The foundation of all the false religions is works-based. It is man telling God what he will do for salvation. True salvation is by obeying God and trusting in the Lord Jesus and His finished work on the cross. But the lost do not wish to consider the simple plan of salvation. Instead they seek to come to God on their own terms.
In this tract we will go back as far as Cain and Abel in the Bible. Here is an account of them in the Bible:
Gen 4
1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and
said, I have gotten a man from the LORD.
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep,
but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the
fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the
fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was
very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Above is the account of Cain and Able in the Bible. Lets look at the account more closely starting at verse 2:
2 And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Both Cain and Able did different things. Able was a keeper of sheep and Cain was a farmer.
3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD.
verse 3 is the central verse. It was time to bring an offering to the Lord. Cain and Able just didn't do it on their own. They were taught about how to bring a proper offering to the Lord. As a result of sin blood was required for a covering for sin. Both Cain and Able knew this fact. Cain however decided to reject the blood method and instead bring an offering of his farming. I'm sure Cain put together a great offering of fruits and vegetables for the Lord. However, God required a blood offering for sin. Each blood offering looks forward to the time when the Lord Jesus came to earth and shed His blood as a permanent offering for sin. Therefore an offering of fruit was a sign of rebellion and disobedience to the command of God.
4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering:
Abel brought an offering as well. However, his offering was based in obedience and was a blood offering. This offering was acceptable to God. Abel gave his offering in obedience to God. Cain rejected obedience and made up an offering of HIS choice and not God's. As a result in verse 5:
5 But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
God rejected Cain's offering. Cain sought to please God on "Cain's" terms and not by God's terms. God demanded a blood offering and Cain brought a fruit/vegetable offering. Cain acted in direct rebellion and disobedience to God. When Cain's offering was rejected Cain became very angry. He wanted God on "Cain's" terms and was angry that this was not acceptable to God.
We all know the end of the account. As a result of his anger and jealousy and anger, Cain killed his brother Abel. Abel obeyed God and was killed for his obedience. Through it the whole situation, Cain could have repented and brought a proper blood offering to God and it would have been acceptable to God.
CONCLUSION
All false religion from the time of Cain and Able until the present time is based on what Cain did. Cain rejected God's salvation and devised a man-made works based sacrifice. Today lost men seek their own man-made righteousness with their own man-made sacrifices. These lost people seek a god of their own making who will be accepting of their sin. As a token they will give a sacrifice on their own terms. All this is in rejection of God's plan of salvation and through the only way to be saved: The Lord Jesus Christ!
Eph 2
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Rom 6
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
RETURN .... or hit your back button