And Cain believed that God’s acceptance was based on His works (his offering). Under the law the minute something negative happens guilt and condemnation sets in and the result is sin. Cain ended up killing his brother. In Exodus the children of Israel told Moses 8 Then all the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. – Exodus 19:8. In their pride and trust in their flesh the Lord responded by giving them the Law (10 commandments). They boated in their ability to measure up to God’s standard of righteousness. So God gave Moses “The Big-10”. And even before Moses came down with the Law their self righteousness led them to sin, they made a golden calf to worship. He led them out of Egypt because of His grace (unmerited favor) and not because they merited it yet they rejected it and wanted to live by receiving all the good things of God based on their obedience. God deals with us based on which righteousness we choose to be under. His or ours, grace or the law.
The Lord considered Israel trusting in themselves as rebellion (Deuteronomy 9), they chose self righteousness over His gift of righteousness and in turn chose the Law instead of His grace (unmerited favor). We can keep going and look at how Jesus interacted with people when He walked on earth. If they came to Him with a law mentality (living trying to merit God’s goodness based on their obedience) then He spoke to them with parables. If they came to Him not under the law He spoke to them directly with compassion and grace and you saw an immediate transformation (true repentance) in the peoples lives.
In Revelations 3:14-22 we see the lukewarm church of the Laodiceans mixing grace (hot) and law (cold). Remember that any law (leaven) wrecks the whole batch (gospel of grace). Law always brings forth self righteousness. And the Lord despises self righteousness. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— 18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. –Revelations 3:17-18. He speaks to them from a distance, counselling them and not disciplining them as sons. How many believers are in this same category
So we see with the examples above that God deals with us based on what we believe of Him. His goodness and all of His blessings can only flow in our lives when we are under His grace (unmerited favor) and gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ. Under the law and self righteousness His goodness and blessings cannot flow. The scary fact is that when we live trying to be justified by the law (merit God’s goodness based on our works) we become estranged and alienated from Christ (the anointed one and his anointing).
Under our self righteousness Christ becomes of no effect in our lives (Galatians 5:4). If you want to know what the devil is looking for when he walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. - 1 Peter 5:8 He is looking for those living under the law (the knowledge of good and evil, the 10 commandments), as this is living in the flesh and in self righteousness. That is why sin has dominion over you if you are under the law (Romans 6:14) and the strength of sin is the law (1 Corinthians 15:56). And you live doing the things you don’t want to do and the things you want to do you won’t do (Romans 7). The law (knowledge of good and evil) brings forth self righteousness which in turn brings forth guilt and condemnation and that traps you in the prison of sin. The only answer is His pure grace upon grace, the fullness of Jesus.
