  When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” 

• Cains curse is that the already cursed ground will be DOUBLE cursed for him… and that he will be a fugitive and a vagabond all the days of his life. 

• Now Cain protests, he cries… that is too much to bear, WHAT IF SOMEONE KILLS ME. 

• But if someone kills Cain, that would defeat the punishment which God had given… he can’t be a vagabond and fugitive if he is dead… so God gives Cain some kind of mark that everyone would know that he was cursed, but protected. 

• We don’t know what this mark was, maybe it was a brand on his forehead that said “Cursed”. 
• Maybe it was some kind of glow that would emanate from around him telling people to stay away from him. 
• Maybe it was a Chicago Bears jersey… 

• We don’t know… but whatever it was it showed people to stay away and leave Cain alone. 

• So then Cain leaves the presence of God, and in rebellion to his curse, he tries to settle down and build a city. 

Genesis 4:16-17 NKJV  Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden.  (17)  And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he built a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son—Enoch. 

• But that city wasn’t all that great, from the little we know about it, it had problems with polygamy… and murder! 

• Because without intervention, murderers beget murderers. 

Genesis 4:23 NKJV  Then Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, Even a young man for hurting me. 

• Then, funnily enough, Lamech tries to claim sanctuary for his murder “If Cain got away with it, I will to. God will protect me even more than Cain. 

• Bro… that’s not how this works, you can’t live a life with absolutely no relationship with God and then run to God in times of need and claim blessings and protection from him… 

• But that is a completely different sermon then I think God want’s me to preach this morning… this morning, out of all these verses, I want to focus on Cain’s attitude when caught in sin. 

• Accept Responsibility (I AM my brothers keeper) 

• If liars and murders proclaim “I am not my brother’s keeper!” then we as Christians would do well to proclaim the opposite. “I am my brother’s keeper! 

• Let’s pray and then get into it this morning. 

• My first point this morning has to do with Cain’s defense… how he tried to weasel out of the consequences for his sin… how he tried to avoid responsibility. 

• Don’t be like Cain, accept Responsibility for Your Own Sin. 

• That’s my first point this morning: Accept Responsibility For Your Own Sin. 

Point One – Accept Responsibility for Your Own Sin 

Genesis 4:9a NKJV  Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know.”… 

• “I do not know”. 

• Would you just take a moment to ponder how blinding sin is. 

• Sin is so blinding, so deceitful, so corrupting, that Cain thought that he could lie to God and get away with it. 
• Sin had so hardened Cain’s heart that his knee-jerk reaction was not to confess, but to lie, to hide, to conceal. 

• What a strange desire sin put in our heart, to try to conceal our sin from an all knowing God… yet I think if you are honest you have probably experienced that same desire… That if you can just cover it up it will be all better. 

• And if you still feel this way, that you can hide your sin from God, let me just give you a little wake up call. Your sin will expose itself, your sin will expose you! 
• It always does, our sin always comes to light sooner or later… our sin finds us out. 

Numbers 32:23 NKJV  But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out. 

• But, blinded by sin, Cain tells God “I don’t know where my brother is”. 

• Feigned ignorance, it is a tactic used by so many people when they get in trouble. 

• Just this week I was watching a video with my daughter Hannah. 
• I have been teaching Hannah about the dangers of making excuses and playing the victim, and so I showed her this video of a woman being arrested at a Walmart. 

• The woman had been accused by Walmart employees of stealing $600 of merchandise by going through the self-check out and not scanning it all. 
• She paid for some things, but $600 worth of stuff she just put in bags as if she paid for it. 

• When the cops showed up she started crying and said “I have no idea what is going on officers… I have no idea why these guys are stopping me! I would never steal, that’s not who I am… this must be some kind of mistake… I don’t know why they targeted me, they must not like me… they are lying officer I did not steal anything!” 

• Now, Walmart is not omniscient, but they do have LOTS of camera’s, especially around self check out. 

• So they showed the officer the videos of her stealing these items… he watches as the woman puts unpaid for item after unpaid for item in bags and then into her cart. 

• And the woman has the audacity to look the cop in the eyes, after he saw the video proof, and say “See I TOLD YOU I didn’t steal anything. 

• And you know what the cop said in reply? 
• He did not say “I just watched you steal it” 
• He did not say “Well how do you explain this video then” 
• He simply looked at the woman and said “Ma’am, I need you to turn around and place your hands behind your back”. 

• Notice how God responds to Cains lies… 

Genesis 4:9-12 NKJV  Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”  (10)  And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.  (11)  So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.  (12)  When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.” 

• God does not play any games with Cain, He goes STRAIGHT into the punishment. 

• God doesn’t acknowledge Cain’s lies, He does not argue with Cain, and He doesn’t have pity on Cain… no, you broke the law, now you will be disciplined by the Law. 

