The Christian's Standing

The Law was never really for the gentiles. So why are we still debating law and grace? Paul clearly states the Law is not for believers (the righteous):

"We know that the Law is good if one uses it properly... the Law is made not for the righteous." 1 Timothy 1:8-11

Are you clinging to the Law as your "moral compass"? Then expect a storm of sin, guilt, and confusion:

"Sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind. But apart from the Law, sin is dead." Romans 7:8

Break free and live!

The Law is not a multiple-choice quiz; it is an all-or-nothing proposition. Either keep the whole thing or opt for grace instead:

"Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." Galatians 3:18

Ever since the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70, there are only 369 of the 613 laws available. So even if it were possible, which history has proven it is not, you still could not keep the whole Law!

What laws were written on a believer's heart (Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10)? The laws written on a believer's heart are not the Ten Commandments (of which ignorant Christians who do not understand the Gospel only obey 9 of the 10), because we are no longer under the Law (Galatians 5:1; 2 Corinthians 3:6-7; Romans 6:14). Believers have the NEW commands of Jesus written on our hearts: believe in Him and love one another just as He has loved us (John 13:34; 1 John 3:23; 5:3).

It is not about the stone tablets (which Paul informed us in 1 Corinthians 3 were a ministry of condemnation and death); embrace the beautiful newness of the Spirit:

"But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter." Romans 7:6

There is no condemnation left, no sin left unpaid. It is finished!!! Live in confidence, knowing you are at perfect peace with Yahweh:

"Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1 [see also John 3:18]

Jesus' tough teachings were for those who were under the Law:

"God sent forth His Son, born under the Law, to redeem those under the Law." Galatians 4:4-5

New Covenant glasses change everything!

Salvation is not about your organized religious institution attendance, baptism, or deeds. It is about Christ Jesus living in you. That is the test:

"Examine yourself... Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in youunless, of course, you fail the test." 2 Corinthians 13:5

The cross of Calvary brought perfect forgiveness, but without the resurrection we would still be dead in Adam. Jesus' resurrection is what saves us:

"…having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!" Romans 5:10

Rest in the perfect completed work of Christ Jesus! He did everything on your behalf in your stead; there is nothing left to do. You benefit from what He earned by His perfect obedience. Amen!

FREE Indeed!

““All things are lawful for me,” you say—but not all things are beneficial for you. Even though “All things are lawful for me,” I will not be dominated or mastered by anything because not everything is beneficial or edifying.” 1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23

The Christian is absolutely FREE to do whatever he/she wants, but because he/she has a NEW nature, a NEW heart, and NEW desires, he/she WILL NOT do that which is contrary to “sound doctrine” (your conduct, your behaviour—i.e., “healthy living”; Titus 2:1-10).

Christian liberty has limitations. We may be free from any legal requirements, because we are "no longer under the Law but under grace" (Gal. 5:1; 2 Cor. 3:6-7; Rom. 6:14), but there are still certain practices that are at odds with the Christian life, and no amount of Christian liberty can excuse them. The Christian walks by and after the Spirit—NOT the flesh!

According to these two passages (1 Corinthians 6:12; 10:23), Christian liberty is limited by at least two considerations: (1.) What is the effect of this action upon one's self? (2.) What influence will this action have on "Jews, Greeks or the Congregation of God" as a whole (10:32)? Our goal is to seek "the good of others" (10:24), and NOT just our own good (10:33).

Christian liberty is a major theme in Galatians, Paul's first written letter. Given the Corinthian's mantra, "All things are lawful for me," it is quite possible that this was Paul's original teaching to this congregation and that they took it too far and were ignoring the limitations that love for others and holiness before Yahweh place on liberty. The Christian CANNOT live in sin, and when confronted, shrug and say, "All things are lawful for me." Christian liberty ceases to be "Christian" when we engage in acts of immorality and/or fail to truly love one another! First Corinthians 10:31 sums the matter up perfectly: "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

“Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:13-14

How Do I Say “No” to Sin?

from Andrew Farley

Quick Answer: How do I say “no” to sin? We believers say “no” to sin by recognizing sinful thoughts do not come from us and that sin has no power over us (Romans 6:11-12). When sinful thoughts or temptations come our way, we can make the conscious decision to count ourselves dead to sin and alive to God. In this way, we express our genuine self (the new self) and we express Jesus at the same time.

