Adam versus Christ

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:08.869 Turn to Romans Chapter Five. Before I read the text this morning, just 2 00:00:08.990 --> 00:00:17.149 to give us a little context. I want to I want to refresh our 3 00:00:17.309 --> 00:00:22.300 memories about what Paul has told us so far in his letter to the Christian 4 00:00:22.339 --> 00:00:30.620 Church in Rome. So let me just quickly review that. In Romans One 5 00:00:30.699 --> 00:00:38.450 and two the apostle tells us what our problem is. Our problem is sin. 6 00:00:40.329 --> 00:00:44.250 Our problem is estrangement from God. We've rebelled against God or, as 7 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:49.490 my seminary professor Dr RC sprole was wont to say, we've been very, 8 00:00:49.530 --> 00:00:57.280 very bad and God is very, very mad. In chapter three Paul Sets 9 00:00:57.399 --> 00:01:03.200 Forth God's solution to our problem. He says the solution to our problem is 10 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:11.510 justification by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. And in those chapters 11 00:01:11.549 --> 00:01:17.230 he tells us about the atoning work of Christ the importance of our trust in 12 00:01:17.269 --> 00:01:22.579 him alone as God's way of salvation. That's Paul's answer to our problem. 13 00:01:23.859 --> 00:01:29.260 In Chapter Four Paul defends that particular view from scripture at and he does a 14 00:01:29.299 --> 00:01:32.659 very interesting thing. He shows that it's not something that he thought up on 15 00:01:32.780 --> 00:01:41.489 his own, but that justification by grace goes in Christ alone. It's actually 16 00:01:41.489 --> 00:01:46.890 an old testament idea. And so in chapter four he does an interesting thing. 17 00:01:47.049 --> 00:01:52.400 He demonstrates justification by faith in the Old Testament from stories about Abraham, 18 00:01:53.560 --> 00:02:01.150 stories about David. Now in chapter five he begins to draw some implications from 19 00:02:01.189 --> 00:02:07.069 this glorious doctrine of justification. He tells us at the beginning of the chapter 20 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:12.949 that because we are justified by faith, we have peace with God, we've 21 00:02:12.990 --> 00:02:19.500 been reconciled to him and as a result of that we have no fear of 22 00:02:19.659 --> 00:02:25.500 final judgment. We're secure in Christ Daron's. That's a good thing. And 23 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:30.610 then in our passage today, verse twelve to the end of the chapter, 24 00:02:32.449 --> 00:02:38.930 Paul completes his account of justification by speaking of the way centers are put right 25 00:02:38.210 --> 00:02:45.240 before God in Jesus Christ, and he illustrates that one and only way of 26 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:50.400 salvation very interesting way. He does it, by comparing what Christ did for 27 00:02:50.560 --> 00:02:55.520 centers to what Adam did for or what Adam did to the entire race at 28 00:02:55.520 --> 00:03:02.349 the very headwaters of human history, way back in genesis three. In other 29 00:03:02.389 --> 00:03:08.189 words, there's a likeness, there's a similarity between Adam and Jesus Christ, 30 00:03:09.949 --> 00:03:15.180 and that likeness is in the way that what they did bears on other people. 31 00:03:15.020 --> 00:03:20.139 What they did bears on you and me. So you see this short 32 00:03:20.219 --> 00:03:24.819 paragraph, versus twelve through twenty one. It's of a men's importance to a 33 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:31.849 biblical understanding of reality. It's so important that we're going to take a deep, 34 00:03:32.210 --> 00:03:37.569 deep dive into the details of these ten verses for the next two Lords 35 00:03:37.610 --> 00:03:42.520 Days that I'm here for sermons. So that means you have to tend all 36 00:03:42.599 --> 00:03:47.840 four worship services for the next two weeks. So turn a few would to 37 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:53.479 Romans Chapter Five, versus twelve through twenty one. I'm going to read the 38 00:03:53.599 --> 00:04:02.069 entire paragraph. I'm sorry, I will. Yeah, so I'm going to 39 00:04:02.110 --> 00:04:05.750 read the entire paragraph. Then we're going to concentrate this morning on these, 40 00:04:05.949 --> 00:04:11.780 on the first three verses, verses twelve through fourteen. So let's stand as 41 00:04:11.819 --> 00:04:18.860 I read God's infallible and arrant Holy Word Romans Five, twelve through twenty one, 42 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:23.939 