In Genesis 4, verse 7 says that Cain did not do what is right. What is that right thing that he ought to have done that would have earned him favor as did his younger brother Abel?

Short answer:

The entire incident is a lesson for believers in Christ, as are all the events recorded in the Old Testament. This particular incident is all about Jesus Christ as the only acceptable Sacrifice for sins.

Cain brought a bloodless sacrifice to God, the result of his pride and his wrong mindset/wrong believing concerning how to get into God's good books. This mindset (which he had before he brought his bloodless sacrifice to God) results in man sinning profusely (Romans 7:5.)

Abel brought a bloody sacrifice, a result of his humility and his right believing concerning how to get into God's good books. This mindset (which he had before he brought his bloody sacrifice to God) results in man producing a harvest of good deeds for God (Romans 7:4.)

Right believing is the Root. Right living is the Fruit.

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Loooooooong answer.

A quick background for context:

Recall the two disciples (Cleopas and his companion) on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 who did not recognize the Lord Jesus as the One who walked with them on the way? Here's what Christ did as they went:

"27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."

That same evening, the two disciples went to Jerusalem to share their experience of Christ with the other disciples. Jesus appeared to them there; check out what He did in verse 45 (MSG)-

“He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.”

There was no New Testament at this time. Christ taught His disciples about Himself from the Old Testament. The Old Testament is all about Jesus.

Christ teaches us to read the Old Testament by bringing Him out of ALL the Scriptures.

In one of the most popular passages of the New Testament, Christ Himself made one reference to Himself in the Old Testament: the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up in the wilderness is a picture of Christ lifted up to save the world from sin and death. See John 3-

14 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

Christ draws a parallel between how the Israelites that were bitten by snakes got to escape death and how we who look to Jesus for salvation from sin and death get to “not perish but have eternal life.” Here's more on Christ's analogy of the bronze serpent that Moses lifted up as Himself: Toyin Olamide Obire's answer to What's the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament?

Then there's the typology of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil as a picture of the law (which gives the knowledge of good and evil) that many churchgoers try to obey in a bid to be godly (be like God.) See Paul's typology concerning the forbidden fruit in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG)-

"The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me…."

There's also 1 Corinthians 10 where Paul writes about the sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness (emphasis on verse 6) -

"My dear fellow believers, you need to understand that all of our Jewish ancestors who walked through a wilderness long ago were under the glory cloud and passed through the waters of the sea on both sides. 2 They were all baptized into the cloud of glory, into the fellowship of Moses, and into the sea. 3 They all ate the same heavenly manna 4 and drank water from the same spiritual rock that traveled with them—and that Rock was Christ himself. 5 Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their dead bodies were scattered around the wilderness.

6 Now, all these things serve as types and pictures for us—lessons that teach us not to fail in the same way by callously craving worthless things."

In essence, the events of the Old Testament are types and pictures for us. Christ teaches us to read the Old Testament by bringing Him out of all the Scriptures.

1 John 3:12 tells us: “[And] not be like Cain who [took his nature and got his motivation] from the evil one and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his deeds (activities, works) were wicked and malicious and his brother’s were righteous (virtuous).”

We see here that Cain's works were wicked. Abel's were righteous. There is no middleground when it comes to being righteous or being wicked. In God's sight, the difference between the righteous and the wicked is not based on what kind of sins someone committed or how well they keep the Ten Commandments. All have sinned. There is nobody that has not sinned. There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10.) Wickedness is man's default mode.

Some sins are greater than others, but the only reason why you and I are not committing particular sins is because God did not allow us to get tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Corinthians 10:12-13.) The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how, as it was with pre-denial Peter, favourable circumstances make some churchgoers get all hoity-toity about some sins, label others as “wicked like Cain" because of the gravity of their sins or think that some sins are beneath them, hence God's word to us in James 2:10-

“For whosoever shall keep the whole Law yet stumble at one point he is guilty of all.”

For all who depend on their good works to make God have a good opinion of them: Stole a pen? Told a little lie? Murdered someone? Denied Christ? All are in the same boat of unrighteousness aka the wicked.

