It's The Right Thing to Do

In Genesis 4:7 God promises that when you do what is right, you’ll be blessed. But what is the “right” thing to do? Some people may think “The right thing to do is quit lusting. Stop getting angry. No longer be prideful.” And so on. While they would be somewhat correct, as it is certainly right to stop doing those things, they would also be somewhat incorrect as that is not what God is referring to. It goes much, much deeper.
 
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Transcript

In Genesis 4:7 God promises that when you do what is right, you’ll be blessed. But what is the “right” thing to do? Some people may think “The right thing to do is quit lusting. Stop getting angry. No longer be prideful.” And so on. While they would be somewhat correct, as it is certainly right to stop doing those things, they would also be somewhat incorrect as that is not what God is referring to. It goes much, much deeper.

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A powerful weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity and godliness. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #201 entitled “It’s the Right Thing to Do.”

I want you to understand this one simple but powerful truth: when dealing with sin in your life – the issue you are struggling with is typically not the presenting problem. It is not the problem of anger, or of pride, greed, control, worry, lust or any of a number of sinful activities you choose to engage in. Each of those is the by-product of the real issue.

Here’s the thing: Satan wants you to focus on the presenting problem. He wants you to try to figure out how to fix your lust problem, your anger issues, your pride and so on. As long as you are focused on “fixing” the “presenting problem” you won’t ever be free from it – simply because that’s not the actual problem.

The real issue you are battling with is a worship disorder. Who is sitting on the throne of your heart? Are you worshiping King Me or King Jesus? Consider what God says to Cain in Genesis 4:7. “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

OK. So, what then is the “right thing” to do? To fully understand what is “right” it is important to keep Genesis 4:7 in its context. If we don’t, we may assume the correct answer to the question I just asked is something like, “The right thing to do is quit lusting. The right thing to do is stop getting angry. The right thing to do is to no longer be prideful.” And so on. While you would be somewhat correct, as it is certainly right to stop doing those things, you would also be mostly incorrect as that is not what God is referring to. It goes much, much deeper.

Here is the context. “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.” (Genesis 4:3-5)

Now let’s compare that with these verses:

“It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts.” (Hebrews 11:4)

“We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.” (1 John 3:12)

In Genesis 4:7, God reminds Cain that if he would just choose to do what is right the result would be God’s acceptance and blessing. So, the question we must seek an answer to is this: What did Cain do that was so wrong, so evil, even before killing his brother? 

The answer: He chose to worship himself instead of God. He chose to do things the way he wanted instead of the way God required. You see, Abel offered “the firstborn of his flock” as an act of faith in God, whereas Cain just “brought some of the fruits of the soil” (Genesis 4:3-4).

Abel worshipped God—God’s way. Cain worshipped his own god, his own way. At the heart of Cain’s problem was a worship disorder. He chose not to worship God in a way acceptable to his Creator. Rather, he went through the empty motions of “worship” in a way of his own choosing. The result: he was worshiping a false god. He was guilty of idolatry.

Let me remind you of this principle: Whom you choose to worship determines what you choose to think about. What you choose to think about determines what you choose to say and do. What you choose to say and do determines the consequences that result.

Listen once again to what God says to Cain in Genesis 4:7. “If you do what is right [if you willingly choose to worship God, allowing Him to reign on the throne of your heart] will you not be accepted [will you not be blessed, will you not enjoy a right relationship with God]? If you do not do what is right [if you choose to reject God and keep King Me on the throne of your heart], sin is crouching at your door [it is watching you, waiting for you to open the door of opportunity just a crack] it desires to have you [it wants to devour you; it wants to consume every part of your life] but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7)

You are doing what is right when you daily choose to remove King Me off the throne of your heart and make the willful choice to worship God instead of yourself. Oh, my friend, do what is right—daily choose to worship God as Lord of every part and every aspect of your life. When you do, you will be accepted and blessed.

God goes on to tell Cain, and us, when you choose to do what is wrong, when you choose to worship King Me, sin will begin to consume every part of your life. It’s like a feral beast hunkered down just outside the door of your heart, waiting for you to crack it open even the slightest bit so that it can knock you down, gobble you up and spit you out.

