Am I My Brother's Keeper?

Text: Genesis 4:9
Series: Sermons 2001 Rewritten
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Expository

Learning Objectives

1. Explain Cain’s question in Genesis 4:9 and why it exposes a heart hardened by sin.
2. Show from the New Testament that Christians are responsible to love, receive, edify, serve, restore, exhort, and consider one another.
3. Distinguish brotherly care from meddling, control, gossip, and spiritual neglect.
4. Apply the “one another” commands to the local congregation with concrete responsibility.
5. Press every hearer to obey the gospel and live as a faithful member of Christ’s body.

Thesis

A Christian cannot ask Cain’s question with Cain’s spirit, because the gospel makes us responsible to love, strengthen, warn, restore, and care for one another as members of the same body.

Introduction.

1. Genesis 4:9 records one of the most sobering questions in Scripture. a. “Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’” b. Cain answered, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” c. The question came from a man who had already murdered his brother.
2. Cain’s question was not innocent. a. It was evasive. b. It was defiant. c. It tried to deny responsibility after sin had already done its work.
3. The same spirit can still appear among God’s people. a. We may not say the words out loud. b. We may not speak with Cain’s violence. c. But we can live as though our brother’s soul, burdens, weakness, absence, and danger are none of our concern.
4. The New Testament will not allow that spirit. a. Christ commands love for one another. b. The apostles command care for one another. c. The local church is not a crowd of religious strangers sitting in the same room.
5. The question must be answered honestly. a. Are we our brother’s keeper? b. Do we have a responsibility to watch for one another? c. Or have we baptized neglect and called it “not meddling”?

I. Cain’s Question Exposed a Heart That Refused Responsibility.

A. Genesis 4 begins with worship before it reaches murder.

1. Cain and Abel both brought offerings. a. Abel brought from the firstlings of his flock and their fat portions. b. Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the ground. c. The LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard.
2. Hebrews 11:4 explains Abel’s offering. a. “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain.” b. Abel’s worship was connected to faith. c. Cain’s problem was not bad luck; it was a heart not rightly submitted to God.
3. God warned Cain before the murder. a. Genesis 4:6 asks, “Why are you angry?” b. Genesis 4:7 says sin was crouching at the door. c. Cain was told he must master it.

B. Cain killed the brother whose righteousness exposed him.

1. First John 3:12 says Cain “was of the evil one and slew his brother.” a. John does not soften Cain’s motive. b. Cain’s deeds were evil. c. Abel’s deeds were righteous.
2. Cain’s anger moved against Abel instead of against his own sin. a. He did not repent. b. He did not correct his worship. c. He removed the visible reminder of righteousness by killing his brother.
3. Sin often resents the one who exposes it. a. A faithful brother can become irritating to a guilty conscience. b. A righteous example can feel like an accusation to the rebellious. c. Cain shows what happens when sin is protected instead of confessed.

C. Cain’s answer to God tried to deny brotherly responsibility.

1. God asked, “Where is Abel your brother?” a. God was not seeking information. b. God was forcing Cain to face what he had done. c. God named Abel as Cain’s brother.
2. Cain answered, “I do not know.” a. That was a lie. b. Sin had already produced murder, and now it produced deceit. c. Cain would rather lie to God than confess his guilt.
3. Cain then asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” a. That question came from a man who had failed every duty of brotherhood. b. It mocked the very relationship God named. c. It treated brotherhood as if it carried no responsibility.

II. Christ Commands His People to Love One Another.

A. Jesus made brotherly love a mark of discipleship.

1. John 13:34 says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another.” a. This is not optional warmth. b. This is not friendliness when convenient. c. This is the command of the Lord.
2. Jesus defines the measure: “even as I have loved you.” a. His love was sacrificial. b. His love served. c. His love sought the good of souls, not the comfort of appearances.
3. John 13:35 says all men will know His disciples by this love. a. The world should see something different in Christ’s people. b. The congregation should not be cold, detached, and careless. c. Love for one another is part of the public evidence that we belong to Christ.

B. Jesus repeated the command in John 15.

1. John 15:12 says, “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.” a. The command is repeated because the duty is serious. b. The standard is still Christ Himself. c. His love controls our treatment of one another.
2. John 15:13 says there is no greater love than laying down one’s life for friends. a. Jesus would not merely talk about love. b. He would go to the cross. c. His disciples cannot reduce love to polite words and occasional concern.
3. John 15:17 says, “This I command you, that you love one another.” a. The Lord does not leave the church free to be indifferent. b. Cain’s spirit cannot live comfortably under Christ’s command. c. A disciple must care because the Master commanded it.

C. The apostles carried the same command into the churches.

1. Romans 13:8 says, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another.” a. Love is a continuing debt. b. We never reach the point where we have loved enough. c. The brother beside us remains someone we are obligated to love.
2. First Peter 1:22 says to “fervently love one another from the heart.” a. Peter ties this love to obedience to the truth. b. Purified souls must not live with cold hearts. c. Truth does not make Christians harsh and detached; it teaches holy love.
3. First John 3:11 says the message heard from the beginning is that “we should love one another.” a. John immediately warns, “not as Cain.” b. Cain becomes the warning sign against loveless religion. c. A Christian cannot claim Christ while treating brethren with Cain’s disregard.

