Charles Spurgeon Commentary 1 John 3:11-12

"For this is the message which 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 (ASV)

For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him?

Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

So, when you see a man filled with hate and envy and malice, it is because his own life is not holy. There is no exception to this rule: true holiness and love always go together; where love is absent, holiness must be absent, too.

For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And why did he slay him?

Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.

And there is no hate like that—the hate of a bad man towards a good one, not for doing him any wrong, but simply for rebuking him by the silent eloquence of his holy life. Men who love sin cannot endure the sight of virtue; and if they cannot kill the good man, they will try to kill his reputation. They sneer, and say, "Ah, he is as bad as others, no doubt, if you could only find him out!" That is exactly the spirit of Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother.