OPEN: In the 14th century, in the land we now call Belgium, there was a duke by the name of Raynald III.. Raynald was grossly overweight and was commonly called by his Latin nickname, Crassus, which means "Fat."
Now, it seems that Raynald had a violent quarrel with his younger brother Edward and Edward was so angry he led a successful revolt against him. But Edward did not kill Raynald. Instead, he built a room around Raynald in the Nieuwkerk castle and he promised his brother he could regain his title and property as soon as he was able to leave the room.
This would not have been difficult for most people since the room had several windows and a door of near normal size, and none was locked or barred. The problem was Raynald’s size. To regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight.
But Edward knew his older brother, and each day he sent a variety of delicious foods. Instead of dieting his way out of prison, Raynald grew fatter. When Duke Edward was accused of cruelty, he had a ready answer: "My brother is not a prisoner. He may leave when he so wills."
Raynald stayed in that room for 10 years and wasn’t released until after Edward died in battle. By then his health was so ruined that he died within a year... a prisoner to his own appetite. (Thomas Costain’s history, "The Three Edwards," cited in Leadership, Spring 84, p. 44)
APPLY: Raynald III was a prisoner.
It’s what he ate that imprisoned him.
And though he could have left his prison whenever he wished, the actions of another… and his own weakness kept him imprisoned.
Romans 5 tells us that mankind has been imprisoned as well.
And just as Raynald was imprisoned by the actions of his relative… so have we.
We have been imprisoned by the actions of a relative named Adam.
Romans 5:12 tells us “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned”
Ever since the dawn of time, the wall of death has hemmed us in - it has been our prison.
One wit once observed: “I am not afraid to die. It’s just that I can’t get up much enthusiasm for it.”
But in reality, as Hebrews 2:15 tells us, “all their lives (mankind has been) held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Illus: Back in the 70’s a rock star named Randy Newman was being interviewed by a major magazine : “I think religion is a tremendously powerful force. How else is someone going to face the horror of everything ending?”
The reporter, knowing Newman to be an atheist, shot back: “So how do you face it?”
Newman replied: “I don’t. I joke around…”
Several studies have revealed that one of the major fears most people have is of death. Not only can people NOT get up much enthusiasm for it… they fear it.
And if Adam had not sinned… we wouldn’t have to worry about death.
It’s what Adam ate that has imprisoned us.
But, there’s something else, Adam’s sin did to us.
In Romans 5:19 we’re told “…through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners...”
Now, this is where things get a little sticky.
Entire theologies have popped up around the words of this verse.
A great number of Catholic doctrines hinge on this statement.
And the doctrines of numerous other kinds of churches lean heavily on this text.
Adam’s sin made us sinners.
You could say we inherited the sin of Adam.
I sin (and you sin) because Adam messed up back in the garden.
It’s a repeated theme in Scripture, that we are sinners
Solomon declared "… there is no one who does not sin” 1 Kings 8:46
David said: If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? Psalms 130:3
Isaiah 53:6 states: “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way...”
Proverbs 20:9 asks “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin’?”
And John answers: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8
Romans 3:23 sums it up by saying: “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
This is such a dominant doctrine in Scripture that it’s hard to deny.
But when a lot of Christians hear the words “we inherited the sin of Adam” they become highly uneasy. Those literally become fighting words for some believers.
Why?
Well, it all stems back to a man named Augustine (one of the predominant early theologians of the Catholic Church). Augustine took this verse – this idea that thru Adam we were made sinners - and he carried it to what he considered a logical conclusion.
He said that since all men inherited the sin of Adam, then all men were sinners - even babies.
At the Council of Carthage (416 AD) he maintained that, since babies were heirs of Adam’s sin, then babies who died without being baptized all went to hell.
Does that strike you as unreasonable and harsh?
Well, it did to people of that day as well.
But it wasn’t until the 1300’s that the Catholic church developed the concept of Limbo to alleviate the harshness of Augustine’s conclusions. Limbo was a step above hell and a step below heaven (apparently a different place than purgatory in Catholic theology).
One of Limbo’s functions was to serve as an area for unbaptized children – a permanent place of existence. Thus the unbaptized infant was not condemned to the fires of hell, but they were never allowed into comforts of heaven either. (http://www.bibleonly.org/exp/8q.html)
Now, Augustine was a very gifted theologian. I have many items in my files that reflect the wisdom and insight of this man. And I’m sure that the folks that came up with the concept of limbo were well intentioned… But both Augustine and the inventors of Limbo were wrong.
The Bible doesn’t teach any of that.
When you start out with a wrong interpretation of Scripture, you often end up having to create new kinds of theology (such as Limbo) to explain more and more wrong thinking.
Deuteronomy 24:16 tells us “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.”
And Ezekiel 18:20 declares “The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.”
In other words… I can’t be condemned because of the sins of parents
I can’t “inherit” their punishment
If my daddy robbed a bank, I’m not required to serve his prison term.
If my parents killed someone… I’m not considered a murderer.
Not in the eyes of the law.
And not in the eyes of God.
So, SINCE I can’t be condemned for the sin of my dear daddy, I most certainly can’t be condemned for Adam’s sin.
Jesus expands on this when He told His disciples:
“Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14
You’ve got to become as a little child to get into heaven.
Until they reach the age of “accountability” (where they can tell the difference between what is right and wrong) children don’t seem to be held accountable by God for the wrong that they do.