and then we'll look at twelve through fourteen. This is God's word. 43 00:04:26.529 --> 00:04:30.649 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man and death through 44 00:04:30.810 --> 00:04:35.970 sin, and so death spread to all men because all sin, for sin 45 00:04:36.050 --> 00:04:41.399 indeed was in the world before the law was given. But sin is not 46 00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:46.800 counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, 47 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:51.480 even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam. It was 48 00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:57.269 a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is 49 00:04:57.389 --> 00:05:02.430 not like the trespass, for if many died through one man's trespass, much 50 00:05:02.430 --> 00:05:05.629 more have the grace of God and the Free Gift, by the grace of 51 00:05:05.709 --> 00:05:13.379 that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many. And the free gift 52 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:18.060 is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following 53 00:05:18.180 --> 00:05:25.689 one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift, following many trespasses, brought 54 00:05:25.810 --> 00:05:31.610 justification. If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one 55 00:05:31.730 --> 00:05:38.360 man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the Free 56 00:05:38.439 --> 00:05:46.319 Gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore, 57 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:51.509 as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of 58 00:05:51.589 --> 00:05:59.709 righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one 59 00:05:59.829 --> 00:06:04.579 man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the 60 00:06:04.699 --> 00:06:11.579 many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass. 61 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:15.779 But where sin increased, grace abounded, all the more so that as 62 00:06:15.899 --> 00:06:23.370 sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal 63 00:06:23.449 --> 00:06:29.529 life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Pretty please pray with me. Father, 64 00:06:29.649 --> 00:06:32.720 we thank you for this word and a lot of ways, it's a 65 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:38.199 difficult we pray that you would teach us, by Your Holy Spirit, what 66 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:43.959 you mean or as deep in, as profound as Paul's words are here, 67 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:47.910 he wrote them not to impress us with his grasp of your ultimate truth. 68 00:06:48.269 --> 00:06:55.189 He wrote them to comfort us with that truth and especially with the reality of 69 00:06:55.269 --> 00:07:00.949 your amazing, amazing grace. As such, he meant to be understood. 70 00:07:01.699 --> 00:07:06.819 So, by Your Spirit, help us to understand and to respond accordingly. 71 00:07:08.459 --> 00:07:17.009 This we ask earnestly in Jesus name. Men, please be seated. Okay, 72 00:07:17.649 --> 00:07:26.290 before before we explore the the nuts and bolts of these versus, these 73 00:07:26.490 --> 00:07:31.879 difficult verses, I want to start our study by saying something about what two 74 00:07:31.959 --> 00:07:38.720 very important concepts, two key concepts that I think are central to this text. 75 00:07:40.839 --> 00:07:44.589 First, I want us to take a quick look at the doctrine of 76 00:07:44.750 --> 00:07:49.110 Covenant Theology. And then I want us to look at the doctor and a 77 00:07:49.189 --> 00:07:54.949 doctrine of our union with Christ. I think those are embedded in this very 78 00:07:54.990 --> 00:08:00.620 important passage. Covenant Theology First, and then look at the coven at the 79 00:08:00.699 --> 00:08:07.740 doctrine of our union with Christ. Now, most of us of the reformed 80 00:08:07.860 --> 00:08:13.050 persuasion, I think, are familiar with the Term Covenant Theology. It's a 81 00:08:13.170 --> 00:08:18.730 term banded about quite often our circles. Actually it's part of our DNA, 82 00:08:20.129 --> 00:08:24.850 but it's a term, I think, that's widely misunderstood. It's it's used 83 00:08:24.930 --> 00:08:31.919 by different people to mean different things. To some Covenant Theology Means Infant Baptism, 84 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:37.840 to others it means this particular view of the relationship of the Old Testament 85 