Diving Deeper: Saying “no” to sin begins with a solid understanding of who we are in Christ and identifying the true source of sinful desires.

Scripture is clear that anyone who has died spiritually has been freed from sin’s power (Romans 6:7). This death doesn’t occur through rigorous Bible study and the keeping of various spiritual disciplines. This death already occurred when we believed in Jesus.

At salvation, a spiritual surgery took place. God crucified your old sinful self with Jesus, buried it, and raised you up through the resurrection of Jesus (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4). Because you are now dead to sin, you are not dominated by its power (Romans 6:2). You are no longer enslaved to sin. You have been enslaved to righteousness (Romans 6:18). Think of it this way: You are allergic to sin and addicted to Jesus!

Paul encourages believers to consider, or reckon, or count themselves dead to sin so that they don’t submit to its lusts (Romans 6:12). Note that the lusts belong to the power of sin, not to the believer. That’s right: Sin has its own desires that are different from your new, righteous desires.

So, the next time you find yourself facing temptation, you can remember those desires are not your own. They are ideas that actually war against you (1 Peter 2:11). You can then make the conscious decision to say “no” to sin and say “yes” to who you truly are!

Was Jesus Punished for Our Sins?

Christians,

If you committed some sin earlier in the day or sometime during the week and things do not seem to be going your way, do you think that God is punishing you because of it? If you are desperately praying and seeking for a job or whatever the issue may be, and it does not seem that God is answering you, do you think He is punishing you because of some sin you have committed?

Let me ask you a question, Christian.

Did God punish Jesus for our sins? Yes or no?

How many of our sins did God punish Jesus for? One? Ten? One hundred? If we sin, does Yahweh punish us for those sins? If so, then what was the point in punishing Jesus for them? Was the punishment of Jesus not enough?

Either God's punishment of Jesus for our sins was enough or it was not. If you believe that when you sin God punishes you, then you also believe that Jesus' punishment was not enough; that God has to exact punishment from us, too. You basically believe that every time you sin, Jesus has to be re-crucified.

Jesus died once for all sin for all time! Period. If you are in Christ, if you trust and believe in His person and work, then when you sin it is not held against you. It has already been forgiven and it has already been forgotten. When Jesus was crucified, all your sins were future.

"Whoever believes in [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." John 3:18

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1

None of your sins are held against you, Christian! Past, present, or future. They were all put on Jesus, they were all forgiven, and they were all forgotten. Jesus accomplished everything on our behalf and in our stead. It is time you correctly understood the Gospel.

Many a preacher behind the pulpit has been LYING to you. They are ignorant of Scripture. They teach that which they have been programmed, conditioned, and brainwashed to by the schools that have put their marks upon them. It is time you break free from their control and start reading and studying the Bible for yourself apart from their influence. When you are reading and you have that "gut feeling" or "instinct" that something is not right, but you ignore it because what you have been TOLD to believe opposes this "feeling," that is the still small voice of the Holy Spirit trying to get your attention so that He can guide you into the truth, just as Jesus said He would do. When you ignore this "feeling," you are quenching the Holy Spirit. You are choosing to listen to the LIES rather than to become vulnerable and admit that you have believed wrongly for so long. Unless you start listening for the Spirit (and I am not talking about you falsely attributing your thoughts to being the Spirit), and having a willingness to reform yourself and your beliefs and conform them to the truths of Scripture, you will forever be enveloped with lies and false interpretations.

Torah Observance is Anti-Christ!

Hebrews 8:13 stands unequivocally and irrefutably against so-called 'Torah Observant' "Christians"—that is, modern-day Judaizers.

"In speaking of a new covenant, He makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear."

According to Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32, no commandments shall be added to or taken away from the Law of Moses. Huh... Well, is that not a precarious predicament. Jesus gave us new commandments not found in the Law (Matt 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; John 13:34). Seems the "Torah Observant" cult have a problem on their hands. Are they going to attempt to say that Jesus sinned and/or is not the Messiah?

