In the sermon 'The Line of the Promised Savior,' Jason Dohm explores Genesis 4:25-26, focusing on the family line of Seth as the lineage through which Jesus Christ, the promised Savior, would come. The sermon contrasts the sinful lineage of Cain, marked by murder and polygamy, with the line of Seth, where 'men began to call on the name of the Lord.' Dohm underscores the necessity of a Savior due to the pervasive sin in humanity, referencing God's promise in Genesis 3:15. He emphasizes God's grace and mercy in saving sinners, highlighting that this is not due to human merit but God's delight in mercy. The sermon also examines what it means to call on the name of the Lord, citing various biblical references to explain that calling on God is an expression of faith and dependence. Dohm argues that human calling on God is an effect of God's grace, not a cause, and he encourages both believers and unbelievers to call on the Lord, stressing the simplicity and scandalous nature of the gospel. The sermon concludes with a call to recognize God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises and to continually depend on Him.

The title of the sermon this morning is, The Line of the Promised Savior. So the text doesn't say, this is actually the family line of Jesus Christ, but this is actually the family line of Jesus Christ it is. And it really is the main point of what we're in. James read a long section but a lot of that was for context really the two verses that we're taking on this morning or just the last two verses of the chapter, Genesis chapter 4 verses 24 and 25 Last week we saw the line or the family tree of the exiled murderer Kane Six generations later Kane's descendant Lamac takes two wives So in the beginning, God defined marriage as one man, one woman, two becoming one. Marriage math is really simple.

One plus one equals one. Not two plus one equals something, or it's one man, one woman. But Cain, the exiled murderer, has this family tree, his descendant, Lamech, takes two wives. So sin is gaining ground in the generations. Then this descendant of Cain, Lamech, kills a man and writes about it without a hint of heartache or shame.

So when Adam and Eve sinned, they were ashamed. They were weaving together fig leaves trying to cover up, hiding from God. Now we're only a handful of generations later and the shame is gone. Lamech is writing poetry about his vengeance, His killing a man for wounding him. Not a hint of heartache about killing a person, not a hint of shame.

So I think we should just say it. Mankind needs a Savior. But wait, God has already promised a Savior in Genesis chapter 315 where God promised that a descendant of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. In today's text, we see that there is another family line. Cain's got this family line and we see sin gaining ground by the generation.

But there's another family line. And men begin to call on the name of the Lord. And if you go to the New Testament where Luke traces Jesus's family line all the way back to the beginning We'll do that in a little while It lands right here with Seth and his son Enosh So the big takeaway from our text let's just like get to the point Let's go right to the punch line The big takeaway from our text is that God is working to save sinners so we can all go home now. That's what we need to know from this text. God is working to save sinners.

He's always been working. As long as there have been sinners, God has been working to save sinners. Sinners don't deserve it. Sinners can't earn it. And shockingly, sinners often don't even know that they need it.

But God is a God of grace and he delights in mercy and he is working to save sinners. So that's the punch line. Let's pray. God, we come to these two verses, we'll look at them phrase by phrase and we pray that the Holy Spirit would be present in power to move us. Don't let us come and go and leave unchanged, unencouraged, unstrengthened, un-rebuked.

Bring all these things to us through your word. We need it all, God. Please come, move among us in these ways. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, it's not hard to know how to subdivide.

We have two verses, so let's take one verse at a time. Hopefully your Bibles are still open to Genesis chapter 4. Let's start by rereading verse 25. Genesis 4 verse 25. And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth quote for God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel whom Cain killed.

In this verse We have the birth of Seth who was appointed in the place of murdered Abel. So if you're taking notes on the handout, filling in that blank, place fills in that blank. The birth of Seth who was appointed in the place of murdered Abel. The baby is conceived through the physical one flesh union of Adam and Eve. Eve became pregnant and gave birth to another baby.

Notice that what is happening in our text is almost identical to how the chapter began. So look back at the beginning of the chapter, chapter 4 verse 1. Now Adam knew Eve his wife and she conceived and bore Cain. This is almost identical words to our text, and said, Eve said, I have acquired a man from the Lord. So just like with Eve's first child, Cain, the birth of the baby is accompanied by a declaration from Eve she has the baby and she says something the first time Eve said I have acquired a man from the Lord Eve was looking to the Lord Eve was acknowledging the Lord in the birth of this baby.

This time Eve names the baby Seth and says, for God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel whom came killed. Again Eve is looking to the Lord. The baby is born and she looks to the Lord in the birth of this baby. She is acknowledging the Lord in the birth of this baby. Eve knows exactly why she had this baby.

