38 | Romans | Romans 5:12-17 | The Free Gift

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

Without the last verse

Come, behold the wondrous mystery Christ, the Lord upon the tree In the stead of ruined sinners Hangs the lamb in victory See the price of our redemption See the Father's plan unfold Bringing many sons to glory Grace unmeasured, love untold

INTRODUCTION

Easter morning is an interesting morning of celebration ..

Not so much because its unique, but because it is not unique.

Resurrection is what we celebrate every Sunday.

Sunday is the Lord’s Day.

We celebrate week after week, for almost 2,000 years because our Savior is alive!

He is victorious over sin and death!

We celebrate and remember Jesus and his gospel …

… culminating in the glorious victory of the resurrection.

But today is special.

It is the Lord’s Day …

… and it is the day on the church calendar that we have set aside as Resurrection Day.

We remember the resurrection not only in a spiritual sense but as we observe and call to mind the historic, physical reality that our Savior is alive!

And because he is alive: all who receive the abundance of his grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through this one man Jesus Christ.

PRAY

3:30

You’ll notice that there is a dash of punctuation at the end of v12.

v12 begins an argument of comparison that Paul, the author of Romans, picks up again in v15.

This morning we will begin by considering v12 before moving forward to v15 and the remainder of our scripture this morning.

We will come back to v13-14 next week.

What is the comparison?

v12 compares how sin comes into the world with how the free gift of salvation enters the world.

One of the things that I appreciate about the scriptures is that they are realistic.

They aren’t some airy, religiosity.

The Word of God speaks about the world we actually live in.

And one things we have to all admit is that something has gone terribly wrong in the world.

v12 begins with an honest description of the Bad News …

… and how the world got this way.

5:30

1. SIN CAME

(Bad News)

Read v12.

Sin came into the world … and death through sin

What is death?

At the heart of the meaning of death is that death is separation.

It is the separation of the body from the soul.

Death is when life leaves the body.

The body, once a living thing, becomes mere cells—mere lifeless collections of carbon based matter.

Organs that once were vibrant with movement, cease to function.

The human person is made to sing the glories of our Maker.

Death separates us from this song to return to the silence of dust.

And man, who is made to enjoy the light of the glory of God is separated from his life-giving presence in eternal judgement.

7:15

While it is true that ultimately, death is separation of God … Don’t over spiritualize death.

Death includes and is most tangibly understood to our senses by this imminent tragedy of the death of the body.

Yes, there is more to death than what we see with our eyes or experience with our bodies.

But dust to dust is the imminent beginning that we can already feel in our bones.

It is the human experience that speaks to our mind and heart presence of the danger to our eternal soul.

We are here this morning because it is a morning of celebration.

But remember that we celebrate resurrection because of the reality that Jesus died!

Jesus committed his Spirit to the Father and gave up his last breath.

Motionless organs in the lifeless body of Jesus were carried into a grave …

… in the expectation that this corpse would lie there until it became mere dust in the darkness.

The first thing that we should remember about resurrection Sunday is that death is real!

And you and I also are dying.

How did things get this way?

If we were made for life, why are we dying?

10:00

Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin.

Through One Man

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

He made all of this creation to be the home of his special creation, made in his image, mankind.

Into this world he placed Adam, and then Adam’s companion, Eve.

Adam was the first of this special creation and, as the first of our kind, is made to act as humanity’s representative.

God, his Maker, gave to Adam the bounteous abundance of all of creation for him to enjoy.

Adam and Eve were to fill all of creation with their life.

They were made to enjoy God and all that he had made.

The Lord gave them a particular command in the garden into which the Lord had placed them.

They were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.

All else was given to them for their nourishment and joy, save this one tree.

The Lord warned them, were they to eat of this tree, they would surely die.

The Lord, their Maker, had given them a good command with a clear warning …

… but they were tempted and chose to reject the Word of the Lord …

… and they ate.

In the garden, the Lord had revealed to them the way of abundant grace and eternal joy …

… but Adam, with his wife, sought to make a life for themselves apart from God’s design.

The Lord had given them his word, his covenant, but they chose their own wisdom and way.

“On my own, I can live!”

Oh, and this is the greatest of tragedies. What a traitorous lie!

When they ate of that fruit, they separated themselves from the Word of the Lord.

They cut themselves off from life itself.

And for the first time in all of creation, they began to die.

All of this is the backdrop behind what Paul is saying when he says that sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin.

Through this one man, this pinnacle of God’s creation, this representative head of humanity …

… through his sin, death came into the world.

I want you to imagine the cosmic reality of that moment.

Every planet in it’s orbit.

Every particle in every atom held together in perfect order.

Every cell of every plant and animal, growing, producing, teaming with life.

And in an instant, every particle in the universe is changed.

Everything alive, but for the first time, dying.

