[0:00] We welcome you to the media ministry of Bethel Community Church. Knowing Jesus, making Jesus known. If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Romans chapter 5.
[0:15] We're going to be picking it up again, beginning in verse 12. Last week's passage highlighted all the benefits and blessings that come to us through Jesus Christ and what he accomplished on the cross.
[0:34] Because of Christ, believers are justified. We have peace and reconciliation with God. And we have this great hope of a bright future awaiting us.
[0:46] Some people may wonder, boy, how can just one act from just one person, one individual, affect so many people? It's too good to be true.
[1:00] Yeah, what do you call a person who would say that? They call him a pessimist. Yeah, what's a pessimist? Here's a definition. That's a person who is inclined to expect poor outcomes.
[1:14] A person who habitually sees or anticipates the worst. Well, I think there's other ways that you can identify a pessimist. Here's one.
[1:25] What's the difference between an optimist and a pessimist? Well, an optimist is the guy who created the airplane. The pessimist is the guy who created the parachute.
[1:37] You can always spot a pessimist. If he has a medical bracelet, it will say, in case of emergency, I'm not surprised. Did you know that you can always borrow money from a pessimist?
[1:53] In fact, you should. That's because he doesn't expect to ever be paid back. Here's the difference between an optimist and a pessimist. A pessimist will say, man, things can't get any worse.
[2:07] But an optimist will reply, oh yeah, it sure can. Here's one. Here's a story. Two guys. One of them said, I like being a pessimist.
[2:19] He said, I'm either right or I'm pleasantly surprised. And another guy said, I'm an optimist. I'm an optimistic pessimist. Well, how can that be?
[2:30] I'm positive that things will go wrong. Here's three guys that are in a tunnel. An optimist, a pessimist, and then there's a trained conductor.
[2:42] The pessimist says, there's nothing but darkness at the end of that tunnel. The optimist, he says, oh no, there's light at the end of the tunnel.
[2:54] The conductor says, what are those two morons doing on the train tracks? Well, seriously though, have you ever encountered someone, perhaps after hearing about the free gift of grace from God?
[3:10] That it's not earned, but it's by grace. And they would say something like, it's too good to be true. Well, this passage this morning is going to answer this.
[3:22] Many commentators view this passage as one of the most difficult and controversial passages in all of Paul's writings.
[3:34] And while it is challenging, but I think this morning, we're going to see God's grace. It is not too good to be true. God's grace is good.
[3:44] And it is true. Let's go ahead and read with me here. Romans 5, beginning in verse 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.
[4:04] For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there's no law. 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.
[4:25] 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.
[4:43] And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For on one hand, the judgment arose from one transgression, resulting in condemnation.
[4:54] But on the other hand, the free gift arose from many transgressions, resulting in justification. For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.
[5:18] So then, as through the one transgression, there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men.
[5:31] For as through one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.
[5:41] And the law came in that the transgression might increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. That as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through the righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[6:01] Let's go to prayer, brothers and sisters. Heavenly Father, we are so grateful that we can come here today and to just learn of you, Lord, and just the truths that we see in this passage, truths that we can count on.
[6:18] And Lord, we don't need to be pessimistic about anything involving you because you are good. You're faithful and true. Thank you, Lord. May these words apply to us this morning and may we learn about you more and more each day and especially the free gift of grace through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[6:37] Amen. Let's go ahead and dive right into our text. If you notice in verse 12, Paul's going to be starting out here by giving us three important principles.
[6:51] Look with me here, verse 12. Notice, we see that sin came into the world how? Through one man. Here's how sin came into the world.
[7:04] Adam was the first human being. In the beginning, we read that he was pure. He was innocent. He was unstained by sin. In the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam only one prohibition.
[7:19] If you look with me on your handout here, it's listed in Genesis chapter 2, verse 17. Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. Let's just stop right there.
[7:31] But we all know what happened. Through Satan's encouragement, Adam did what? He ate the forbidden fruit. And thus, sin entered this world. I think it's really important to know that when Adam sinned, his was a willful act of disobedience.
[7:49] He was not deceived like his wife was. Instead, he committed what's called a transgression. A transgression is something where you transgress a law.
[8:01] And that's exactly what he did. He went against a specific command from God. So that's the first principle we see. Sin came into the world through one man.
[8:11] Secondly, here we see, and death came through sin. Death came to Adam as a penalty, or we would say, a consequence for his transgression.
[8:25] If you go on in that passage in Genesis 2, the Lord says, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall what? Surely die. Now, death here is referring to both a physical separation from the living.
