02.22.2026. Sunday Sermon Rev. Jeungbok Lee
Text: Genesis 4:5-8, Hebrews 3:15-16
Title: God Who Calls for Repentance Through Questions

Genesis 4:5-8
but He did not accept Cain and his offering. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It desires you, but you must rule over it.” Cain said to his brother Abel, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Hebrews 3:15-16
As it is said, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion (in the wilderness).” For who were they who heard and yet rebelled? Were they not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses (who were saved out of Egypt)?

Cain and Abel each brought to God offerings from the fruits of their labor. While Abel and his offering were accepted, Cain and his offering were not. Cain thought that the reason God did not accept his worship was because of Abel, and he became angry.

Today’s sermon will speak about the cause of Cain’s anger and about the mercy of God who sought to correct that anger.

1. What was the problem with Cain’s anger?

 

1.1) Cain’s anger itself was not the problem; the problem was the direction of his anger. A person may temporarily become angry when something causes loss or does not go as desired. The Bible does not rebuke anger itself as sin. What the Bible rebukes is harboring anger for a long time and trying to vent that anger on others. In other words, it rebukes shifting the cause of one’s anger to others instead of examining oneself. This was Cain’s mistake. And that misdirected anger resulted in murder.

The following are several biblical passages about anger.

Proverbs 19:11
A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

Psalm 37:8
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

Ephesians 4:26-27
“In your anger do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

James 1:19-20
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Cain regarded God’s rejection of himself and his offering as Abel’s fault rather than his own. And he killed his brother. This was Cain’s misdirected anger.

1.2) How should Cain have responded to the anger that arose within him?

When anger arose in Cain’s heart because God did not accept him and his offering, he should have asked questions to find the cause of his rejected worship. Had he done so, he would have realized that the problem lay in his own heart and attitude in offering sacrifice. Then, instead of directing his anger toward Abel, he would have sought forgiveness and repented for not giving his best to God in worship.

Likewise, we too may do things that do not please God. However, we must not make excuses or blame others. The proper response is to recognize our own wrongdoing, repent before God, and return to Him.

When working in a restaurant, sometimes dishes are broken or containers of seasoning are spilled. Usually, the person who broke the dish or spilled the container apologizes for his or her mistake. But not everyone does so. I remember one person. When this person accidentally broke a dish, he insisted that it was not his fault but the fault of the one who had placed the dish there. In most cases, when a person admits a mistake, the matter passes without trouble. But when someone refuses to admit fault and blames others, the disturbance becomes worse than the broken dish itself, and feelings are hurt.

1.3) Then why did Cain direct his anger toward Abel?

Because Cain possessed the self-centered nature characteristic of fallen humanity. With his self-centered disposition, Cain did not acknowledge his own fault but instead thought that because of Abel he had been disregarded by God. Therefore, Cain became angry at the very cause of his humiliation—his brother—and eventually committed murder.

James 4:1-2 rebukes those with such self-centered hearts for the quarrels and even murder (hatred toward brothers) that occur within the church.

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight.”

1.4) Cain, who failed to control his anger and committed murder, was not the “offspring of the woman” that Eve had hoped for. We must remember that there is often a great difference between God’s appointed time for fulfilling His promise and the time expected by those who await its fulfillment. When Eve gave birth to Cain, she confessed, “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.” However, Cain was not the fulfillment of God’s promised “offspring of the woman” but rather an adversary of God’s promise, killing the godly Abel.

The murder of righteous Abel by Cain was only the beginning. Afterward, countless righteous descendants would be killed by the wicked like Cain. We would have to wait a long time until God’s appointed time came and Jesus Christ, the promised “offspring of the woman,” would come to crush the serpent’s head. A promise is always fulfilled at the time determined by God. And that time is the most fitting, proper, and best time. The time we desire is often shaped by our own thoughts and greed.

Therefore, beloved saints, I urge you to become those who can wait patiently for God’s promises.

2. God’s mercy gives even sinners an opportunity to turn back.

 

Cain not only failed to offer worship that pleased God, but he also became angry as though it were his brother’s fault that God did not accept his offering. Yet in His mercy, God gave the angry Cain an opportunity to repent by asking questions that led him to examine himself.

Genesis 4:6-7
Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It desires you, but you must rule over it.”

2.1) God’s first question is, “Why are you angry? And why has your face fallen?”

This was not a question asked to obtain information. God already knew why Cain was angry and that his anger was directed toward his brother. The purpose of God’s question was to lead Cain to self-reflection, to recognize his wrongdoing, abandon his anger, and repent.

In Scripture, God’s merciful questions to sinners appear frequently.

In Genesis 3:9, after Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and hid himself, God called to him, “Where are you?” giving Adam an opportunity to realize his disobedience and repent.

