Sermon Brief
Date Written: February 18, 2012
Date Preached: February 19, 2012
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Journey thru Romans
Sermon Title: So We Are Justified – Why?
Sermon Text: Romans 5:12-21 [ESV]
Introduction:
Over the past two weeks I have camped out on the biblical reality of what Jesus Christ has done for YOU… what He has done for me… Jesus came to die for our sin so that we could receive justification from a holy and just God.
Jesus came and died on the cross to provide for our justification and because of what Jesus has done, we have the opportunity to KNOW God… to stand in God’s presence forgiven, and justified! God has declared those who have faith in Christ to be NOT GUILTY!
But here is something you may not have ever thought about… When Jesus died for our sin, and when God forgives our sin… this is NOT where it ends! You see if God merely forgave our sins, we would be no better off than the children of Israel who wandered the wilderness for many years and were required to bring an offering every year… their offering was for forgiveness of sin… their sin was forgiven, but it was done by way of animal sacrifice.
This is why Jesus came… you see Jesus came to be the perfect and MOST holy sacrifice that would only have to be done ONE TIME… In Hebrews 7:27 Scripture tells us that Christ died ONCE for ALL!
27He [Jesus] has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since He did this ONCE FOR ALL when He offered up Himself…
The children of Israel had to sacrifice constantly for the forgiveness of their sin, bringing offering after offering… but what that never did for them was provide justification! They were NEVER justified or declared NOT GUILTY as we are in Christ Jesus…
When God reaches down and justifies us through our faith in Jesus Christ, He first forgives our sin, which only brings us to a state of spiritual neutrality before God… this is where the children of Israel would be after sacrificing… soon to fall back into the condemnation of their sin.
But when we are justified by God… our sins are forgiven, and then God infuses our soul with the righteousness of Christ. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ… this is how we can stand blameless and NOT GUILTY before God, because we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ through what He did on the Cross…
So we don’t stand before God spiritually neutral, but we stand HOLY and SANCTIFIED through the blood of Jesus Christ! This is what happens when we receive Jesus as our Savior!
So you have learned THAT justification comes to us only thru what Christ has done on the Cross and you have heard about the benefits and blessings of this justification…
- You have peace with God
- You have a future Hope in Glory (eternal life in Heaven to look forward to)
- You have a joy, in Christ Jesus that carries you thru the tough times
- You have an assurance of God’s love and grace that He will never abandon you
- Finally we have an abundant life THRU Him in this life as well as the next…
But I want us to take a step back this morning and I want us to look at where we have come from and why God did what He did… this will give us a more complete picture of God’s gift of grace and mercy that we enjoy through our faith in Jesus Christ!
When we look at our passage this morning we find Paul writing about sin, about one particular man, as well as another particular man… Paul speaks about death and the law, and Paul also speaks of transgressions and the free gift from God…
What does all this mean for us today? Well I believe as we review these verses it is going to give us a more clear understanding of just what God has done and what Paul was attempting to tell the believers in Rome. Let’s look at the passage right now… I’ll be reading from the ESV this morning.
12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned – 13for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14Yet 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. 15But 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. 16And 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. 17For 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.
18Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19For as by the one man’s disobedience that many were made sinners, so by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one many’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Power of Sin/Death (v.12-14)
12Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned – 13for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is NO law. 14Yet 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.
Here Paul recounts what he had lays out to these believers in Rome just what SIN is like… how cruel and savage sin is… how AWEFUL are its consequences… so much so that sin’s only result is death!
We find Paul speaking about how sin entered into the world, thru ONE man…But did you notice that he did NOT use Adam’s name. However, it is blatantly obvious that Paul is speaking about the Fall of humanity within the Garden of Eden that is mentioned in Genesis 3.
Now we all know the story of Adam and Eve and how Eve was deceived by the serpent and Adam joined her in partaking of the fruit… but I want you to notice who Paul holds responsible for the fall…it’s NOT Eve!