• Back to the Walmart woman… When she was placed in cuffs she started crying all the more and yelling “You can’t do this to me! HELP SOMEBODY HELP ME! I can’t go to jail! Who will watch after my son?! I have never been to jail! PLEASE DON’T TAKE ME TO JAIL! I WON’T SURVIVE JAIL! I AM NOT A CRIMINAL LIKE THOSE PEOPLE. PLEASE DON’T DO THIS. HELP!!!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!! 

• She started playing the victim card. As if she was the one being wronged. 

• Look back at Cain… he does a very similar thing… he’s lies did not work… so maybe if I start crying and begging, that will fix things… 

Genesis 4:13-14 NKJV  And Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear!  (14)  Surely You have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; I shall be hidden from Your face; I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, and it will happen that anyone who finds me will kill me.” 

• *winny sarcastic voice* “Wahhh Wahhh… my punishment is more than I can bare… Waahhh Wahh… I can’t handle it.” 

• YOU KILLED YOUR BROTHER! Stop crying, man up, and accept responsibility. 

• Now some think that God gave Cain grace by giving him the mark, so that none would kill him, but I don’t think that is the case. 

• God gave Cain protection to make sure that Cain paid the full price for his crimes. 
• Just like an inmate on death row is still protected in jails, they will even be put in special protective units if they need to… until they get strapped into that chair, that is. 

• No God does not necessarily give grace here, instead God says “Look, you are not going to die, you are going to live… as a vagabond and a fugitive, working double cursed ground… you must live out the punishment I have given you”. 

• Things only go from bad to worse here though… notice how Cain responds to this punishment… 

But his attempt to settle was in vain; for the land he dwelt in was to him the land of Nod (that is, of shaking or trembling), because of the continual restlessness and uneasiness of his own spirit. Note, Those that depart from God cannot find rest any where else. 

Genesis 4:16 NKJV  Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod on the east of Eden. 

• Sin separates us from God, amen? 

• But what so few people realize is that often times sin causes US to leave the presence of God. We are the ones doing the leaving. 

• See when you accept responsibility and confess sin, you are drawing near to God… 
• But when you lie, and hide, and conceal… well then you run from God… like Cain does here. Cain no longer wants to be in the presence of such a just judge. 

• Cain want’s to be around people who “accept him for who he is”… 
• Well you know what kind of people accept murderers for who they are? 

• Other murderers! And that is what we see happen with Lamech. 
• But not only this, but even where Cain tried to build a city, his curse followed him, for Cain built in the land of Nod. 

• The word Nod in Hebrew means “Wondering, vagrancy, exile”. He tried to settle down, but God said he would be a fugitive and vagabond all his life, so the only place he could find was the place of wondering, vagrancy, and exile… 

• Take note church, running from God NEVER leads to peace. 

• God is a God of Shalom, a God of peace and rest… you cannot find peace and rest outside of His presence. 

• And can I just say that, man, as a pastor I have seen a lot of people try to be like that woman in Walmart, try to be like Cain in God’s judgment. 

• Nothing wrong with their life is EVER their fault. 

• They are in jail because the police are corrupt. 
• Their relationships always fail because the other person is always evil, or awful, or crazy. 
• They can’t hold down a job because their boss is always incompetent, or mean, or spiteful. 

• I have heard people like this tell me “Well you are lucky bro, you got a good wife, and caught a break with a good job… I wish I could get some of that luck…” 

• NO BRO! I worked on being a good husband. I found a wife within Biblical guidelines. I dated her and treated her as the Bible told me to. 
• I faithful listened to and pursued God and the calling he had for me. 
• I am not lucky at all. I am faithful, I am obedient, I reject passivity, and I am blessed! 

• AND YOU CAN BE TO IF YOU TAKE RESPOSIBILITY. 

• Accept responsibility for your failures. THEY ARE YOUR FAULT. 

• Learn from them, grow, change, do better next time. 

• Accept responsibility for your flaws.  

• Accept who you are, if you don’t you will never work on it. 

• Accept responsibility for your sin. 

• It is YOUR SIN. Not your wife’s or your brothers, or anyone else’s, it is your sin. 
• Confess your sin, turn from your sin, and God WILL forgive you. 

1 John 1:9-10 NKJV  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (10)  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 

• Cain said he had not sinned, he made God out to be a liar… and how did that work out for him? 

• Today, even right now, pray and tell God “I am sorry for my sin, please forgive me” 

• Be specific, don’t beat around the bush. 
• “Well I struggle with being honest sometimes…” 

• WHAT?! That’s not a confession!  
• That’s like Cain saying “I struggle with not murdering people sometimes”. 
• What you mean to say is “God I am sorry for lying, I don’t want to lie any more. It is wicked, it is evil, and I am done with it. Would you please forgive me! Help me to live holy Lord, I don’t want to be that way anymore!” 

