So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.’
The message from God is simply that Cain could do better, and by doing better, all will go well. In other words, why would God say to Cain that “you must master it” if He really believed that Cain could not? Obviously, God believed, and in fact knew for certain, that Cain certainly could and must master his impulses, if he were to live righteously. Any suggestion that Cain was unable to do as God said, would draw the same rebuke that God gave to unrepentant Israel at Jeremiah 18:11-13.
However, according to deterministic Calvinism, God decreed “whatsoever comes to pass,” including Cain’s errant offering, the anger in his heart, his refusal to take God’s counsel and his murder of Abel. So, in Calvinism, it’s not just that God knew it and allowed it, but also that He (according to Calvinism) meticulously planned every wicked detail for a purpose and rendered it certain. With that in mind, God says to Cain that if he chooses to “do well” by being a “master” over the sin that is crouching at his door, then his “countenance” will be lifted up. If God, according to Calvinism, secretly planned that Cain will not do well, then these gracious words would be no longer gracious at all, as God would be deceiving him about the possibility of right choices ending with better results.
What do Calvinists believe?
God does not say to Abel that he can do well. It only says that if he does well, then so and so will happen. So, this cannot be used to prove that Cain had the ability to do otherwise.
Our reply:
God’s encouragement of Cain implicitly indicates ability, or else if not, then God would be found deceiving Cain with positive encouragement, and moreover, why would God command Cain to do something He knows that he cannot not do?
What do Calvinists believe?
Scripture is full of commands that fallen creatures morally cannot do, and Cain is no different. Look at the Old Testament Law. Do we keep it? Yet, God has commanded it. Just because God commands something, that doesn’t mean we have the moral ability to perform it.
Our reply:
While it’s true that God commands perfect obedience to His Law, and it’s also true that we cannot perfectly keep the Law all 100% of the time, there are many single instances where we can and do obey God. In the instruction to Cain, God expected Cain to make it an instance of obedience but Cain chose not to. Even wicked king Ahab once humbled himself and repented in sackcloth and ashes (1st Kings 21:27-29). We don’t disobey God all 100% of the time or else mankind would be like demons.
What do Calvinists believe?
If God knew from all eternity that Cain would kill Abel, could Cain have acted differently?
Our reply:
If Cain would have done differently, then God’s foreknowledge would have reflected that information, instead. God’s foreknowledge does not cause people to do things.651 So, why would God interact with him if He already knew what Cain would do? God’s interaction with Cain didn’t cause Cain’s bad choice but only forced Cain to think about what he was doing and how he could avoid it. Even though Cain’s resulting choice disregarded God’s counsel, the interaction can still serve God’s purposes if it becomes an object-lesson for others to obey God’s wisdom.
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651 See the discussion on Foreknowledge.
[This post has been excerpted with permission from Richard Coords, Calvinism Answered Verse by Verse and Subject by Subject, © 2024.]