Paul says, that sin came into the world through one MAN… speaking of Adam. Adam was responsible for the spiritual condition of himself and Eve, but he failed and rejected God’s plan and order of things. Paul says here that Adam is a ‘type’ of the one who was to come…
What Paul was speaking about is that Adam’s actions would cause CATASTROPHIC damage to all of humanity, his actions would have far reaching results… that because of Adam humanity would be infected with sin and death… so Adam’s actions were universal in consequence… because of what Adam did ALL suffered!
What Paul is setting up here is a comparison and contrast between Adam and Jesus. Jesus is the “One who was to come” that Paul was speaking about! I will address that a little more in just a few minutes… but first let’s finish our picture that Paul is drawing for Adam and humanity!
Adam sinned and brought about universal sin and death to all humanity – thru his actions, sin came into the world… AND because of his sin, death came into the world.
Does this mean that if Adam and Eve would have never sinned would they have lived forever? I cannot answer that question, and I won’t even try because we will never know will we?
That is because Adam and Eve DID sin, and as a result they were expelled from paradise and separated from God! Another result of their sin, as Paul points out, was Adam and Eve were now going to have to face DEATH!
Because of Adam’s sin… both sin and death now spread throughout the world like a virus, and infects all of humanity. Because ALL of humanity falls under the power of sin, and thus all humanity falls under the curse of death…
So just how bad is sin? Paul stresses here that sin brought death and because of our sin, we ALL are going to die! Later in this letter we find Paul saying, “…for the wages of sin is death…” meaning that the only result for sin is death…
First Paul is referencing the physical death, but we also know Paul’s heart and that he was far more concerned about spiritual matters than matters of this earth…and so Paul’s concern was about the spiritual death of people.
Sin came thru ONE man and because of his sin, and subsequent punishment, ALL of humanity is going to die! So what is Paul telling us in these 3 verses?
Well Paul is reiterating a point he makes ALL throughout his letters… a point that God has been addressing to the nation of Israel and to the world… SIN is bad… SIN is a problem… SIN leads to only ONE destination and that is death!
Physical death is a legacy that is here to stay, but the spiritual death that sin brings has been removed… but here is what I love about Paul… he was a bearer of the GOOD NEWS and so Paul does not stop with the PROBLEM of sin, but Paul goes on in the next few verses to give us a SOLUTION to this Sin problem!
The Solution for Sin/Death (v.15-17)
15But 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. 16And 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. 17For 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.
Ok the first thing that jumps out at you when you read these verses is one of the 1st things we read in v.15, where Paul mentions the ‘free gift’. This is the 1st time this ‘free gift’ reference is mentioned in this letter…
Later Paul DOES go on to describe this ‘free gift’ further in chapter 6 when Paul says, “…but the [free] gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord…”
This gift comes from God through His Son Jesus… it brings the forgiveness of sin and the righteousness of Christ to our lives… this gift is the gift of justification from God to our eternal soul!
The 2nd thing that jumps off the page to me when I read this was where Paul says… “the ‘free gift’ is NOT like the trespass…” When I read that, I thought to myself… what is Paul saying here? What does he mean by “the free gift is not like the trespass?”
Well, remember I told you that in v.12 Paul began comparing and contrasting Adam and his failure with Jesus and His victory…
So let’s look at both of these men and what they have done! The results of Adam’s actions were universal… and Pauol says that Adam was a representative or like the ONE TO COME, -- this ‘one to come’ reference was Paul speaking of Jesus!
I believe that this was Paul’s way of saying… LIKE Adam’s choice affected the entire world in a very negative manner… The choice of ‘One to come’ was also going to affect the world, but its effect will NOT have the same results!
Let me very clear here about this passage… this ‘free gift’ mentioned by Paul here is a direct result of the actions of Jesus dying on the Cross, being buried in the tomb and rising to life on the 3rd day! This ‘free gift’ is a picture of our salvation that can come ONLY because of Jesus Christ!
So, the question I had was, “Why would Paul compare these 2 results?” Paul was letting the believers in Rome know that like the actions of the man Adam… the actions of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary are universal in nature… It does NOT mean that everyone will be saved, but it does mean that Christ died to provide an opportunity of salvation for ALL of humanity.
