Legacy

Opening:

story

The Smith’s were proud of their family tradition. Their ancestors had come to America on the Mayflower. Their line had included Senators, Pastors, & Wall Street wizards.

Now they decided to compile a family history, a legacy for the children. They hired a well known author. Only one problem arose: how to handle that great-uncle George who was executed in the electric chair. But the author said not to worry, he could handle that section of history tactfully.

When the book appeared, the family turned to the section on Uncle George.

There, they read "George Smith occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution, was attached to his position by the strongest of ties, & his death came as a real shock."

Intro

Def. of Legacy

something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past

A Legacy of Failure (vv. 12-14)

The Sinful Man

Adam's sin affected every single person

Romans 3:23

If God had tested every human being individually, the result would be the same

Paul talked about Adam seven times throughout his writings, and he spoke about Adam as an actual, historical figure

Jesus also spoke about Adam and Eve (see Matthew 19:4-5)

Both Paul and Jesus referred to a literal Adam and a literal Eve—not mythical figures

Most people today do not believe in a historical Adam and Eve, because that would mean believing in the creation

The prevailing belief of the last century is Darwinian evolution

As believers, we hold a teleological viewpoint: if something looks like it's been designed, there's a designer behind it

Wherever there is a thing, there must have been a preceding thought; wherever there is a thought, there must have been a thinker

If a historical Adam does not represent mankind in sinfulness, then a historical Jesus could never represent mankind in righteousness; one requires the other

Upon Everyone

Evil seems to grow with each subsequent generation

Right now, there are forty active conflicts on earth

There's a rise in depression and suicide in our country

Whose fault is this?

Adam was given an incredible power—the power of choice, or volition

Through one man, sin entered the world; when he opened that door, a deadly virus infected humanity

Since Adam, every human is born with sin in their DNA

Sin entered, death entered, death spread, and death reigned

One man's act brought results so catastrophic we are still experiencing the repercussions to this day

When Adam sinned, he generated a constitutional change in his character, and he acted as the federal head of humanity, passing on his nature throughout history

Failure achieved

Why would God condemn the world because of what one person did?

This principle works in other aspects of human propagation

We get physical characteristics from parents and grandparents

Eye color, hair color, body type, height, etc.—all of that gets passed on through our genetic code

In the same way, sin is a matter of spiritual genetics—we inherit a fallen nature

By condemning the race through one man, God is able to save the race through one man

In consigning all of us under the condemnation clause, since we're all born into that state, we can all be saved by His grace by simply believing

By one man we are condemned; by one man we are saved

Our condition is the total depravity of mankind

The word depravity means marked by corruption

Depravity does not mean you're as bad as you can possibly be; it means you're as bad off as you can possibly be

Before God, you and I can't get any worse

Romans 1:18

Romans 3:23

We are, by nature, the children of wrath

A Legacy of Favor (vv. 15-21)

The Sacrificial Man

Paul called Jesus "the last Adam" in 1 Corinthians 15:45

Just as through one man's failure came mankind's fall, so one man's fix bought mankind's favor

Adam is a "type" (typos in Greek) of Christ (v. 14), not because they are similar, but because they are dissimilar to each other

The only similarity between Adam and Christ is that what they did affected the rest of mankind; Adam is the antitype of Christ

Open to Everyone

One choice, one act, one sin affected the many; one sacrifice, one righteous deed affected salvation for the many

The many refers to all mankind

Many is an appositional statement of every single person

When the Law was written at the time of Moses, it made sin worse, because you might be doing everything the Law says not to do

But now that the Law says, "Don't do it," you know it's wrong

The Law makes the offense known and amplified

Whatever we lost in Adam, we gained in Christ much more

When sin reached its high-water mark, grace completely flooded over

The point of this passage is that sin cannot erect a dam so high that grace cannot overflow

God's grace can overflow your failures; where sin abounded, grace can abound much more

If you think your failure has tapped out God's grace, you don't know your God and you don't understand His grace

Favor Received

After Adam and Eve sinned, they had a sudden self-realization of something that hadn't been an issue before: their nakedness

They covered themselves with fig leaves, but fig leaves dry out; it was a temporary fix

God graciously provided animal skins for them

To get animal skins, you have to kill an animal

God killed the animal, shedding innocent blood, to provide clothing

Hebrews 9:22

God shared two truths with Adam and Eve that became part of the biblical narrative

Death came into the world because of sin, and only a life can pay for it

A substitute can be offered in the place of the one who committed sin

The cost of Adam and Eve's sin was one lamb per person

But as time moved on, God established the Passover among the Hebrew nation and allowed one lamb to be slain for each family

For Yom Kippur, God allowed the slaying of one lamb for the whole nation

With Jesus, it became one lamb for the world (see John 1:29); Jesus undid the damage left by Adam

It's not fair that Jesus should pay for your sin

Some people complain and say, "Why should I get punished for what Adam did?"

But the question is, why should Jesus get punished for what you did?

Yet, He did; He must think we're worth it