Torah observance undermines both the Gospel of Jesus and the sufficiency of His work in making us right with Yahweh. It also undermines the accomplishments of Jesus through His life, death, and resurrection.

If you are going to attempt to observe the Torah, then that would have to include circumcision. However, what does Paul say? "If you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you" (Gal. 5:2). He continues, "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love" (Gal. 5:6).

If you are going to attempt to observe the Torah, then that would also have to include the eating of kosher foods (Lev. 11:44-45). However, Jesus and the apostles taught us that all foods are clean (Mark 7:1-23; Acts 10:9-16; Rom 11:11-24; 14:1-15:13).

From AD 70 until today, it has been impossible for anyone to live a truly "Torah Observant" lifestyle. According to traditional Judaism, there are 613 commandments. However, after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, only 369 of the 613 commandments are able to be observed. As I have said before, if you want to attempt to live by the Law, you are required to live by all of it—all 613 commandments!!! There is no cherry picking! If you fail in even one point of the Law, you are guilty of breaking all of it!!!

The Law was given to Moses as a ministry of condemnation and death (2 Cor. 3:7-11). It was given to Israel only (Ex. 19:3). Gentiles were never under the Law and never had a part in the Law (Eph. 2:11-12), including the Sabbath requirements. No other nation or people group was part of the Mosaic covenant.

The New Covenant Scriptures reveal that under Jesus and the New Covenant, everything changed! The New Covenant is radically different from the previous Covenant. Under the former covenant, the people of God were designated through ethnicity and lineage. Under the new covenant, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise" (Gal. 3:28-29). Believers in Jesus are considered Abraham's offspring.

How many times does it have to be said for the so-called 'Torah Observant' cult member to grasp the truth? The Jewish era, the Old Covenant, the Law, has been made obsolete. It is null and void. It has been abolished. Jesus fulfilled the Law perfectly. Moses and the Prophets were shadows of the real thing, which is found in Christ Jesus. These modern-day Judaizers are spitting directly in the face of Jesus while rejecting the work He came to accomplish on our behalf and in our stead. These scripturally illiterate and ignorant clowns should answer Paul's rhetorical question to the Galatians: "Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?"

The NEW Israel—Christ Jesus!

The “church” has not replaced Israel; Jesus is the NEW Israel!

“When Israel was a child, I loved Him and called Him out of Egypt.” Hosea 11:1

Matthew says this was fulfilled in the life of Jesus (2:15)! The “Israel of God” is Jesus!!! "National Israel" is nothing!

Have you ever noticed how the life of Jesus parallels the life of Old Covenant Israel?

1. The King of kings was born in Bethlehem, the very place where David was crowned king of Israel. The magi following the star were looking for the baby who was born King of kings.
2. After Jesus was born, He went to Egypt, just as Israel fled to Egypt to avoid death during a famine.
3. Both national Israel and the NEW Israel (Christ Jesus) were "called out of Egypt."
4. Jesus was baptized at the very location national Israel crossed the Jordan to enter Canaan.
5. Before Jesus entered into His public ministry, He spent forty days in the wilderness, and before national Israel entered Canaan, they spent forty years in the wilderness.
6. God gave the Old Covenant Law on a mountain (Sinai) through Moses, and He gave the new Law on a mountain through His Son (i.e.: "the Sermon on the Mount").
7. National Israel has a history of disobedience to Yahweh and failure to meet the conditions of the Old Covenant Law, while the NEW Israel (Jesus) fulfilled every "jot and tittle" of the Law.
8. The Law promised "blessings" from Yahweh for full obedience and punishment for disobedience to the Law. National Israel experienced constant punishments from Yahweh throughout the duration of the Old Covenant (ending in AD 70), but Jesus experienced and felt the full pleasure of His Father because of His perfect obedience.
9. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law's festivals: born on the Feast of Tabernacles ("He tabernacled among us"), died on Passover, in the tomb during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, raised on the Feast of First Fruits, and sending the Comforter on Pentecost.
   

I have said it before, and I will say it again: not only is Jesus the second Adam, as Paul refers to Him, but He is also the second Israel. He succeeded on every point where they failed!

