Eleventh Sunday after Trinity – August 31, 2025

Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God made a promise to send a Savior.

So in the Old Testament, salvation was through faith in this coming Savior.

Whereas we in the New Testament are saved through faith in the Savior who already came, Jesus. us.

Well, in due time, Eve conceived and bore a son, and they called him Cain, which means acquired.

She said, I have acquired a man, namely the Lord.

Eve thought that her son Cain was the promised Savior.

Eve then bore another son, and they called him Abel, which means vanity, as in meaningless.

There are several differences between Cain and Abel.

Cain worked the soil, but Abel raised livestock.

Cain tried to win favor with God by his work, but Abel won favor with God through

faith in God's promises.

Cain was unrepentant. Abel was repentant.

Cain was full of pride. Abel was humble.

God had regard for Abel in his offering, but he did not have a regard for Cain

in his offering. Why is that?

Hebrews chapter 11, in verse 4 tells us that Cain, Abel, Abel gave an offering

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

through faith, through faith, whereas Cain did not.

In other words, Abel gave an offering for the right reason, but Cain did not.

Abel gave an offering and it showed his thankfulness for all that God has done for him.

Abel gave an offering showing that he believed in God's promise to send a Savior,

whereas Cain's offering did not.

Abel comes seeking refuge in God's mercy, while Cain did not.

And in the end, Abel went home justified through faith in the coming Savior.

In the Holy Gospel for today, we

see several differences also between the Pharisee and the tax collector.

The Pharisee tried to win favor with God by what he did, but the tax collector

won favor with God through faith in God's promises.

The Pharisee was unrepentant. The tax collector was repentant.

The Pharisee was full of pride. The tax collector was humble.

He even confessed, saying that I am a sinner.

The Greek says, the sinner.

Why did God have regard for the tax collector and not the Pharisee?

Well, the tax collector prayed with faith in the forgiveness of sins on account

of the animal sacrifice that was just made in the temple, whereas the Pharisee did not.

The tax collector believed in a merciful God, whereas the Pharisee did not.

And in the end, the tax collector went home justified, whereas the Pharisee did not.

In other words, God knows all things. He can look into the heart of Cain and

Abel, the Pharisee and the tax collector.

He can look into our heart and see unbelief and pride, idolatry,

anger, lust, gossip, and covetousness.

God can see whether there is a proper attitude of repentance and faith or not.

So for us to go through the motions

of church and have no faith does us no good. None of us can fool God.

None of us can justify ourselves by what we do.

While Cain was more than just angry, the Hebrew text says that he was very hot.

You can almost see the scene come out of his ears. he was angry for God and his brother Abel.

Now God cared about Cain. And so he warned Cain of his sin.

He told Cain, be careful because sin is crouching at your door.

And so God cared about Cain. He cares about you and he cares about me. So he warns us of sin.

Sin desires to control us. It wants to be our master.

It thirsts for our soul. it's like an evil demon. It's like a vicious animal pounding on us.

By God's grace, resist such temptation and remain faithful.

It is as if God said, Cain, I've always been gracious and merciful to you.

I've given you life and I sustain your life.

I am the source. I am the reason why your crops are doing well.

If you live a life of repentance, then salvation through faith in the promised

Savior will continue to be yours.

You will then want to do what is right. But if you let sin prevail, it will destroy you.

I love you, Cain. Therefore, I'm warning you against the sin which wants to overtake you.

Now, Cain should have said, God, you are right.

I'm sorry for not regarding you

as the only true God I'm sorry for

regarding myself making myself an idol God

I need your help I cannot master sin by myself please keep me strong in your

word and I pray that my love for

you would not grow cold forgive my sin on account of the promised Savior.

But Cain never prayed this prayer.

The prayer that Cain never prayed, the tax collector prayed.

It is as if the tax collector said, God, I am sorry for all of my sin.

Be merciful to me, a sinner.

And on account of the animal sacrifice that was just made in the temple,

don't be angry with me, but forgive me.

You see, the tax collector recognized his sin, and he was repentant and he received mercy from God.

We also should pray, Lord God, Heavenly Father, sin is crouching at my door.

There are times when I gave in and my thoughts and desires have been soiled with sin.

I am sorry and I ask for grace. I want to do better.

And on account of your son and the sacrifice he made upon the cross, have mercy upon me.

And he does. Your sin is forgiven because of Christ's death and his resurrection.

God is gracious and merciful to you because of Christ's sacrifice upon the cross.

Ephesians 1 says, In Christ you have redemption through his blood,

the forgiveness of sins.

Cain and the Pharisee neglected to see their sin.

They failed to seek forgiveness from God. Woe to us if we ever neglect to see our sin.

