All For One Series

Anybody here remember Alice Cooper? No, she didn’t used to attend this church. As a matter of fact, she isn’t even a she. Alice Cooper is a man. He’s a rock star from the early seventies, the first "shock rock" act. I suppose you could call him an early Marilyn Manson. He used to parade around the stage with makeup and live snakes and indulge in spectacles like simulating his own decapitation - that’s beheading, to those of you who are allergic to Latin. A few years ago his career received quite a boost when he appeared in the movie "Wayne's World." The scene everyone remembers is where Wayne and Garth have a chance meeting with Mr. Cooper, and they fall to the knees in worship, saying, "We're not worthy, we're not worthy." Alice Cooper became sort of the poster child for the anti-rock ’n roll movement: he stood for breaking the rules, for rebellion, immorality, idolatry, and excess. Of course, gangsta’ rap hadn’t made its appearance yet, either.

Under the circumstances, you may be surprised to hear that Alice Cooper has converted to Christianity. I was. He gave his life to Christ in 1995, and is now involved in a Bible church in Phoenix, Arizona, can you believe it? He sings in the choir and helps out in the nursery. (Can you imagine how well it goes over to tell a newcomer dropping off their kids that Alice Cooper is volunteering in the nursery that morning?) Right now, Mr. Cooper is keeping a low profile and concentrating on growing in Christ.

The most surprising thing about this story is not the fact that this former delinquent - maybe even degenerate - is now a believer. The most surprising thing about this story is the number of Christians who don’t believe it. One publication reported receiving a significant amount of mail from people who didn’t believe the story and didn’t think it should be printed. One respondent said, “I give it a year before he’s back in the world.” Why should this be? Do you think that once someone has tasted God’s goodness and experienced the incredible joy of knowing freedom in Christ they are likely to be tempted by the tawdry showbiz rewards they have already found wanting? Why do we believe more in the attraction of sin than in the power of God’s grace?

Alice Cooper’s conversion is only one of many. The original Jane Roe, you know, the one involved in Roe v. Wade, the case that made abortion on demand one of our inalienable rights, according to the Supreme Court, is now a Christian working on pro-life issues. Chuck Colson, the powerful Washington layer/insider of Watergate fame, found Christ in prison and later started Prison Fellowship. A friend of mine from seminary days was a deadhead, one of those disciples of the counter-culture who followed the Grateful Dead around the country. Well, he saw a vision of hell at one of their concerts and turned his life over to Christ on the spot. He is now a pastor. And then there’s me. The mix I brought to God’s table included a history which ranged from militant secularism to dabbling with the occult, and included most of the sins of the flesh as well. I am convinced that there is nothing that God's grace can't overcome, there is no life which God’s power cannot change. As powerful as sin is, grace is even stronger.

That is the message of Romans 5:12 21. In this passage, Paul is saying that even though our lives have been ruled by sin, and ruined by sin, we can still be rescued by grace. Now, God's grace works in our lives in more ways than we can count, so we’ll just concentrate on three aspects today.

In the first place, God's grace can overcome sin.

Anyone who makes an effort really to change their lives to be in conformity with Jesus Christ quickly comes to the conclusion that sin is a persistent problem. It's more than a nuisance, it’s a stalker. It will not go away. Sin sticks to us like Velcro. And while it is technically true that we always sin by choice, some habits of thought and behavior are so deep-rooted in us that it really isn’t possible to free ourselves by ourselves. Sin - whether it’s a big-name addiction like narcotics or gambling or a pesky infestation like gossip or resentment or envy - can truly become our master. But while everyone can see the big problems, we usually don’t see how much control the little infestations have over us until we start trying to become free of them. You see, we make accommodations for the sin in our lives because it’s too uncomfortable otherwise. You learn to live with the things you can’t change, and as you live with them, they start seeming familiar, even harmless. It is only when we hold our lives up to the mirror of Scripture and the example of Jesus Christ, that we begin to see how corrosive our little everyday sins can be. That is what Paul means when he says that “sin is not reckoned when there is no law.” We cannot tell what is or is not sin without the Word of God as our guide.