Christ is the Greater Adam

Prayer

‌

Before we start, I would like to pray, but we are going to do it differently. I will be praying based on Martin Luther’s “Simple Prayer Method,” which is based on a letter he wrote to a friend. It is used to help create a method for reflecting on Scripture while we pray. So first, I will reread the passage, and then we will bow in prayer based on the reading.

‌

Romans 5:12–18

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

‌

Let us bow in prayer.

‌

Lord Jesus,

‌

Thank you for Your life, obedience, death, and resurrection so we may be spared. We thank You, God, for Your mercy upon us. You didn’t wipe us off the earth when we disobeyed You in Adam; instead, You sought a plan to reconcile us to You. Lord, forgive us. When we sin, we dishonor Your name and the sacrifice You made for us in Your Son. Lord, may we not be arrogant, for Adam represents us. We fall short, but You have made us right. Finish The work that You have started at salvation. Make us more and more like Jesus as we live for You.

‌

Lord in heaven, may You be exalted. May all of heaven and earth sing Your praises. May we not forget who provides us with our daily needs and provisions. Forgive us for our ungrateful hearts to You for Your good works, and may we forgive when others are ungrateful to us for our good works in Your name. Let us not be bitter, but remind us of Your grace and to show it to others.

‌

In Jesus name,

‌

Amen

‌

‌

Intro

‌

As we continue through the book of Romans, we see that Paul shows the Roman church that God is for all people, not just the Jews. The people of God are people of faith, and it has shown them through the ages that God’s people were only those who held fast to God. They were not ethnically part of the Kingdom, though He revealed Himself through the nation of the Jews. To be part of the Kingdom, you must be part of it by faith. Paul builds on this theology, our view of God, by explaining how we were dead through Adam, but in Jesus, we have life.

‌

‌

‌

Death in Adam

‌

‌

Verse 12 explains that Adam brought sin and death through sin to all men and women born in a natural cause, but why? Why does the sin of Adam thousands of years ago affect us today? Let’s look at the story of Genesis. In the beginning, God made man the king of the world. Adam was without sin in the beginning. When God made him, he was called good, but not alone. God, who is triune and expressed in multiple persons, knew it would not be suitable for Adam to be alone. He created Eve as Adam’s helper and partner. Adam was to protect her and not allow her to eat the fruit, and she did. Didn’t Eve eat the fruit first? Why is it Adam’s sin? Adam was the head between them, and he was responsible for keeping her from eating the fruit. How do we know this? Because Eve was not created when Adam was given the commandment to not eat of the tree.

‌

While headship is not the main point of this text, it does give background. Adam was our representation. He wasn’t just Eve's head, but all creation's head. Here in the modern West, we think of this as unfair. We like to pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and do everything we want, no matter who tells us otherwise. In a real sense, it is what this country was built on. This idea of someone else controlling our day-to-day lives is relatively foreign. Except it isn’t. While federal headship may be foreign, headship within a family isn’t. While we cannot objectively measure all the things fathers do for a household, we have objective metrics of what happens when absent. In households with absent or negligent fathers, we see increased rates of children who use drugs, commit crimes, and get pregnant outside of marriage. Whether we like it or not, whether it is fair or not, the people who come before us shape us.

‌

We die because Adam sinned. Before Adam, there was no death. God warned Adam that he would die when he ate, and this was not only spiritual death but physical as well. Death represents the influence of sin on creation. In verses 13-14, we see that Paul uses death to show that the curse was affecting all of man, even before the giving of the law. Even though it says that sin is not counted where there is no law, Paul makes it clear that since there was death, there was a law even before Moses because death reigned from Adam to Moses. That means all men are guilty apart from faith in God, even if they didn’t sin as Adam did. Where they were given a commandment, and they broke it. Adam is the failed Christ. He points to Christ in his position, as in how he relates to God and does so on our behalf, but ultimately fails in bringing us close to God because of his disobedience.

‌

We, as Adam’s children, experience brokenness in this post-Eden world. Death, famine, disease, and cruelty are fruits of sin upon creation. Before we can understand the heights of the mountains of God’s amazing grace, we must first understand the depth of our sin. Let me explain a hypothetical scenario to show why this is.