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:43.669 to the New Testament. But fundamentally and originally, I think it means something 86 00:08:43.710 --> 00:08:54.149 else. You know, Bible Readers hear the Term Covenant Theology and naturally suppose 87 00:08:54.309 --> 00:08:58.019 that we're talking about all those covenants mentioned in the Bible, the Covenant with 88 00:08:58.220 --> 00:09:05.860 Noah, the Covenant with Abraham, the Covenant with Israel at Cyani, the 89 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:09.700 Covenant with King David and so on. You know, what else could the 90 00:09:09.779 --> 00:09:15.370 term refer to in fact, Covenant Theology eventually does make a great deal of 91 00:09:15.490 --> 00:09:24.840 those covenants. But in fact those biblical covenants are not really what Covenant Theology 92 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:28.440 is about, at least in the way the term is used by most reformed 93 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:35.759 theologians. Fact, the covenants of Covenant Theology are never called covenants anywhere in 94 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:41.149 the Bible, and that just like theologians to do something like that. What's 95 00:09:41.269 --> 00:09:46.389 more, they're very different in the covenants the Lord made with Abraham or Israel 96 00:09:46.830 --> 00:09:56.179 or David. There are two covenants in Covenant Theology, the Covenant God Made 97 00:09:56.259 --> 00:10:03.379 With Adam and the covenant he made with his son Jesus Christ. And in 98 00:10:03.539 --> 00:10:09.129 each case the one man stands and acts as a representative of a race of 99 00:10:09.289 --> 00:10:16.090 people. Now, that was never true of Abraham. Abraham's faith didn't make 100 00:10:16.210 --> 00:10:24.799 all his descendants believe. Evers one true of David. His faithfulness to his 101 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:28.440 calling didn't make kings that descended from him faithful as well. You know, 102 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:35.679 neither of these men represented and acted decisive before and in the stead of an 103 00:10:35.750 --> 00:10:39.950 entire community of people. You know, quite the contrary. We can read 104 00:10:41.029 --> 00:10:48.750 scripture and see that. But Adams Fall meant the fall of every human being. 105 00:10:50.259 --> 00:10:54.940 His disobedience made all human beings who would come from him to be guilty 106 00:10:56.139 --> 00:11:03.019 centers from their very birth. And in a similar way, Christ righteousness, 107 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:09.490 his death on the Cross, made Christ people righteous before God, made Christ 108 00:11:09.649 --> 00:11:16.330 people reconciled to God. So the consequences of the actions of these two men, 109 00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:22.600 the two atoms as Paul calls them, over in First Corinthians fifteen, 110 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:28.840 the first atom and the last atom, will unfold as people come to life 111 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:33.990 in the world. But there can be no escaping the result achieved by each 112 00:11:35.110 --> 00:11:43.269 people's representative. I think it's interesting that the English Puritan Thomas Goodman, he 113 00:11:43.429 --> 00:11:48.340 put this in a homey way in the seventeen century and this is what he 114 00:11:48.419 --> 00:11:52.740 said. He said there are but two men standing before God, Adam and 115 00:11:52.860 --> 00:11:58.700 Christ, and these two men have all other human beings hanging from their belts. 116 00:12:01.169 --> 00:12:05.129 So it's this view, I think, no base supremely on this passage 117 00:12:05.169 --> 00:12:13.330 here in Romans five and also first Corinthians fifteen, that all of a God's 118 00:12:13.409 --> 00:12:18.799 dealings with mankind are in terms of these two representatives, the first in Adam, 119 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:26.080 the second in Christ, in each case the head acting on behalf and 120 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:30.549 for the body, and I say it's this view of the history of mankind 121 00:12:31.669 --> 00:12:39.750 that is properly designated covenant theology, and the covenants of Biblical history. Noah, 122 00:12:39.389 --> 00:12:48.220 Abraham, Israel, David and so on are then simply the historical outworking 123 00:12:48.139 --> 00:12:54.700 the progressive revelation of that salvation that was accomplished by the Second Adam, Jesus 124 00:12:54.740 --> 00:12:58.330 Christ, and I think that's what Paul lays out for so beautifully in this 125 00:12:58.490 --> 00:13:07.730 Short Passage Covenant Theology. So it's highlighted in this passage. But the passes 126 00:13:07.809 --> 00:13:15.240 also highlights another important doctrine, and that's the doctrine of a Christian's union with 127 00:13:15.360 --> 00:13:22.639 Christ faced. You know, if someone were to ask you what are the 128 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:28.269 most important events in human history, what would you say? What are the 129 00:13:28.309 --> 00:13:33.710 most important events in human history? Would you cite the discovery of fire? 130 00:13:37.870 --> 00:13:43.539 How about the invention of the wheel? Would you say the invention of the 131 00:13:43.179 --> 00:13:52.019 printing press? Or maybe the discovery of atomic energy, the discovery of the 132 00:13:52.179 --> 00:13:56.769 computership? I don't know. You know, all those events and discoveries are 133 00:13:56.889 --> 00:14:07.289 obviously important, but dear Wednesday pale before the two incredible events that the Apostle 134 00:14:07.330 --> 00:14:13.320 Paul talks about in this passage. The fall of the race in Adam and 135 00:14:13.519 --> 00:14:22.240 the redemption of the race by the Lord Jesus Christ. These two events are 136 00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:28.509 the pivotal points of history, and Paul summarizes their importance in verse eighteen here 137 00:14:30.350 --> 00:14:33.830 when he says, therefore, as one trespass led to the condemnation for all 138 00:14:33.950 --> 00:14:41.220 men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 139 00:14:41.779 --> 00:14:48.860 In these ten short verses, Paul deals with Mankind's union with Adam on 140 00:14:48.899 --> 00:14:54.409 the one hand, which leads to death and condemnation, and with the Believers 141 00:14:54.490 --> 00:15:03.250 Union with Christ on the other, which leads to life and righteousness. You 142 00:15:03.330 --> 00:15:05.370 know, I could note first that the Union of the believer with Christ is 143 00:15:05.529 --> 00:15:11.960 one of three great unions in scripture. The first is the Union of the 144 00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:18.080 persons of the Godhead in the Trinity. You know, we Christians speak of 145 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:22.269 one God, yet on the basis of the revelation of God in scripture, 146 00:15:22.309 --> 00:15:28.269 we also believe that that that one God exists in three persons, as the 147 00:15:28.350 --> 00:15:33.830 father and the son and the Holy Spirit. The Second Union is that of 148 00:15:33.909 --> 00:15:41.100 the two natures of Christ in one person. The Lord Jesus Christ is one 149 00:15:41.179 --> 00:15:45.740 person. He's not a multiple personality. Nevertheless, he's also one hundred percent 150 00:15:45.899 --> 00:15:50.730 God and he's one hundred percent man. He possesses two natures. He's the 151 00:15:50.970 --> 00:15:58.570 infinite God man, and we have a similar situation in the case of the 152 00:15:58.649 --> 00:16:03.210 Union of Believers with Christ. You know, we're probably never going to be 153 00:16:03.289 --> 00:16:07.639 able to understand that union fully, but that's what the Bible teaches, so 154 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:12.320 we have to believe it. You know, the second in important point to 155 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:18.000 keep in mind as we take a look at this doctrine is that even though 156 00:16:18.039 --> 00:16:23.350 Jesus never uses the term mystical union, he taught the doctrine in other ways, 157 00:16:23.470 --> 00:16:30.549 mainly through analogies. Just a couple of examples. You remember in John 158 00:16:30.710 --> 00:16:37.139 Fifteen, Jesus says that he's the vine. Is followers are only branches and 159 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:44.100 they can bear no fruit unless they remain in the vine. We also see 160 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:51.250 this mystical union in Jesus Teaching on the Lord's Supper. The sacrament clearly symbolizes 161 00:16:51.330 --> 00:16:57.330 our participation in the life of Christ. In other places, Jesus spoke of 162 00:16:57.409 --> 00:17:03.879 himself as a solid foundation for a building, a successful life. He taught 163 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:08.599 that he was the cornerstone and which the whole building, meaning us, the 164 00:17:08.720 --> 00:17:17.750 church, is held together. But I think by far the greatest of all 165 