Standard

"In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.Then the Lord said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.'" -Genesis 4.3-7

Adam and Eve begin a family, and they have two sons, Cain and Abel. The boys grow, Cain becomes a farmer, Abel becomes a shepherd. In time, they bring an offering to God, Cain brings some of the fruit he has grown, and Abel brings an offering of the first born of his flock. Cain's offering is rejected, and Abel's is accepted by God. I don't know why this happens, and scholars are divided over the reason. In Leviticus grain offerings are shown to be acceptable to God, but for some reason, Cain's is not accepted. The only explanation given in the text is that Cain did not do what was right.

God has standards that must be lived by to be accepted by Him. Because of sin, we cannot live up to His standard of perfection, and so sacrifices were offered to pay the debt of sin, "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6.23a). Jesus came, lived a perfect life, meeting God's standard of perfection, and offered Himself as a final sacrifice to pay for all sin. The standard of acceptance by God is Christ. We do what is right by accepting His forgiveness as Savior, and submitting to Him as Lord. We strive to live as Christ live through the power of the resurrection, and allow God to lead our us and transform us, as He molds us into the image of Christ.

As we strive towards Christlikeness, we find ourselves being made acceptable to God because of Christ. However, if we do not pursue Christ, sin is waiting to to devour us, and apart from Christ it cannot be mastered. The mastery of sin is not found in our strength or effort, but in submission to Christ and striving after the standards of God. James 4.7-8 says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

The only way to have mastery over sin is in submission to God. He has set the standard of what is right, and we are only able to pursue righteousness in Him. God is the standard.

TO GOD ALONE BE THE GLORY!

Peace be with you