In Genesis 3:13, to Eve who had been deceived by the serpent and ate the fruit and gave some to her husband, God asked, “What is this you have done?” giving her an opportunity to recognize her sin and repent.

In Genesis 4:9, after Cain killed his brother Abel because he failed to control his anger, God asked, “Where is your brother Abel?” so that he might realize the sin of killing the brother he was meant to protect.

In 1 Samuel 15:14, Samuel questioned King Saul, who had disobeyed God’s command, by saying, “What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears?” so that Saul might recognize his sin and repent.

In 2 Samuel 12:5-7, after David killed Uriah, God sent the prophet Nathan, who asked through a parable, “What should be done to the man?” to lead David to realize his wrongdoing.

In John 8:7, Jesus said to the Jews who were about to stone a woman caught in adultery, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her,” leading them to examine their own sins.

In Luke 6:46, Jesus asked, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” to correct the misguided faith of disciples who lacked obedience.

God also asks us, sinners, questions that challenge us to recognize our sin and repent. He may do so through His Word, through devotional books, through a pastor’s sermon, or through someone’s testimony. When that happens, do not harden your hearts like Cain, but examine yourselves and repent. Questions that pierce the heart are God’s merciful voice calling us to turn from sin.

2.2) God’s second question is, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?”

“Do well” here means that if Cain changed his heart attitude rightly and became one who gave his best in worship, then “will you not lift up your face?” means that God would accept him.

When Cain heard God’s challenging question, he should have laid down his anger. Had he done so, he would have been given another opportunity to worship God. And he would have once again lifted up his face before God—becoming a worshiper accepted by Him. But he hardened himself against God’s word and became the first murderer in human history, living as a slave to sin.

2.3) God clearly and vividly made known that the danger confronting Cain was sin.

Genesis 4:7
If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. It desires you, but you must rule over it.

In other words, unless he immediately stopped directing his anger toward his brother and repented, that anger would become sin, devour him, and make him its slave. Here sin is described as a fierce beast crouching outside the door, waiting to seize its prey. It is portrayed in this vivid way so that one may feel how, the moment a person sins and opens the door, that fierce beast enters and snatches its prey. In short, rather than presenting sin as an abstract concept, it is made tangible so that we may refrain from committing it.

It is like in old times when tigers truly roamed the land, and people would warn a crying child, “If you cry, the tiger will come and take you.” In those days when people actually experienced others being killed by tigers, it was a very effective warning.

Thus, the warning in Genesis 4:7 was given concretely by God to prevent Cain from becoming prey to sin.

2.4) However, instead of realizing and repenting through God’s merciful questions, Cain killed his brother.

Genesis 4:8
Cain said to his brother Abel, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Even after hearing God’s word meant to prevent him from becoming sin’s prey, Cain did not hesitate. “Cain said to his brother Abel” more directly means that he said, “Let us go out to the field.” Such action shows how hardened his heart had already become. His hardness had already been evidenced in the offering he brought to God.

The characteristic of a self-centered person corrupted by sin is that even after hearing God’s word, he instead slanders it or hardens his heart. Therefore, beloved saints, when you hear God’s word, do not harden your hearts.

Hebrews 3:15-16
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.” For who were they who heard and yet rebelled? Were they not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses?

3. We must not become those who harden our hearts against God’s word. We must receive it with “Amen” and obey. Let me ask questions to examine the state of your hearts.

 

3.1) There are times when God gives warnings to believers while reading Scripture, listening to a sermon, praying, or through the words of others. How have you responded at such times? Did you stop what you were doing and examine yourself? Or did you continue in your actions with a hardened heart despite hearing God’s warning? Believers must not harden their hearts like Cain and fall into even greater sin.

3.2) What anger, hatred, or jealousy is crouching in your heart right now? Are you blaming others for those feelings?

Blaming others is not pleasing to God. If you realize such an attitude in yourself, I urge you to lay it down quickly at the cross. Otherwise, it will seize the opportunity to make us prey to sin and make us like Cain.

3.3) What image does sin give you? What brings you the greatest fear and danger?

Sin is said to be like a wild beast waiting to seize its prey. But sin is even more terrifying than that. For sin causes us to lose eternal life. Therefore, believers who take seriously the danger of sin and continually examine themselves are prepared for a godly life of faith. If you live with a concrete awareness of sin and take seriously the matter of not committing it, there will be peace and joy that come from godliness.

God loves you. God knows your weaknesses. God knows that because of your weaknesses you may fall into the wrong path. In His mercy, God gives warnings and exhortations through His Word so that we may turn back no matter what situation we are in.

Therefore, “Today, if you hear His voice… do not harden your hearts” (Psalm 95:7-8).

Let us pray.

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