00:17:17.829 --> 00:17:22.950 illustrations of the Union of the believer with Christ is marriage, in which a 166 00:17:23.069 --> 00:17:32.019 man and a woman are joined to form one flesh, one family. Christ 167 00:17:32.099 --> 00:17:34.900 says that this union of a man and a woman is as a profound mystery, 168 00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:42.940 but it illustrates the Union of Christ with his hurts. So Union with 169 00:17:44.019 --> 00:17:48.170 Christ. It's an important doctrine for all of us to grasp and, I 170 00:17:48.289 --> 00:17:52.529 think, to understand more fully how we're in Christ. We also need to 171 00:17:52.609 --> 00:17:56.849 see how we're in Adam, which is where our text picks up here in 172 00:17:56.970 --> 00:18:03.880 verse twelve. So let's get down to the nuts and bolts of these verses. 173 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:11.319 So look there in verse twelve. Adam is the one man mentioned here 174 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:17.230 in verse twelve. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one 175 00:18:17.390 --> 00:18:22.710 man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all 176 00:18:22.829 --> 00:18:26.869 sin. So the passage. The passage starts here by showing, on the 177 00:18:26.950 --> 00:18:32.220 one hand, how the Union of the race in Adam and the Union of 178 00:18:32.299 --> 00:18:37.180 Believers in Christ are similar and how, on the other hand, they're also 179 00:18:37.380 --> 00:18:42.730 very, very different, the results of the first being evil, the results 180 00:18:42.809 --> 00:18:48.730 of the second being good. Now Paul has been teaching in Romans for a 181 00:18:48.809 --> 00:18:56.119 couple of chapters that in God's work of Justification, the righteousness of Christ has 182 00:18:56.200 --> 00:19:03.559 been imputed to us. It's been credited to our account but unfortunately, cry 183 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:07.319 to few of us, I think, are reluctant to accept that truth. 184 00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:14.670 They're for to help us understand and to believe in this principle of imputed righteousness. 185 00:19:14.950 --> 00:19:18.910 Paul shows us that we've already been treated on the basis of this same 186 00:19:18.990 --> 00:19:23.779 principle in Adam. Paul says here that Adam Sin has been imputed to the 187 00:19:23.940 --> 00:19:30.819 entire race. We're going to see that more clearly as we as we look 188 00:19:30.859 --> 00:19:36.579 at the flow of the passage. We start with Verse Twelve, which teaches 189 00:19:36.660 --> 00:19:41.569 that sin followed by death came into the world by Adam. That's pretty straightforward, 190 00:19:41.609 --> 00:19:45.250 I think. I think we can see that. But I want you 191 00:19:45.289 --> 00:19:48.450 to notice something here. At the end of verse twelve there's a Dash, 192 00:19:48.609 --> 00:19:52.480 or there should be a dash in your Bible. It's not. It should 193 00:19:52.480 --> 00:20:00.680 be there. That indicates that Paul Breaks off his thought at this point and 194 00:20:03.400 --> 00:20:11.069 he inserts here of parentheses, versus thirteen and fourteen. Explain what Paul meant 195 00:20:11.109 --> 00:20:15.670 when he said at the end of Verse Twelve, because all sin. Now 196 00:20:15.950 --> 00:20:21.980 we're going to come back to that. That's important. Versus fifteen and seventeen 197 00:20:22.140 --> 00:20:27.299 continue this little side bar and it's not until verse eighteen that we again pick 198 00:20:27.299 --> 00:20:33.019 up Paul's thought which he began in verse twelve. Now I point this out 199 00:20:33.180 --> 00:20:37.930 so we so we can just see the full perilsm but sween Christ and Adam. 200 00:20:40.690 --> 00:20:44.049 So if you put verse twelve and eighteen together, I think we get 201 00:20:44.130 --> 00:20:48.970 something like this. Paul says, on the one hand, just to sin 202 00:20:49.119 --> 00:20:55.559 entered the world through one man and death through sin. And in this way 203 00:20:55.720 --> 00:20:59.960 death came to all men because all sin. That is just as the result 204 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:04.950 of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also, on the other 205 00:21:06.109 --> 00:21:11.470 hand, the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for 206 00:21:11.589 --> 00:21:18.980 all men. You see the parallelism there again, this teaches that there are 207 00:21:18.180 --> 00:21:27.180 two great acts in history. There's the act of Adam, which brought condemnation 208 00:21:27.380 --> 