In my previous article, I covered the root cause of mass shootings, which is sin.
“Sin is what you do when your heart is not satisfied with God.” – John Piper
“Sin is not simply making bad choices or mistakes. Sin is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God.” – R.C. Sproul
“Original sin, therefore, appears to be a hereditary, depravity and corruption of our nature, diffused through all the parts of the soul, rendering us obnoxious to the divine wrath and producing in us those works which the scripture calls ‘works of.” – John Calvin
In this article, I plan on going more in depth regarding what happens to a person who is ruled by sin, and what a person ruled by sin has the capability of doing.
I encourage you to read Genesis 4 and meditate on God’s truth after you’re finished with reading this article.
Cain’s evil impulse
The story of Cain in Abel in Genesis 4 is a story of evil impulses, bloody hands, and human rebellion. Cain is an example of someone who was a slave to sin and who was ruled by sin.
In this story, Cain is characterized by a lack of self-control while giving into evil impulses. He was full of jealousy, anger, and deceit. Cain harbored a sinful grudge and that sinful grudge was one of the main reasons why Cain killed Abel. After Cain killed Abel, God confronted Cain and Cain lied to God. Cain sinned against God, and consequences followed.
Sin was the root cause of all of Cain’s actions.
Cain killed Abel because of sin.
Cain harbored a grudge because of sin.
Cain disobeyed God because of sin.
It doesn’t matter if Cain used his hands to kill Abel or whether he used a rock to kill Abel.
The purpose of Genesis 4 is to demonstrate the sinfulness of man and the consequences that unfold when man is ruled by sin.
All have sinned
God makes it clear that all humans are sinful.
“As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” – Romans 3:10-12 (ESV)
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23 (ESV)
Depravity
The depravity of sin has infected us all from birth and the effects of sin continue to spread.
Sin is like cancer. It will eat us all alive until we are dead.
The same sin that has infected Cain’s heart from birth is the same sin that has infected you, me, and every mass shooter that has ever lived.
How do we fix this problem?
What is the solution?
How do we prevent these mass shootings from happening?
Part 3 will reveal the mass shooter solution.