Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

The Anatomy of Cain's Anger

Keith Dewell · March 8, 2025

Genesis 4:5-6

sharonrpc.org/sermons/the-anatomy-of-cain-s-anger

Scripture

5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

6 So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?

Genesis 4 traces the spread of sin through Cain, whose rejected offering gives rise to envy, intense anger, and the murder of his brother Abel.
Envy goes beyond wanting another person's blessing; it resents that person's good and desires to take it away or destroy the person who has it.
Cain should have rejoiced in Abel's faithful offering and responded to God's correction, but instead his anger defended a cause that was not just.
Sin disorders human affections, so anger often becomes excessive, self-righteous, and far out of proportion to what has actually happened.
Jesus connects sinful anger with murder because contempt for another image-bearer attacks the God whose image that person bears.
God's questions to Cain call angry people to examine themselves, reject self-deception, repent, and rest in Christ's perfect righteousness.

Whose gifts, favor, opportunities, or spiritual growth am I tempted to resent?
Can I rejoice when God gives another person something I wanted for myself?
What does the intensity of my anger reveal about my assumptions, desires, and sense of entitlement?
Is the cause I am defending actually just, or have I exaggerated the offense because I am angry?
How have my words, expressions, or actions treated another image-bearer with contempt?
When God probes my conscience, do I repent or insist that I am right to be angry?
How does Christ's imputed righteousness free me to admit that my own cause and conduct have been wrong?

Envy: Resentment of another person's good that not only wants the same good but wants it taken away from the other person.
Jealousy: A desire to protect what rightly belongs within a relationship, which can be holy, unlike envy; sinful jealousy becomes discontent with God's gifts.
Inordinate affection: An emotion disordered by sin so that its object or intensity does not fit the truth of the situation.
Sinful anger: A self-righteous passion that magnifies an offense, resists self-examination, and tends toward contempt and harm.
Image of God: The God-given dignity borne by every human being, making an attack against human life also an offense against God.
Self-deception: The fallen heart's tendency to excuse its own sin and project evil motives onto others instead of judging itself truthfully.