Plus consider Matthew 1:21- “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Also see Titus 2:14- "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Why would God use the “gravity" of our sins to gauge who is righteous/acceptable and who is wicked/unacceptable when He sent His own Son to free us from every kind of sin and to make us accepted in the Beloved? The difference between the righteous and the wicked in God's sight is plainly seen in His word in Romans 5:9-

“And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

In God's sight, anyone outside the umbrella of Christ's blood-bought righteousness is “the wicked,” no matter how well they try to obey the Ten Commandments or do good deeds in order to be righteous/godly (be like God;) this action in itself betrays a rejection of God's gift of righteousness/godliness that Christ died that we might have. Such who do this are not a new creation in Christ. Such still have the old nature and cannot help but produce wicked deeds profusely. See this in Romans 7-

“4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. 6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit."

False doctrine teachers usually interpret “When we were controlled by our old nature” aka “walking in the flesh" as wanting to commit sins with reckless abandon. Not so! Notice that the one with the old nature is the one who is still “under the power of the law” aka human effort at obedience towards pleasing God. He is yet to be “released from the law” aka human effort at pleasing God. He is trying to serve God by obeying the letter of the law and doing works by his own human effort, just like the unbelieving and antichrist Pharisees. He does not believe that he has been made right with God through the blood of Jesus as Romans 5:9 says.

Getting to Cain and Abel in a bit:)

The one with the old nature rejects the gift of righteousness that is from the shed blood of Christ and relies on his own human effort-driven works to please God. As a result, he can only produce “a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.” Romans 7:5. This is exactly what Cain did wrong- he depended on his own human effort-driven works to please God and brought a bloodless sacrifice to God. Hebrews 9:22 says:

“[In fact] under the Law almost everything is purified by means of blood, and without the shedding of blood there is neither release from sin and its guilt nor the remission of the due and merited punishment for sins.”

Not that Cain's sacrifice was where it all began. His bloodless sacrifice was the result of his pride in his human effort and his wrong believing concerning how to please God. His bloodless sacrifice merely reflected what was already in his heart - like many churchgoers today who wrongly believe that their human effort-driven works count towards making them acceptable to God. Only in Christ the Beloved are we accepted. This is right believing. When your believing is right, right living will follow. Everyone who is believing right believes that the only reason why he is accepted and favoured by God is because of God's sacrifice of His own Son Jesus Christ to make us righteous and accepted.

Abel was not sinless in action or righteous by performance. No man descended from Adam is. Psalm 130:3 says:

“If You, Lord, should keep an account of our sins and treat us accordingly, O Lord, who could stand [before you in judgment and claim innocence]?”

Recall what Christ did on the road to Emmaus: "27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures."

Recall that “all these things serve as types and pictures for us—lessons that teach us not to fail in the same way by callously craving worthless things." 1 Cor. 10:7

Abel's bloody sacrifice is a picture of Christ who died to make us righteous in God's sight. Cain, on the other hand, brought a bloodless sacrifice- the result of his own efforts from tilling the ground that was cursed after Adam fell. This is a picture of churchgoers today thinking that their various fasts, tithes, good works and obeying the Ten Commandments count towards anything before God or can make them acceptable to Him. Whatever obedience to the law or works that proceed from human striving (the flesh) at attaining godliness is coming from a cursed place (Galatians 3:10.) Isaiah 64:6 tells us how God sees these righteous works from a cursed source-

"We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in Your sight."

Consider the bold-face portions of Romans 7:4-5 below:

“4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.”

Notice “you are united with the One who was raised from the dead.” It is very crucial for every believer to know why God raised Jesus from the dead. See why in Romans 4:25-

"who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous."

See the TPT- "Jesus was handed over to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised back to life to prove that He had made us right with God!"

God raised Jesus from the dead because we have been declared righteous. We are made righteous in God's sight through the blood of Jesus and nothing else.“As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.”

Abel was not sinless by himself. No man is, for all have sinned. But he didn't depend on his own works to make him righteous and so, his bloody sacrifice was acceptable before God. His mindset was one of believing that we are made righteous in God's sight through the shedding of blood, hence his bloody sacrifice and his ability to produce a harvest of good deeds for God. Right believing always produces right living. Little wonder that 1 John 3 describes Abel's works as righteous and Cain's as wicked -

“12 [And] not be like Cain who [took his nature and got his motivation] from the evil one and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his deeds (activities, works) were wicked and malicious and his brother’s were righteous (virtuous).”

