Cain and Abel were the first children born into the world. These brothers are famous largely because Cain killed his brother. They had both offered sacrifices to God, and while God was pleased with Abel’s offering of a lamb, he did not accept Cain’s offering of his crops. In jealousy and bitterness Cain killed his brother — the first murder.

Cain doesn’t have many redeeming features. He is petulant, malicious, deceitful and selfish. Nor did his life have a happy ending. Scripture records no later conversion. His offspring continued in the godless footsteps of their forefather. Not much hope for Cain!

Now here is our question: How does the Gospel deal with such hopeless cases? Sometimes people today conclude that they are beyond the Gospel, out with hope. Let’s look at Cain, and particularly at the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it was set before Cain and Abel, in the first seven verses of Genesis chapter 4.

Gospel Timing⤒🔗

Cain had just failed the most important religious test of his life. He had completely blown it. God rejected his offering. His religion was in ruins. His religion itself was sinful. Remember this was just after the Fall. God was already moved with anger for man’s sin. Now Cain chooses to come to God on his own terms (that was the problem with his grain offering). God was angry and He was right to be angry. Who could put a timeframe on how long it would be before God would turn from the fierceness of His anger, and be ready to show mercy?

Yet God comes right away with the Gospel to Cain. In verse 5 Cain’s religion fails him, and in v 7 God is straight in there: ‘If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted?’

When you sin, Satan loves to say: ‘You cannot go to God yet. Not when you were sinning so much so recently. Not when the sin is still so fresh in the memory. It is still too soon to go to God, too soon to expect any mercy, any pity, any Gospel!’

Learn from Cain. The Gospel came straight after his sin.

Gospel Promise←⤒🔗

What can the Gospel add to your life? Many of you reading this article live your life every day unsaved. Yet you seem happy. You smile. You enjoy your life. You get up in the morning and go about your business, much like your Christian neighbour. So what is it that the Gospel would bring to your life? What promise does it carry as its greatest treasure?

It carries the promise of acceptance — acceptance with God. This is what Paul preached all round the Roman Empire that God commanded sinners to be reconciled to Him. The Gospel is a way of peace, a promise of acceptance with God. Surely you know that this would change your life? What was already Abel’s experience (v 4), came to Cain as a promise (v 7a).

Gospel Audience←⤒🔗

But if we hold the focus a little longer on v 7, we can ask — to whom is the Gospel directed? Sometimes an advert on TV or in the paper completely mystifies you. You cannot fathom it. But maybe someone much younger sees that advert and it makes perfect sense to them. The advert was targeted. It had a specific audience in mind.

So what is the target audience of the Gospel? Is it Cain or Abel?

Let’s deal first with Abel. Abel, we know, offered his sacrifice in faith (Hebrews 11:4). The Gospel worked faith in him. He trusted himself to the sacrifice, as a picture of the coming Saviour. He was certainly in the Gospel audience and believed.

Yet what of Cain? Cain was a wretched sinner. He was empty of true faith. He was bitter, malicious and violently moody. Yet his sin didn’t carry him outside the fence of Gospel! Take note of the Gospel given to Cain, you who despair! Notice Cain, adulterous sinner! Notice Cain, cheat and liar! Man of anger, have you seen Cain?

Great sin does not unfit you for the Gospel. Nor does the Gospel hold back from you because of your sin. Christ Jesus assures you that he came ‘not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance’ (Luke 5:32).

Now we can even go further. Have you ever been driven to think of yourself as non-elect, reprobate, as having sinned the unforgivable sin? ‘God’, you thought, ‘would not bring his Gospel to me. When I hear its promise of peace, I have no confidence that it is for me at all. I hear it well enough. I could wish it sounded for me, but I cannot believe it does. God would not call me. God would not offer me mercy.’ But look here. The preacher in our verse is God himself, directly. He is preaching the Gospel to Cain. To Cain — the wicked Cain! But more — to Cain, the reprobate! And what did God say to Cain the reprobate? He made the very same Gospel promise — he promised him acceptance.

Gospel Condition←⤒🔗

Now God did not promise Cain unconditionally. The Gospel has a great condition. The condition is faith.

Even then it was faith. Abel offered by faith and was accepted. God is ready to accept Cain, even after his earlier religious failures, if he will offer a good offering; if he will offer in faith; if he will trust to the sacrifice that God is going to provide; if he will look to Christ. This is the great, the only, Gospel condition. As long as you refuse to believe you cannot be saved. There is no safety for a faithless man. This is true! God even came to wicked Cain, reprobate Cain, with the very same Gospel terms, hanging upon the very same Gospel condition.

Do you see the importance of this? It means that, whoever reads this, the Gospel faces you. It calls you. It proclaims the message of peace to you. It promises that God will accept you. Its sole condition is that you must trust yourself to Christ, to His sacrifice.

Look at Cain and Abel. It all hangs on their sacrifice. Unless you have an acceptable sacrifice, your person cannot be acceptable to God.

Is Christ your sacrifice? Take Christ. Believe upon His name. Cry out for mercy in His name and you will be saved. Do not end like Cain.