[8:42] It's also referring to a spiritual separation from our God. So, when we read about this, we see that death is not something that God originally intended for Adam.
[8:56] perhaps you've come across somebody who will say something like, well, death is a natural part of life today. You ever hear that?
[9:07] I'll tell you what, friends, they're either uninformed or they've been deceived because death is not natural. No, in fact, the Bible calls it an enemy.
[9:18] Look with me on your handout. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says, the last enemy to be destroyed is death. So, there's two principles here.
[9:29] Here's the third one in verse 12. And so, death spread to all men because all sinned. Brothers and sisters, here's the reason why things are the way they are.
[9:42] This is why the world is like it is today. When Adam sinned, death spread to all men. that word there is anthropos. When it's in the plural, it's talking about all people, all humanity.
[9:57] You think about it, our beautiful planet is littered with gravestones all over the place. We've been to a couple different countries and you'll see them there too.
[10:08] Japan, the Philippines, all in the United States, you'll see gravestones. And that's because right now, there's over 56 million people who die every year.
[10:21] Did you know that? Now, we've got some births that replace some of that. But 56 million people die every year. That's 155,000 people die every day.
[10:34] That's 1.8 people who die per second. Someone dies. Like the writer of Hebrews says, it's appointed for men to die once.
[10:46] And after this comes the judgment. Adam was the introductory point for death to enter this world. Not only for people, for all living things.
[11:01] One biblical commentator compared Adam's sin to a vapor that entered a house. It came into, it penetrated the entire house, spreading death to everybody.
[11:15] Notice here, Paul adds in verse 12, because all sinned. What does he mean by that? I think it's important for us to consider who was Adam as the first human being.
[11:29] Adam was the head of the human race. This is a concept that we call natural headship. And when he sinned, it brought about a fundamental change within himself.
[11:42] corruption, pollution, these are the things that entered his very soul. And Adam's one sin led to the condition or a state of being that's also called sin.
[11:58] Many people call this state of being a state of original sin. Here's what it also did. It also guaranteed that all of Adam's progeny, I'm talking about everybody who would be born from Adam's seed would also be polluted.
[12:16] And all persons inherit this corrupt nature from Adam at birth. This is what Paul means when he says all sinned. God considers all people, all of us, you and I, as participating, get this, in Adam's one act of sin.
[12:36] In other words, when Adam sinned, it's as though you and I were right there with him. Is that true? How often do you hear something like this?
[12:50] I'll tell you what, friends, this is the language that the Bible uses. If you want to have an example of this, you can look on your handout or you can turn with me to Hebrews chapter 7.
[13:02] In Hebrews chapter 7 in verses 9 and 10, the context of that passage is the writer of Hebrews is comparing Melchizedek, who's the high priest of Salem, this is during Abraham's time, he's comparing him to Levi, the high priest during Moses' time.
[13:23] Look what he says in verse 9. One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham.
[13:35] Of course, that's to Melchizedek. Well, how can that be? Levi came some 620 years later.
[13:46] How can that be? Well, in verse 10, look what he says. For he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. Wow.
[13:59] So we were there in the loins of Adam, so to speak. Back to Romans here. This is how Adam's one sin brought a condition of sin to all of humanity.
[14:14] Now, Paul's going to illustrate the significance of Adam's sin here. Friends, we're not done here. Or I should say, Paul is not done here. Look with me, verse 13. He says, For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given.
[14:30] Well, that's no surprise. Is it? I mean, in fact, some of them we would call great sinners. You read about in the days of Noah. What was that like?
[14:41] Or how about during when they were building that Tower of Babel? He had great sinners. But then notice Paul adds in verse 13. But sin was not counted where there is no law.
[14:53] All he's saying here is that their sinful actions did not transgress any laws. And that's because the laws didn't exist yet.
[15:05] But if you look in verse 14, here's what we see. Death did reign. Death reigned from Adam to Moses. And here's why. Because their sinning was not like the transgression of Adam.
[15:21] We might say, we'll ask, well, in what way? Well, again, Adam is special. He's the head of the human race.
[15:32] They weren't. And they're just sinners. Just like us. But Adam was special. Here's where Paul is going with all of this. Look with me in verse 14.
[15:44] Adam was a type of the one who was to come. Have you ever heard about a type? That concept of typology? A definition of a type is simply, it's a divinely intended illustration of one thing to another.
[16:02] So there's a type and there's an anti-type. The key here where Paul's going is that you have two men. Both of them have a kingdom. You have the kingdom of man and then you have the kingdom of God.
[16:17] And we see that each one committed a single act. Adam committed an act. Jesus Christ committed one act. And every person is either in one kingdom or another.
