Scripture: Romans 5:12-21; Matthew 4:1-11; Genesis 2:15-17
Title: More than a Reset
In Romans 5:12-21 the Apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus came to 1. Defeat Sin 2. Conquer Death and 3. Enable us to reign in righteousness
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from His Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world.
Have you ever tripped one of the circuit breakers at your house or apartment? Every so often at our house when we begin to use too much electricity outside we trip one of the circuit breakers. It happens because we have put too much of a load on our electrical system and so that a fire doesn't start the system is set up to "trip" and stop the flow of electricity. To fix it, all you have to do is to unplug something and then go and reset the button. Once you do that you can continue working outside provided you don't once again use too many appliances. Otherwise you will trip the circuit breaker all over again. There is a limit to how much electrical current you can use outside our house. Resetting that reset button is key. It's the only way to get the electricity to flow again.
It's similar to the re-set button that is on some computers or game consoles. You start playing a game or doing something on the computer and suddenly the screen freezes up and you find yourself locked out. Sometimes you can get it to come back on and begin to work but there are those times that you have to hit the reset button and restart your computer or your game. Sadly, it means also that you may have lost some data or the last game but until you hit that reset button you are frozen out anyway. That reboot or reset button is crucial.
Some people have viewed our Pauline passage this morning (Romans 5:12-21) in a similar vein. They believe that the Apostle Paul is referring to something like a spiritual reset button for humanity. They believe that what the Apostle Paul is telling us that God, looking at His creation and seeing all the dissolution, the decay of genuine humanness, the brokenness and the death simply through Jesus hit the "reset button". They believe that as a result of Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension mankind has been given a "reset" in which everything can be put back to square one so to speak.
They point out this out by referring to contrasting the work of Adam against the work of Jesus. In Adam they see a life of disobedience which led to judgment and ensuing condemnation. That condemnation resulted in the reign of sin, separation and eventual death. In Jesus Christ they see the very opposite happening. In Christ, they see obedience, grace and justification. In Christ they see a verdict of acquittal that leads to the reign of life, righteousness and oneness in Christ.
And while all of those things are in fact going on I would like to propose to all of us this morning a much deeper and richer truth. That deeper and richer truth being that what we see here in our passage and throughout the New Testament is abundantly more than merely a reboot or a reset of our spiritual button. That what we see here and can experience this life goes far beyond that type of dualistic thinking.
For if we are not careful here we can end up with a some kind of "yin yang" spiritual theology. A theology that says that believes in a type of cosmic balance or in the theory that for every light there is a moment of darkness. A theology that states that righteousness balances out sinfulness and holiness balances out wickedness. That type of theology is not the theology of the Bible nor is it what the Apostle Paul is alluding to in this passage.
Actually as you read this passage you discover that the focus on this passage is not even on Adam. Nor is it on the universality of sin. Both Adam's sin and the fact that all men have sinned is not some new thought for the Apostle Paul nor for the Early Christian Church. Almost everyone in the Early Church was well aware that according to the Torah sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam. Everyone knew that according to the Torah and the writings that sin began to reign in the hearts and lives of all mankind and that as a result spiritual death and physical death became universal.
What we see in this passage is that the Apostle Paul uses the story about Adam to set up and explain the life that can be ours through Jesus Christ. Paul believes that through Adam sin and death came into the world for all mankind, Jew and Gentile alike. He also believes that in Christ one can live a whole new life; a justified life in which one can have experience power over sin, conquer death and reign in this life and in the life to come. It is that life that both Jew and Gentile can experience now and eternally.
Therefore, what we read here is a deep spiritual truth. The Apostle Paul wants us to understand that in Christ our LORD has done far, far more than hit a spiritual reset button. The LORD has done more than undo the primal sin of idolatry and self-centeredness. In the ensuing chapters (6- 8) Paul will spell out in more detail the glorious life we can experience in Christ. It is a life that is much more than a reversal of Adam's sin and its results.
