"You Didn't Think I Could Come Back from That"

Disarming and Forgiving

300 Sermon Illustrations from Charles Spurgeon Disarming and Forgiving (Romans 5:10; 2 Corinthians 5:18–20; Hebrews 3:15)

To illustrate the manner in which rebellious sinners are reconciled to God, I will relate to you an interesting anecdote from the life of a soldier. It may picture to your minds the majesty of God in showing grace, and the humbling experience of the sinner in receiving it, and help us to answer that solemn question—“What must I do to be saved?”

My author says that himself and his comrades of a certain regiment serving in India had been without pay for about six months, and there was strong suspicion throughout the ranks that their commanding officer had embezzled the money. He was a great gambler, and they thought it most likely that he had gambled away their pay.

They were determined to seek redress, so all the private soldiers (with the exception of non-commissioned officers) agreed that on a particular morning, when on parade, they should not obey the word of command. The day arrived, and they carried their design into execution. The regiment was assembled; the men in companies, headed by their respective officers, proceeded to the parade ground and formed into open column. The commanding officer took his station in front and gave the word of command. However, not one of the privates obeyed.

This being the conduct of the regiment, the commanding officer, with great self-possession, ordered every tenth man to be confined in the guardhouse. It was done without a show of resistance. After which, all the privates fixed bayonets, shouldered arms, and marched off—the band playing and the drums beating alternately—all the way to the residence of the general, about a mile distant. There they halted and formed in line fronting the house, in a most orderly manner. One man from each of the ten companies then stepped forward, and they proceeded to lodge a written complaint against the colonel. Having thus fulfilled their purpose, they marched back, and dismissed; but the next thing was to release the prisoners, and this they did without any violence being offered by the guard.

Whatever extenuations we may conceive for such conduct, according to military law it was a heinous crime. The soldier’s duty is to obey; he must not think for himself, but he must be as a tool in the hands of his superior officers to do as he is told, and not to complain.

Shortly after this, to the surprise of these soldiers, the general was seen approaching with a large army of Sepoys, infantry and cavalry, with field pieces in front. The regiment went out and respectfully saluted him, forming in line. But this was not what the general came for. They saw the storm brewing and prepared to fight. After the two lines had been formed, facing each other, the general moved out on horseback, and said, “Twenty-second, take the command from me.” They obeyed. He then said, “Order arms.” Next—“Handle arms”;—and last, which was most disgraceful to them—“Ground arms.” Having thus disarmed, he ordered his cavalry to charge upon them, and drive them from their arms. One more order he gave to those disaffected men—that they should strip off their accouterments and lay them on the ground, and be off to their cantonments. When he had thus disarmed and dishonored the men, he forgave them.

And now will not this incident fitly represent the manner of God with sinners, when according to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, he brings terms of peace and reconciliation to us who are in revolt against him? He says, “Ground arms, give up your sins, take off your self-righteousness.” He disarms us, dishonors us, and strips off all our comely array, and then says, “Now I will forgive you.”

Romans 5:12-21

English Standard Version Chapter 5

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

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.

The Start of Sin — Romans 5:12-14

We got our physical life from Adam, and we get our spiritual life from the second Adam, Christ. Both Adams give us life that never ends. There is another important commonality to point out here. Adam gave us sin through imputation. He deposited sin into our accounts so that we were born with it. Because he was our representative, when sin and death entered Adam, death spread to all people, because all sinned. The way out of death and into life is similar: Christ imputes righteousness and life into us. He is our representative, and in his righteousness we find our righteousness.

Sin is an illegitimate action performed to fulfill a legitimate need. The Greek word is hamartia, meaning to act contrary to the will and the law of God.

Death in the Greek is thanatos, meaning the process of dying.

Expository Outlines from Romans 9. Sin and Salvation (Romans 5:12–21)

God created Adam and Eve perfect, to live forever. Sin marred this perfection for all mankind. (See Ps. 51:5; Rom. 6:10.) Man’s heart is naturally evil—Jer. 17:9. Christ came to redeem man from his sin; only in Christ can he be made new—2 Cor. 5:17. He will be given a new heart—Ezek. 36:26.

A. The Start of Sin—vv. 12–14

1. Start—v. 12

a) Degradation—v. 12a. Sin came through Adam’s sin—Gen. 3:1–15.

b) Death—v. 12b. Death came to all—Rom. 6:23; Ezek. 18:20.

2. Sin—v. 13. “Sin was in the world before the Jewish Law was given. But sin is not held against a person when there is no law”—NLT.