15:00

The powerful truth of this account in scripture is that it is not merely the story of Adam …

… it is the story of our humanity.

In Adam, all of humanity fell.

… and so death spread to all men.

We are like our first parents.

All who come after Adam are descended from him.

We bear his nature, and as it turns out, we walk in his way.

His guilt and nature are ours.

No one seeks God.

No one walks in his way.

We still believe the foolish rebel’s cry: On my own I can live!

And so, we die.

APPLY

Adam is the representative head of humanity.

It is through Adam’s sin that death entered the world.

And this death has spread to all.

Where humanity was created to fill the earth with the glory of the Lord …

… sin and death has multiplied so all of creation groans for relief.

18:00

I said that the scriptures are honest about reality.

There is bad news.

This is the Bible’s report on how things got this way.

Now, one thing we know, because we have seen it with our eyes all around us.

Dead things stay dead.

So, if through this one man, death entered the world …

… that’s just the way it is.

And there is no natural means by which creation can live again.

19:00

Read v15.

2. THE FREE GIFT IS NOT LIKE THE TRESPASS

(Good News — 1)

One Man — Historical Adam, Historical Jesus

Where v12 introduces us to Adam …

v15 introduces us to another man — Jesus.

Adam is a a real, historical man, come from God as the head of a new creation.

Jesus also is a real historical man, come from God as the head of a new creation.

But where Adam brings the alien reality of death to a creation teaming with life …

… Jesus brings the alien reality of resurrection to a creation groaning in death.

21:00

The contrasts are manifold and glorious!

Paul gives us two contrasts.

The first, here in v15 and the second in v16.

The first contrast is the fact that the free gift is not like the trespass.

Trespass = many died

When Adam sinned, and death entered the world …

… all who were in Adam, who would descend from him

… all of humanity died that day.

This is what we have according to the natural order of a world plunged into rebellion and sin.

And there is nothing in this fallen natural order of things by which we can reverse the reality of death.

Grace = abounded for many

Grace is an interruption of the natural order.

Grace is not any thing guaranteed or even possible from Adam and his way.

Grace is not an natural process or expected result.

It is a gift!

It is an interruption of the natural order by the entrance of something not previously bestowed.

25:00

This is what I want you to see.

The Free gift isn’t like trespass because one is justice and the other is a gift.

Adam’s sin, his trespass, and the death that came with it, has become the natural order of things.

Death is the just curse of God about rebels bringing ruin to his good creation.

There is nothing in Adam or any of his descendents by which we can reverse this order of things.

But the free gift isn’t like the trespass.

It is an interruption of the fallen order.

Where death spread to all men … the free gift abounded for many!

When we considered what is wrong with the world, how did it get this way …

… we asked this because we have a genuine sense that creation shouldn’t be like this, but it is.

And the answer was the sin, the trespass of Adam our representative.

When we consider resurrection and life, reentering creation …

… we ought to ask the same question.

Anyone who has lived long at all knows that sin and decay are now our natural expectation.

We ought to ask when we hear news of resurrection and life …

… what happened? How did things get this way?

And the answer is grace.

27:00

GOSPEL — The Grace of God & the Free Gift of Grace

I so appreciate that the scripture names these two graces.

First we have the grace of God the Father and the free gift of grace of Jesus Christ.

The grace of the Father is the plan of redemption in the sending of the Son.

The grace of the Son is the work of Jesus to do the work of redemption …

… through his incarnation, his perfect life

… and through his sacrificial death in the place of sinners.

You see, when we speak of grace, we aren’t only speaking of a generous disposition of the holy God toward sinners.

We are speaking of the death of the one righteous man in the place of sinners.

I want you to know the true gospel.

The gift of God in the person and the work of Jesus Christ.

Again, we ask, how did the free gift of salvation come?

The answer is the grace of God in that one man Jesus Christ!

APPLY

This morning I want to inform your celebration with the truth and beauty God’s word.

Free gift isn’t like trespass because one is justice and the other is a gift.

Where death was the natural consequence of Adam’s sin.

The free gift is the glorious and undeserved interruption of the grace of God.

Where death is well-reasoned justice, salvation is abundantly gifted grace.

31:00

Verse 16 introduces another contrast between the world of death in Adam and the world of life in Christ.

Read v16.

3. THE FREE GIFT IS NOT LIKE THE RESULT OF ONE MAN’S SIN

(Good News — 2)

judgement following one trespass brought condemnation

v12 is clear.

Sin came into the world through one man.

What is the just circumstance upon which the curse of sin enters creation?

Adam’s one trespass.

v16 is clear — one trespass brought condemnation.

That’s it! That’s enough.

This one rebellious act is sufficient, righteous and just ground for the condemnation of death.

What is God’s judgement?

The righteous Lord sees the trespass of Adam and levies the condemnation of death.

judgement following one trespass brought condemnation

34:00

But if we look at human history, is that all we see?