Cain's mindset was different. He had the old/sin nature (inherited from Adam) which strives to please God and be godly (be like God) by human effort at doing something. To trust in the arm of flesh is pride. All of Adam's descendants have this old nature by default. See Romans 5:19-

“By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.”

Recall Romans 7:5- “When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.”

The one with the old nature does not depend utterly on the shedding of blood to make him righteous and acceptable to God. He thinks his human striving at being righteous and to please God deserve some credit. Cain was controlled by the old/sin nature which strives to please God and become godly (be like God) by human effort. His mindset was that of dependence on human effort at obedience in order to please God. His bloodless sacrifice of foodstuff - the works of his hand from a cursed source - was an abomination to God and a mere reflection of his mindset concerning how to get right with God. Such who have this mindset can only produce “a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death” according to Romans 7:5. Little wonder that 1 John 3 describes Cain's works as wicked and Abel's as righteous -

“12 [And] not be like Cain who [took his nature and got his motivation] from the evil one and slew his brother. And why did he slay him? Because his deeds (activities, works) were wicked and malicious and his brother’s were righteous (virtuous).”

Genesis 4 says:

“4 And Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat portions. And the Lord had respect and regard for Abel and for his offering, 5 But for [a]Cain and his offering He had no respect or regard. So Cain was exceedingly angry and indignant, and he looked sad and depressed.”

Like Cain who was cluelessly furious when he saw that his human effort/bloodless sacrifice was not appreciated by God, “the wicked” who trust that God will accept and bless them because of their “good” works believe that they are doing everything right to please God and so do not know what makes them stumble. See Proverbs 4:18-19-

“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

shining ever brighter until full daylight.

19 The way of the wicked is like darkness;

they don’t even know what makes them stumble.”

Unfortunately, due to the teaching of antichrist pastors, many churchgoers are in this category of the wicked- doing their best to curb sinful urges, fasting, sowing seed and indulging all sorts of human effort-driven activities in order to be godly/get God to bless, generally removing “Jesus Christ and Him crucified" from their equation of salvation and wondering why God seems to have shut His ear to their incessant prayers. Here's why-

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save,

 nor His ear too dull to hear.

2 But your iniquities have separated

 you from your God;

your sins have hidden His face from you,

 so that He will not hear.”

Only the blood of Jesus can take away iniquity that separates man from God who so loved the world….John 3:16. Those arm of flesh-driven works done to get God to bless or save put up a barrier to receiving His goodness as they did the woman with the issue of blood, until she abandoned her silly efforts to save herself and looked utterly to Christ for salvation.

Cain killed his brother, Abel. It will surprise many to know that the biggestinternal crisis that true believers face in the church today is from churchgoers who also believe in God but reject God's bloody sacrifice of Christ to make us righteous and acceptable in His sight. Like Cain, these churchgoers believe that their bloodless sacrifices of fasts, seeds and keeping the Ten Commandments should count for something before God and get Him to bless. Such get angry at the thought of God freely giving His children all things with Christ (Romans 8:32.)

As it was between Cain (who depended on his own works to get God's favour and got angry when he did not get it) and Abel (who had a day job too but depended on the blood of another to make him righteous and acceptable to God,) churchgoers who believe that their own human effort-driven obedience and their “good” works count for something before God also persecute those who are under Grace; we who believe that we are righteous and accepted before God through the blood of Jesus alone and thus get to produce a harvest of good deeds for God.

Antichrist pastors hear these truths and try to make churchgoers go the way of Cain with responses such as: “Oh! So you mean I can just go out and kill someone and God will still see me as righteous?” This kind of speech betrays the lack of a loving Father-child relationship with God and unbelief in the power of Christ to save and transform even the vilest offender who acknowledges his sins and believes in Jesus to godliness and right living as His word says in Titus 2:14-

"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Beloved of God, don't be deceived. Under Grace (Christ Himself,) we get to work better, smarter and without stress yet not us but Christ in us. And our works bring life and are acceptable to God, unlike works of the Law (human effort like Cain's) that lead to jealousy, strife and such. Such works can never be acceptable to God.

Right believing always produces right living.