Jesus is the NEW Israel in the eternal New Covenant that Yahweh God has made with the world. Yahweh is now only concerned with whether or not people everywhere—Jew and gentile—embrace His Son.

When you promote "national Israel" over the NEW Israel (Christ Jesus), you are no different in your religion than any other anti-Christ religion. Faith that saves is Christo-centric (Christ-centered) and not Israel-centric (Israel-centered).

To support “national Israel” because of an ignorant belief (in a bankrupt theology) that God desires to re-establish the Old Covenant agreement with Israel is to spit in the face of Jesus, the Messiah of Yahweh. This belief is the epitome of ignorance and stupidity. "National Israel" is nothing to God anymore!

On Mount Tabor, the lawgiver of Israel (Moses) and the prophet of Israel (Elijah) appeared beside Jesus. “A cloud came, overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son; LISTEN TO HIM!”” (Luke 9:35). When the cloud disappeared, there was nobody but Jesus! Both the law and the prophets pointed to the person and work of Jesus. Yahweh told Peter, James, and John to ignore Moses and Elijah and to listen to Jesus: "This is My Son, My Chosen One; HEAR HIM! (akoute auton)" This event was symbolic of the coming reality. The Old Covenant was becoming obsolete and was fading away, to be replaced by a New Covenant. Today, there is nobody but Jesus! We are to listen to Jesus alone! "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world" (Heb. 1:1-2).

If you support "national Israel," you don’t get it. You’ve missed it. You have no understanding. Your ignorance of Scripture is astounding and tragic. Why would you support Jews in their delusion of re-instituting the very rituals that Scripture says were merely shadows that pointed to Christ Jesus? The Jewish era, the Old Covenant, the Law was made obsolete and has been abolished. Please go read the book of Hebrews and get educated. Stop propagating Jewish myths!

Dispensationalists are enemies of Jesus. They are propagating a system fulfilled in and by Jesus that was made obsolete and has faded away and been abolished. They are spitting directly in Jesus' face by claiming a future restoration of this failed system of condemnation and death (2 Cor. 3:7-11). We are the temple of Yahweh, and He indwells us; there will be no rebuilt Jewish temple. Jesus was the sacrifice to end all sacrifices; there will be no return to sacrifices ("memorial" or otherwise). Paul makes all of this crystal clear in his letters, yet Dispenstationalists miss it.

God's New Deal!

"For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the Law as well." Hebrews 7:12

How have so many preachers missed this? How are so many Christians ignorant to this fact? Jesus is a priest after the order of Melchizedek, not the order of Aaron. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi.

"In speaking of a New Covenant, He makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." Hebrews 8:13

Hebrews was written around AD 65. Jesus and His apostles had been predicting the end of the Jewish era, the end of the Old Covenant, the end of the Law, and in AD 70 it would become a complete reality. The Law has no place in the life of the Christian! The Kingdom of God has one Royal Law that governs every facet of life for the believer in Christ Jesus:

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35

This is further confirmed by Paul and John:

"[The Law is] summed up in this word, ‘You shall love your neighbour [just] as [you love] yourself.’” Romans 13:9

“For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word: ‘Love your neighbour [just] as [you love] yourself.’” Galatians 5:14

[For the ignorant who do not know who their "neighbour" is, like rapper Bryson Gray, I suggest you go and read Luke 10:25-37. Every other human being on the planet is your neighbour!]

"For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. ... We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. ... By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. ... And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Christ Jesus and love one another, just as He has commanded us." 1 John 3:11-24

Yahweh has done everything for us in the New Covenant through Jesus! We need only to accept the person and work of Jesus by faith and to rest in His finished work. There is nothing for us to do! When speaking of the New Covenant (the word does not mean "brand new," but rather "fresh" or "renewed"), Yahweh stated five "I will's":

1. I will establish a New Covenant.
2. I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. (This is not the Ten Commandments, or any part of the Old Covenant Law, but the Royal Law of the Kingdom of God: Love!)
3. I will be their God.
4. I will forgive all their sins, including their intentional sins.
5. I will remember their sins no more.

