Mar. 19, 2023

“DOING THE RIGHT THING”

“DEAD IN ADAM, ALIVE IN CHRIST”

GUILT VS. GRACE

ROMANS 5:12-21

God has provided the means to remove shame. He sent His Son to remove guilt! God extended “grace.”

Genesis 2:25 “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”

Genesis 3:8 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

God had told them earlier, “In the day that you eat from it you will surely die.” (Gen. 2:17)

Their consequences: Genesis 3:14-19

*The Significance of Two Pivotal Men In Human History: Adam and Jesus:

1.   Dead In Adam- Romans 5:12-14

“Death”- the end of physical existence, but death also includes the curses God pronounced in Genesis and eternal separation from Him in eternity.

Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

How can we be declared guilty for something Adam did thousands of years ago?

Ezekiel 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father
As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.”

1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Adam is the head of the human family. And his one act of disobedience plunged his entire offspring into sin. We are all sinners by Adam’s sin. In Adam all die.

Romans 5:13-14 “(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.”

1 John 3:4 “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”

Ephesians 2:1 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”

2.    Life In Christ- Romans 5:15-21

*Humanities Rescue

Romans 5:15-17

Paul then drew an imaginary line down the page and placed the names “Adam” and “Jesus” on opposite sides in order to contrast their impact on humanity:

Adam                                             Jesus

Forbidden tree                               The cross

“Transgression”                              “free gift”

Many died                                      Grace abounded to many

Condemnation                                Justification

Death reigned                                 Gift of righteousness will reign

Note the contrasted effect of each man’s moral choice. Adam sinned; Christ obeyed.

Mark 14:36 “And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

Jesus was obedient to His Father.

Isaiah 53:11 “He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.”

Romans 5:17 “For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)”

1 Corinthians 15:21-22 “For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.”

What a promise to those who love Christ!

*The Two Acts are Contrasted

Romans 5:18-19 “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

To clearly establish the contrasting impact of the two men on humanity, Paul reduces everything to two pairs of parallel statements:

Adam: Through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all people.

Christ: Through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all people.

Adam: Through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners.

Christ: Through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

Philippians 2:8 “And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

vs.19 “made”- Greek word is “kathistemi”- is a judicial term that refers to appointing someone to an official post.

*Humanity’s Reign

Romans 5:20-21 “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now Paul emphasizes his primary point: Salvation cannot be gained through obedience to the Law, salvation is a gift of grace.

 vs.20 “grace abounded much more.”

So you have a choice, guilt or grace? 

His gift is free, extended by grace and received through faith. So the choice is yours. Guilt or grace?