The Abundance Of Grace

Children’s Bible Page 1227

Good morning Christ Covenant Church!

Last week, we began the year in Romans 5:1-11 considering our attitude.

You know, so much of our lives and how we experience life comes down to our attitude.

And last week, we looked at how we are called to have an attitude of rejoicing based on the peace we have with God and the grace we receive from God.

We thought about when we understand that what we deserve is death and hell, it leads us to constantly rejoice that we have received from God grace and eternal life, no matter what our current circumstances.

And today, as we move to verses 12-21, we are going to continue in this same theme by thinking about our perspective.

As a parent, we are always trying to give our children perspective.

“Oh man, we’re having leftovers for dinner again?”

And what do we say back.

“There’s starving children in Africa who would love to be able to eat the same food everyday.”

It’s all about perspective.

In our jobs, we have to have the right perspective.

Maybe your boss is always challenging you and giving you extra assignments.

And it’s easy to say, “Man, my boss loves to bully me. I don’t have to take this!”

Then, the boss calls you into their office and says, “I’ve been working you extra hard because you are the best worker I have and I want to give you a promotion and a pay raise.”

That changes your perspective about how your boss has treated you.

I remember the only time I have ever been to Seattle.

My dad took us to that rotating restaurant on the top of the space needle where you can look out and see the city then the mountains all around it.

Well, I had been told that Mount Rainer was the biggest and tallest mountain outside of Seattle, so I kept trying to compare the different mountains I saw like, “That one is a little taller than the others, maybe that’s Rainer.”

Well, I felt super silly when the restaurant finally turned to where I could see Mount Rainer, and it was so much more massive than any of the other mountains around that I realized I had wasted my time trying to compare other mountains.

In our passage today, Paul is going to use a comparison to help us gain perspective about just how massive, abundant, and powerful God’s grace through the gospel is in our lives.

See, we have been in this whole section of Romans that fleshes out what it means that we are saved from our sin and God’s wrath by grace through faith.

In other words, we are justified, which means declared right with God, through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

And while it is the most important thing you will ever do to believe and trust this gospel, too oftentimes, we do no perceive just how large the gospel should impact us in our everyday lives.

Too oftentimes, we still imagine that our sinful natures and desires are still more prevalent and powerful in our lives than God’s grace leading us to live for Him and His glory. (say that again)

So, what Paul is going to do in our passage is compare and contrast the origins and powers behind our sinful nature with the origins and powers behind being made right with God through Jesus Christ.

And when we compare the two: it leads us to gain the perspective that God and His grace is so much more prevalent and powerful than our sin and sinfulness ever could be.

So, we should be living in light of that perspective.

Now, I must warn you, while the main point of this passage is wonderful and glorious, Bible scholars agree that Romans 5:12-21 is the toughest passage in all of the book of Romans to understand in terms of its details, but we are going to give it our best.

Romans 5:12–21

12 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— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 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.

15 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. 16 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. 17 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.

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1. Death Reigns In Us All Due To Adam’s Sin

Have you ever gone to write a text or an email to somebody, and it’s a really quick thing you want to say, but you end up qualifying and clarifying yourself so many times, that the message actually gets rather long?

Well, that is exactly what Paul is doing in this passage.

The message Paul is trying to get across is actually plainly stated in verse 12 and verse 21,

But Paul, led by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, knew that we were going to need a lot of clarification and qualifiers in order to rightly receive that message.

So, let me read for us only verse 12 and 21.

12 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— 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is a simple comparison Paul is making in our passage.

Paul is comparing the two men who stand as the two primary spiritual heads and representatives of all humanity.

And the first is Adam.

Paul leads us to think back to Genesis 3, where Adam, the first man disobeys the clear command that God gave him, when he eats fruit from the tree God told him not to eat from.

And in that moment of the first sin, sin entered the world.

And the wages of sin is death.

Because when you are separated from your Creator and life sustainer, you die.

Adam died spiritually in that moment, and he began to die physically as well.

And this spiritual death and looming physical death spread to all men after Adam, because all sinned in Adam.

This is called the doctrine of original sin.

It’s the idea that you do not become a sinner the first time you personally commit a sin, but instead, you are born a sinner because you bare the original sin of Adam in yourself.

Because Adam was the head and representative of all humanity.

Now, of course, we as individualistic westerners buck against the idea that we are counted sinners based on someone else’s actions!

That’s not fair.

And while it is a difficult concept to stomach, it is not unprecedented.

We as Americans have representatives who make decisions that directly affect us.

If your government representatives declare that America is at war.

Then, you as an American are at war, and you had no say in the matter.

If the first man Adam, as the head and representative of the matter sinned against God dying spiritually and eventually dying physically, you are born a sinner and spiritually dead and moving toward physical death.

Now, Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit knew we were going to object to this, so he writes verses 13 and 14, which are difficult to understand, I’m going to do my best to give you my interpretation, feel free to go back and do your own study.

Verse 13: for indeed sin was in the world before the law was given.

One of the objections would be: well, Adam had a clear command from God that He broke, but people after him did not have that for hundreds of years until God gave his law to Moses.