Yahweh God established the New Covenant with Himself! You and I have no part in its establishment. Yahweh bound Himself by it. We get to benefit from it. This is why Paul says that all the promises of God are "Yes!" in Christ Jesus. This is GREAT news!!! Our performance has nothing to do with the covenant or the outcome. Jesus did it all for you! Accept this truth, feel the weight lifted from your shoulders (because His yoke is easy and His burden is light), and rest in His completed work. He did what we could not and we get to reap His rewards. What could be better than that?

Baptist Eisegesis

Baptists are notoriously renown for eisegeting baptismal passages. Not only do they eisegete Romans 6:3-4, which has nothing to do with water baptism, let alone mode of baptism, but they also eisegete Colossians 2:12.

"... having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised Him from the dead. ... God made [you] alive together with Him..."

The "having been buried with Him in baptism" has nothing to do with mode of baptism! Do you know what Russian Matryoshkas dolls are? Inside each doll you will find another smaller doll until you reach the last smallest doll. This is an excellent way to help people understand what it means to be "in Christ". Whatever happens to the largest doll also happens to the dolls inside it.

Both Greek words bapto and baptizo appear in an ancient Greek pickle recipe. Both words are used to describe how the cucumbers take on the characteristics (the identity) of the vinegar. Our baptism is seen as the moment we are placed "in Christ", even though this actually occurs the moment you put your faith and trust in Him. We are being identified with Jesus. Like the matryoshkas dolls, when Jesus was crucified, we were crucified with Him; when Jesus was buried, we were buried with Him; when Jesus was resurrected, we were resurrected with Him; when Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father, we sat down with Him. Not "positionally"—actually!

First Corinthians 10:2 talks about the Israelites being "baptized" into Moses. I am sorry, but the Israelites were never baptized. The water never touched them! Who did the water touch? The Egyptians. What happened to them? They died! So clearly this "baptism" is not referring to water baptism nor to mode of baptism. It is referring to identity! They were identified with Moses.

Not only that, but the Baptist's mode of baptism does not imitate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in the least. First of all, His burial had nothing to do with anything because if He remained on the cross for three days and then resurrected, everything would have been accomplished in the exact same manner. Jesus' burial was like opening a closet door and being shoved inside. He was not buried 6-feet deep in the ground!

Baptists trying to fight for an "immersion only" baptism are fighting a losing uphill battle. Not only do they misinterpret and misunderstand the baptismal identity passages, but they fail to pay attention to the circumstantial evidence surrounding each case of baptism presented in the Scriptures. The reason bapto and baptizo were transliterated and never translated into a specific word, like "immersion", is because an examination of the Greek throughout all Greek history reveals that there is no set meaning to the word. In several cases, it is used in connection with ships at sea being sunk, never to break the surface again. In other words, your preacher should be drowning you! Who wants to volunteer first for this baptism?

Baptists, please learn how to read and pay attention to the context of Scripture and examine the details surrounding it instead of imposing your preconceived preconceptions upon the text. I no longer have any allegiance to any "church", denomination, religion, creed or confession of faith because I have found error in all of them. Where they agree with Scripture, I wholeheartedly agree with them, but where they deviate from Scripture because of their tendency to be selective, historically-conditioned, and often agenda-driven, I disagree with them vehemently. My allegiance is to Yahweh and Jesus alone.

Spiritual Authority?!?

Some religious person says to you, "You need to be under the spiritual authority of..."

What do you say?

These people are ignorant and have been deceived and led astray. Often, the ones saying this are preachers who are themselves ignorant of Scripture, the New Covenant, and the Gospel and have been deceived and led astray (especially if they have the mark of some Seminary placed upon them). Jesus alone possesses all authority in the New Covenant, and He dispenses His authority through the gifts of the Spirit and the servant acts of His people—not the positions and titles bestowed by fellow man! Jesus condemned such positions and titles (Matt. 23)!

In Mark 10, James and John wanted to "sit with authority" over others in the Kingdom. Jesus' response reveals what He thinks of so-called "spiritual authority." He rebuked them for wanting to "exercise authority over others." Preachers had best pay heed to the lesson here.

