People rationalize because guilt and self-deception make them want to find a way around what God has clearly required.
After Adam and Eve sinned, guilt immediately drove them to cover themselves with fig leaves rather than go to God. Les Feldick shows the same pattern in Cain: instead of bringing the blood sacrifice God commanded, Cain reasoned that God should accept his own best effort. This self-deception is still why people rationalize today — they want to make their own solution seem right instead of doing what God says.
Genesis 3:7 — Shows the first human response to sin: guilt drove Adam and Eve to cover themselves rather than confess.
Genesis 4:3-5 — Records Cain bringing his own offering and God rejecting it because Cain did not do what God said.
Hebrews 11:4 — Explains that Abel's sacrifice was accepted because it was offered by faith — the opposite of rationalization.
After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, "the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (Genesis 3:7). When they heard the Lord walking in the garden, Adam and his wife hid themselves from His presence among the trees (Genesis 3:8). Their immediate response to sin was to cover and hide. In the next generation, "Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD," while "Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof" (Genesis 4:3-4). The Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering, "but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect" (Genesis 4:5). Hebrews 11:4 explains that "by faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain." Scripture draws a clear contrast between doing what God says and offering what seems right to the person.
Les Feldick uses Adam and Eve and Cain as the two classic examples of rationalization. Adam and Eve, overwhelmed with guilt after eating the forbidden fruit, tried to cover their nakedness with fig-leaf aprons — a human effort to solve their own sin problem. But those fig leaves could not make them fit to meet God, so they hid when He came, and God had to come find them. Les says mankind still never of his own volition goes looking for God; God must make the first move. Les's most frequent example is Cain. Because Cain was a farmer, he reasoned that he should not have to go barter with Abel for a sheep; surely, he thought, if he brought the best he had, God would accept him. Les calls that rationalization — self-deception. Cain deceived himself into thinking God would accept him without the blood sacrifice God required. God rejected Cain. Les says the human race hasn't changed: the vast majority of people still rationalize from the human side, and even false teachers do the same. God is not a compromiser, and He will not let someone slip in a side door saying, "I thought."
The first example is Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. After they sinned, their eyes were opened, they knew they were naked, and guilt drove them to sew fig leaves together and make aprons (Genesis 3:7). When they heard the Lord God walking in the garden, they hid themselves among the trees (Genesis 3:8). Les points out that even with their fig leaves, they were in no shape to meet their righteous Creator — so they hid, and God had to come find them and restore them by mercy and grace.
Cain was a farmer and did not want to travel across the mountain to barter with Abel for one of his sheep. So he reasoned, "Surely, if I do the best I can, if I put together the best beautiful sacrifice for God, surely He will accept it." Les calls that rationalizing — not doing what God said. God had told them to bring a blood sacrifice; Cain deceived himself into thinking God would accept him without blood. God did not accept his offering.
Les says God is not a compromiser. He has made the plan of salvation so simple and so plain that He is not going to let someone slip in a side door and say, "Well, I thought." Abel did exactly what God said to do — he believed what God said and acted on it — and he was accepted. Cain rationalized and was rejected. Hebrews 11:4 summarizes it: by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.
Les says the vast majority of people are still doing what Cain did. They reason from the human side that their own best efforts should be good enough for God. He also says false teachers rationalize from the human side, and their reasoning sounds so good — they run greedily after the error of Balaam, motivated by what they can get. The human race has not changed one iota.
Guilt-Driven Covering
Les explains that after eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve felt guilt over their nakedness and immediately used fig leaves to make aprons — an early attempt to handle sin with human effort.
Cain's Rationalization
Les describes Cain as a farmer who rationalized that his own beautiful sacrifice should be good enough instead of going to Abel for a sheep as God required.
Rationalization in False Teachers
Les says false teachers and others still rationalize from the human side, making their reasoning sound good even though it rejects God's commandment.
Self-Deception
Les agrees that rationalization is self-deception: Cain deceived himself into thinking God would accept him without the required blood, but God did not.
Hiding From God
Les shows that even Adam and Eve's fig-leaf coverings could not make them fit to meet God, so they hid and God had to come find them — an act of mercy.
God Makes the First Move
Les points out that no one of his own will goes looking for God; God must make the first move, just as He did when He called to Adam and Eve.
Cain, Abel & The Virgin Birth: Genesis 4 Explained
Now, all this should begin to tell us something. For some reason or another, and after we understand the whole picture we begin to see it, but for some reason or other then, God had to keep the fault or whatever you want to call that fell upon man in the curse, He had to keep that from Eve.
God Won't Compromise
Les says God will not compromise His simple plan of salvation, so no one can slip in a side door with rationalized 'I thought' thinking.
Genesis 3:7: And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
This verse records the first human response to sin — hiding and covering rather than confessing.
Genesis 3:8: And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
This verse shows that Adam and Eve ran from God even after making their aprons.
Genesis 4:3-5: And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
This passage contrasts Cain's self-made offering with Abel's obedience and shows God's rejection of Cain's rationalization.
Hebrews 11:4: By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
This verse explains from the New Testament side why Abel's sacrifice was accepted and Cain's was not.
Les Feldick calls rationalization self-deception. It is what Cain did when he reasoned that God should accept his own best effort instead of doing what God said. Instead of bringing a blood sacrifice, Cain convinced himself his vegetables would be good enough (Clip 3).
After they sinned, their eyes were opened and they knew they were naked. Les says guilt drove them to cover themselves, so they sewed fig leaves together to make aprons. It was a human attempt to deal with sin rather than trusting God's way (Genesis 3:7; Clip 0).
God had required a blood sacrifice, but Cain rationalized that his own effort should be accepted. Les says Cain deceived himself, and God did not accept his self-made offering. Abel was accepted because he did what God said (Genesis 4:3-5; Clip 3).
Les says God is not a compromiser. He has made the plan of salvation so simple and plain that He will not let someone slip in a side door saying 'I thought.' Abel came God's way and was accepted; Cain came with rationalized reasoning and was rejected (Clip 7).
Watch the Teaching: The Moment Death Entered the World: Genesis 3 & Romans 5 Explained