And sin is not counted where there is no law. If you don’t have a rule to break, it’s not counted as breaking a rule.

But, what Paul is saying is, even though there was no written law to break, people still died.

Think about how many times we read in Genesis, so and so lived so many years and had this many children, then they died.

Why did they die? Because in Adam, we all sinned, we are born in sin, and we die.

Even if those people’s sins were not breaking a specific rule of God.

It’s the only evidence we need to settle this whole bit that in Adam, we all are born in original sin, because even before men and women had the specific commands, they still died.

We have already read in Romans 2 that every man is without excuse because God has written certain truths on our hearts that we suppress in our sin.

So, Adam was a type of the one to come.

The word type could also be like a foreshadowing or an example.

And who is the one to come? Jesus Christ!

Because the point Paul is making is that if by one sinful man, we all became sinners, by one righteous man, we all have the opportunity to become righteous.

If one representative could make us all sinners, one representative can make us all righteous.

And here is where the application begins: how large of a part does your sinful nature, selfishness, self seeking desires, leading to darkness and death, how large do those things loom in your life?

Would you say that you are dominated by sin?

Is there any sin you feel addicted to?

Is there any sin or selfishness that feels like part of your identity?

Listen, if you are not personally in Christ, you are dominated by sin and selfishness because your spirit is dead.

God only brings your spirit to life when you trust in Jesus as your Savior and Lord!

So how large does sin and selfishness loom in your life?

2. The Work Of Jesus In Your Life Is Greater Than The Work Of Sin

Verse 15 - But the free gift is not like the trespass.

See, while Adam is a type of Jesus Christ who was to come, because his headship status was going to effect so many others.

What Adam and Jesus Christ accomplished for humanity is altogether different.

Paul calls what Jesus accomplished a free gift.

And what Adam accomplished was a trespass, a disobedience.

He then gives us three ways they are different starting back in verse 15:

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.

Think about how horribly destructive sin is if one sin by Adam leads to all being spiritually dead leading to physical death.

But even so much more the grace of God and the free gift of righteousness by God’s grace has abounded for many.

That means that God’s grace is greater than all our sin in every conceivable way!

Second, verse 16, 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.

Now, this is a powerful one, because it’s really the one that has the potential to give us a whole new perspective of the power of God’s grace.

One sin was horrendous enough to bring condemnation on all humanity.

You’d say wow! I mean, has any one man in history even done so little as to eat a piece of fruit to result in so much destruction, the condemnation of all humanity?

The horrendous result of that moment back in Genesis 3 cannot be overstated.

One sin did all that.

So imagine what kind of power would have to be involved to make a reversal of such a sin.

But wait, the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

Let me ask you, how many individual sins of thought, motive, word, and deed do you think every person in human history who has ever been saved by Jesus has committed?

Let me give you a hint: it’s a lot more than one.

There is a “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” show that I watched one time and the million dollar question was:

A number 1 followed by 100 zeros is known by what name? The answer is a Googol.

Let’s just say, we are getting closer, but I doubt we’ve gone high enough yet.

One sin had the power to condemn all humanity.

Yet, God’s grace through Jesus’ cross and resurrection for all who believe has the power to reverse so much more than a Googol of sins.

So, let me ask you, which looms larger in your life, your sin, sinful desires, selfishness, and addictions or God’s immense and undeniably powerful grace in saving you from sin and making you right with God?

It should be a more ridiculous question than me sitting in that Seattle restaurant saying, “Oh, that mountain looks a little taller than the others, maybe that’s it. Oh no, maybe that one, then Mount Rainer comes into view and the very idea of a comparison seems laughable as the awe of immensity and enormity wash over me.

Thirdly, verse 17, 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.

Notice, we already read back up in verse 14 that death reigned over humanity even before God gave the law to Moses.

Remember how many times Genesis says, “So and so lived this many years, had this many children, then they died.”

Death reigned. No matter what someone had done with their life, death was the end.

And it reigned through Adam’s sin as the representative of all humanity.

Yet, for those who receive the abundance of God’s grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Notice, it does not say that just as death reigned, now life reigns.

Instead, it says, that those who receive the abundance of God’s grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

You see, when you are saved, not only does God save you from your sins and give you his record of righteousness, but He also brings your soul to life through His Holy Spirit to actually live out the purposes that you were created for.

Remember, back in the Genesis account of creation, man was created to exercise dominion over the earth and the other living creatures, and they were to work and keep the land, and be fruitful and multiply.

And part of what it means to be saved from the reign of death and to now reign in life, means God by his abundant grace, has restored you to meaning and purpose in this life.

You see, as sinners, we are simply consumers.

We spend our lives trying to consume and get as much as we can in order to feed our own sinful and selfish desires.

But, when we are saved by the abundance of God’s grace, He not only saves us, but empowers us to be producers.

We are to go and make disciples.

We are to be generous with our time, our talents, and our resources.

We are to no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died and was raised.

We are to look out for the good of others, and consider others needs more valuable than our own.