Woe to us if we ever fail to seek forgiveness and mercy from God in Christ Jesus.

Well, Cain planned ahead of time what he was going to do to his brother.

It is as if he said, hey, Abel, my brother, come out into the field.

There's something I want to show you.

And Cain didn't know. I mean, Abel didn't know really what was coming up.

And so Cain suddenly come upon his brother, struck him and killed him.

This is the first murder recorded in scripture.

Cain broke the fifth commandment. What is this fifth commandment?

You shall not murder. What does this mean?

The small catechism says we should fear and love God so that we do not hurt

or harm our neighbor and his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

Abel's life had value because God created him in his own image.

Cain had no right to take the life of Abel. Your life has value because you

were created in the image of God. God loves you, and you have a purpose in life.

And your neighbor's life has value because God created them in his own image.

We don't have the right to hit them, to abuse them, to harm them physically or emotionally.

Even the baby in the womb has value because God created the baby in his own image.

And even schoolchildren singing in a religious service in Minneapolis have value

because God created them in his own image.

May God give us the ability to speak out for those

who cannot speak may God give us God-fearing leaders

who will protect the rights of all both the

living and those in the womb may God give us the ability to love and care for

our family and friends may we not harbor anger or hatred in our hearts against

them by grace may we treat our neighbor with kindness and compassion,

Ephesians 4.32 says, Be kind to one another, forgiving one another,

just as God in Christ forgave you.

In a way, Abel's death and Christ's death are similar.

They both shed blood, and they were both victims of their brother.

But Christ's death was different than Abel's Because Christ's death was an atoning

sacrifice For the sin of the whole world,

Christ's death was a payment For your sin and mine and the sin of the whole

world Jesus willingly went to the cross Whereas Abel did not know what was coming up,

Sansa 4 of the Latin hymn Glory be to Jesus goes like this.

Abel's blood for vengeance pleaded to the skies,

but the blood of Jesus bore our pardoned prize.

Now, God knows exactly what happened to Abel. And so he asked Cain, where is your brother?

God invited Cain to confess his sin and to be honest and to seek forgiveness.

God wants Cain to repent. But Cain lied. He says, I don't know.

He said, am I my brother's keeper? Well, yes, Cain, you are. You're his brother.

And you're supposed to love and care for your brother.

And so also we are supposed to love and care for one another.

We are our brother's keeper.

We are to help our neighbor. We are to speak the truth and love toward others.

We are to help those in need.

And we should even love and care and pray for our enemy so that someday they

too may be converted to faith in Christ.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God made a promise to send a Savior.

And this promise was fulfilled in Christ. God the Father sent his only begotten Son to be our Savior.

Jesus was born of a woman, the Virgin Mary. Jesus was human like us, yet without sin.

He came into our world to be our brother.

Jesus is our brother. He's like us, yet without sin.

And he came to pay for our sin. He came to rescue us from death.

He came to win victory over our enemy, the devil.

Unlike us poor sinners, Jesus is sinless.

Jesus' sin did not rule Jesus, but rather Jesus bore the sin of the whole world.

He bore the sins of Adam and Eve, of Cain and Abel, of the Pharisee and tax collector.

He bore the sins of the extortioner, the unjust person, the adulterer, the murderer.

He bore all of your sin and mine.

Like Abel, Jesus was a shepherd.

Like Abel, Jesus was an obedient son, faithful and innocent.

Like Abel, Jesus' blood was soaked up into the ground.

Cain's offering was rejected, but Jesus' offering on the cross was received

by God the Father as an atoning sacrifice, pleasing to the Father.

And there on the cross, Jesus did not tithe 10%. He gave 100%.

He gave him all of himself.

Everyone who humbles himself will be exalted. Jesus humbled himself and became

obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross.

And so God the Father exalted Jesus from the dead, and he now sits at the right hand of the Father.

Abel humbled himself, and Abel went home justified.

He was declared righteous through faith in the coming Savior.

The tax collector humbled himself, and he confessed his sin and trusted in the

mercy of God. Therefore, he went home justified.

He was declared righteous through faith in God's mercy. You humble yourself in confession.

You trust in God's mercy through his son. You are justified because of the righteous

things that Christ has done for you.

You were baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ.

You were redeemed with the blood of Christ. And he gives you his body and blood

here for the forgiveness of all your sins.

And so the word of God, the gospel, the Lord's Supper, prayer,

all helps us to resist the threats of sin in our life.

Thanks be to God for giving us life and for sustaining life with daily bread.

Thanks be to God for giving us saving

faith in Christ. And may God keep us faithful to him and to him alone.

And may God always keep us in repentance and faith in the forgiveness of sins.

May he continue to bless us with a gospel and sacrament so that we may be a

blessing to others. Amen.