00:21:34.170 and death, and then there's the act of Jesus, which brought justification and 209 00:21:34.450 --> 00:21:40.730 life. Now go back to verse twelve. We're going to we're going to 210 00:21:40.769 --> 00:21:45.569 get down into the weeds here. This verse is important in that it assumes 211 00:21:45.690 --> 00:21:49.160 too great truth. You can see it right there in the verse. It 212 00:21:49.279 --> 00:21:59.480 assumes the universality of sin and the universality of death. Now, most sane 213 00:21:59.599 --> 00:22:03.950 people would agree with those two truth you know. We hear comments all the 214 00:22:04.029 --> 00:22:10.990 time like no one is perfect, the air is human and nothing is certain 215 00:22:11.069 --> 00:22:15.180 except death and taxes, you know. But there's a there's a huge Gulf 216 00:22:15.539 --> 00:22:22.619 among people and just what sin is and why sin and death are universal. 217 00:22:25.140 --> 00:22:30.049 You know, the secular mind says that there's no connection between sin and death 218 00:22:30.089 --> 00:22:37.529 at all. He says they're unrelated issues because they can be explained naturally. 219 00:22:37.569 --> 00:22:42.569 As far as sin is concerned, the secular says that sin is only an 220 00:22:42.609 --> 00:22:52.359 imperfection in human nature. He sees all things as gradually evolving to more complex 221 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:56.160 and more perfect forms. He argues that sin means only that we're not yet 222 00:22:56.400 --> 00:22:59.710 where we hope to be and where we're going to eventually be. That's how 223 00:22:59.750 --> 00:23:04.029 the world sees sin. It's no big deal. Now, I think you 224 00:23:04.069 --> 00:23:10.509 see, there's a couple of things wrong with that view. First, if 225 00:23:10.549 --> 00:23:15.859 sin is only an imperfection which will be overcome, and I say it's not 226 00:23:15.299 --> 00:23:21.660 really correct to call it sin. And if you can't call a thing sin, 227 00:23:22.299 --> 00:23:29.049 that eliminates the possibility of any meaningful discussion about virtues such as honesty. 228 00:23:30.049 --> 00:23:37.809 If sin is only an imperfection soon to be overcome as we evolve, then 229 00:23:37.890 --> 00:23:44.480 nobody can be said to be better or worse than somebody else. Nothing that 230 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:52.400 we ever do can ever be really inherently wrong. But there's a second problem 231 00:23:52.559 --> 00:24:00.109 too. If sin is only an imperfection to be eliminated in time, why 232 00:24:00.230 --> 00:24:07.910 has so much evil been around for so long? If sin is only a 233 00:24:07.069 --> 00:24:15.859 little imperfection in our nature, why hasn't that imperfection been eliminated long before now? 234 00:24:17.660 --> 00:24:19.619 You know, I asked you to just look at the historical record. 235 00:24:19.740 --> 00:24:26.089 Honestly, is it even possible to say that there's been such a thing as 236 00:24:26.289 --> 00:24:33.529 progress? Are we really better in a moral sense today than our predecensors? 237 00:24:36.049 --> 00:24:45.519 I don't think we are. The other inexcapable reality this first points out is 238 00:24:45.759 --> 00:24:52.319 death. You know how modern man explains it. Moudern man explains death is 239 00:24:52.359 --> 00:24:56.470 something inherent in nature. Is Seth itself. Death is just natural. He 240 00:24:56.549 --> 00:25:00.910 says, all living things eventually dies. What they do? Now, that's 241 00:25:02.029 --> 00:25:07.069 true. We all die, but the problem is that none of us really 242 00:25:07.109 --> 00:25:11.740 believe that this is right. I think we sense deep down that we were 243 00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:21.380 meant to be immortal. Now we shouldn't die. Death is wrong, and 244 00:25:21.529 --> 00:25:29.049 so we get all these images of life beyond death, Heaven, paradise, 245 00:25:29.210 --> 00:25:36.359 Nirvana, Mount Olympus others, images found in every single one of the world's 246 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:41.799 real civilizations and religions. You See, the Christian answer to the problem of 247 00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:49.869 the universality of death and sin is that death is not natural, but that 248 00:25:49.990 --> 00:25:56.509 it's the punishment of God for Sin. Classic Christianity says, more over, 249 00:25:56.630 --> 00:26:02.190 that sin entered the world through the one act of Adam, the first men, 250 00:26:02.869 --> 00:26:08.500 and that from Adam sin and its consequences death passed to his descendants. 