Okay, so we think a baby's born. Boy meets girl and they come together and there's a pregnancy and there's a baby. Eve says, no, God gave me a baby. She had this baby because God appointed another seed, another descendant for her. God gave her another descendant.

Seth was given to Adam and Eve by God, quote, instead of Abel, whom Cain killed. Wow, that's a really sobering observation in what Eve is declaring. Even as she's looking to the Lord she's acknowledging this tragedy that has happened in their family. Now think of what it must have been like for Adam and Eve, the parents, when Cain murdered his brother Abel. So now we're just trying to think, what's it like to be the parents of two sons, one murdering the other?

Here's a couple of observations of what it must have been like to be Adam and Eve first, in a sense, they lost both sons. One was murdered and the other was exiled and made a fugitive and a bag of on. They lost one son because he was murdered and they lost the other son because God exiled him and sent him away to be a wanderer. So in a sense, they lost both sons on the same day. Second, Adam and Eve know that their sin in the garden brought this terrible corruption into the nature of all their offspring.

You cannot tell me that Adam and Eve couldn't connect those two dots. We brought sin into the world by eating this fruit that God said don't eat and now our nature is not the same as it was. It's corrupt and this has led to our son murdering our other son. Anybody know anything about parental guilt? Anybody know anything about that?

You can see that your children got it honestly. From you, through you. How terribly grieving it must have been to see this work its way out in this way in the lives of their children. We brought sin into the world. It wasn't in the world.

They brought it into the world. It corrupted the nature of mankind so that all their descendants now would come with a bent away from good and a bent towards rebellion against God and it worked its way out in the murder of one of their children against the other and they know they're at the root of it. So Adam and Eve tragically lost a son, Cain murdered Abel. But God is both willing and able to give back what was lost. It's not the end.

You blew it, you brought sin into the world, now one son has murdered the other end of story period amen. No! Not end of story period amen. They did tragically lose a son, Cain murdered Abel, but God is both willing and able to give back what was lost, to give Eve another seed, appoint another seed, another descendant for the son who was lost. Eve says that.

Listen to Joel chapter 2. Joel chapter 2, God tells the people to repent, they need to repent, but He doesn't just end with telling them to repent, he also promises to bless them and restore what was lost through their sins and the consequences of their sins. So he's brought the people into a time of judgment for their sins. They deserve the judgment. They need the discipline of God and He brings the discipline.

He tells them to repent of their sins, but He also promises, I'll restore what was lost. Listen to Joel 2, 25. God says, I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten. I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten. Now, God sent the locusts.

It was judgment for their sins. God said, repent and I'll restore. I sent the locusts. You needed that actually. That was both justice and discipline.

Justice is good and discipline is needed But I'll restore what I took. Sin takes, sin devours. But Eve could see that God is willing and able to restore so she actually makes a very precious declaration. God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom came killed. So that's verse 25.

The birth of Seth, who was so graciously appointed in the place of murdered Abel. I think we should add those words. He was appointed in the place of murdered Abel. He was so graciously appointed. It was a restoring of what had been taken.

Verse 26. Yeah, you think two verses were halfway down will be done at 26 minutes. That's not true. Don't get your hopes up. Chapter 4 verse 26, And as for Seth, to him also a son was born, and he named him Enosh.

Then men began to call on the name of the Lord. In this verse we have those who call on the name of the Lord. Call fills in the blank if you're taking notes that way. Those who call on the name of the Lord. In today's text we have a mini genealogy.

It's not as long as last one's week and last one's last week's wasn't very long but this is very short genealogy. Adam and Eve have a son Seth. Seth grows up and has a son who he names Enosh. Adam and Eve to Seth to Enosh. Now that will be extended when we come back in a couple of weeks and we'll get an extension of that of that family line.

Now these names show up in another genealogy in a New Testament genealogy. They show up in Luke 3. Listen to Luke 3 verse 23. Luke 3 verse 23. Now Jesus himself began his ministry at about 30 years of age being as was supposed the son of Joseph and then the genealogy starts so Jesus as was supposed his father was Joseph and then Joseph's father Joseph's grandfather Joseph's great-grandfather I mean it's going all the way up.

It runs through King David. It goes further up through Abraham and this genealogy ends at the very end of that chapter in verse 38. I'm just giving you the very end of a long family line that has gone from Jesus to what people thought was his father Joseph. The Holy Spirit really conceived Jesus, but they thought his father was Joseph. By the way, in the other genealogies where they trace through Mary, you get in very quickly to the same family line.

