From Ruin To Redemption
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
These ten verses I’ve just read you are considered by many to be the most theologically rich in all of Scripture.
They certainly sum up Paul’s message to this point in his letter to the Romans.
This portion of Romans begins to provide the answers for questions like “Why do people die?”, “Why do babies die sometimes?”, and “How could one man who died thousands of years ago have such an effect upon the history of mankind?”
Paul has dealt so far in Romans with the fruit of sin, but now he deals with the root of sin, the origin of sin.
Paul uses two characters to illustrate how we obtain deliverance from sin: Adam and Jesus.
They both acted on man's behalf. Adam sinned for us and Christ died for us.
Martin Luther said, "There are but two men, Adam and Christ, and all other men hang at their girdles."
The truth of the matter is that we have our identity either in Adam or Christ.
I-The Root of Sin
I-The Root of Sin
Romans 5:12 (KJV 1900)
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world...
Notice the word entered. Sin did not begin with Adam. However, sin did enter into the human race by him. Sin had entered into the world through Satan, but it entered into the human race by Adam.
In Hebrew, Adam means mankind. When Adam chose to deliberately disobey God, sin entered the human race. Since we are all descended from Adam, we all inherited that sinful nature.
Sin entered the world through one man and death through sin. The apostle Paul is saying that the presence of sin in the world can be traced all the way back to the very beginning of man, to the first man, Adam, specifically to one act that Adam did.
What was that one act? He ate a piece of fruit! - or, at least, that’s all it seemed on the outside, but the real problem was much deeper...
If you know the story that’s told in Genesis, chapters 2 and 3, you know that God said to Adam that he could eat the fruit off of any tree in the Garden of Eden except for the tree known as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
God told Adam that if he ate from it, he would surely die. But, Satan tempted Eve saying that if she would eat the fruit her eyes would be opened and she would become like God.
The temptation that Adam and Eve dealt with was the temptation to overthrow God’s authority. He had created them. As their Creator, God had a right to set boundaries for them, but they transgressed God’s boundary in an attempt to become like God.
II-The Results of Sin
II-The Results of Sin
Romans 5:12 (KJV 1900)
12 ...death by sin; and so death passed upon all men...
The results of sin can be summed up into one horrible word: Death.
Desiring to be like God, Adam disobeyed and ate the forbidden fruit, and through one man, sin entered the world and the death that God promised, also became a reality.
Paul tells the Romans that he is writing to in chapter 6, verse 23, that the “…wages of sin is death.”
In God’s economy, death and sin go together.
That doesn’t seem fair, does it? Adam sins and we all become sinners? How does that work? It works this way. Adam is our common father. He represents all of mankind. He represents all of his posterity. He acts on our behalf.
When he sinned, even though we didn’t literally participate in the sin with him, we all became sinners because the whole race was in him, and he represents us all. And, because we’re all sinners, we’re all going to die a physical death.
This fact brings us to point 3 this morning:
III-The Reality of Sin
III-The Reality of Sin
Romans 5:12 (KJV 1900)
12 ...death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Notice the tense of this statement all have sinned. Notice that it is past tense. In the context it is still talking about Adam. What Paul is saying us is that when Adam sinned, we sinned.
When Adam fell, we fell.
When Adam died spiritually, we all died spiritually!
Paul is driving the fact home that we are born with a nature to sin.
It is not something that we have to develop, we already have it when we arrive.
Ray Steadman quotes from a report from the Minnesota Crime Commission that perfectly illustrates this truth:
"Every baby starts life as a little savage. He is completely selfish and self-centered He wants what he wants when he wants it—his bottle, his mother's attention, his playmate's toy, his uncle's watch. Deny him these wants, and he seethes with rage and aggressiveness, which would be murderous, were he not so helpless. He is dirty. He has no morals, no knowledge, no skills. This means that all children, not just certain children, are born delinquent. If permitted to continue in the self-centered world of his infancy, given free reign to his impulsive actions to satisfy his wants, every child would grow up a criminal, a thief, a killer, a rapist."
What a truth!
We are not sinners because we sin, instead we sin because we are sinners.
We sin because we have a sin nature. Earlier Paul said, Rom. 3:23 “...all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
IV-The Reign of Sin
IV-The Reign of Sin
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Paul goes back to before the law to prove his point. He has already proven that men not were saved by the law. Here he adds that breaking the law is not what brings death. He says, death reigned from Adam to Moses.
There was no law, but there was still death.
V-The Rescue for Sin
V-The Rescue for Sin
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
There is something even more powerful than that disobedience of Adam and the resulting curse of sin. It is the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of Jesus, which has abounded to many!
In contrast to Adam, Jesus Christ is the deliverer of the doomed. Adam brought guilt, but Jesus brought grace.
The contrast between the first Adam and the second Adam must not be missed!
Everything we lost in the first Adam was regained by the second Adam.
Everything Adam gave away in the Garden, Jesus purchased back on the cross!
Verse 15 tells us that what Jesus did was “much more” than what Adam did!
You see, Adam sinned one sin and it brought death to all men. Jesus died one death and it brought the possibility of life to all! In a real, mysterious sense, when Jesus dies on the cross, His blood paid for all the sins of all men who have ever, or who will ever live. Of course, this only becomes effective for those who exercise faith in Jesus and believe unto salvation. 1 Cor. 15:22 says, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.”
This contrast is carried over into verse 16...
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
Adam's was one offence that brought judgment and condemnation to man. However, God's grace exceeds and abounds to many offences.
Adam brought eternal death, grace brings eternal life.
17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
It is staggering to think how completely death has reigned under Adam.
Everyone who is born dies – the mortality rate is 100%. No one survives.
When a baby is born, it isn’t a question of whether the baby will live or die – it will most certainly die; the only question is when.
We think of this world as the land of the living, but it is really the land of the dying, and the billions of human bodies buried in this earth over the centuries proves this.
But Paul says that the reign of life through Jesus is much more certain.
In Adam our life is one bondage and hopelessness. However, when we are in Christ, we reign with Him and He reigns over death.
Jesus said in John 11:25 “...I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:”
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Paul is repeating his point to make sure we understand. All died in Adam. All can live in Jesus and be right with God. It doesn’t matter how far you have fallen, you can never fall so low that the grace of God cannot reach you.
Look at verse 20:
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
The phrase much more abound carries the idea "super abounding and means to surpass by far, exceed immeasurably, or overflow beyond." It speaks of the fact that God's grace far exceeds the offence.
If grace super-abounds over sin, then we know that it is impossible to out-sin the grace of God. We can’t sin more than God can forgive, but we can reject His grace and forgiveness.
Conclusion
Conclusion
21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
When we started today death was reigning, now, we conclude with grace reigning.
Sin reigns over mankind in the ugliest and most destructive way you can imagine. But the abounding grace of God reigns through righteousness.
3 He restoreth my soul:
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Life isn’t just breathing. Life is knowing God and living in an eternal relationship with Him
3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
In Adam, we all die, but for those who are in Christ, they will be made alive. That’s why Jesus said in John 3:7 “…Ye must be born again.”
Have you been born again?
Are you trusting in Jesus to save you? If you aren’t, you’re headed for certain ruin.
Don’t let that happen. God doesn’t want you to spend eternity in Hell. Because He loves you so much, He wants you to spend eternity with Him. That’s why He sent Jesus to die for you. Trust in Jesus and let Him save you. Trust in Him and let Him rescue you from certain destruction.