Ruin or Rescue?

Introduction

Michael Jordan versus LeBron James. Steve Young versus Tom Brady. Ken Griffey Jr versus Mike Trout. The Return of the Jedi versus The Force Awakens. The Lord of the Rings versus the Hobbit.

Our society loves to compare and contrast individuals, movies, series and athletes who played a common role. If you are over the age of 35, you are most likely of the mindset that Michael Jordan is a significantly better basketball player than LeBron James and that Ken Griffey Jr is a superior baseball player than Mike Trout. If you are under the age of 35 then you might hold the opposite position. When it comes to entertainment, many of us would agree that the original film or series is superior to the second or third film. There are a whole host of reasons as to why this is but one of the most common reasons given according to IMdB is that the “original was simply too good”. This is the case in most of our lives. Whatever comes first is the best and whatever comes second is not as good, the prototype is the best and the antitype is not as good. What do we see in scripture regarding this, though? We see a God who often chooses the second over the first (Jacob over Esau and Isaac over Ishmael quickly come to mind). One such example that might not come to mind as quickly as those other examples is the “2nd Adam” over the “1st Adam”. If the 1st Adam brought about sin and death for all of humanity, how much greater will the 2nd Adam bring about grace and life for all? The grace that the world thirsts for is available in Christ for all who embrace the free gift of salvation. In all the ways that the 1st Adam fell short, Christ triumphed. In this text we will examine the 5 key contrasts Paul made between Christ and Adam in , starting in verse 12.

Often times in our lives

Romans 5:12–21 NASB95

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all 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 until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Adam vs Christ #1

In Adam

Right away in verse 12, Paul states that sin entered into the world and spread to all men because Adam sinned. When Adam fell, the entire human race fell with him. His guilt and condemnation spread to everyone. Paul wrote earlier in , "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one . . . all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (10-12, 23). Paul is very clear that there is a consequence for Adam’s disobedience and that consequence is death. The problem with idea of death in this instance is that Adam did not immediately face physical death (we see that he lived for hundreds of years after sinning in the Garden of Eden), however he did face immediate spiritual death (separation from God). Likewise, whenever we think about death coming from Adam, it can be difficult for us to wrap our heads around this concept because we see that Adam lived a very long life, however this life was one that led to physical and spiritual death whenever he was connected to the vine itself. This disobedience leads to death for all mankind both physically (as we all know that our bodies will one day die) and spiritually (Adam and mankind is separated from God the Father instead of being connected to Him in the Garden). Paul moves and states that death reigned from the time of Adam until the time of Moses. This is an interesting thing to note because we often associate death as a consequence of breaking the law, however the law was not given to mankind until Moses on Mount Sinai after the Exodus. Depending on what date we subscribe to Moses, this could have been a time span of 3 or 4 thousand years between Adam and Moses! How could death reign whenever there was no law? Because sin had entered into the world, there was a consequence: death. Adam had received a direct command (: In the day that you eat of it you shall die) and the sentence was executed on his descendants even though they did not have a positive command to break as Adam did. This highlights the power of sin and its destructive ramifications for mankind. Adam is the only individual in the Old Testament explicitly labeled as a “type” of Christ according to F.F. Bruce and Paul shows how Christ contrasts Adam by giving humanity the gift of grace!

The consequence of Adam’s sin and the death that it brought into the world is that death came46 to all men. That the emphasis is on the fact that the whole race is involved is seen partly from the position of all (it is first in its clause in the Greek), and partly from the inclusion of men (the word all would have been sufficient). Adam was one man and he did one act. But the result spread to all his posterity

Grace is the gift of Christ given freely to humanity. We did nothing to deserve this gift! As John Calvin stated many years ago, “Christ is much more powerful to save than Adam was to ruin”. This is the hope that the Christian has to hold on to because we have an eternal promise (grace) rather than a temporal and eternal consequence (death). The amazing thing about this gift of grace is the cost that it took to give to humanity - the very life of Jesus Christ. In the Greek text, the phrase “the grace of God”, indicates the freeness of God to give grace. This gift of grace came from one man, just as sin came from one man. The difference is this: Adam’s sin brought about destruction whereas Christ’s gift of grace brought about an even greater amount of life. His gift of grace is in abundance and more than we could ever need (His grace atones for even the worst of our sin!) and He ushered in an entire new life to humanity because now we can be known as Sons of God rather than Sons of Adam.