You see, as God’s abundant grace reigns over us, we begin to reign in terms of living as a producers for the glory of God and the good of others,

And this reign will culminate in eternity when we are told in 2 Timothy that we will reign with Christ.

You know, I think our kind of churches that are baptist and reformed in our theology, we rightly focus a lot on our great sinfulness and how we offer absolutely nothing to God when it comes to our salvation which is so true.

And we are very clear on how we are saved by God’s great grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, which is so fundamental to the gospel message.

And we are clear on looking forward to being with Jesus in glory forever in the new heavens and new earth and having all of our needs met and desires satisfied in Him in the end.

Yet, one aspect of God’s grace I think we would do well to spend more time on and pay more attention to is the power that God’s grace affords us to live a godly, good, impactful, and productive life in the present.

Jesus does not just save you, take a few bad and sinful habits out of your life, and have you just muddle through a mundane life and attend some church services until you finally get to die and go be with Him!

Jesus saves you to fill you with His Holy Spirit and to use you to produce fruits of obedience that you never thought possible in your own strength!

This is how we, by the power of the Holy Spirit, can now reign in life.

Because we now have the Holy Spirit inside of us to give us power to serve and lead and teach and counsel and share the gospel with the lost and make disciples of the saved and be about the work and ministry God has given you for His glory.

I think way too oftentimes we don’t offer ourselves to God and His service nearly as zealously as we should because our sin, sinfulness, sinful desires, and insecurity about feeling disqualified are what looms so large in our minds,

And what God has done in us to make us a new creation in Christ looms so small!

While we should always be looking forward to Christ’s return that doesn’t mean that we are hear to make it until we die.

No, while we await Christ’s return, we are to reign in life, using the gifts, talents, and skills of the Holy Spirit in us to glorify God, build up his church, and take the gospel to the lost!

The work of Jesus in your life is greater than the work of sin.

3. God’s Grace Has Abounded For You More Than Sin Ever Could

Verses 18 and 19 serve to make the big point of the text crystal clear and elevate the work of Christ when it is written:

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

One sin of Adam led to condemnation for all men.

One act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

That does not mean that all will be saved, but it does mean the opportunity is there for all humanity who will repent and believe.

One disobedience made us all sinners. One man’s obedience makes the many righteous.

Christ being obedient to the Father even to death on a cross is the record of obedience we receive when we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.

But listen, you could be here today, and you could be hearing all of this, but you are still saying in your heart, I hear you pastor, but you just don’t know.

I’m not like these people around me.

I’m not just a screw up, I’m an addict.

I don’t just struggle with my attitude, I feel hopeless and helpless.

I haven’t just ignored being spiritual, but I have done dark things spiritually to try to get what I want.

Listen, you could be the longest standing church member here, and you could have a secret sin that you would be terrified for anyone else to know.

Maybe you have made horrible decision after horrible decision to the point where you are really in a bind, but you are so afraid people would judge you and write you off if you asked for help.

Or maybe you’re here, and what I just said doesn’t describe you at all.

Maybe you are comfortable here.

Maybe you sing the songs, listen to the message, attend the ministries, serve in the nursery (thank you by the way),

But you are just not that excited about following Jesus right now.

Maybe God stuff just feels like another thing to get done on the calendar.

Consider verse 20 with me:

20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

Let’s gain a right perspective here:

When God gave Moses the law with all the specific commandments, what did that do?

It increased the trespasses.

I mean, sin already reigned through Adam, but when the commandments came,

Humanity was no longer in sin and condemned because they did not worship God as they ought,

Humanity was now also guilty for disobeying specific commands that they now had and knew.

Which increased our guilt and how much we deserved to have God pour his wrath out on us.

And don’t take that lightly.

Think about it:

God sent a flood to kill all humanity except one family, and he did that before the law came and increased the tresspasses.

God sent fire and tar down on the cities of Sodom and Gomorra due to their great wickedness before He had given the law and the trespasses increased.

I said earlier that just people who love and follow Jesus over the ages have surely committed more than a Googol of sins. That’s 1 with 100 zeros behind it.

Consider the sins of all humanity!

Consider the horrors and atrocities experienced over the centuries of mankind due our sin and rebellion against God.

There is no way we could possibly quantify the sinfulness of sin in and through humanity in a world where trespasses against God’s law are the rule and the norm!

I remember as a kid, I loved to take my calculator and go 2x2=4.

Then I would hit equals again, and equals again, and the numbers would start compounding so quickly that my calculator would give me some big number with a big E next to it and refuse to calculate anymore.

But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.

I had a buddy in college who was a whiz at the original Bible languages, and I remember he and others would always talk about this verse, because the word and tense that Paul used to communicate that grace abounded all the more, was simply one word that was so emphatic that it would be properly interpreted, grace super abounded to an overwhelming degree.

It’s like compared to our sin and darkness, we are looking out at the mountain peaks and saying, “Oh, maybe that one’s God’s grace, it looks a little taller then our sin. Oh no, maybe that one’s the tallest!

And then the final turn comes, and the awe and enormity comes over you, and you wonder how you could have ever thought that anything else could ever compare.

God’s grace has abounded for you more than sin ever could.