Let's take a few moments and flesh out what I am referring to this morning:
1. In Christ , Sin Can Be Defeated
In our Gospel reading this morning (Matthew 4:1-11) we have the story of Christ's temptation in the wilderness. It is vital for us to understand the timing of when all of this occurred. Jesus' temptation comes immediately after this great moment of vision when God's love and calling was so dramatically confirmed through his baptism.
As Jesus takes some time to gather himself in the wilderness the voices of evil come rushing tempting him to focus on himself, his own survival and his own image. At the precise time when Jesus had been given the call to go out and fulfill the role of the Messiah (the perfect genuine human being) the voices of evil were calling him to abandon that vocation and instead adopt a self-centered mission.
In many ways the temptations of Christ mirror the temptations of Adam. It was not long after Adam was given his vocation of "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:28 ESV) that he faces his greatest temptations of focusing on making himself like God, knowing good and evil.
Adam had been living the life of a genuine human being. That is a life of being in "right" (just) relationship with God, with Himself, with others and with the world. Instead of continuing that life, Adam chose to turn inward and worship himself. He choice to place himself at the center of his world instead of the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. Adam rebelled against God's purpose and will for his life. As a result, Adam lost his "right" relationship with God, with Himself, with others and with the world. Adam invited sin to defeat him, overpower him and begin its reign on earth. The Bible tells us that Adam's sin not only affected his own relationships but it affected all of creation as well.
In Matthew 4:1-11 we see a very different story. We see Christ not only resisting evil but standing up and defeating evil. In each of the temptations we read about in Matthew 4:1-11 we watch as Christ relies on God's Word and His relationship with His Heavenly Father to defeat the voices of evil time and time again. Jesus is committed to living according to God and God's Word. He is committed to trusting His Heavenly Father completely. Jesus is committed to being obedient in every way possible.
The picture that Matthew paints for us is real. Jesus' physical flesh is screaming for satisfaction. His ego is crying out to be served. The path of being idolized by many is but a few steps away. And in case after case the Lord Jesus puts down the flesh, he surrenders his ego and he worships the LORD GOD with all his heart, mind and soul. Jesus has done what Adam was suppose to do and what the Children of Israel were called to do but failed.
Matthew and the other Gospel writers tell us that Jesus would face more times of temptation. He would face his greatest temptations in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross of Calvary. And in each case Jesus experienced glorious victory. In each case Jesus looked to the Bible and to His Heavenly Father for support, encourage and victory.
The Apostle Paul tells us that in Christ, through His Holy Spirit we too can have power over evil and over sin. Temptation and sin do not have to reign over us. We are not condemn to live forever in the shadow of Adam's sin. Sin can be defeated through Jesus Christ our LORD and Savior.
This morning, it is vital that we understand this truth. What Adam did and the results of his sin and ours does not have to have dominion over us. Sin does not have to reign in our lives nor in our world. Let me say that again. Sin does not have to reign in our lives nor does sin and evil have to reign in our world. We can experience victory today, tomorrow and forevermore. Our Lord Jesus has made a way possible for us to experience victory over temptation and sin. We can live a victorious life in Christ. It does not mean that we will not be tempted. It does mean that we do not have to surrender to temptation or sin.
II. In Christ, Death has been Conquered
The reason the Apostle Paul can share with us these words in Romans 5:11 - 21 is that Jesus has been risen from the dead. None of this would make sense if Jesus had not risen from the dead. Where Adam through his sin brought death into our world (both spiritual and physical) Jesus through his obedience and his death has brought life. Jesus has conquered death and as a result we can experience eternal life in this present age and in the age to come.
We all know that death is a reality in our world. All around us we are able to see death. Death is its purest sense is negative. Death is the absence of life. Death is nothingness. Death is the loss of all that the LORD GOD wants to give us.