as

Adam vs Christ #2

In Adam, the end result is condemnation whereas in Christ our end result is justification. Through Adam’s one act of sin, the sentence of condemnation was passed onto the rest of humanity. Sin had entered the playing field and had devastating effects on all who followed Adam. As the song by Phil Wickham states, there is a “great chasm” that we “cannot climb” and it separates us from God. We are condemned based upon our standing before a Holy God all because one man sinned and brought sin into humanity. We all deserve eternal separation from God in a place called hell because we are not just lost or bad but we are dead before Christ makes us alive! God had every reason to leave us in our sin, however He moved towards us in grace and mercy and as states, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” What people did was to rebel, what God did was to restore! Not only does this restoration result in justification (an eternal change of status) but it is also something that the believer experiences immediately. Even though we sin and continue to fall short, we see things differently because we are both justified because of the blood of Jesus and we are progressively made more like Christ through the process of sanctification.

Do you think that God accepts you because of what you have done or because of what Christ has done on your behalf?

This is something that is completely contrary to human nature. In school you have to pass the test to graduate, in sports you have to win the game to be a champion, in work you have to preform in order to get the promotion. The gospel is completely different at its core, though. With the gospel, the verdict is declared first. We are made righteous because of the blood of Jesus Christ then we do good deeds in accordance to God’s will. As James says in , we do good works not to inherit salvation or justification (those things have already been granted to us). Rather we do these deeds because we are a new creation, the old is gone and new has come. Just as Christ took our place when He died on the cross, we die to ourselves in our baptism/conversion. Now we are to live for Christ!

Will you rest in this fact and allow Christ’s all consuming power to transform you?

Adam vs Christ #3

As a child in school, the worst days were when one student would misbehave and the entire class would suffer the consequences (whether it be no recess or no “free-time” or an additional assignment). As we grow up, though, these consequences still exist. One individual can completely taint a group as we see evident in sports. One person who cheats can cause an entire team to forfeit a game or even a championship. One person who skews some numbers for a business can cause dozens of people to lose their jobs. Even though there are many people, one transgression by one individual can cause consequences for the entire group.

Just as in the examples above, Adam’s sin allowed death to become something that all of humanity now experiences. This might sound harsh to our ears because we might think to ourselves, “I wasn’t even the person who first sinned, why should I suffer this consequence?” The fact of the matter is that because of Adam’s sin, there is sin inside each and everyone of us. Just as a classroom can all be punished by their teacher for one student breaking a rule, all of humanity bears the consequence of Adam’s sin and God is just in doing this. To many people, Adam’s transgression caused God to “resort to plan B” however we see in scripture that Christ’s death on the cross was not some “plan B” but the original plan all along.

Christ’s gift of grace and righteousness is something that is available for humanity. Those who receive it reign through Jesus Christ just as those who do not reign through the sin of Adam. There are only two camps, you are either in Christ or you are in Adam (your natural place)! The great news for a body of believers is that we reign in life with Christ! We do not have to wait until we are called home to heaven to reign with Christ because we do so while on the earth with the power of the Holy Spirit.

As Martyn Lloyd Jones stated, “the world is a place of cemeteries” regarding the power of death and the consequence of sin. No one escapes its rule. Death reigned over us all because Adam sinned.

The good news, though, is that sin got what it deserved - death, but grace is completely different. Paul states that we receive an abundance of grace and this emphasizes the generosity of God. There is never something you can do that grace cannot free you from. Think of the power of this grace as it transforms slaves of death into reigning kings with Christ! Death plays a part in this story, but it is not the whole story because at the end of time it is believers who will reign, not death. Death does not have the final word on believers because we reign with Christ. We still die physical deaths because of the consequence of sin, however our ultimate death is avoided because of the grace that Christ gives to us. Notice, this gift is given to us from one man (just as death was invited by one man’s transgression) and this means that salvation is not our own work! Once again, if through Adam’s sin, death entered the playing field, how much more will those receiving the abundant grace of God and his gift of righteousness reign in life through Jesus Christ? If the sin of Adam caused death to reign, the obedience of Christ brings triumph over death to all who believe.

Adam vs Christ #4

How many times have we heard the expression of “Universalism”? That there really isn’t a hell and that there are multiple ways to inherit eternal life because, after all, God is a “good” God.