Jesus ended the Old Covenant (Heb. 8:13) and initiated a New Covenant. He took a cup of wine and said to His disciples that this wine represented His blood that was shed so a new covenant would be established between Yahweh and His people. Jesus shed His blood to cause the first covenant to become obsolete and eventually disappear, which it did in AD 70. The only covenant in effect now is the New Covenant, which men enter into by faith in Jesus.

If you are trying to marry any part of the Old Covenant to the New Covenant, you are merely religious, like the Pharisees, and you have missed the good news of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. You would do well to go spend some time reading Paul's letter to the Galatians.

Gentiles never had a part in the Law. Paul addresses this in Ephesians 2:11-12. The only Covenant we have ever known is the New. The Old was for Israel, and Jesus expanded it so much so that people under the Law would feel the weight of it and become despaired, seeking something better. The Old Covenant never worked! It was a ministry of condemnation and death (2 Cor. 3:7-11). If you are trying to keep any part of it by marrying it to the New Covenant, you are obligated to keep all of it (all 600+ laws!). If you fail in any single point of these, you are guilty of breaking all of it. The Law yields only two results for those trying to keep it: defeat, if you are honest; hypocrisy if you are not.

All Yahweh's promises are "Yes" in Jesus. Yahweh has given us everything we need pertaining to life and godliness. We lack nothing! We have the Spirit within us as our advisor, comforter, counselor, guide, and teacher. We are holy. We are righteous. We are saints. See yourself as Yahweh God sees you because of the person and work of Jesus on the cross!

You are under the "spiritual authority" of no one! This is a false teaching found nowhere in the Scriptures!

Cain and Abel

You have probably heard it said that the reason Abel's offering was accepted was because he offered a spotless lamb (Christ), and the reason Cain's offering was rejected was because he offered the fruit from a cursed land. That is the most common interpretation provided, but is it correct?

No!

No, it is not correct.

This interpretation is imposed upon the biblical text. The people who do so are apparently illiterate, or too lazy to do their own work and merely rely on the erroneous work of others. If there was no mention of resting on the seventh day, or a requirement to do so, until Moses, then the same weight of argument applies here. You will find no mention of God requiring an offering of a spotless lamb until Moses. While it was a requirement under Moses and until Christ Jesus, you cannot read such requirements backwards. You cannot say that is what Abel did because Yahweh required it where there is zero mention of such a requirement. That is an argument from silence. The first mention of a lamb for an offering was in Genesis 22. Yahweh God would not require the offering of a spotless lamb until hundreds of years later.

So what does the text tell us?

"So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him." Genesis 4:2-8

"By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks." Hebrews 11:4

The reason Cain's offering was not accepted is a matter of the heart. Hebrews offers us some insight into this. The idea that his offering was rejected because it was fruit that came from a cursed land is nonsensical and ridiculous. Several of the offerings under the Law require fruit that comes from a cursed land. We are not told specifically why Cain's offering was not accepted. Some people claim he did not offer the first fruits (the best) of his crops. Perhaps. Hebrews does not say that Abel's offering was "better" because he offered a spotless lamb. Again, that is being imposed upon the text. Had Cain made his offering by faith, Yahweh would have accepted it. How do we know? Because He told Cain as much: "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."

God may have slain a lamb in order to cloth Adam and Eve as a precursor to the requirement of the Law that would be fulfilled in Christ, but we have to be careful about reading into the text that which is not actually present. Too much of our theologies impose nonsensical beliefs upon the texts that simply are not there. If it is something you thought about and could be a possibility, then teach it as such, but . . . do not teach it dogmatically! If it is not explicitly spelled out in Scripture, then what you are offering is nothing more than conjecture. Ditch the use of proof text methodology, eisegesis, and Scripture twisting, and teach the Word of God in context based on the details that are actually present.

It is one thing to draw parallels and speculate, but it is quite another to teach those speculations dogmatically as if they are biblical truth. The Scriptures are inspired and God-breathed; not your opinions, speculations, conjectures, or fanciful imaginations. Read the text in context, taking into account chronology of events (What order are the books in history?), and then teach it accordingly.