‌

Imagine there is a roller coaster that you’ve heard is a lot of fun, but it has also had some accidents. You think, “I’ll be fine; it can’t be that bad.” Your friend begs and begs you not to go. You brush him off, but he is insistent. You reach the front of the line, and your friend finally talks you out of riding on the coaster. As you leave the park, you hear a loud crashing noise. It was the roller coaster you were riding on. It crashed on the round you would’ve gone on. You find out later that the amusement park is getting sued because 80% of all rides end up in a crash where all passengers either die or have life-altering injuries.

‌

In the scenario, as you see more and more of what you were rescued from you become more and more thankful for the one who rescued you. Likewise, when we see how awful our sinfulness is, we can be grateful for the One who saves us from them.

Sin doesn’t just make us guilty, but it effects our bodies, our relationships with others, and also our with us and the creator. Our sinful nature allows our fleshly body to want what it should not want, it desires to do evil things, and may even beckon us to sin. Sin can also rewire our brain. Adult entertainment has shown to desensitize us to sin, and even want to partake in acts that I don’t even feel comfortable mentioning in general, let alone in our house of worship. Even when we are sinned against, like cases of abuse, make us more likely to sin. Children who are abused as children are far more likely to be abusive as they grow up.

Sin affects relationships with each other by corrupting how we relate to each other. Instead of encouraging each other in good works, we can seek to put ourselves above others, talk down to others, or even harm them. Even when we do good for others we may do it to seek out our own selfish gain.

And finally sin separates us from God, it is why Jesus had to die on the cross to deal with it. We cannot serve God and sin.

‌

Life In Christ

‌

But the free gift is not like the trespass. As much as one man has condemned all of mankind, we have abundant grace in Christ. Through Adam’s trespass, we are all doomed to death, but because of what God did through Christ, we can have life in abundance like we were to have in the beginning with the garden.

‌

Paul, in verses 15-18, uses the literary device of contrast to show the differences between the free gift and the trespass.

‌

Judgment bringing condemnation versus the free gift that brings justification

‌

death versus life

‌

These are sentences that are carried out by who they belong to.

‌

You see, Christ was tempted by the serpent just as Adam and Eve were. Christ was tempted three times by Satan directly and didn’t fail. Where Adam abandoned Eve to face Satan alone, Jesus faced death on the cross to protect His bride from death. Where Adam came from dust and died and became dust, Jesus died and rose again to live forever with His Father in heaven.

‌

Not only did Christ fulfill the requirements for Himself, but for our sake. Jesus lived as a man so that we can be justified. Justified is a legal term. It means meeting the standard. God’s grace doesn’t just sweep your sins under the rug. It cleanses you entirely, so legally, you hold the same slate as Christ Himself. Jesus made it so that we could be coheirs with Him in heaven, and He does so freely! There is no other king in all existence that would want more coheirs with them. They would want to hoard all they have to themselves out of jealousy or pride, but the King we serve is generous, faithful, and humble. He gave us many rooms for all who “receive with abundance the grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”

‌

Paul is showing the Roman church and us today that you can have one of two high priests representing you. You can have Adam’s disobedience along with your own, be judged, or you can have Jesus who dealt with all your sins and Adam’s on the cross. You can have life or death. There’s no middle ground. There’s no third option. There’s no getting out for good behavior. You and I are guilty. We are not the heroes or even a side character of this story. We are the villains that the hero dies to save. God is just, and our sins need to be dealt with. That is what the cross is for. We are born sinful, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 51:5, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” This is why Jesus says we must be born again. John 3:3 “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And this birth will not be like the first. John 3:5 “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” The symbol of birth shows a dramatic change of heart and spirit orientation towards God.

‌

How do you know if you are born again? Jesus says you will know them by their fruits, as in their works. Galatians 5:19–26 “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

‌

A fruit is the result of a planted seed. It is not that you have to get a lot of the fruits first before you plant. You must be planted, grow, and get good nutrients to produce good fruit. When Christ saves us, He will produce good fruit, but if we look more and desire more of the things of the flesh, then we are still dead. I ask you today, what reigns in your life, death or life? Spirit or flesh? May the glory of God bring us all to the foot of the cross and seek to bring Him glory.