Paul and the rest of the New Testament wants us to understand that Jesus came not only to give his life for a sacrifice but that through Him death would be conquered once and for all. That on the cross of Calvary Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave. Jesus took upon Himself all the sins of the world and in His resurrection the power of sin and the power of death was once and forevermore conquered.
In Christ we see that death is not the end of our human existence. In Christ we see that death does not have to be our final destination. In Christ we see that it is God's plan to give all of us a new resurrected body. In Christ we see that God is going to make us something that is far better than what we have experienced before.
It is vital for us this morning to remember that the Early Church believed whole heartedly in Jesus' physical resurrection. They were not holding on to some Platonic idea of a spiritual resurrection without a resurrected body. Resurrection in the Christian sense is one that involves both spirit and matter.
After his resurrection, Jesus physically walked on the earth. After his resurrection, Jesus ate from the riches of our earth. Jesus smelled, touched, spoke, heard and tasted after the Resurrection. While He was able to do some amazing things like appear and disappear at a moment's notice we must understand that all of this was done in a body that greatly resembled the body he had while he was on this earth prior to his death on the cross.
This is imperative for us to understand and receive this fundamental truth. Jesus did not die so that our spirits could go off somewhere to a place called heaven. From the very beginning of our Bibles to the very end of our Bibles human being were created with a body, soul and mind. Sin entered into our world through our disobedience. As a result we were placed under both the penalty of sin (death - spiritual and physical) and under the power of sin. Jesus not only defeated sin he defeated death both spiritual and physical.
And the body we receive at our resurrection is one which is so much greater than the bodies we now inhabit. What it will it look like? The only way the Apostle Paul could describe it was "we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality." (1 Corinthians 15:52c - 53 ESV)
This morning, Jesus came not only to destroy the reign of sin over mankind, Jesus came to show us that death can be overcome. Jesus came to tell us in a very visual way that we can have a new body that will surpass in all accounts the body that we are now inhabiting.
No doubt, all of us have watched commercial after commercial trying to tell us how we can refashion and reshape this present body. They try to tell us if we do this or that, or buy this product or that product we will see amazing results. We will have more energy, we will reach new heights and we may even turn back the hands of time. However, we all know that this body is mortal. No matter how hard we try Father time catches us with our bodies. Our present bodies have no alternative but to diminish, decay and perish. There is nothing that we can do to stop this from happening. Our bodies all have a scheduled expiration date on them.
But that is not so with our resurrected body. Like our Lord Jesus we will rise again if we have received God's wonderful gift of justification, regeneration and sanctification. One day our spiritual bodies will be given a new resurrected body that is both imperishable and immortal. Never again will we know pain and suffering. Never again will we know heartache and pain. We will reign with the LORD Jesus in the New Heavens and Earth for all eternity. We know this because our LORD Jesus showed us His resurrected body. He revealed the life we will be able to enjoy one day for all eternity as His chosen people. All we must do is to allow Jesus to redeem us, renew us and fill us with His Holy Spirit.
III. In Christ we can live and reign in righteousness
Paul shares enough with us in this passage for us to know that God's original plan of creation and blessing through Adam was corrupted. You may remember that God's plan for Adam and his family was to co-partner with God to create a world in which God would dwell in oneness with man and all of creation. That plan and purpose was marred by Adam's rebellion and sin. After Adam's sin no longer could God dwell with man and no longer could man dwell with God in genuine oneness.
However, that was not the end of the Story. The Story of the Bible reveals to us that our LORD GOD ALMIGHTY did not destroy man nor did God abandon man. In fact, in Genesis 12 we see God calling the man named Abraham to pick up the mantle so to speak of Adam. It would be through Abraham (Abrahamic Covenant) that humanity and creation would be restored. It would be through Abraham's children that the original plan and promise of God would come to utter fulfillment. It would be through Abraham's children that a new humanity would come forth. A humanity empowered with God's grace, love and mercy. A humanity that would bring about a restoration of God's world. A humanity that would share the message of God's ultimate rescue of man and all creation.