So it really doesn't matter which you trace through. You get to King David, you go up through Abraham. But Luke is the only one who traces them all the way back. And here's the end of that genealogy. The son of Enosh from our text.

The son of Seth from our text. The son of Adam. The son of God. So, who was Adam's father? God made Adam out of the dust and he breathed life into him.

So Luke says he's the Son of God. So today's text is giving us the line of Jesus, the Messiah, the promised Savior. Doesn't say that in the text But Luke says that. That's why our text is here in Genesis. That's why.

Why is this even here? This is why. That's why Abraham and his descendants are in Genesis. It is because of God's promise to send a seed of the woman to crush the head of the serpent. And our text is about God putting everything in place to fulfill that promise.

Jesus won't come for 4, 000 years. He won't come for 4, 000 years, but God is laying the generational groundwork. He's creating a family line in order to have the promised Savior. God promised to send him. He will send him.

He's establishing this family line so that at just the right time Jesus will come to save people who don't deserve it. It's wonderful. There are other family lines. Look at chapter 5 verses 3 and 4. So just a few verses away.

Now Genesis 5 verses 3 and 4. And Adam lived 130 years and begot a son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth. That's where we are Going back to Seth then verse 4 after he begot Seth the days of Adam were 800 years and he had Sons Plural and daughters plural. Oh, yeah, who were they? We don't know There are a lot of other family lines to trace How come we don't have anything about them because this is the family line that ends in the Lord Jesus Christ That's the whole reason why it's here.

That's the whole reason why it comes through Abraham and Abraham's in Genesis, but we don't know anything else about these other children or other lines. We are only told about this family line because God is working through this family line to send the promised Savior. Now, the final sentence of our text, then men began to call on the name of the Lord. People, this is not a gender specific usage at all. Sometimes men is gender specific, menfolk.

Sometimes it's like mankind is not gender specific. This is not a gender specific usage at all. People began to call on God. That's what's being said here. People began to call on Jehovah.

Anytime you see Lord in all caps, probably your Bible does that, capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, it means Jehovah, this self-existing one true God of the Bible. It's kind of the most holy name of God, the most precious name of God. People began to call on the self-existing one true God of the Bible. Now what exactly does it mean to call on the name of the Lord. I want to take us to four uses of that exact same phrase.

Sometimes you have sort of a nebulous sense, a cloudy sense of what it is, but if you go to other places where exactly the same phrase is used. It sort of fills out your understanding of it. So I'm hoping this will do that. We'll look at two places where that exact same phrase is used in Genesis. So same book, same author, same book.

And then two in the rest of scripture. There are by no means only two. I picked them. Preacher's choice. So the first is Genesis 12.

Flip over a few pages to Genesis 12. That takes us to Abraham, another descendant of Seth, but many generations down the line. Genesis 12, now let's look at 7 and 8. Genesis 12 starting in 7. Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, To your descendants I will give this land.

And there he, Abram, or he'll be renamed Abraham, we know him as Abraham but he hasn't been renamed yet and to him and there he built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord." So God appears to him, speaks to him, he builds an altar, he moves, he builds another altar for worship, to worship this God, and he calls on the name of the Lord. So it's in the context of God has spoken to him and made promises to him and he's built an altar to worship God and he calls on the name of the Lord. These things are all joined together in Genesis 12. So this God who reveals himself in Scripture is Abraham's God.

Okay, so he's calling on his God. Number two, turn to Genesis 26. Now we're at Abraham's son, Isaac, in Genesis 26. So, there will be some pronouns here. He is Abraham's son, Isaac.

And that's actually said here. Genesis 26 verses 23 through 25. Then he, Isaac, went up from there to Beersheba. And The Lord appeared to him the same night and said I am the God of your father Abraham do not fear for I am with you I will bless you and multiply your descendants for my servant Abraham's sake so he Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord so this is almost identical virtually the same God appears to Isaac and speaks to him. Isaac builds an altar to worship and calls on the name of the Lord.

Again, this God who is revealing Himself in Scripture is His God. So there's a world full of people calling on what they say is their God. But they're not real gods. This is the God who has revealed himself in Scripture Speaking to men and then worshiping him and calling on his name That is what the people of God do God is their God and they call on him. Number three, listen to Zechariah 13 nine.

