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.