Was Cain a Believer?

(By Pastor Mark Fontecchio)

Question: Was Cain a believer?

Answer: This is an interesting question, but it is not one that we can give a definitive answer to. Yet, there are indicators in the Bible that seem to suggest he was.

First, we must go back to Genesis and consider what we can glean from this opening book of the Bible. Genesis 3:24 tells us that man had been driven out of the garden because of sin. When Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground, we read in Genesis 4:6-7, “So the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.’” It is instructive to notice the direct interaction with God that both Cain and Able had in Genesis 4. God directly talked with Cain.

At this point we need to consider teaching from the New Testament. John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” This means that it was the role of the Son to declare the Father. This teaches us it was the role of the Son to be active in the life of Israel and often He appeared to men. This is further bolstered by the teaching that Jesus Christ is the Creator. Speaking of Christ, Paul said in Colossians 1:16, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” Jesus is the Creator that directly interacted with Cain.

Cain certainly knew who God is. In some ways, because he directly interacted with God, he may have known more about God than we do. Further, he did worship God, even though it was not the type of worship God desired.

The Apostle John makes mention of Cain in 1 John 3:11-12 where he says, “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.^” It is tempting to assume that because John mentions that Cain was of the wicked one that this means Cain was unregenerate. We should be careful with this assumption. John’s point is simply that what Cain did was not of God, it came from a Satanic influence. Yet, it is most interesting and germane to the question that John used Cain as an example in the midst of a broader discussion about what Christian love is to look like among the brethren. This could be an indicator that John saw Cain as a believer. Notice John says specifically that Cain’s works were evil, not that Cain himself was evil or that Cain lacked faith in God for eternal life. Cain murdered Abel in Genesis 4:8. Yet, this does not mean that he had to be an unbeliever. Unfortunately, believers are capable of murder (1 Peter 4:15).

The Bible does not directly answer this question regarding Cain. However, it is possible that indeed Cain was a regenerate believer with faith in the Creator.