The salvation Christ provided on the Cross is a salvation that is definitely available to ALL of humanity! Paul wants his readers to hear his message and the ‘free gift’ of God is not like the trespass because he knew and now we have come to know that forgiveness/salvation is the opposite of sin/condemnation.
So as we look at both ends of the spectrum… the sin and the saving… we can see that BOTH are universal in their influence, but they carry with them a very heavy difference… One leads to death and the other leads to eternal life! Sin brings death and salvation brings eternal life!
Paul describes the differences in v.15… first he reveals that there were tragic results to Adam’s actions… Adam’s sinful heart and the curse laid upon his head and that of his descendants has brought death to many people!
But the contrasting comparison between the two is still very hard to ignore… as Paul writes in v.15, Adam’s decision brought much death, but here is the joy, as bad as our situation is… it is so much BETTER when we accept the ‘free gift’ of God that brings to our hearts the grace that God has provided! READ v.15 again here
Continuing his compare and contrast, in v.16 Paul tells us that this ‘free gift’ he had mentioned does not result in judgment as the sin of the ‘one man’ had done…
Adam’s sin brought sin into the world by Adam’s actions and through Adam’s sin, humanity was condemned… [this is what we believe to be ‘original sin’…Adam sinning in the Garden!] Adam was condemned by his lack of faith in God’s promise, and he was pronounced GUILTY before God!
But when we look to Christ Jesus and this ‘free gift’ that He brings… it is a totally different scenario… This ‘free gift’ produces a judgment of justification from God, instead of condemnation!
When we receive this free gift, we are no longer GUILTY before God but God declares us NOT GUILTY! This does not mean we don’t deserve to be sentenced as guilty, but it means that thru God’s grace we have been declared NOT GUILTY! Read v.16 here…
There is one more issue to deal with when making this comparison between the universal nature of these two actions… Sin thru Adam universally brings DEATH, and we know that redemption from Jesus universally brings life!
However, many see this comparison and jump to the conclusion that if Adam’s actions are universal to all people then it stands to reason that Jesus’ action will be universal to all people and so they make the assumption that ALL people will ultimately be saved.
Their argument is that the power of God to save knows no boundaries, and that if Jesus died for all… then all will be saved!
But I want us to look at how Paul settles this issue for me, and I believe it will settle it for you as well. Read v.17 here…
17For 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.
I want us to focus in on what Paul is saying here… “if because of one man’s trespass death reigns… much more will those who RECEIVE the abundance of grace and the [free gift] of righteousness reign in life thru the one man Jesus Christ…”
I want us to take notice of what Paul DID say here… he said, ‘…those who receive the abundance of grace…’ this is a direct reference to those who had submitted and surrendered their lives to Christ!
God has made Jesus available to ALL but we know that he will NOT be accepted by all… and even though God’s power to save is universal and he can save anyone… He demands a response from you!
Only those who ‘receive’ the free gift… this means that you must seek God, you must confess sin, you must surrender your heart… you must make the willing and voluntary to accept the ‘free gift’… it is NOT automatic like death is to sin… but now in Christ death is no longer automatic either is it? Jesus has changed EVERYTHING!
So we see the problem of sin… it brings death! It brought physical death and disease into this world, and it brings spiritual death to those who have sin in their lives! The wages of sin is death… that is what the Bible tells us!
But we have also seen the solution to the problem… Jesus Christ died on the Cross and his death on the cross, and resurrection from the dead brings LIFE! For all who ‘receive’ Him, they will enter into a new life!
Forgiveness and justification come into our lives… we are no longer guilty before God, but have been declared RIGHTEOUS and NOT GUILTY… we have been set free from the bondage and the penalty of our sin… all through the power of Christ!
Jesus provides us with a way to overcome and defeat this death that stalks our very soul… but how does He do that? I want us to look at one more thing this morning… I want us to look at the POWER OF GRACE in v.18-21
The Power of Grace (v.18-21)
18Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19For as by the one man’s disobedience that many were made sinners, so by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one many’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul uses these verses to paint a portrait from many different angles so that we can understand just what God has done for us in the person of Jesus Christ! In these verses I can see where Paul offers 4 different examples that prove Jesus’ [free gift] was far superior that Adam’s curse!