Abraham's children would be given a land in which they could begin to recreate our world in the image and likeness of God. It would be a land of milk and honey. It would be a land full of God's promises and blessings (Dt. 28). Abraham's children were to live as God's holiness people (genuine humans) who would then fulfill God's role for them in becoming a nation of priests who would spread the Good News of God's righteousness and holiness to the rest of the world (Ex. 19:6). It would be through them that mankind would understand how they could come into a right relationship with God. They would be God's agents of redemption and restoration.
But as time unfolded we all know that Abraham's Children never fulfilled that covenant nor that call. They abandoned the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and chose to create their own gods and follow them. They abandoned their mission of being "priests" for all the world and instead became isolated and convinced themselves that God had singled out only their nation and their people to receive the Good News of Salvation. They saw themselves as the only recipients of God's covenant of justification and sanctification.
Like Adam they sin and lost their land, their kingdom and their ability to be a place of Oneness with God. Like Adam they were driven out of the land and put into exile. But like Adam they were neither destroyed nor abandoned.
The Bible Story tells us that God did not give up on His People nor on their mission. The Bible tells us that in the fullness of time the LORD sent His One and Only Son to be that One who would live out a life of what it meant to be a genuine human being. And that is exactly the life that Jesus lived out while he was here on our earth. It was a life which was faced with temptations, pain and suffering but it was also a life that was obedient, even obedient to die on the cross of Calvary. Jesus lived out the perfect human life in which one experienced a right relationship with God (justification), with oneself, with others and with all of creation. Jesus lived the life that God sought for Adam for Abraham and for all His Children to experience.
It would be therefore be through God's Only Son, Jesus Christ that a way was made for all mankind to experience justification ( that is to be in "right relationship with God) and received regeneration (the New Birth) It would be through Jesus that mankind could once again be in a right relationship with God and even more. Man could not only be justified but could be empowered to live a life of genuine righteousness, a life of oneness with God and with others. It is into this life that we are invited to live this morning.
This morning, you and I and all of humanity are damaged. In fact, we are more than damaged. We are dead in our sins without the mercy and grace made possible through Jesus Christ. We must understand that we are not basically flawed people who one day when they learn about their flaws are able to either find their way out or hit some type of reset button. Without Jesus we are damaged beyond repair. Without Jesus we are without hope.
One of the lies that we keep holding onto is the lie that we can fix humanity through more education, through better jobs or through some self help program. It's like we believe that through education, money or some self help program we can push a type of reset for humanity. That we can fix the sins of our age through materialistic means alone. You would think that after all these years we would have learned our lessons. You would think that we would begin to understand that we need something far more than merely a better educational system, better jobs, more money or some new self-improvement program.
The sad truth is that this disease has affected the Body of Christ. Too many churches today spend the majority of their time approaching the Gospel like it is some giant "SELF HELP" book. They preach series after series on how to have a great life, how to have a great marriage and how to have this or that but very little is said about the Cross, the Resurrection or the Infilling Presence of the Holy Spirit. They preach series after series telling people if they will do this or that then their lives will suddenly be better, richer or more fulfilling. They even tell their people that if they do A, B or C then by some great truth then God has to do A, B or C. The focus is more on what man can possess rather than what man can be in Christ.
While some of that is like some type of snake oil and an outright sham the rest of it is focusing on the lesser things of God rather than the greater things of God.
The truth is this - In Christ we are invited to live a life that is far superior than any other life here on earth possible. We are invited to be justified, that is to be in a "right" relationship with God. We are invited to experience a life of newness and a life in which we experience the process of being renewed into the image of Jesus.
We are called/invited to live a life of genuine humanness. A life in which we can experience and live righteously. A life in which we can experience both a oneness with the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY and a oneness with one another. A life that is in fact greater than the life in which Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden.
While they were in the Garden Adam and Eve experienced this wonderful time of being in a right relationship with God there was still a measure of separateness. While God had breathed life in them they were in many ways still apart from God. They did not enjoy the infilling presence of the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that God would come in the coolness of the day to spend time with them. The Bible also tells us that before the fall they experience a transparency with one another in a very special way.