[16:32] All people are either in Christ or they are in Adam. Look with me in what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15. He says, For as by a man came death, by a man has come the resurrection of the dead.
[16:50] For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Now, here's the thing.
[17:01] Everybody's in Adam because of their physical birth while only those who have the new birth in Christ are in him. And so, just as Adam imparted this terrible legacy to all those who belong to him, what we see here is the blessing that in Christ he bestows a legacy onto those who belong to him.
[17:31] Amen? Paul would go on to say in 1 Corinthians 15, it is, thus it is written, the first man Adam became a living being, the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
[17:47] He's talking here about being empowered by the spirit here. So having these general truths laid down, here's the blessing here. Paul's going to now draw some contrasts between Adam and Jesus.
[18:02] Great contrast. Follow along with me on your handout if you will. we're going to first consider the effectiveness of each man's act.
[18:13] Look with me, verse 15. Well here, let me say this. Through the cross of Jesus, God's grace abounds. Here, look with me, verse 15.
[18:25] The free gift, that is, I'm talking about Jesus' deliberate sacrifice, he says, is not like the trespass, that is, Adam's deliberate sin. How?
[18:37] He says, for if many died through one man's trespass, how much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many.
[18:50] In other words, because of Adam's one trespass, death came to all men. And right now, we experience that. We do.
[19:01] We suffer from the presence of sin. That's where we talk about how sin came into the world. Secondly, we talk about the penalty of sin.
[19:12] That's how death is represented separation from God. Thirdly, there's the power of sin. And that's the power that sin has as it reigns over people.
[19:25] But through God's grace and Jesus' sacrifice, much more has been accomplished. Look with me at that phrase, much more, it says.
[19:36] That's a key phrase here, repeated some five times in our passage. In Jesus, we have gained much more than we have ever lost in Adam.
[19:48] Not only that, Adam's sin was nullified by Jesus. But what Jesus did is eternal. It cannot be nullified.
[19:59] And friends, this ought to give us great confidence that we are eternally secure in the Lord. There was a verse or passage read this morning talking about how no one can be snatched out of God's hand.
[20:14] What a blessing that is to be eternally secure because through the cross of Jesus, God's grace abounds. Secondly, let's consider the result of each man's act.
[20:30] Through the cross of Jesus, we are forgiven. Look with me, verse 16. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin.
[20:42] For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. See, Adam's one sin, think about it, it brought condemnation to the whole human race, but in Christ's case, one act was sufficient to justify all those who believe in him.
[21:11] Friends, we don't return to where Adam was before the fall in Christ. No, like a state of innocence. No, in Christ, it's better.
[21:22] We're justified. We are declared righteous in God's eyes. The penalty of sin is nullified. Here's a third truth here.
[21:33] Let's consider the impact of each man. And I'll say this, through the cross, we can reign in life. Look with me, verse 17.
[21:44] For if because of one man's trespass, he says, death reigned through that one man, isn't that true? He says, 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.
[22:03] What Paul's saying here is that Adam's sin brought about death. And just think about how death rules over mankind today. If you ever look in Genesis chapter five, you'll see this chapter, it's called the book of generations.
[22:19] If you look at that, what do you see? You see this repeated phrase over and over, eight times, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died.
[22:31] It keeps, death is all over. And many people today, they fear death. It holds power over people. It's powerful. It rules over the way people live.
[22:43] It rules over the choices that people make. Maybe you know somebody who that describes. Well, you can tell them that in contrast, in other words, those in Christ who have received this abundance of grace and this free gift of righteousness Paul talks about, what happens?
[23:04] We reign in life. In other words, the power of sin no longer dominates us. Why is that? It's because it was nullified by Jesus Christ.
[23:17] Through his death, the writer of Hebrews again says that Jesus destroyed the one who has the power of death, that is the devil, and they also will deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
[23:35] But isn't that an apt description of today? Of how death just reigns over people, makes us do crazy things? We've been, death and the reign of death has been nullified.
[23:52] And not only that, in this life, we have the promise that believers will one day participate in reigning with Christ. Isn't that great? How about fourthly, let's consider the essence of each man's act.
[24:09] You may notice here, these are contrasted in terms of obedience, of Christ, and disobedience of Adam. Through Jesus' obedience, we are made righteous.
[24:23] Here, look with me. Let me prove it. Verse 19, for as by one man's disobedience, the many were what? Made sinners. So as by one man's obedience, the many will be made what?
[24:40] Righteous. notice here, it says that many will be made, will be made sinners, be made righteous. How are people made anything?