Just one trespass and then judgement?

Or do we see the multiplication of many trespasses?

Yes, the scriptures are true — all sinned.

And our sin is ever increasing.

free gift following many trespasses brought justification

You see that?

The judgement followed one trespass, one sin.

But grace follows the many trespasses.

The point is this.

Grace is not only sufficient to undo the original curse of Adam to restore each human soul to a state of “a second chance.”

Now it stands to each one to pass the test that Adam failed.

No, the free gift of grace is for each person who believes.

It covers not only the sin of Adam, but the sin of all those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness.

Where the trespass brought condemnation to all …

… the free gift brings personal and complete justification for all who believe.

Free gift isn’t like one man’s sin because though one sin was sufficient to bring judgement on all, the free gift of grace covers all trespassers for all their trespasses.

37:00

APPLY

This is the main idea that Paul has been making for multiple chapters now.

Grace doesn’t restore a person to a neutral state and now you have to prove yourself to God by your own works.

That would mean each person has to become something like their own personal Adam.

Each person has to become their own representative.

Each person has to stand before God and represent themselves.

But this is the gift of the one man Jesus Christ.

He stands in the place of each of the redeemed.

He has already stood in judgement.

He has already died Adams death.

And he has already secured the free gift of life by his victorious resurrection!

I have a bit of an unexpected place where I have found a poignant summary of our passage this morning.

Bob Dylan — What Can I Do for You?

Soon as a man is born, you know the sparks begin to fly, He gets wise in his own eyes and he's made to believe a lie. Who would deliver him from the death he's bound to die? Well, You've done it all and there's no more anyone can pretend to do.

tet

39:00

The only question that remains is:

ARE YOU IN ADAM OR IN CHRIST?

In Adam: death, guilt, curse.

If you are a human, if your parents descended from Adam and Eve …

… through this one man death has spread to you.

And you have shone yourself to have come from Adam because you yourself have followed in his way.

Have you not sought your own desires against the way that you know is good?

Have you not followed the way of the world, when you know that it is the way of death and not life?

You are in Adam, by the natural order of fallen creation.

1 Corinthians 15:22 — For as in Adam all die.

42:00

In Christ: grace, justification, life.

The free gift is not like the trespass.

It isn’t handed down by the natural order of things.

The free gift interrupts the natural order.

And it is only received by faith.

Friends, we have, by our own sinful participation in the way of our first parents …

… fully earned the wages of our sin.

But there is no way by which we may earn the free gift of grace.

44:00

There are many reasons you may be here this morning.

Whatever they are, I am thankful you have gathered with us today.

Whether you’re here because its your cultural heritage …

… so today of all days, you figure you’d better go to church.

Or maybe its far more practical.

It’s Easter and there is a great dinner being prepared this afternoon …

… and it would be awkward just to show up for lunch.

Maybe you’re hear because a friend invited you and has told you all about the church he or she has found.

If that’s you, I want you to know its most assuredly true that your friend has prayed for you …

… and wants you to hear this gospel message

… that there is life and hope and the love of God for you …

… because Jesus is alive!

There are many reasons you may be here …

… but I want you also to know this.

Most of the people in this room are here …

… and have been here week after week

… Sunday after Sunday

… because we have placed all of our hope and all of our confidence in this

… that Jesus, God the Son

… really did life a perfect life

… where every person since Adam has walked in rebellion against God.

… really did die on a cross, to suffer death in our place

… so that all that remain for those who believe is the free gift of grace

… really did rise on that resurrection Sunday morning

… so that he has secured the abundance of grace which abounds for many.

No matter what brought you here.

We all come from that same man, Adam, and we all need the same grace of that one man, Jesus Christ.

I call you to confess your sin and repent in faith …

… to trust in him for the forgiveness of your sin …

… and to receive the abundance of grace.

Join us!

Not only this morning, but for days and years go come …

… as we learn what it is to reign in life through that one man Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters …

… all of you who have believed.

Let us fill up our worship this morning with a fresh knowledge of the free gift of righteousness in Christ alone.

Keith & Kristyn Getty — His Mercy is More

What riches of kindness He lavished on us His blood was the payment, His life was the cost We stood ’neath a debt we could never afford Our sins they are many, His mercy is more.

48:00

Grace Abounding!

Much More! (v15 and v17)

Not Only Eliminating Death, but Giving Glorious Life

Death reigned over sinners

The redeemed reign in life

Grace that is Greater — This is what we sing

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,

Grace, grace, God’s grace / Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Come, thou Fount of every blessing; tune my heart to sing thy grace; streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.

What riches of kindness He lavished on us His blood was the payment, His life was the cost We stood ’neath a debt we could never afford Our sins they are many, His mercy is more.

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APPLY

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APPLY

In Adam: death, guilt, curse.

In Christ: grace, justification, life.

Are you in Adam or in Christ?

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