III. Brotherly Love Must Become Concrete Responsibility in the Church.

A. We must receive and edify one another.

1. Romans 15:7 says, “Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.” a. New Christians must not be left standing at the edge of the family. b. Weak Christians must not be ignored because they require patience. c. The church must receive brethren in a way that reflects the mercy of Christ.
2. Romans 14:19 says to pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. a. Edification means building up. b. We are either helping strengthen the body or helping weaken it. c. Words, attitudes, examples, and habits all affect the faith of others.
3. The local congregation must ask hard questions. a. Do we know the names of those who have obeyed the gospel? b. Do we help new Christians become part of congregational life? c. Do our words build faith, or do they place stumbling blocks in the path?

B. We must serve and bear burdens.

1. Galatians 5:13 says, “through love serve one another.” a. Freedom in Christ is not selfishness. b. The Christian does not ask, “Who will serve me?” c. Love asks, “Whom can I help?”
2. Galatians 6:1 tells the spiritual to restore one caught in trespass. a. Restoration is not gossip. b. Restoration is not public shaming for sport. c. Restoration is spiritual work done with gentleness and self-examination.
3. Galatians 6:2 says to “bear one another’s burdens.” a. Some burdens are too heavy for a brother to carry alone. b. Sin, grief, weakness, discouragement, poverty, sickness, and fear can crush people quietly. c. A church that never notices burdens has not learned the love of Christ.

C. We must forgive, submit, and show hospitality.

1. Ephesians 4:32 says to be kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving. a. Brotherhood will require forgiveness. b. Congregations are not strengthened by grudges. c. Christ-forgiven people must become forgiving people.
2. Ephesians 5:21 says to be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. a. This kills arrogance. b. It rebukes the spirit that always demands its own way. c. Brotherhood requires humility under Christ.
3. First Peter 4:8–10 connects love, hospitality, and service. a. Love covers a multitude of sins. b. Hospitality must be offered without complaint. c. Each Christian is to use his gift to serve others as a steward of God’s grace.

IV. Brotherly Love Watches, Warns, and Restores Before It Is Too Late.

A. Hebrews warns the church to pay attention to spiritual danger.

1. Hebrews 3:12 says, “Take care, brethren.” a. The warning is given to the church. b. Brethren must watch against an evil, unbelieving heart. c. Drifting from God is not treated as a private matter nobody may notice.
2. Hebrews 3:13 says to encourage one another day after day. a. Sin deceives. b. Encouragement must be regular. c. A brother may need a word today before sin hardens him tomorrow.
3. This is not meddling when Scripture commands it. a. Meddling is selfish interference. b. Gossip is sinful talk without redemptive purpose. c. Brotherly exhortation seeks the soul’s good under God’s word.

B. Hebrews 10 connects brotherly care with the assembly.

1. Hebrews 10:24 says to consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds. a. “Consider” means we must think about one another. b. We must notice what helps and what harms. c. Christianity is not lived in isolation.
2. Hebrews 10:25 says not to forsake assembling together. a. The assembly is tied to exhortation. b. A brother who disappears from the assembly is not merely changing his weekend schedule. c. His soul is moving into danger.
3. Absence often reveals a deeper problem. a. We may not know because we do not ask. b. We may not ask because we do not want involvement. c. We may excuse neglect by saying, “It is none of my business.”

C. Love must move before the funeral, not after it.

1. Churches often speak tenderly after someone dies. a. We remember. b. We grieve. c. We say what should have been said sooner.
2. Brotherly love acts while the brother can still be helped. a. Visit before the drift becomes departure. b. Warn before sin becomes hardened rebellion. c. Encourage before discouragement becomes despair.
3. The next generation is watching how we treat one another. a. Children learn whether the church is a family or an audience. b. Young Christians learn whether anyone notices when they struggle. c. Future leaders learn either responsibility or indifference from us.

Application.

1. For the Christian who wants to avoid responsibility. a. Cain’s question is not safe language for a disciple. b. Your brother’s soul is not an inconvenience. c. Love will not let you hide behind the excuse of “not meddling” when Scripture commands care.
2. For the congregation. a. Receive new Christians. b. Build up weak Christians. c. Restore overtaken Christians.
3. For the absent and drifting. a. Your absence affects the body. b. Your weakness should not be hidden until it becomes ruin. c. Let brethren help you before pride pushes you farther away.
4. For parents and teachers. a. Teach children that the church is the family of God, not a religious crowd. b. Let them see hospitality, forgiveness, exhortation, and restoration practiced. c. A generation that never sees brotherly care will not know how to give it.

Conclusion.

1. God asked Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” a. Cain lied. b. Cain deflected. c. Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
2. The gospel answers the question. a. We are commanded to love one another. b. We are commanded to serve one another. c. We are commanded to exhort and restore one another.
3. The church must reject Cain’s spirit. a. Coldness is not maturity. b. Neglect is not respect for privacy. c. Refusal to care is disobedience dressed in softer clothing.
4. Christ has made us members of one body. a. What wounds one member affects the body. b. What strengthens one member helps the body. c. What saves one drifting soul brings joy before God.

Invitation.

1. Hear the word. a. Romans 10:17 says faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
2. Believe Christ. a. John 8:24 warns that unless you believe that Jesus is He, you will die in your sins.
3. Repent. a. Acts 17:30 says God commands all people everywhere to repent.
4. Confess Christ. a. Romans 10:9–10 teaches confession with the mouth and belief in the heart.
5. Be baptized for the remission of sins. a. Acts 2:38 commands repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
6. Live faithfully. a. Revelation 2:10 calls the Christian to be faithful until death.

Word Study.

Scripture Interlock Table.