"Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

by G.A. JONES | Category: General | Feb 1962

(Genesis 4.9).

God our Creator, when He brought the first woman to the first man, instituted marriage; they became husband and wife, one flesh. God said, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh" (Genesis 2. 21-24). Such a relationship is one of God's sweetest blessings. Peter describes it thus, " being also joint-heirs of the grace of life (1 Peter 3.7).

After Adam and Eve, because of sin, were driven out of Eden's garden, two sons were born to them. When Abel was murdered, "the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4.9). Cain's question bears upon a truth, a question which has come down the ages, and which, if transposed, gives us the unavoidable answer, "I am my brother's keeper."

Relationship involves responsibility, from which, even if they would, none can escape.

God our Creator has willed it so. We stand related to our fellowcreatures, as implied in, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Mark 12.31).

Coming now to a smaller circle, God, our Father has begotten all believers, a blessed and eternal relationship. We are children of God, born into His family, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (1 John 3.1 ; Romans 8.17). Being children of God, we see ourselves as brethren, for whose sake Christ died (Romans 14.15). The description in Christ" applies to all God's children. This indissoluble link is a thing that is dear to the heart of God. Linked with Christ, our glorious Head, we know Him as the One who loved the Church and gave

Himself up for it (Ephesians 5.25). So that we might be related to Him for ever He became our Saviour. He died for us.

Being related to Him we are joined to each other, and consequently the same principle of relationship and responsibility again obtains "that the members should have the same care one for another" (1 Corinthians 12.25).

Next, we come to a much smaller circle. We refer to the people of God. He has called together a people for Himself, of whom He declares, " I will be their God, and they shall be My people "(2 Corinthians 6. 16-18). As sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty we are seen as brethren and sisters, not now only "in Christ," but also "in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 7.89, also 11.11). As believers "added to the Lord" (Acts 5.14) we are accounted by Him as "in the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 5.12). This relationship involves the subjection of believers to the all authority of the Lord. He claims obedience to His word. His command, thrice repeated in the night of His betrayal, is "that we should love one another" (John 13.84, see also John 15.12, 17). How very remarkable it is that John should appeal to our hearts, as he often does in his first epistle, quoting Cain as an example of the contrary spirit! "For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another: not as Cain was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's righteous "(1 John 3.11, 12).

We must not regard this matter as a trivial one, for the Holy Spirit presents it in a serious light, " Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer" (v. 15).

The spiritual havoc wrought by hate, envy and jealousy cannot be estimated. These are works of the flesh (Galatians 5.19-21) which works should be foreign to the life of the believer. God's people are to love" even as I loved you." This is a very high standard, as indeed all God's standards are. The believers' testimony before the world revolves around the question of their love to one another. The Lord said, "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13.85). The words of the Holy Spirit as to putting away the old man, as to our former manner of life, and putting on the new man, as found in Ephesians 4.22-24, are worthy of earnest consideration. Again we read in Ephesians 4.81, 82, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you."

To store up grievances against each other is wrong and quite incompatible with the teaching of the Lord and His apostles. It will affect our worship detrimentally, will hinder fruit-bearing and adversely affect our testimony. These are parts of the devil's strategy to frustrate the purposes of God in His people, and against their success we must ever be on our guard. In the epistle by James, chapter 2, verse 1, a very practical matter is mentioned, "My brethren, hold not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons." The high and low, the rich and poor, are all alike to Him. There is no respect of persons with Him (Ephesians 6.9). If our dealings with each other are in love, we shall never stoop to such conduct. The first of the list of the sayings of the wise, given in Proverbs 24.28 onward is, "To have respect of persons in judgement is not good."

Finally, "Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye: and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness" (Colossians 8. 12-14). This is the only right answer to the question- "Am I my brother's keeper?

G.A. JONES | Feb 1962
General