Just listen one verse Zechariah 13 nine. Earlier in the chapter, Zechariah 13 early in that chapter is the prophecy about the promised Savior, strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. So if you know your New Testament, you know that's quoted in the New Testament as being fulfilled in the sufferings of Jesus. Jesus is the shepherd and he is struck and the disciples scattered. That is the fulfillment of this prophecy of the early verses of Zechariah 13, 9.

Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered fulfilled in Jesus and his sufferings and the scattering of the disciples at that time okay now listen to Zechariah 13 9 it says of this time I will bring the one-third through the fire will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer them. I will say, this is my people and each one will say the Lord is my God. This is the same phrase used. Calling on the name of the Lord.

They, this group that is brought through the fire, refined as silver, tested as gold, they will call on the name of God and God will answer them And he'll say, this is my people. And each one of them, every one of them will say, the Lord is my God. In the fulfillment of this prophecy, strike the shepherd, the sheep will scatter. God brings people through a tremendous time of testing to refine them. The rest of the New Testament describes that in detail.

And they call on His name And he answers them and he says, this is my people and all of them say, this is my God. That's a description of every book after the gospels, what is happening. A tremendous time of testing and God calling out, people calling on the name of the Lord and he owns them for his people and they own him as their God. Number four, finally, turn to Romans 10. If I had to pick one and throw out the other three, I would have picked this one.

Romans 10. Romans chapter 10. I'm going to start in verse 9, which is in the middle of the sentence, but it's one of Paul's sentences. If we started at the beginning of the sentence, we'd have to go a lot longer. But we're going to start in the middle of the sentence.

Blame Paul. Romans 10, starting in verse 9, reading through verse 13. Paul writes, If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, whoever believes on him will not be put to shame.

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon him. For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved that last part is in quotation marks whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved it's in quotation marks because it's quoting Joel 2 32 I think that's right yes Joel 2 32 He's quoting an Old Testament prophet that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. If you're a Jew and you call on God, you'll be saved. If you're a Gentile and you call on God, you will be saved. The same God Who is called upon is rich to anyone who will call upon him.

They will be saved. So those who are saved have savingly called on the name of the Lord as an act of saving faith in Jesus. That in the New Testament era now that we have all the revelation, a complete Bible, to call on the name of the Lord is to express saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is their God. They are His people by faith in Jesus, which begins to be expressed by calling on the name of the Lord and of course that continues for the rest of their life.

Well I called on the name of the Lord and I'm saved I guess no need for that anymore. No, no, no. We keep calling on the name of the Lord of course. There is a point in your life where for the first time you call on the name of the Lord expressing, saving faith in Jesus Christ and then after that we just keep calling on His name. Now, before we conclude, let's try to ask and answer a very important question.

So men or people began to call on God. Men began to call on the name of the Lord. Is that cause or effect? Today's text doesn't say, so we'll go back to our text. Can't find the answer there.

It's not in our text. But it's a tremendously important question, and the Bible does say, the Bible does teach us, and it matters a lot. Here's what I'm actually asking. Is people calling on the name of the Lord the cause of God working through the family line of Seth? Or actually the effect of God saving people because of his grace and in order to keep his promise to send Jesus.

In other words, is it God saying, oh look some people are calling on my name. I will work through them. Their calling on His name is the cause of him deciding to use them. These are the right ones to use because they're calling on my name. I should work through them.

Or because God delights in mercy and is determined to keep His promise to send a Savior to crush the head of the serpent, He reaches into a sinful family line and saves the undeserving, which is it? Well, you can undoubtedly tell which it is by the way I framed the question. If you haven't picked up on the answer, we'll send you back to remedial sermon listening. But let me show it to you in scripture. There are many places we could go.

This is so well established. There are many places we could go. But I want to stay in Genesis Because there's a good one that goes right to the point of Jesus's family line and how did Jesus get here? Genesis 18. Genesis 18.

So this is Abraham. Genesis 18 verse 19 just one verse. So this if you Look at the beginning of verse 17. It's the Lord speaking. It's God speaking.

Now look at verse 19. Genesis chapter 18 verse 19. God says, For I have known him, for God has known Abraham. In order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice, that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him. The translation we're working from, New King James, translates it for I have known him.

New American Standard, English Standard version ESV and NIV all translate it chosen. He either is fine. I have known him. I have brought Abraham into a saving relationship with myself. This is really what's being said.