• If you would confess like that, 100%, and you turn from your sins, you strive to stop doing them… then God will forgive you and cleanse you. 

• Let’s be better than Cain, let’s be honest with God, let’s be a church that Accepts responsibility… and in so doing we will be a blessed church, amen?! 

• Now I spent too long talking about this, but I still want to briefly touch on point two this morning, which is “Accept the Responsibility for Your Brother’s Wellbeing… 

Point Two – Accept Responsibility for Your Brother’s Wellbeing 

Genesis 4:9 NKJV  Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” 

• Back one more time to Walmart woman. 

• When they cuffed her, she realized her lie of “I didn’t do anything, I don’t know what’s going on” was not going to cut it… then she started shifting the blame… As they were escorting her to the police cruiser she started exclaiming “It’s not my fault! I don’t work here! I was never trained how to check out at the self check out! I don’t work here! It is not my responsibility to make sure things are paid for! It is Walmart’s responsibility to make sure things are properly checked out! Not mine! I DON’T WORK HERE!” 

• That too, feel on deaf ears, as she was put in the back of the police car. 

• Is that so different from Cain’s response? “Am I my brothers keeper? Am I supposed to know where he is all the time? Am I responsible for making sure he stays alive? AREN’T YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING HIM ALIVE, GOD?! SEEM LIKE MAYBE THIS IS A PERSONAL PROBLEM YOU HAVE GOD… I was never tasked with giving him breath, that’s your job… not my fault if you failed at your job God.” 

• And how did that work out for Cain? The same way it worked for Walmart lady. 

• Let me hit you with some verses and then we will close: 

Mark 12:31b NKJV  ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 

Leviticus 19:17 NKJV  ‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 

Philippians 2:4 NKJV  Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 

Matthew 25:37-40 NKJV  “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  (38)  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?  (39)  Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  (40)  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 

• The least of these “My Brethren:. 

• We are talking about our brothers and sisters in Christ. 
• If one of your brothers or sisters in Christ has a need, a need that you can fulfil, that you can fix… it is your responsibility, it is my responsibility to help! 

• And you are probably like me, and have thought from time to time, “How is this my problem?” 

• But if you think that way, aren’t you really saying the same thing that Cain said when he said “Am I my brothers keeper?” 

2 Corinthians 8:13-15 NKJV  For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened;  (14)  but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that there may be equality.  (15)  As it is written, “HE WHO GATHERED MUCH HAD NOTHING LEFT OVER, AND HE WHO GATHERED LITTLE HAD NO LACK.” 

• Church, being your brothers keeper means having a relationship with your brother. 

• How can you be their keeper when you don’t even know them? 
• It means that we talk to each other about our needs. 
• That we humble ourselves and realize that what God has blessed us with He may want us to bless others with. 

• It’s why we have a food pantry. 
• It’s why we have an adoption fund. 
• It’s why we have a Christian Education fund. 

• So that as a church we can help our brothers and sisters. 

• But it can’t just be the church doing it, we need to rise up together, help one another, love one another. 

• And I think, honestly, we do a pretty good job at that. 

• But, if I am REAL honest… can I be real honest? We need to do better at the relationship part. 

• I don’t ever want to be the church where people slip in and slip out. 
• I want to be a family, I want us to be in each others business, Not in a gossip kind of way, but in a “we want to help” kind of way. 

• I once had a guy come to me and say “Why is everyone asking where my wife is! Tell your people to mind their own business!” 

• I said “what do you mean”? 
• He said “Well my wife hasn’t been to church in a month, and people keep asking about her… asking if she is ok, asking if she is sick… asking how to pray… I have never been such a noisy church!” 

• Now MIND YOU, I talked to some of the people he accused of being to noisy, and they were all very confused. They thought they were being kind, and friendly, and caring. They had no ill intentions, they were not passing judgment or gossiping… They weren’t asking about anything too personal, they just loved this guy and his wife, and they missed her. 
• So I went back to the brother, and he demanded a pastoral meeting with all the accused! 

• So what did I do? I put my hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eye, and said “Brother, this is not the church for you. There are many churches where no one cares about your or your family, but not here. We care. If someone asking “is your wife sick” or “how can we pray for you” is to much for you, then be on your way. At our church, we are our brother’s keeper.  

Conclusion 

Now as we conclude the history of Cain and Abel, let me read this very telling verse from Hebrews. 

Hebrews 12:24 NKJV  to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. 

• Jesus’s blood that speaks better things than Abel’s blood. 

• Abel’s blood spoke judgment, it spoke vengeance, it spoke wrath. 
• But Jesus blood spoke mercy, it spoke pardon, it spoke grace. 

• While Ables blood cried out from the earth to be avenged, Jesus blood cried out “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing”.