Verse 18 starts off this section with a wonderful statement that I have already alluded to as it tells us that… as bad as Adam’s choice made it for us… the choice and action of Jesus leads us to justification and life… eternal life! Paul says, “…for all men…”
Now Paul was NOT speaking about a universal salvation… NOR was Paul meaning that this was something for only the MALE of the human race… The words here, ‘…for all men…’ reflect the universal nature of God’s desire!
In 2 Peter we find God’s desire put on display when Peter says, “…but [He] is patient toward you not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance…”
Now that verse reveals the heart of the matter… the heart of God! God does not want ANYONE to be condemned, and the salvation that is the ‘free gift’ Paul is speaking about is a gift that is available to ALL of humanity… but it is a gift that must be received… we must ‘receive’ God’s gift of salvation… it will not be forced upon us!
First we can see Paul comparing Adam’s trespass to Jesus’ act of righteousness… Paul details what happens when either of these things are placed within the heart… Adam’s trespass will equal condemnation, but Jesus’ act of mercy and love brings about justification.
Next we can see in v.19 that Paul compares Adam’s unfaithful disobedience to Christ’s willing and submissive OBEDIENCE, and that the obedience of Christ revealed in our hearts will lead us to righteousness…
Thirdly I can see Paul looking to the Law for answers, but realizes that the law only came to reveal how wicked they were… but a funny thing happened on the way to condemnation…
Jesus showed up and when sin was present, Jesus provided AND STILL provides grace in an abounding fashion to all the sinners… this grace abounds as a saving nature, and God is glorified.
Finally we can see that the reign of death is now over… officially over! Sin reigned in death, but Christ conquered both sin and death, and Paul is calling on those who have been called… those who have been saved… to allow the grace and mercy of God to cleanse us! Only thru Christ can we know the grace of God!
Conclusion:
This morning you have heard the grim and terrible news… YOU ARE A SINNER! You have to surrender your heart to God! I want us to understand that Paul recognized this about himself… later in chapter 7 we find Paul crying out… “Oh wretched man that I am… who will deliver me from this body of death?
Paul understood that he was a sinner… that sin only brought about death and that to see realize the Hope of Glory in Christ… sin must be conquered and sin must be forgiven, but more than that… Jesus must cloak you with His righteousness.
“Oh wretched man…” What hope do we have if Paul realized and understood how ‘wretched’ he was? This is why they call the Gospel the ‘Good News’… although Paul was a wretch… God loved him and wanted to see him come to repentance and salvation!
Paul realizes one other thing… he recognizes that he is a sinner, hopeless and helpless before God… BUT he also realizes that there is hope… and it is found in the person of Jesus Christ!
And Paul cries out… “Thanks be to God thru Jesus Christ our Lord…” This cry was Paul revelation that he was going to be delivered! Jesus will forgive him and cloak him in righteousness…
We cannot do anything about what Adam has done… we are doomed to be sinners from the moment of our conception within our mother’s womb! BUT… and this is a HUGE BUT… we don’t have to stay like that!
We don’t have to live our lives under the oppression of Adam’s curse… PRAISE be to Jesus Christ who has lifted us up… and thru His mercy and abounding grace we can know salvation!
This morning there are some of you sitting here who do not know Jesus Christ on a personal level… you don’t have a surrendered heart and you have not submitted your will to Him! Today God is calling you to surrender your heart to him and allow Him to cleanse you and bring justification to your soul!
There are some of you here who have been serving God for many years… or maybe just a few years but you have grown cold in your service, and you need to re-submit your life and heart to Christ… you need to rededicate your life to Him… reevaluate your priorities in serving Him…
There are some of you here who feel the leading of God to join with us here at Oak Park and become a member. I am calling you to come up front and talk to me and we will pray together!
I call on ALL who must submit and surrender this morning… I call on you to step out as Bro Ben comes to lead us in a hymn of invitation… I am going to ask Bro Ben to sing, but I want to ask each one of you, please stand… bowing your heads and closing your eyes… I call on you to come forward this morning and make peace with God! Won’t you come…
