Rom 5-The Greatest Gift

| A Tale of Two Families! Romans 5:12-21

July 2, 2006(NLT) 12When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. And though there was no law to break, since it had not yet been given, 14they all died anyway—even though they did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. What a contrast between Adam and Christ, who was yet to come! 15And what a difference between our sin and God’s generous gift of forgiveness. For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this other man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God’s bountiful gift. 16And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but we have the free gift of being accepted by God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
18Yes, Adam’s one sin brought condemnation upon everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness makes all people right in God’s sight and gives them life. 19Because one person disobeyed God, many people became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many people will be made right in God’s sight.
20God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful kindness became more abundant. 21So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful kindness rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.PRAY Memory Verse: (NIV) For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. – Romans 5:17 Intro:We can learn a lot about things by looking at things which are similar and at things which are opposite, or very different. Augustine wrote a book about two cities, the city of God and the city of man. For most of us here this morning we are members of two distinct families, our birth family and the family of God. We can learn a lot about ourselves by examining how the patriarchs of each of these families impacts us. This week:How Adam, and what he did, is like Christ and what He did. Next week:How Adam, and what he did, are very different from Christ and what He did.  How Adam, and what he did, is like Christ and what He did.Adam… was a type of the one who was to come. (v. 14 ESV) – a pattern (NIV)(explain types)1. Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin,So death spread to all men because all sinned. (v. 12 ESV)Two types of sin which make us guilty: original sin and actual or specific sinSC Question # 18 – What is sinful about man’s fallen condition?Answer: The sinfulness of that fallen condition is twofold. First, in what is commonly called original sin, there is the guilt of Adam’s first sin with its lack of original righteousness and the corruption of his whole nature. Second are all the specific acts of disobedience that come from original sin.Just as sin entered the world because of Adam, and death entered the world because of sin, so we all die because of Adam’s sin and also because WE sin.Sin results in death. It is a killer. Therefore dealing with it MUST be a TOP priority for each of us.☞    One sin cast Mr. & Mrs. Adam from the garden.☞    One sin kept Moses from entering the promised land.☞    One sin by King David resulted in the deaths of 1000’s of his people.Point number 1: God takes sin seriously, even in the life of a believer. Therefore, even though we are completely acceptable before God by His unconditional love and grace, we must never become lax about sin in our lives.2. As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, So one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. (v. 18 ESV)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. (v. 19 ESV)“Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.” – verse 18 (NIV)☞    The Issue of InheritanceNote: It is difficult for us to accept that we inherit someone else’s debt. However, we often find it easy to inherit someone else’s wealth.In this case we inherit the one naturally, the other supernaturally. The one by physical birth, the other by adoption. In both cases, though we are products of our forbearers, inheriting their nature, becoming as they are.-         Things my mother taught me…My Mother taught me LOGIC...If you fall off that swing and break your neck, you can't go to the store with me."My Mother taught me MEDICINE...If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they're going to freeze that way."My mother taught me TO THINK AHEAD...If you don't pass the spelling test, you'll never get a job!" |   | My Mother taught me ESP...Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"My Mother taught me to MEET A CHALLENGE...What are you thinking? Answer me when I talk to you...Don't talk Back to me!"My Mother  taught me HUMOR....When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."My mother taught me to BECOME AN ADULT...If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."My Mother taught me about GENETICS..."You are just like your father."My Mother taught me about my ROOTS....."Do you think you were born in a barn?"My mother taught me about WISDOM OF AGE....When you get to my age, you will understand."My Mother taught me about ANTICIPATION...."Just wait until your father gets home."And my all time favorite thing- JUSTICE...-         "One day you will have kids, and I hope they turn out just like YOU...then you'll see what it's like."We are all guilty because we are descended from Adam. This includes everyone… except Jesus, who had no human father, and therefore did not inherit his father’s sin. – Sin comes from Adam. So, also, we inherit our sin from our fathers.The question comes, has the one man’s obedience… made [you] righteous? – the gospel ☞    The Issue of Generational SinAnother thing we need to understand, here, is that sin is never merely a matter between me and God. When we sin, we are not only hurting ourselves, but all those around us. And we are not only hurting those who are around us at the moment, but also our children and grandchildren.This works both ways. We pass on to our children both sinful patterns and righteous patterns. Just as Adam passed on to us a sinful nature, so also Christ passed on to us both the pattern and the power for righteousness.So what do we do about sin?IMPORTANT NOTE: This is NOT meant to say that if we do everything right our children will turn out right, or vice versa. What it means is that another motive God gives us for dealing with sin ruthlessly and constantly, is that lack of diligence in this area is often passed on to future generations. Likewise, diligence in matters of righteousness is also often passed on. – Note the word: often1 John 1 makes it clear that we all sin. 1 John 1:8-10 (NLT) If we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and refusing to accept the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.The issue is not so much whether we do things “right,” but rather, do we live our lives in the light of the gospel, being quick to confess our sin and to acknowledge our need of grace.Point number 2: Just as we can see the evidence our lineage in Adam because we sin, so also, if we have been born again into God’s family, we should be able to see the evidence our lineage in Christ because we are becoming more like Him. 3. As sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (v. 21 ESV)The evidence of sin: deathThe evidence of grace: righteousnessWhere death reigns, sin reigns. Where sin reigns, death reigns.Where grace reigns, righteousness grows, leading to eternal life.When we are living in known, unrepentant sin, we are like the walking dead – fearful, unhappy, unsettled, etc. When we are walking in the light of the gospel, being quick to confess and turn from sin as the Holy Spirit convicts of it, we are truly alive – at peace, full of joy.When we are walking in grace there is fruit in our lives and hearts, the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, etc.Question: what does the evidence in your life say?If we are truly under grace, then we will not be able to abide sin in our lives. We will be growing in our hatred of it and in our desire to see it exposed and dealt with.This can only come through the gospel. – We need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day… and we need to believe it. Where grace reigns, sins dies. Where sin reigns, we die. Point number 3: Sin and grace both portray evidence to their presence. They both pay dividends. Every day we are faced with the choice of submitting to temptation and sin or to turn from it to the grace which is our in Jesus Christ. Invitation to the table… A Truth to Remember: Just as Adam’s sin plunged us into an abyss of sin and death, even more Christ’s righteous obedience frees us from both the penalty and the power of sin. A Challenge to Consider: Is there clear evidence of the grace of God at work in your life, or do you need to cry out to God to enable you to better understand and live by His grace? |