Have you ever wondered why there’s a universal phenomenon
of religion? You can go anywhere on the globe and you’ll find evidence
of cultic practices of sacrifice. Why is that? I suggest that it is
because the original program and prescription for the worship of the
living God was sacrifice. Adam told it to Cain, Abel, and Seth. Seth
told it to Enoch, and he told it to his sons and they to their sons and
so on. It was taught to Abraham. It was taught to Isaac. It was taught
to Jacob. It was taught to Joseph. It was taught to Moses. It was also
taught to Ishmael and to Esau, and so the idea of the requirement of
sacrifice in faith pervaded the whole human race.
But today the need for sacrifices to be made in faith is forgotten—we
hear that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere.
In fact, the basic requirement of sacrifice is unknown—it doesn’t
matter what your religious practices are. It doesn’t matter what you
worship. It only matters that you do worship. It’s said that the Jews
worship God in their way, the Muslims worship God in their way, the
Buddhists worship in their way. The unspoken assumption is God is
obligated to receive, honor, and respect any kind of worship that
people bring.
God didn’t respect all of the worship in Genesis 4. He had no respect
for the worship of Cain. And Cain responded in anger when he saw that
his worship was unacceptable to God. A faithful man, a righteous man,
would have said, “O my God. I’m heartily sorry for having sinned against
You. Teach me Your statutes, O Lord, show me the more excellent way.
Change my heart, so that the offering that I bring You next Sabbath day
will honor you. I’m glad, at least, Holy Father, that You were pleased
with my brother’s offering. Father, give me an attitude by which I can
learn from my brother, because my brother lives by faith and is trying
to obey You.” But that was not Cain’s response. Continue at R. C. Sproul
No comments:
Post a Comment