3. Separation—v. 14. Sin brings death—Gen. 2:17. “If you eat of this tree you will die.” Sin always separates us from God (Ps. 66:18).

The Stigma of Sin — Romans 5:15-19

Adam may have given us life, but his main legacy is that by the one man’s trespass the many died. He left the legacy of death for us, but we don’t have any grounds to complain, because we prove every time we sins that we wouldn’t have chosen any better than he did. God’s gift of grace is not like the trespass. Unlike Adam, who gave us life and death, Jesus gives us only life.. And while we earned Adam’s penalty of death, we receive the grace of God as a gift. You can group the human race under two people—Adam or Christ. Every person you meet is either in Adam or in Christ, and that’s a difference with eternal consequences. The path of Adam leads to judgment, resulting in condemnation. But the the path of Christ results in justification. God saves us so that we reign in life—that is, live lives of spiritual victory rather than spiritual defeat. The sin we inherited from Adam—called original sin—is overridden by the death of Christ because through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. By “everyone,” Paul means everyone. Thus, even though we are all born sinners, Christ’s blood covers us until we reach an age of accountability, that time when a person is capable of choosing to transgress and reject his revelation. So while there is condemnation for everyone, there is divine covering through Christ for those who have not yet chosen to rebel against God’s law. This explains how babies or people born with mental handicaps are saved by Christ’s death, since original sin is no longer the issue in those cases. We are saved by works—just not our own works. We are saved by the works of Christ. Through Christ’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Because he lived the perfect life we should have, we can share in his perfect record.

Expository Outlines from Romans 9. Sin and Salvation (Romans 5:12–21)

Security—v. 15. “God’s free gift is not like the sin of Adam. Many people died because of the sin of this one man, Adam. But the loving favor of God came to many people also. This gift came also by one man, Jesus Christ, God’s Son”—NLT.

2. Salvation—v. 16. “The free gift of God is not like Adam’s sin. God told Adam he was guilty because of his sin and guilt. But the free gift makes men right with God. Through One, Christ, men’s sins are forgiven”—NLT.

3. Sin—v. 17. Because of man’s sin, death reigned; all are born in sin—Rom. 3:23. Note the results of sin—Rev. 21:8.

4. Saviour—v. 18. Through Adam all are sinners. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to those who are His. We must be born again—John 3:1–8.

5. Surrender—v. 19. Surrender to Christ and God’s will. His plan gives us all righteousness. See Phil. 2:5–11. Adam’s disobedience made us sinners. Christ’s obedience clothes those who are His with His righteousness.

The Salvation from Sin — Romans 5:20-21

The law came along to multiply the trespass, which would be a tragedy without God’s intervention. But the beauty of the gospel is the where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more. Indeed, anyone who has a deep understanding of his own sin knows this from experience: the more we see our sin as a violation of God’s perfect law, the more we stand in awe of God’s grace towards us. God’s grace, Paul says, is stronger than our sin. Sin may have reigned in death, but through Christ grace will reign through righteousness. Sin is simply not strong enough to overpower grace. Between sin and grace, in fact, grace wins every time. This is why it is essential for all believers to grow in their understanding and appreciation of the magnificent grace of God.

pleonaza: to become more and more, so as to be in abundance, be/become more or be/become great, be present in abundance, grow, increase,

hyperperisseuo: to be very high on a scale of amount, be in great excess intr. be present in (greater) abundance (Moschio, De Pass. Mulier., ed. FDewez 1793 p. 6, 13) Ro 5:20.

② to cause someone to superabound in someth., supply lavishly,

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 1034). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 824). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Expository Outlines from Romans 9. Sin and Salvation (Romans 5:12–21)

Power of sin—v. 20. “Sin spread when the Jewish Law was given. But where sin spread, God’s loving-favor spread all the more”—NLT. When sin grew, God’s grace abounded more and more. Note Eph. 1:7. Through His grace we have redemption.

2. Power of salvation—v. 21. Sin meant death. Christ’s death meant life. Note the choice—Rom. 6:23. The wages of sin is death, but God’s gift is everlasting life. In Him was life—John 1:4; abundant life—John 10:10; eternal life—John 3:16; 11:25–26.

Though sin may abound, and though Satan may be powerful, God is over all. When He lives in us, we are more powerful than sin or Satan (1 John 4:4). When Christ, the Truth (John 14:6), is in us, this truth will set us free (John 8:32). As God’s children, we remain free.