Humbly Turns From His Sinful Nature Through Faith

Humbly Turns From His Sinful Nature Through Faith

A HERO’S TALE

Quick pop quiz: Who were history’s first babies? If you guessed Cain and Abel, you’re correct!

God created Adam as a grown man (from the dust of the ground), and he created Eve as an adult woman (from one of Adam’s ribs). But Cain and Abel —and the rest of mankind —came into being through a mother giving birth.

Even as babies, Cain and Abel had a sin problem. Because of their parents’ disobedience in the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel inherited a sinful nature. In other words, they were born with hearts that naturally opposed God. This separated them from God, just like their parents had to leave God’s presence in the Garden.

Life wasn’t easy for Cain and Abel. Suffering, pain, and death —all of which had never been part of God’s original creation —were now a reality for them.

But God still loved Cain and Abel. As the brothers grew up, Cain struggled greatly with his sinful nature even though God lovingly warned him, “If you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master” (Genesis 4:7).

You know the rest of the story. Cain gave in to his evil desires and committed a horrible crime, killing his own brother. He never seemed to truly repent or turn to God in faith.

However, Abel seemed to get it right before his untimely death. He loved God and offered pleasing sacrifices. By God’s grace, Abel overcame his sinful nature with a humble heart that wanted to obey God through faith (see Hebrews 11:4).

DECODING THE MESSAGE

Like Cain and Abel, we are all born with a sin problem. Thousands of years have passed since the Garden of Eden, but every human still starts life with a sinful nature. And if our sin is not forgiven, we’ll be eternally separated from God. The Bible is very clear about this. But God loved us so much that he offered his own Son, Jesus, on the cross as a sacrifice for sins so that we could be forgiven.

We have a choice. We can choose to be like Cain, who ignored God’s warning. Or we can be like Abel, who trusted in God’s plan of salvation and turned from his sin.

The choice seems obvious. Which will you choose?

BATTLE PLAN

To learn more about our sinful natures and God’s plan of salvation, read Romans 5. If you need help understanding it, ask one of your parents or another trusted adult.