Was Cain saved?

Now that we have looked at some basic principles of interpretation, let's go on to look at the account of Cain and Abel. First, let's remind ourselves what the account states.

"And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." Genesis 4:1-5


This is how we are introduced to the two brothers. Cain, whose name means acquisition or possession, was the first-born son of Adam and Eve. Abel, whose name means breath or exhalation, was the second-born son. It has been suggested that they were twins, but whether they were or not really doesn't matter. God gives us no details of their lives up unto the point that they were adults with professions. Abel was a shepherd, while Cain was a farmer. Both of these men brought offerings to the Lord. Commonly, it is thought that Cain was unsaved. This isn't the case. The reasoning that most have to prove that he was unsaved has to do with his reaction to God after he is chastised, and other scriptures that speak pretty harshly of him. For example:


"Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not, whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for His seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." 1 John 3:6-12


Now, before we jump to the conclusion that Cain was unsaved, answer for yourself a few questions. Have you been born again? If the answer to that question is yes, then do you still sin? If the answer to that question is also yes, then the passage taken by itself and understood as it is normally interpreted presents us a problem. If we take this passage out of its context, then we might be tempted to say that believers don't sin (at all or habitually) after being saved. These assumptions are incorrect. We know that from experience, and we know that from what is clearly revealed in the Word of God. 1 John helps us to understand the concept a little better:


"If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." 1 John 1:6-10

In 1 John 1 it is clearly stated by John (who includes himself) that all believers sin. If we claim that we have not, or do not then we are saying that God is a liar. So salvation of our spirits doesn't preclude us from committing sin. Then what is John saying when he states: "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin? He is saying that a particular part of our being, our spirit, is sinless. Our spirit is what has been born again through the power of the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-8). So, if the issue isn't about being birthed from above, then what is it about? It is about good works or evil works of the believer. John is saying that good works result from having the slate clean with the Lord as far as our sins go, and also walking in the light provided by the Word of God. Believers who do not keep the slate clean with the Lord, and choose to follow the works of darkness are not righteous and can be classified as "of the devil".

Need more proof? Think about Peter. Was the apostle Peter a believer in the Lord Jesus? This seems to be almost a pointless question, because of course Peter was saved. Now read this passage:

"He saith unto them, But Whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven...
From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto His disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee. But He turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind Me, Satan: thou are an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." Matthew 16:15-17, and 21-24

Peter was called Satan, not just accused of being "of" Satan. Peter by his actions, acted in league with the devil. His works were not of faith and they had their inspiration from the devil. The same can be true of other believers. The same can be said of Cain.

Now, many point to the offering that Cain brought to the Lord as compared to the one brought by his brother as proof that he was unsaved. Let's look at what type of offering was actually being made.

"And in the process of time (at the end of time, at the appointed time) it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground and offering (minchah = gift) unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering (minchah = gift): But unto Cain and to his offering (minchah = gift) he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell." Genesis 4:3-5

A minchah (Strong's # H4503) is a gift or offering that doesn't require a blood sacrifice. It is an offering of the best someone had been blessed with. Cain had been blessed by God with a harvest, while Abel had been blessed with a flock. What Abel brought was acceptable because he brought the firstlings of the flock, the best he had to offer. Cain didn't bring the first fruits. He had kept that for himself. He just brought to God of the harvest, not the best of the harvest. From the example set early on in the shedding of blood to cover the sins of Adam and Eve, it can be clearly seen that this gift brought to God had nothing to do with the salvation of Cain or Abel. It had to do with giving back to God a portion of what they had been blessed with. God will not play second fiddle to anything or anyone. When we don't bring to him our very best, or honor Him with first place in our lives, He takes it personally. He doesn't respect our gift, or us.

Another passage of scripture that many use as proof of the unsaved condition of Cain is found in Jude. The central message in Jude is the earnest contention for the faith. This faith is not faith in Jesus for salvation, which the book refers to as the "common salvation." This faith has to do with the attainment of a reward through a faithful life lived for the Lord. What Jude was led to write concerned the apostate teaching brought in by unfaithful believers. This teaching was a corruption of the truth that had been first delivered unto believers about the need for qualification to obtain a reward. Jude describes the apostates bringing in this heresy.

"Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core." Jude 8-11

Jude compares these apostates to Cain, Balaam, and Core. He does this to fully describe the path to apostasy. Balaam was a prophet of God. He was, of necessity, a believer. Balaam had agreed with Balak to pronounce a curse upon the children of Israel. His error was to compromise the word of God for monetary gain. That sounds familiar. Have you seen any televangelist programs lately? Balaam was eventually killed by the children of Israel at God's command.

Core was an Israelite marching in the desert with Moses. Core, or Korah, was a saved Israeli, he had applied the blood of the lamb in Egypt and even passed through the sea with all Israel (Jude 5). Korah, and all those involved with his rebellion, questioned God's word by questioning if Moses and Aaron should be the leaders of the children of Israel (Numbers 11). This rebellion against God's word led to God judging them right then and there. The Earth swallowed them up, and they went straight to sheol (the place of the dead).

Finally, the way of Cain. Cain's way was to offer to God less than the best, refusing God's correction, and falling headlong into the grievous sin of murder. Before we assume that this is an impossibility for the Christian, consider the following passage:

"Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you (believers)? let him shew out of a good conversation (behavior) his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. From whence come wars and fightings among you (believers)? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not." James 3:13- 4:2

In each of these accounts, the perpetrators lost sight of the revealed will and word of God. They went into error either because they sought money, power, or to keep the best for themselves. Christians can do exactly the same things. And if they do, they should expect no better fate than the one each of these men faced...judgment from God. Cain was indeed saved, but he was a believer who lived for himself and not for the God that had saved him.

Random Quotes #2

"Indeed if we consider the unblushing promise of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards pormised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are too easily pleased." C. S. Lewis

"A third and final misconception is that it is selfish to think of rewards as a proper motivation to serve Christ.
Of course, it is quite right that we should serve God simply because He is God and worthy of our devotion. Yes, we should serve Him because we love Him rather than wanting a better position in the kingdom. Servants should simply serve, expecting nothing in return. But, as we shall see, there is more than one motivation for serving Christ, Love is one; fear, another.
Another motivation for serving is a strong desire that we should please Christ, Who is eager to share His inheritance with us. It is not selfish to want Christ's approval. He wants us to win the right to rule with Him in the Kingdom, and that should be our passionate yearning."
Your Eternal Reward, p. 15 and 16. E. W. Lutzer (Senior Pastor of Moody Church in Chicago)

How should we interpret the Bible?

I was just thinking that it would be good for us to go over some basic principles for interpreting the Bible before we press on. It is often said that there are as many interpretations of the Bible as there people who try to interpret it. In reality, there is only one correct way in which the Bible should be interpreted, and that is according to the interpretation of the One Who wrote it. It really is a sad commentary on Christianity that we have so many denominations and sects. When I think of all the divisions that exist between us, I come to the conclusion that they have all originated from our lack of understanding of the truth. We often misinterpret, misapply, and mishandle the scriptures. We do this many times from our own selfish natures, but there is still room to lay some blame on our great enemy for this mass of confusion. So, I thought I would let you know how I go about studying the Bible. I thought I'd give to you some of the keys that have been given to me over the last 15 years, whereby the Bible has stopped being a scramble of unconnected stories that seem to contradict, and has become the living, breathing, Word of God.

1.) The very first thing that must be settled in your heart to properly understand the Bible is that it is the infallible Word of God. I know that it may seem a small point, but the Bible does say some pretty outrageous things at times. It asserts things that seem more like science fiction than anything that has really occurred. The problem with leaving this unsettled is that God tends to leave us in the dark about deeper truth if we reject the truth He has already supplied to us. He takes it personally when we don't take Him at His word.

