Text: Genesis 4:1-7
Two brothers each had control over their sacrifice. Abel offered unto God a sacrifice that was well-pleasing unto Him. Cain, on the other hand, offered a sacrifice that was not respected by God. As Cain became angry, the LORD said to him, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it (Genesis 4:7).” Cain was made aware of what happens to all of us: sin’s desire is for all of us. However, we should rule over it! If we allow God to be in control, to rule over us, we will rule over sin.
I. Sin’s desire is for control of you.
A. Through one man, sin entered the world (Romans 5:12).
B. Sin has spread to all men (Romans 5:12; 3:23).
C. Jesus said that whoever commits sin is a slave sin (John 8:34).
D. Paul struggled with sin, as we all do (Romans 7:13-25).
II. You should take control, with God's help, and rule over sin.
A. Sin should not have dominion over us (Romans 6:14).
B. We should not continue in sin because we have been dead to sin through baptism (Romans 6:1-2; 11-12).
C. David prayed that sin would not have dominion over him (Psalm 19:13), as another Psalmist did (Psalm 119:133).
D. Paul told Titus to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and instead to live “soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age (Titus 2:12)…”
E. Peter encourages Christians to “abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11).”
F. To overcome sin, one must exercise self-control (Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:5-6).
III. If God rules over you, you will rule over sin.
A. We are to be dead to sin but alive to God (Romans 6:11).
B. We should put on Christ, making no provision to fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Romans 13:14).
C. If we do sin, Christ is our Advocate and propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:1-2).
Does sin rule over us? We should not allow sin to rule over us, but we should rule over sin! This is only possible when we put God in control and allow God to rule over us.
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Genesis 04:01-07 – Who Has Control? – Audio was first posted on January 10, 2016 at 10:30 am.