Why does Cain hate Abel?
Why does Cain hate Abel?
This is a very important question, and the answer goes right to the heart of Satan's war against God, Evil's opposition to Good, and The Lie's opposition to The Truth.
I have written several Blogs addressing those above topics, because the average person does not look at those large issues; they look only at what religion a person is following, what church they go to.
Here is our verse:
"Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you." 1Jn 3:12
The bible clearly tells us why Cain hated Abel, "Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous."
But John goes to the heart of the matter, when he then says, "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you."
We can divide the world's entire population into two (2) groups: Christians and the rest of the world; and when I say "Christian," I do not mean anyone who is simply not Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist, I define "Christian" as one to whom the Holy Spirit of God has given new life. There are many who say to Christ, "Lord Lord," but he says to them "I never knew you." (Mat 7:21-23) There are people who call themselves Christian, whom Jesus does not call a Christian! That should cause many to think!
There is a struggle, no it is a war, going on between God and Satan, between Good and Evil, between Truth and Lie. It is not a war between equals! Satan, who is called The Evil One and The Father of Lies, is at war against God. This started when Lucifer, Satan's personal name, rebelled; but look, God simply casts him out of heaven. (Isa 14:1-19)
Under the leadership and instigation of Satan, the nations are in rebellion, but God laughs, and holds them in derision! (Psa 2)
John clearly links Cain's hatred and murder of Abel to the fact that Cain is of the wicked one, the Devil, Lucifer!
Cain and Abel bring their sacrifices to God. God accepts Abel and his sacrifice, but does not accept Cain's sacrifice, and so Cain hates Abel, because his brothers deeds were righteousness.
In Jhn 15:18-27, Jesus tells his disciples that the world hates him, and that it will hate them too, and that the reason the world hates him is because he showed them their sin, and did works (miracles) to verify that he had the authority to do that.
And because we Christians tell the world the same thing, that they are sinners, and need to repent, they hate us, asking us derisively, if we think we are better than they, or holier than they, EVEN THOUGH we are always saying that we too are sinners just as they are, but that we have repented and believed in Christ to be saved. We say that, but they will not listen to us.
Did Abel tell Cain to bring vegetables? Did Abel prevent Cain from bringing a lamb? Did Abel refuse to give Cain a lamb to bring? Of course not! God even clearly told Cain that if he did the right thing, ie humbled himself and brought a lamb, he would be accepted, but Cain refused to listen!
Here is the root cause, Jesus himself telling us:
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God." Joh 3:19-21
And again Jesus says:
"If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause." Joh 15:22-25
The reason people hated Christ, the reason Cain hated Abel, and the reason people hate Christians is that we expose their sin. We call sin, sin, and say that God hates sin, and will judge the world because of sin, and for that they hate us. They hate the message, and since they cannot vent their anger on God directly, they take it out on us, and hate his messengers!
Cain was of the evil one, so he did evil; evil flowed out of his evil heart. He hated the light, the correct things which Abel did, and he hated God's warning to him. He was of the evil one, and loved doing evil deeds, doing it his own way (Frank Sinatra’s song, which people so love: "I Did it My Way"), and so he refused to come to the light; in fact he hated the light.
His pride kept him from repenting, from changing from doing wrong, to doing right, even in spite of both God's crystal clear warning, and God's promise of acceptance if he did the right.
If you are not a Christian, I mean a born-again Christian, one to whom the Holy Spirit has given new life, you are exactly like Cain! You are probably not a murderer, killing someone whose life is showing yours up, but examine your own heart and thinking, you resent them! You think, who do they think they are?
I will tell you who we are: we are just beggars, but we know from whom to get bread!
We are forgiven sinners, who have found God to be beyond gracious in forgiving our sins, and then after forgiving our sins, accepting us into his family as his sons and daughters.
Let's expand this Blog a bit. Why did Abel offer a sheep? And it is not because he was a shepherd!
He offered a sheep, a blood animal sacrifice, because his parents, Adam and Eve, had told both him and Cain, from the time that they were young, that when they, Adam and Eve, dad and mom, had sinned, God, to cover their sin, had killed an animal and made animal skin clothing for them. The leaves that they had used, thinking they were good enough, like Cain thought about his vegetables, being of their own doing, of their own thinking, were in fact not good enough, they were insufficient.
Here is what God did:
"Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them." Gen 3:21
It sounds odd to us, but who are we to question God!! He requires a blood sacrifice to cover sin! That is his decision to make!
"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (of sin)" Heb 9:22
And why did Cain and Abel bring sacrifices at all?
Adam and Eve must have been bringing sacrifices to God all along. What would they bring? Leaves, vegetable matter that God originally rejected? I don't think so! They did what God did; they killed an animal, and brought that. Cain and Abel, see mom and dad doing that, not once, but regularly. Cain sees them bringing animal sacrifices, but he refuses to do that, he has a better idea, he will bring vegetables! Things that he is producing, his works. That is why God says, if you do well (the right thing), you will be accepted; humble yourself Cain, and do it my way, like you have seen your parents doing.
But no, Cain will not, because he cannot; he is compelled to obey his father the devil. Which God also warns him about saying: sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. God tells Cain, the devil is waiting at the door of your heart, you are at the cross roads, what will you do? Do it my way, and live; do it his way, and he will rule over you, to your eternal destruction.
"If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him." Gen 4:7
God in mercy forewarned Cain, assuring him he would be accepted; God in mercy is forewarning you and assures you of acceptance, saying: forget trying to earn heaven by your own good deeds, you have no good deeds, they are all filthy rags (Isa 64:6); go to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of your sins, and to get God acceptable righteousness; God acceptable, because it is a God made righteousness, the righteousness which Jesus made for us, when he as the second Adam, obeyed the law for us.
That is what Abel did. He did not try to do his own thing, he did not try to earn acceptance with God by his own works, his vegetables, which of course he had, he had a garden, he eat vegetables, but no, he does not bring vegetables, he does what God did, he does what mom and dad had been doing, he is a "saved" person, a person with spiritual life, and so he does the right thing. As the good tree produces good fruit, so he as a saved person, does the right thing, which flows out of his heart; by his fruit (actions) he is known. (Mat 7)
Notice, God accepts Abel first, and then his sacrifice; he does not accept Abel because of his sacrifice, he accepts the sacrifice, because he has already accepted the person.
Christian, God does not accept you, or love you, because you are living a good and godly life. You live a good and godly life, because the Holy Spirit, who lives within you, is producing fruit that flows from your inner person, outward, in a visibly godly life. God does not accept you or love you because of the way you live, he accepts you because you have joined yourself to Jesus Christ by faith; he accepted Christ (the proof of which is that he raised him from the dead, declaring his death for us sufficient to cover our sins), and since he accepted Christ, and we are joined to Christ by faith, he accepts us: "we are accepted in the beloved."
"To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;" Eph 1:6-7
And so Christian, marvel not if the world hates you, it hated Jesus Christ, a man who went around doing only good, just as Cain hated Abel, who had done nothing bad to him. Think about it, they are brothers, don't you think Abel would have said to Cain, Cain my brother, just do it God's way!
How many times have we said to our loved ones, our friends, just do it God's way!
But as the devil took Cain by the hand, and lead him away to destruction, so the devil is still doing; he has them snared, on his leash.
"And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." 2Ti 2:26
The devil is actively working to prevent people from coming to Christ:
"Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved." Luk 8:12
"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." 2Co 4:4
Do not be a Cain - come to Christ - flee to Christ.
"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2Co 5:20
16 November 2025