Page 11 - Our God of Love, Mercy, and Justice

expiate. And he marveled at the infinite goodness that would give such a ransom to
save the guilty. A star of hope illumined the dark and terrible future and relieved it of
its utter desolation. PP 68.
After his expulsion from Eden, Adam's life on earth was filled with sorrow. Every
dying leaf, every victim of sacrifice, every blight upon the fair face of nature, every

stain upon man's purity, was a fresh reminder of his sin. Terrible was the agony of
remorse as he beheld iniquity abounding, and, in answer to his warnings, met the
reproaches cast upon himself as the cause of sin. With patient humility he bore, for
nearly a thousand years, the penalty of transgression. Faithfully did he repent of his
sin and trust in the merits of the promised Saviour, and he died in the hope of a
resurrection. GC 647

Cain and Abel Tested
Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam, differed widely in character. Abel had a spirit of
loyalty to God; he saw justice and mercy in the Creator's dealings with the fallen
race, and gratefully accepted the hope of redemption. But Cain cherished feelings of
rebellion, and murmured against God because of the curse pronounced upon the earth
and upon the human race for Adam's sin. He permitted his mind to run in the same

channel that led to Satan's fall--indulging the desire for self-exaltation and
questioning the divine justice and authority. . . .
"By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Hebrews
11:4. Abel grasped the great principles of redemption. He saw himself a sinner, and
he saw sin and its penalty, death, standing between his soul and communion with
God. He brought the slain victim, the sacrificed life, thus acknowledging the claims of

the law that had been transgressed. Through the shed blood he looked to the future
sacrifice, Christ dying on the cross of Calvary; and trusting in the atonement that was
there to be made, he had the witness that he was righteous, and his offering accepted.
Cain had the same opportunity of learning and accepting these truths as had Abel.
He was not the victim of an arbitrary purpose. One brother was not elected to be
accepted of God, and the other to be rejected. Abel chose faith and obedience; Cain,
unbelief and rebellion. Here the whole matter rested. PP 71, 72.

When Cain, moved by the spirit of the wicked one, saw that he could not control
Abel, he was so enraged that he destroyed his life. PP 77.
Notwithstanding that Cain had by his crimes merited the sentence of death, a
merciful Creator still spared his life, and granted him opportunity for
repentance. But Cain lived only to harden his heart, to encourage rebellion against

the divine authority, and to become the head of a line of bold, abandoned sinners.
This one apostate, led on by Satan, became a tempter to others; and his example and
influence exerted their demoralizing power, until the earth became so corrupt and
filled with violence as to call for its destruction. . . .

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