[24:53] Well, if you're talking about sin, you're talking about here that inherited sin nature. One commentator called it sinnership. Yeah.
[25:04] That's talking about our solidarity with Adam, and that's because all people are born with a sinful nature. Boy, that can be proven. Just talk to Michelle in the daycare.
[25:15] You don't have to teach young children how to be selfish. You don't have to teach them how to lie. But I'll tell you what, instead of sinnership, in Jesus, we have sonship.
[25:30] What a great promise that is, a great truth that we have from the Lord Jesus. Jesus, it's because of Jesus' obedience to the Father. It says we're made righteous.
[25:42] That's talking about here that imputation. It's imputed, an accounting term, imputed to us. What great promises are here. Let's wrap it up here.
[25:53] The fifth one. Consider the outcome of each man's act. This is through God's grace we can enjoy eternal life. Amen. Read with me verse 20.
[26:05] Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[26:26] What this tells us here is about how the law gave an added dimension to sin. sin became transgressions, and that's because the law measured it.
[26:41] The law exposed it. In fact, the law even stimulated sin. Have you ever seen a sign that says, do not pick the flowers?
[26:52] And then people walk by and what do they do? They pick the flowers. They wouldn't have even thought of doing that if it wasn't because of that sign. But because of Jesus and his grace, it far exceeds the sin.
[27:09] Notice the word used there, abounded. It's sin has been, or grace is super abounded, and it leads to eternal life.
[27:20] The presence of sin will one day be nullified. Whew, man. How does all of this help us?
[27:32] Let me suggest four ways. I hope you've noticed this first one. Isn't it interesting that Paul speaks of Adam and Jesus as real historical figures?
[27:46] Did you notice that? You know, today you may hear all these questions from scientists and maybe there's a program on television, and they'll be talking about something real intellectual like, well, is it really real, or was it just a myth?
[28:03] Was it a mythology? Friends, there's little doubt that in Paul's mind he believed Adam and Christ to be literal historical figures, and I say amen to that.
[28:17] Here's a second thing to notice. Did you notice that death did not exist prior to Adam? Yeah, God. I think that destroys the entire foundation of evolution because in evolution and millions of years, it depends on what?
[28:36] Death. Death is all around, but friends, the Bible teaches something different. Death did not exist until Adam came along. I'm talking about the death of living things, not trees or plants or anything.
[28:52] The death of living things. Thirdly, it helps us to understand why our loved ones die. Now, how death came into humanity. Maybe you'll hear this question, why does death and disease happen to good people?
[29:10] Well, in this passage, we see the reason why everybody dies. It's because of Adam's original sin. It's not because of our own sins. It's because we are united to Adam and his sin.
[29:25] Human beings don't enter the world in what we might call a neutral state. No, we're dead on arrival because of Adam's sin.
[29:37] Friends, this is what I believe why little babies die. Even though they're too young to have committed an act of sin, they've still inherited Adam's sin.
[29:51] sin. And that's why they die. But let me go over the fourth one here. And as the musicians would come up here, here's the fourth truth that we can see. This contrast exalts Jesus Christ.
[30:05] Who he is, what he's done for us. Five times in verses 15 and 19, Paul contrasts Adam with Christ.
[30:16] And a person. Each person is either in Adam or they're in Christ. What do we see here? We see that Adam, through Adam, he brought sin, death, and judgment into the world.
[30:30] Whereas Christ brought grace, life, righteousness into this world. Christ has not only restored that which Adam lost, he has gone much further beyond that.
[30:44] Friends, it is not too good to be true. God's grace is good and it is true. Now you and I can't help by being in Adam.
[30:57] It came by birth. But we do have a choice. We can remain in Adam or we can experience a second birth. Look what Jesus said, my last verse here, John 3.
[31:10] Jesus said to Nicodemus, truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter that kingdom of God.
[31:21] That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, you must be born again.
[31:33] So what will it be? We need to tell the world about the necessity of God's grace. That we need God's grace. grace. We need his gospel every day.
[31:47] And we should share that while there's still time. Heavenly Father, we are so amazed at your grace.
[31:58] We are so amazed that you have how Paul lays it out here that through one man it explains how we're in such misery today. That how sin entered this world.
[32:12] And boy, sin has done a number on us. But yet, Lord, we also see in Jesus Christ, he's the solution. He is the second Adam.
[32:24] The one who you sent to redeem us from not only the presence of sin, the power of sin, all that comes to us of what Adam brought.
[32:38] God, we thank you for the grace that we find in Jesus. It's in his name we pray. Amen. Amen.