2.) It is also important to understand what the Bible has been written for. The Bible is not a scientific text, but when it speaks to scientific matters, it is correct. We should never try to use science (or archeology, or philosophy, etc.) to prove the Bible, the Bible should be used to prove/disprove science (etc.). The Bible was written with the goal of salvation of the entirety of man's being (spirit, soul, and body) through a personal relationship with God Almighty (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

3.) The first mention principle is a valuable tool for interpretation. Simply stated, when a concept is first mentioned in the Bible, its meaning is set throughout the rest of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. If God makes any changes in the meaning, it is very evident.

4.) The Bible will interpret itself. If you don't understand a portion of the scriptures, then keep reading. God wants us to understand His word. He won't leave us in the dark if we want to walk in the light.

5.) When God repeats Himself in His word: LISTEN. He is trying to get across a point to us. His word is His mind on the subject, and if He repeats Himself, it isn't to "hear His head roar," so-to-speak.

6.) Every part of the Bible is important... yes, even the genealogies. Some of the most precious gems are mined from some of the most boring parts of the Word.

7.) Read the Bible with an open mind. Don't allow traditions from your family, or your denomination, dictate to you what the Bible says. Honestly, I think that the majority of the time God has to deprogram us from what we've heard others say that the Bible teaches in order for us to learn what He really is teaching us.

8.) Don't separate what God has joined in the Bible, and don't join what God has separated. For example: spirit and soul are not the same thing. God makes a clear distinction between the two. Another example: Israel and the Church are not the same thing. Christians are not Jews, but they are not Gentiles either.

9.) Always take a passage of scripture in its context. The majority of the Bible has been written to saved individuals about how to live a Godly life. Some of the Bible is written for the salvation of unbelievers. Some of the Bible is addressed to the Jews, some of it is addressed to Christians, and some of it is applicable to everyone. Learn how to distinguish. God usually states who He is addressing in the context of the passage. For example, I am not living in sin because I don't go up to Jerusalem three times a year to sacrifice to the Lord. Similarly, it is okay for me to wear clothing that has mixed fibers in it. A Jew living under the Law could face death for these offenses. With that said, don't throw away the Old Testament, because it still has something to say to us.

10.) God hasn't always dealt with mankind in the same fashion. His dealings with mankind have varied. Thus, there have been different dispensations (God's management of the household) throughout history. Most people at least see Law and Grace. I see more like seven different dispensations as follows: Innocence (in the Garden of Eden), Conscience (Adam and Eve after the fall through to the Flood), Human Government (Flood to Tower of Babel), Promise (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, through to the giving of the Law at Sinai), Law (Sinai to the Cross), Grace (Cross to the Rapture), and Kingdom (1000 year reign of Christ). You could also divide the history of mankind in another way: when God dealt with mankind as a whole (Adam and Eve through to Tower of Babel), when God dealt with mankind through the Jew (Abraham to the Cross, and during Tribulation), and when God dealt with mankind through the Church (Cross to Rapture).

11.) Word studies are a wonderful tool. A word study is where you take a word or short phrase in the Bible, look up all its occurrences, and find the meaning behind the word through the context and a good Hebrew or Greek concordance. It does little good to read a book that you don't understand what the words mean that make it up. This also relates to the first mention principle, you can see what God has intended a particular word to mean just by looking at its first mention in the Word and applying it throughout. For example, "Leaven" is mentioned in a negative sense in the Old Testament. We shouldn't suddenly give it good connotations when God uses the same word in the New Testament.

12.) Where the Bible is silent, we should be silent. Where the Bible speaks, we should speak. In other words, don't try to force your own convictions or traditions into the interpretation. Only use what the Word of God actually teaches to prove your point. Use the Word to do your talking.

13.) Always interpret the Bible literally, unless the context requires allegorical interpretation.

14.) Always pray for the Holy Spirit to teach you His word. Ask Him to reveal to you the person of Jesus, and His plans for you and the world.

15.) Types will open up the word of God. Most people don't know what a type is. There are three Greek words in the New Testament that can be used to indicate a "type."

tupos (Strong's # G5179) - a die (as struck), i.e. a stamp or scar, a shape, i.e. a statue, or resemblance; a sampler (type), i.e. a model or instance.