As we have already talked about, through Adam’s transgression, mankind is condemned because of the consequence of sin. This is something that all of mankind has to face! Paul does not state here that all of mankind is not justified before a Holy God (Universalism) but rather that justification is offered to all. You must accept Christ’s atoning work! Universalism is not taught in this passage of scripture at all, Paul is merely comparing the fate of those in Adam (all of mankind’s starting place) and the blessing of those who are in Christ (those who have responded in faith).

Now, at this point in time we could dive into election and pre-destination to try and determine what Paul meant by “justification of life for all men” because we know that not all men are justified. For God to be all-knowing, obviously He knows who will respond to Christ’s gift of righteousness and receive justification (we all can agree on that point!).

How does Christ’s victory over death comfort you? As a believer in Christ, this should give us joy because we deserve condemnation as does all of mankind, however we see that because of Christ we have been granted justification! This should motivate us to proclaim this good news to others around us! Think for a moment if you are a non-Christian, what comfort do you have regarding your death? There is no comfort at all because you are facing condemnation and the blood of Jesus is not covering your sins before a Holy God.

Adam vs Christ #5

In verse 19 we see the final contrast between Adam and Christ as Paul points out the different outcomes between the disobedience and the obedience of one man. Paul uses the word “disobedience” to refer to Adam’s sin in this verse. This is significant because it seems to suggest that his sin was voluntary. This is noteworthy because he proceeds to say that “the many were made sinners” because of his sin. The verb for “were made” is tricky because it does not mean that sinless people were compelled to become sinners but instead that Adam’s sin constituted them as sinners. They were born as members of a race already separated from God. This “many” refers to the entire human race because we are all caught up in the effect’s of Adam’s sin. The second use of the word “many” is referring to those who believe. There are many contrasts in this single verse. Disobedience and obedience, one and many, sinners and righteous are all contrasting one another and this section goes to illustrate how the second Adam completely contrasts the first Adam. Where Adam disobeyed and brought about condemnation and sin, Christ obeyed and brought about righteousness and grace! This right standing before God is something imputed on our behalf and is a result of faith.

If this is done on our behalf, should we merely speak of this work or should we act upon it?

speaks about the process of sanctification and the preacher paints a beautiful picture of what this process looks like as he says that Christ perfects for all time those who are being sanctified. Our faith is always active! This is the process of sanctification - being made more like Christ. If we are in Christ then we are a completely new creation and our entire lives change as we live for Christ rather than our own selfish ambitions. The answer to our sin could not be the law because we cannot keep the law and even if we could, it could not save us (it could only postpone an impending judgment). The answer to our sin had to be something greater than the law and something greater than Adam, it had to be Jesus Christ and His gift of righteousness because His gift not only combats the work of sin and death but it defeats them! There is nothing that you can do that would so great that it would make you too far gone for Christ’s gift of grace. No one is too far for Christ. God can use anybody at any time from any place to advance His kingdom and proclaim His glory. He can even use sinners like you and I!

Conclusion

Where does this message from Paul in leave us today? In this message we come away with several key points of application: first we are to

Respond to Christ’s gift of righteousness

We must accept Christ’s gift of righteousness in order to receive grace rather than the condemnation we would receive without Christ. In Adam, we all die. In Christ, we experience grace and life.

Secondly, we are to

Rejoice in this gift to those around us

Whenever we become “Sons of God” rather than “Sons of Adam”, our entire life changes. We see and do things completely differently because we no longer live for our own gain but rather we live to advance the name of Jesus Christ among the nations! There is no greater call than to make known the works of the Lord and we are all called to do so in both word and in deed ().

Finally, we are to

Reconcile relationships with all who we come in contact with

It is very easy in our day and age to live a life that promotes oneself and to be bitter towards anyone who gets in our way. What we see from the apostle Paul, though, is that we are justified as believers in Christ because the life of Christ has saved us from eternal separation from God in a place called hell. Therefore, we are to live as Christ did. We must remember that it is not our work that saves us but Christ’s work on the cross! Because of this, we should live at peace with those around us and give others the same grace and mercy that Christ has given to us. In all things, we must realize that salvation comes from Christ and that salvation is available to all people and we cannot put paramaters on who is “worthy” or who “deserves” His gift. In all things we must remember that Christ died for sinners like you and I, regardless of the things done in our past and our mistakes and shortcomings, He died so that we might inherit eternal life.

Our call to action this week is to live for Christ in word and in deed because we are justified before a Holy God. We were once condemned because of the punishment of our sin, however because of the work of Jesus Christ, we now are reckoned as righteous. This is the greatest gift that we can share with those around us.