I have a vital question for you to consider here. In what ways have you seen sin consume your life as a result of choosing to worship King Me instead of God? And here’s my follow-up question. What are you going to do from this point forward to change that?

“We have an obligation—but it is not to the [flesh], to live according to it. For if you live according to the [flesh], you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.” (Romans 8:23-24)

There’s an old adage that says, “You can choose your actions, but you cannot choose the consequences.” For example, I am free to choose the action of putting my hand underneath a running lawnmower. Now hit the pause button here and let me be crystal clear that is an unwise choice, but I have the freedom to make that choice. However, I cannot choose whether those spinning blades will chop off my fingers or not. I can choose my actions, but I cannot choose the consequences.

OK. Now I am going to challenge that adage. I submit that you CAN choose the consequences, by choosing your actions. For example, I can choose the consequences of not losing my fingers simply by choosing the action of not putting my hand under a running lawnmower. Choice = consequence.

That is the point of Genesis 4:7. If you choose to do what is right, if you choose to worship God, something wonderful will happen: you will be blessed, you will enjoy all God has to offer. Choice = consequence. You can choose the consequence by choosing the action.

However, if you choose to do what is wrong, if you choose to let King Me remain on the throne of your heart and continue to worship self, something different will happen: namely sin, shame, and guilt will consume you. Choice = consequence. You can choose the consequence by choosing the action.

The actions you must choose to do right now, from this point forward, of necessity includes daily reading God’s Word, daily talking with God in prayer, daily working on Scripture memorization, and daily worshiping God. Oh, and by the way, in case you missed it the first time—each of these must be done daily. However, this must be more than just a check list. Read my Bible, check. Pray, check. Brush my teeth, check. The goal, the main motivation of your heart must be to grow and develop a deeper relationship with God.

“If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7)

It is vitally important you begin to understand that your choice to worship King Me will always result in you being consumed by sin. You see, when you choose to yield to temptation, King Me ends up sitting on the throne in every aspect of your life. Not God, you. Not certain parts of your life, all of it. Everything you think, say, and do has the fingerprints of King Me all over them.

Your choice to worship King Me, to do what is wrong has resulted in you being consumed by sin. You have focused your life on King Me. You have chosen to worship a false god, which is idolatry. As a result, you have made sinful decisions based upon what you believe will make King Me happy, feel good, satisfied, and fulfilled. Not only was sin crouching at the door of your heart, but it has pounced and has begun to devour every aspect of your life.

I challenge you to seriously think about this next point. When King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart, three things happen simultaneously, every time; guaranteed.

First, when King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart, you will worship King Me. Everything you think, everything you say, and everything you do will be naturally bent toward making King Me happy, happy, happy. You will live your life with the mindset that says, “I want. I need. I desire. I have to have. I can’t live without!” Simply put, you have an “I” problem.

Second, when King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart, not only are you worshiping King Me, but you will expect everything and everyone else to worship the king as well. This is usually why there’s conflict in the home between a husband and wife. This is why parenting can be so challenging. This is typically why there’s tension in the workplace. It’s even why you get ticked off with the driver who is sitting still at a green traffic light, or you get annoyed at your technology that isn’t working correctly.

Third, when King Me is sitting on the throne of your heart, not only are you worshiping the king and expecting everyone and everything around you to worship the king, but you will also expect God to worship King Me as well.

Although we typically won’t actually say that; here is how it often looks. “God, I have been faithfully serving you. I am reading my Bible daily. I am taking captive my thoughts. I am treating my spouse well. I haven’t raised my voice at the kids, and I’ve kept a good attitude at work. I go to church every Sunday, I put my tithe in the offering plate, I serve on the board at church, I teach a Sunday School class, I sing in the choir—I’ve been good. So, God, you owe me!”

Although we may never directly say those things to God, when King Me is on the throne we tend to think them and feel them, especially when things aren’t going well or going our way. We may pray something like, “God, why are you punishing me? What have I done that you are choosing not to bless me? What more do you want from me?” Can you see who’s sitting on the throne?