Paul seems to be addressing this concept in Romans 7:7b-8 where he writes:
”…I WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘Do not covet.’ But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For APART FROM LAW, SIN IS DEAD.”
Until Paul understood what sin was (thru the Law) he was not held under judgment.
Thus, a child – who really doesn’t understand the idea of being a sinner as we would – is not held accountable, or under judgment for this misdeeds.
(pause…)
And yet, Romans 5:19 tells us that because of Adam’s sin, we were made sinners.
How do you deal with that?
I have to admit, I struggled with this over the past few days.
I’ve come up with an observation that I believe helps explain what that means
But, as with all illustrations, it does have its limitations.
ILLUS: I got to thinking on this idea of “inheriting” things from relatives.
You can inherit a number of things from your family?
Money and houses and lands… even diseases.
Our parents pass along to us many of their genetic weaknesses and illnesses.
If my daddy had heart problems at an early age I probably will too.
If my parents had diabetes, or cancer, or a number of other illnesses then I’d be better realize I have a weakness for those problems too.
Now, I don’t have to do anything to bring that to pass.
All I have to do is be related.
I did not cause the illness… but I’m condemned by it. And I may die because of it.
How did that disease get started in my family?
Well, there is some research to indicate it could have started with what my daddy (and my granddaddy, and my great granddaddy…) ate.
ILLUS: According to Popular Science (March 07, p. 82 by Abby Seiff)
In November 2006, a study led by David Martin (an oncologist at the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California) tested whether a mouse’s diet alone can affect its descendants.
The researchers fed meals high in minerals and vitamins – such as B12 (which fortifies leafy greens) – to pregnant mice that have a gene that… increases the likelihood that they will grow obese and develop diabetes and cancer.
On the new diet, the mice produced offspring that were less vulnerable to disease.”
In other words, what the mice ate effected their genetic tendencies toward disease.
What Romans 5 is telling us is that what Adam ate effected our genetic tendency toward the disease called sin.
When Adam ate the fruit in the Garden, he gave us an appetite for sin.
We did nothing to bring this disease upon ourselves - But we will die because of sin in our lives.
We are the unfortunate recipients of the disease that Adam brought into the world
Now, this is where the illustration breaks down.
If sin were merely looked on as a disease, I could claim that my sin was not my fault.
It’s Adam’s fault. God can’t condemn me because I couldn’t help myself.
But that’s not how it works.
As Ezekiel tells us “The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son….”
I don’t share the GUILT of Adam’s sin.
AND I can’t excuse my sin because Adam opened the door for it’s effect on my life.
But because he infected our gene pool by his sin I now share with you the weakness toward selfishness; the appetite to sin; the tendency to disobey, to give myself over to that which would condemn me.
So, we are sick with sin…
You might ask “how then do I get well?” (I’m glad you asked)
When I am deathly sick, I need radical surgery.
I need something to kill the disease that lives within me.
A Doctor might use chemotherapy, radiation therapy, microwave therapy.
He might use a scalpel and cut out the diseased portion of my body.
But something has to die!
And the Bible tells me that something had to die for me to be healed
The amazing thing about Scripture is that – right after Romans 5 comes Romans 6:2-7.
Read with me what it says:
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
For we know that our old self was CRUCIFIED WITH HIM so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because ANYONE WHO HAS DIED HAS BEEN FREED FROM SIN.”
When we were baptized into Christ, our old sin-sick self died to the guilt of the past.
And when we died to sin we became freed from the condemnation of our sins.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
It gets even better than that.
Acts 2:38 says that when I repent of my sins and am baptized for the forgiveness of my sins…
I receive a gift.
What gift does God give me at that point in my life?
“The gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)
When I’m baptized into Christ, God’s Spirit comes and dwells inside of me and begins to change my genetic makeup. He works inside of me - within me - to heal me of the disease that Adam gave me.
ILLUS: Now, I’ve encountered people who’ve been afraid to make that commitment to Christ.
They were concerned that they’d sin again after they’d been baptized and that this would somehow nullify the forgiveness God had given them.
I explain to them that we really don’t get to the point where we don’t sin at all in our lives.
As John explained: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 1 John 1:8
However, God’s Spirit changes my direction in life
A man named John Smithson noted:
“Before I came to Christ, I practiced sin and committed acts of righteousness.
Now, I practice righteousness and commit acts of sin.”
Then I give them my “skating” illustration:
Have you ever skated (roller or ice)?
Did you fall down a lot when you first started out?
Would you fall down as much now as you did back then?
Have you ever watched Professional skaters on TV?
Do they fall down? (yeah, but not as much)
Why? Because they’ve spent more time on skates
In the same way, the longer we live in Jesus - and the longer His Spirit works within our lives - the less often we fall down in our walk. And eventually, as we grow in our faith… we hardly stumble at all.
CLOSE: Remember – it was Adam eating of the fruit of the tree that brought sin into the world
Just as it was that what Adam ate bro’t sin into my world.
So also what we eat brings healing into ours
An author by the name of W. Pink, in his book “Gleanings in Genesis” made these observations:
The first tree (the tree in the Garden, the one eaten of by Adam) was planted by God.
But the second tree was planted by man.
God forbade man to eat the first tree.
But man is freely invited to draw near and eat of the fruit of the second tree.
The eating of the first tree brought sin and death.
But by eating of the second tree comes life and salvation.
