Romans 5- Paupers to Princes

Read the second half of Romans 5

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.

In the books of Narnia one of the coolest things that C.S. Lewis did was to ascribe kingship to the sons and the daughters of Adam and Eve. - Remember how that worked- That was how it was determined that the four children would be come kings and queens in narnia. Because thier blood was royal- not From narnian royalty- rather they were royals from line of earth.. from the line of adam.

Now when I was first reading those books i didn’t get what CSLEWIS was saying but now I do.

ADAM was a king. A very special king..

Remember when God made Adam he made him in his own image. He breathed his spirit into him.. and he named him the steward over the whole earth.

Adam was the first King and we are all his desendants…

That is a stunning thing to think about.. The bible says that there is not a person who walks through these doors ever. That isn’t in the line of kings! More over the bible make an even bigger claim than that- it claims that every person who walks through these doors is not just in the line of kings- they are also made in the image of God!

From Adam and eve all of humanity inherit the role of stewarts and the desire to be in deep ongoing relationship with God.

But we also inherit thier sin.

This is what Paul is getting at in Romans 5

We have a family tree that Goes way back with roots in Gods profound plan of creation and Glory. But that family tree Also has a severe sin Problem. It began when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the knowledge of Good and evil in rebellion and unbelief. And has continued in evey generation since.

It has brought us all under the curse of God’s judgement and wrath and in it we are literally aligned with Adam.

The westminster confession says that, “all mankind, descending from Adam by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression.”

Just as we carry adam’s royalty with us we carry as well his curse.

But this is where Jesus comes into the picture.

As paul says in verse “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”

Paul is saying that Jesus came as the solution to our broken family. He entered the line of Adam- lived under the same temptations that that are common to us all. He was hungry, he was thirsty. He was sad, he was angry. He was Lonely. Yet Jesus did what Adam could not do. He lived in complete obedience to the father’s will and to the Law.

So jesus was like adam in that he Human- h e was tempted like Adam. and he suffered as adam suffered.

But Jesus was not like adam inthat he is also God. Filled with God’s spirit and rooted in an eternal relationship within the trinity.

So jesus finished what Adam couldn’t and So he became a new King for humanity to follow.

Adam was the first king, the failed King was doomed in his sin. But Jesus is the new king… and Those who choose to follow him become part of a different family a family not ruled by sin and the eternal wrath of a rightious God. But instead they are difined by the righteousness of Christ and his relationship with the God the Father.

The relationship that was broken from the time of Adam is brought together in the grace of Jesus.

Theologically this all makes good sense- but we also need to understand how this works in our daily lifes.. What does this mean?

So let me tell you a story- I want you to imagine a frontier town in the old west.

There is only one general store in the town and at that store the father of one particularly large and rambuncious familes builds up a huge debt to his account. The store owner is a generous man who hates to see anyone goe without the bare neccecities so he allows himself to be taken advantage of by this man and his children for many years. Till he finally has put a stop to it. Their greed is causing problems for his other customers and the store as a whole. So the store owner bans the whole family from ever shopping at his store. And so they go hungry.. or they have to make the long journey across the desert to the other store in another town.

Now that family is like all of us under Adam. Together we have created a debt so great that none of us can pay it. We are banned forever from peace with God. But Jesus would be the one son of Adam- who hated the debt and the lies that we had made the Shop owner. And so he went to the shop owner and offered to pay the whole massive debt of that family by becoming the servant of the shop keeper. but Because jesus is such a good servant he does pay off the debts that were incured by Adam and his family. But the shop owner still knows better than to let Adam’s family have thier credit back.. but Jesus’ credit is awesome so that those who shop on his credit are more than welcome in the general store.

This is what jesus has done for us--- he has paid the price of our sin and bought us peace with God.. but only if we align ourselves with him and his kingdom priorities.

So how did jesus pay for the sins of adam and his decendents. how did he overcome the weight of a 1000 generations of sin and rebellion? How could one man do all that?

Paul says

Ro 5:6-11  For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

For Jesus it was not a matter of repaying a debt through work or through good deeds. Jesus the son God became human, bacame a son of Adam, part of our family and he had to die for us. It was his blood his human and divine blood that washed us clean. He was the sacrifice that atoned for our sins. But death could not Hold the son of God. And Christ who died for us lives for us as well. He is our mediator with the father. And he replaced Adam as the new head of our Family.

In Jesus we are Royalty again.. Not the discareded royalty of a forgotten house but we are literally declared sons and daughters of the King who reigns. From paupers to princes is what we have become. Not by our works or our good intentions- no this is a matter of faith simply looking to jesus. and as a result Paul says-

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

So we are very much like paupers becoming princes. In christ we gain a new father and a new future.

And jesus has even given us a counselor (the holy Spirit) who’s sole job is to teach us how to act as part of the royal family. As the counselor turns every thing in our lives into a profound lesson.- even and esspecially - our suffering , that thing that use to lead us to fear and reject God. To blame God and to curse him. Now it is used along with a million other blessings to teach us to walk nearer to God and to trust him more. and the more we trust him the more we see how great the fathers love is for us.. And so we grow from paupers and thieves into wise and just kings and queens that we were intended to be before the the fall.

This is our rags to riches story. The story of a failed family rescued and renewed by the sacrificial love of our elder brother.

What he has done for us frees us from the cycle of selfishness, unforgiveness and violence that has plagued our family for a thousand generations. In Christ we are New creations! The old is Gone and we are made new!

This week as you wake and look at your self in the mirror. brushing your teeth and starting your day. I want you to remember your Royal Blood.

and ask your self which royal family are you part of? Who is your family head. With whom do you aligne yourself. With Adam the first man.

or Jesus the new man.

The answer to this question is found not in a blood test but in a heart test. Is your heart right with God? Are you living a life that is rooted in the freedom you recieved from Jesus or are you still living like Adam and his decendants.

Does your energy go into the adamic patterns trying to earn God’s favor and then hiding from him in shame. Or are you resting and rejoicing in the freedom and grace of the Cross as you join Jesus, your older brother declaring and building the Kingdom of God?

Ultimately the question to ask is “when it comes to your relationship with God i do you feel like a prince or a pauper?”

Let’s pray...