With every choice we make in life there are consequences, both seen and unseen, both now and in the future. Let’s face it – in the past you have frequently chosen to give up and give in to your sinful temptations so as to bring a warped sense of “satisfaction.” In the past you have trusted in your own ability to achieve some feeling of fulfillment. However, in reality, you have been going the wrong way down a one-way street.

I realize I cannot speak definitively for you, but for me personally those “King Me” choices have never brought me what I anticipated or hoped for. They have never delivered the promised goods. The consequences I received were vastly different than what I thought would happen. I was deceived.

Galatians 6:7-8 warns us, “Do not be deceived” (do not let yourself be duped by the enemy; do not listen to the lies of Satan). “God is not mocked, for whatever one sows” (whatever choice you make in the moment of your temptation) “that will he also reap” (you will receive the consequences of that choice). “For the one who sows to his own flesh” (the one who chooses to put King Me on the throne and worship self) “will from the flesh reap corruption,” (choice = consequence) “but the one who sows to the Spirit” (the one who chooses to put God first in every aspect of his life) “will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (choice = consequence).

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

There was a point in time in my life when I truly thought my sinful choices were the best way to experience satisfaction and find a sense of fulfillment. I was deceived into believing that giving in to temptation was the way to being happy in life because it temporarily eased my pain and partially relieved the stress and frustration I felt. But as we just saw in Proverbs 14:12, the result was death. Because of my selfish, sinful, King Me choices I nearly lost my marriage. I lost the respect of my wife and children. I lost the admiration of my friends at church. My relationship with God was severely strained. I even attempted suicide as a result. When you choose the wrong way, the King Me way, the consequence of that choice will always be the death of something, and usually many things, in your life.

However, if you choose to trust with all your heart that God’s way is far, far better—even though right now you may not be experiencing it; even though right now it is the hardest, most painful thing you have ever pursued—then the consequences of your choice are that He will help you along the way. He will not only show you the path to purity and lasting victory, but He will also give you His divine power to be godly (2 Peter 1:3) and you will find far more than what you have been searching for.

OK, we’re going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode as we look forward to continuing this study.

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com

And as I mentioned in our last episode, as we are nearing the end of 2024 and anticipating 2025, we are looking at our financial needs in order to continue The Pure Man Ministry well into the future. For those of you listening who may not be familiar with The Pure Man Ministry, let me take just a quick moment to tell you what we do.

You see, we do a whole lot more here at The Pure Man Ministry than just producing a weekly podcast. We have a free APP entitled “My Purity Coach.” This app is chocked full of powerful tools to help you in your walk of purity. You’ll find tons of Scripture as well as audio and video lessons from the Bible.

If you’re a subscriber to this podcast, then you’ve heard me talk about our “Point of Purity Program” – a 12 week, 1-on-1, Bible-Centered coaching program where I sit down with you for an hour a week (just you and me) and I take you deep into Scripture to teach you how to develop a lifelong strategic plan for purity and godliness. Throughout this 12 week our “Point of Purity Program” you discover from Scripture the point of purity and how to get to that point of purity.

We are a faith-based, donor-supported ministry, and as such all of this (and so much more) is only made possible by our team of ministry partners who give financially to this ministry. 

Without compromise our purpose is to take you into the Word of God to show you how to have a continuous, progressive relationship with Jesus that is real and personal. To that end we need ongoing financial assistance from partners like you who are committed to providing help, hope, and healing for men and women across the globe win their personal battle against the beast of sexual impurity. 

I am personally inviting you to partner with us in this ministry as we continue to impact our world by equipping and training men and women how-to live-in purity, godliness, and integrity. Every gift given to The Pure Man Ministry – no matter the size – is tax deductible.

To give your tax deductible gift to this ministry today, simply go to ThePurityCoach.com and click on the Donate button in the upper right corner. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for partnering with us!

And if you haven’t subscribed to this podcast yet, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes!

So, until next time this is Author, Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach Steve Etner for The Pure Man Ministry reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.