What Jesus brings or rather invites us to experience is something much deeper and richer in action and experience. In John 14, 17 and in Acts 1 and 2 the LORD teaches, prays for and shares that when the Holy Spirit comes upon them they will experience a newness of life that supersedes the life of Adam and Eve. Where in the Garden Adam and Eve spent time with the LORD now through the infilling presence of the Holy Spirit the LORD would reside in the hearts of men as they resided in the Holy Spirit. Where in the Garden Adam and Eve shared a time of special vulnerability and transparency now through the infilling presence of the Holy Spirit God's People could be One in the Body of Christ.
We can't miss this reality. If we miss these realities then we will live a life with Christ that is at best superficial and at worst a duty and a drudge. All too often we have decided to enjoy the peelings of the fruit of the Spirit instead of the innermost parts of the fruit. We have settled for a spirit of commonality rather than a spirit of koinonia.
How often are we invited to share a time of Christian fellowship but later found out that that fellowship was limited to only an hour or two a week on a Sunday morning? How often have we been told to lift up holy hands in unison with people whom we really don't know? In fact, many of us worship with people who we only see once or twice a week at best and may not even know their name. This is a reality all across our country whether the church is small or large.
This is not the type of Christian experience Jesus did for us to experience. Jesus died and rose again so that we could be His Body, deeply connected to Him and to one another. He died so that we could enjoy a life here on earth as His agents of transformation and creation. He died so that we could be justified, regenerated and be active in pouring out our lives into one another.
We cheat ourselves and one another when we don't have times of koinonia. Koinonia is more than merely eating together or even studying a book of the Bible together. It is where our spirit and the spirit of others learn to melt together as we grow in Christ. It is where we encourage one another, build one another up and mentor one another into growing in the Spirit. It is when we experience a oneness with one another heart, mind and soul.
We all have been in Bible classes or fellowship times where the majority of the time is focused on either the food or on joking with one another. We have all seen way too many times when someone has to say - "I was just joking" after an inappropriate remark or explain to a visitor - "We pick on one another because we like one another". More often than not instead of building one another up we are simply picking each other apart. More often than not instead of mentoring one another we allowing our flesh to dictate our spirit. More often than not we spend more time eating than we do praying and studying. I have even been to Bible studies where only one or two have brought their Bibles but all have brought their forks and spoons.
We are better than that type of living. We are better because we have allowed the Holy Spirit to control our minds, our hearts and our souls. We are better than that because we are God's change agents in our world whose motto is on the line of Philippians 4:8ff
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
Do you mean to tell me that in Christ we can think and act like we are already in heaven? Yes! Yes! and Yes! Wow!
But where would we be if we couldn't cut one another down, reveal some embarrassing thing about one another or share some crass story? I'll tell you where we would be - we would be more and more in the presence of the Holy Spirit and more in oneness with one another. "By this everyone will know if you are my disciples, if you love one another." Enough said.
This morning, Jesus did not come to hit a reset button. Jesus came to show us that in Him we can defeat sin, we can conquer death and we can live a life of righteousness. Jesus came to fulfill God's plan for us to enjoy and share the abundant life here on earth and one day on the New Heaven and Earth. Jesus came so that we might be in right relationship with Him and with one another. Jesus came for us to live a life deeper and richer than that of Adam and Eve.
This morning, as we close have you allowed the LORD to take away your guilt, your shame and yours sins? Have you allowed Jesus to make you into His New Creation - baptized by the blood of the Lamb and infilled with His Holy Spirit? Have you accepted Jesus Christ as Your Savior and LORD?
This morning, as we sing our altars are open. There will be someone to pray with you if you would like. You are invited today to come and pour out your heart to God. To find salvation, encouragement and support. You are invited to come and spend some precious time with our LORD.
Song and open altar
