Scripture:

Gen. 4:2　And again she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a tender of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

I. Man’s religion:

  1. The origin of man’s religion is that it was invented by man’s concept in his presumptions about God: Any human religion is invented by man. Man is made by God. Because man has a spirit within him, there is always within man an inclination toward worshipping God. So there is a concept of God within all men.
  2. The meaning of man’s religion is that it is a teaching according to something or someone that is worshipped:
  3. Worship: There is always an object of worship, either a god, a person, or some thing.
  4. Teaching: This is to teach others according to what you worship and how to worship God and behave as a man.
  5. The central point and main emphasis of man’s religion is to cultivate moral conduct by human effort: Man’s religion has the hope of achieving a good result by means of human effort. For example, for a Buddhist this would mean to become a Buddha.
  6. Within man’s religion is a hidden motivation that is a part of the devil’s scheme to damage God’s plan.
  7. The destiny of those in man’s religion is that they are not accepted by God, and they are fallen into sinfulness and destruction.

II. God’s saving way:

  1. The origin of God’s saving way is by God’s revelation:
    1. What Abel did was not of his own guesswork or invention but of God’s revelation.
    2. The origin of religion requires no faith, but the origin of the saving way requires faith.
  2. The meaning of God’s saving way is to serve God based upon God’s salvation: God’s salvation is to cause us to serve Him.
  3. The central point of God’s saving way is the redemption of Christ and His salvation:
    1. Redemption: Only by the death of Christ and His shed blood can man’s sins be dealt with.
    2. Salvation: Christ is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b). Once we believe in Him, His Spirit and His life will enter into us to be our power and our salvation.
  4. The hidden meaning of God’s saving way is the fulfillment of His plan:
    1. God’s plan is to work Himself into man.
    2. To receive God’s saving way—to believe in Christ—is to receive God’s life into us.
  5. The destiny of those who receive God’s saving way is to be accepted by God and delivered from sin and death:
    1. The redemption of Christ is by the blood of Christ; the salvation of Christ is by the life of Christ. We can be accepted by God only by having the blood and the life of Christ.
    2. God’s saving way delivers us from sin and death.