This word is translated several ways: 1.) Print (John 20:25), 2.) Figure(s) (Acts 7:43, Romans 5:14), 3.) Fashion (Acts 7:44), 4.) Manner (Acts 23:25), 5.) Form (Romans 6:17), 6.) Example(s) (1 Corinthians 10:6, 1 Timothy 4:12), 7.) Ensample(s) (1 Corinthians 10:11, Philippians 3:17, 1 Thessalonians 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 3:9, 1 Peter 5:3) and 8.) Pattern (Titus 2:7, Hebrews 8:5).

hupogrammos (Strong's # G5261) - an underwriting, i.e. copy.

This word is translated as example (1 Peter 2:21).

hupodigma (Strong's # G5262) - an exhibit for imitation or warning.

This word is translated several ways: 1.) Example (John 13:15, Hebrews 4:11, 8:5, James 5:10), 2.) Pattern(s) (Hebrews 9:23), and 3.) Ensample (2 Peter 2:6).

The primary word used for "type" is "tupos." In fact, this is the place that the English word "type" comes from. Simply put, a type is an example. It is a representation of a truth that God desires for us to learn. God recorded in His word the events in the Old Testament and New Testament for the purpose of revealing His truth to us. These types show us about Jesus, the central figure of scripture, about prophesy, and about how we should live.

"Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself." Luke 24:25-27

For example, in the story of the fall, God killed an animal to make Adam and Eve coats of skins to clothe them. The animal is a type of Christ. Consider the following:

Animal (Type of Christ)

1.) The animal's identity was "unknown."

2.) God killed the animal.

3.) The animal's blood was shed.

4.) The animal was a substitute for Adam and Eve.

5.) The animal was innocent.

6.) The animal was used to cover Adam and Eve's nakedness (sin).

7.) God moved on behalf of Adam and Eve in response to their faith.

8.) Adam and Eve had no work to perform, God did it all.

Jesus Christ (Antitype)

1.) The world did not know Jesus when He was in it. (John 1:10)

2.) God gave His only begotten Son. The Son laid down His life, no man took it from Him. (John 3:16, 10:17-18)

3.) It is obvious that Jesus' blood was shed. (Revelations 1:5)

4.) Jesus was killed for us. He bore the punishment that was due us. (Romans 3:25)

5.) Jesus Christ is the sinless Son of God. (Hebrews 4:15)

6.) Jesus Christ's blood not only covers, it cleanses us from our sin. (Hebrews 9:7-14)

7.) Jesus died on our behalf. When we believe in faith, He saves us. (Ephesians 2:1-9, Romans 5:8)

8.) Man has no work to perform. God does it all. (Ephesians 2:1-9)

There are many more examples throughout scripture of types. There are types of Christ, types of Christians, types of the Children of Israel, types of God the Father, types of the Holy Spirit, types that illustrate God's plan for mankind, etc. These types will help you understand the word of God, and have a proper interpretation of it. Types also build upon one another. They give a progressive illumination of the truths of God. For example, the animal sacrificed by God in the Garden builds upon the truth revealed to us in the restoration of the Earth. In the restoration of the Earth, we learned that it is God that moves to restore a ruined creation, but we learn nothing about the need for the shedding of blood, or the need for a substitute. God has carefully designed His word so that He can use it to build us up into a mature knowledge of Him. He has recorded exactly what He wants us to know, and He has recorded it in the order He wants us to learn it.

16.) Begin studying the Word of God where He began it - in Genesis. End where He ends - in Revelation. You can't understand Revelation until you have some understanding of Genesis. Genesis is more fully explained by Revelation than it is when looked at alone. The Bible is a progressive revelation, but it is also a cohesive whole.

17.) Numbers and colors are also pretty important in scripture. For example the number 6 is the number of man. On the 6th day man was created. Blue is the color of heaven. Numbers and colors do have significance.

I am sure that I have left out something that I use as a guideline, but the ones that I have listed will get you pretty far. These are the guidelines that I use, and I have found them to be a necessary help to properly interpreting scripture.