You must master sin (Genesis 4:7)

When God rejects Cain’s offering, He warns him that “…if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you but you must master it.” (4:7).

We must master sin, and this is the only attitude any biblical writer ever takes toward the subject. Yet, sometimes we get complacent or even comfortable with our sin. Most evangelical churches, praise God, preach strictly “grace alone.” But when we hear this message, aren’t we sometimes relieved that the preacher does not go further and insist that we master our sin? Don’t some of our teachers fall into the temptation of preaching the crown but not the cross? But we cheapen grace when we do this, using our spouse’s unconditional love as license to commit adultery. If “grace alone” has come to mean for us “and don’t worry about sin” then we’re misunderstanding the Gospel. The merciful touch of God is always followed by His telling us to “go and sin no more.” Sin desires to have you but you must master it.