Or you could say I have chosen him. But it's the act of God bringing Abraham into a saving relationship with himself. God, why did you do that? In order that he may command his children and just skip down that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has spoken to him for the fulfillment of his promises God spoke to Abraham he gave him promises he brought him into a saving relationship with himself in order to work in his family line and fulfill his promises. This is the same thing, right?

This is the family line of Jesus And God knew Abraham or chose Abraham or brought Abraham into a saving relationship with himself in order to work through this line and fulfill his promises. God is the cause. Abraham and his faith in God was the effect. We could have an entire sermon on this point. We'll content ourselves with this one verse for now.

Just know this, if you call on the name of the Lord you were not the cause. It is the effect of the work of God in your life, the almighty work of God in your life, because God delights in mercy and He determined to have you, you said, well yes, but I believed in Him. Yes, that's evidence. Okay, that's not the cause, That's the effect. That's the effect.

You're proving that God's work can't be defeated. You try to resist. One final concluding point. If you've called on the name of the Lord, You're not the cause, you're the effect. That's the effect.

The faith is the effect. One final concluding point. Matthew Henry says this, and it's wonderful. God gave them, he's talking about Adam and Eve, God gave Adam and Eve to see the reviving of religion in their family. And he just quotes the text, then began men to call on the name of the Lord.

Adam and Eve lived a long time while this genealogy is unfolding. Adam 930 years. He sees a lot of generations come in. They have the grief of seeing their sin give bloom to tremendous pain in the murder of one son against the other, but he also allows them to see the reviving of the work of God in their family line too. Praise God for that.

Applications, I'll give you three. One, God is so often both willing and able to restore what sin has cost us. Am I the only one in the room with some self-inflicted wounds? Some self-inflicted scar tissue? Here's what people with self-inflicted scar tissue should know.

God is so often willing to restore what sin has cost us. Here's my exhortation. Go wrestle with him for it. Go wrestle with him for it. God's not your combatant.

I keep to lights when people come to him and say, God, it's all true. It's all true. I did the crime. I deserve the time. But I can see in your word how often you are willing and able to restore everything I've lost through my self-inflicted wounds.

Oh, would you give it back to me with interest? You can ask him for interest. He can give you interest. Go wrestle with God for it. Tell him he was right to let you feel the consequences of it.

And then ask him to bless you. He loves to do that. He loves to bless his people, right? We get this. We have a God who loves to bless his people.

Do you get that? Number two, we are watching God fulfill his promises. He is utterly faithful. It's so beautiful to me that 4000 years before Jesus was born, he's laying the groundwork and telling us the family line. Now this was written hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years before the New Testament.

So he's saying this line, no other lines. He's giving us a hint that there are all these other lines, but he doesn't tell us a thing about them because in terms of The seed of the woman who will crush the head of the serpent. They don't matter at all He knew four thousand years ago, which line Jesus is coming through because he's putting all that in place. It's glorious God is utterly faithful. He cannot lie.

It's impossible Once he promises he must fulfill it because of the God that he is. Thousands of years before. Number three, to the unbeliever, call on the name of the Lord. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you believe in your heart that God raised her from the dead, you will be saved. Call on His name.

It can't really be that simple. Surely, I have to get my act together. That's not the gospel! That's not the gospel! It is that simple.

It's scandalous! The gospel is scandalous. The person who's the most put together but is proud in their heart and won't repent and go to God goes to hell. The most buttoned up person there ever was. But the murderers and the adulterers and the drug abusers who will humble themselves and call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

And maybe in their last hours, the thief on the cross called on the name of the Lord in his last hours. There were no time to be baptism, no time to show fruits of repentance, and that day he was with Christ in paradise. To the believer, call on the name of the Lord. To the unbeliever, call on the name of the Lord. To the believer, call on the name of the Lord.

Our God is a God who wants to be called on. I'm a Christian, I don't need help now. Whew! If you haven't been in the faith for very long, I can tell. If you thought that.

He wants to be called on. He delights to be called on. God is building things into our life to force us into a position of dependence because it brings him glory when we depend upon Him. You want to be stubborn about this, He can really ramp it up. You want to be stubborn as if you don't need Him, don't need to depend on Him, don't need to call on Him every day.

Oh, he can strip away all that. So you think, I only got one card left to play. I'm calling on God. You know you don't have to wait till the last card. It's a fool who waits for the last card.

We should call on his name. Let's pray. God, there is so much glory in this text. Such short, such a short two verses, but there's so much gold here. Thank you for what your word is like, how much there is to glean from it.

A gold, a shaft of gold in every mine. Thank you for it. In Jesus' name, amen.