251 00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:18.730 Christianity holds that God appointed Adam as our representative so that he would stand for 252 00:26:18.890 --> 00:26:22.529 all of us and we would be accounted either just or sinful, on the 253 00:26:22.609 --> 00:26:29.130 basis of his obedience to or disobedience of God's come in. You know, 254 00:26:29.210 --> 00:26:33.079 it's as if we were actually there in the garden when Adam and Eve ate 255 00:26:33.160 --> 00:26:36.680 from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and we ate with 256 00:26:36.839 --> 00:26:42.839 them. Now there's a theological term for this view. It's called federalism, 257 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:51.349 you know, because of the analogy, I don't know, to the way 258 00:26:51.349 --> 00:26:55.589 an ambassador might act on behalf of his country. You know, when an 259 00:26:55.589 --> 00:27:00.819 ambassador science a document or takes some action, he does so for each of 260 00:27:00.900 --> 00:27:08.660 the country's citizens and we're therefore bound by what he does. So historical Christianity 261 00:27:10.180 --> 00:27:17.730 Interprets Paul's words here as saying that because Adams sin, death came to all 262 00:27:17.769 --> 00:27:25.930 of us. We die not because of our sin, as bad as it 263 00:27:26.049 --> 00:27:34.039 is, but because Adam sin is imputed to us. It's also true that 264 00:27:34.200 --> 00:27:41.000 we inherit a sinful nature from Madam, but the point is that Paul's making 265 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:47.630 that is not what condemns us. What condemns us, what makes us subject 266 00:27:47.630 --> 00:27:52.349 to death, is the fact that we've all sinned in Adam and that we're 267 00:27:52.390 --> 00:27:59.579 all held guilty as a result of his sin. That's Paul's argument here, 268 00:28:00.140 --> 00:28:04.980 that he's making in these verses. It's our union with Adam that accounts for 269 00:28:06.099 --> 00:28:10.619 all our trouble, but that's not the end of the story. Praise God, 270 00:28:10.779 --> 00:28:18.170 it's our corresponding union with Christ that accounts for our salvation. But is 271 00:28:18.210 --> 00:28:23.369 that the right interpretation of what Paul is saying here in verse twelve. You 272 00:28:23.450 --> 00:28:29.920 know, he says at the end of verse twelve that death spread to all 273 00:28:30.119 --> 00:28:34.680 men because all sinned. I don't know. That sounds pretty much like we 274 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:38.519 die not because of Adam's sin, but we die because of our own sin. 275 00:28:41.150 --> 00:28:45.349 Which is it? Or does it really matter if we die because of 276 00:28:45.470 --> 00:28:51.029 Adam sin or because of our own sin? Does it really matter when you're 277 00:28:51.069 --> 00:28:56.420 dead? You did well, it does matter. And Paul goes on in 278 00:28:56.500 --> 00:29:03.019 verses thirteen and fourteen to tell us quiet matters, to tell us why this 279 00:29:03.299 --> 00:29:08.059 concept of federalism is the right interpretation of verse twelve, and he makes three 280 00:29:08.220 --> 00:29:15.250 main arguments in proof of Adam being our federal representative. So look at those 281 00:29:15.289 --> 00:29:19.930 verses thirteen and fourteen. They're a little complicated, so hang in there with 282 00:29:21.089 --> 00:29:27.640 me. First, he says that before the Mosaic Law was given, sin 283 00:29:27.839 --> 00:29:33.160 was in the world. Now there's nothing, I think, very complicated about 284 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:38.829 that. It's a fact that sin came before the law, the law to 285 00:29:38.869 --> 00:29:45.269 income, until cyanide later, just as Adam came before Moses. Second, 286 00:29:45.390 --> 00:29:51.269 he says that sin is not taken into account or imputed or punies when there's 287 00:29:51.269 --> 00:29:56.380 no law. What Paul is saying here is that where there's no law, 288 00:29:56.579 --> 00:30:02.819 then there's no law to break. So until the mosaic law was given later 289 00:30:03.940 --> 00:30:07.569 and could exercise its role of defining just what sin was, sin was not 290 00:30:07.769 --> 00:30:15.609 reckoned against sinners. Yet, and this is Paul's crucial third point, people 291 00:30:15.730 --> 00:30:22.079 continued to die during this time, from Adam to the time of Moses and 292 00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:26.960 the law. People continue to die, even those who didn't send by breaking 293 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:30.279 a specific command, as Adam did. Now hear what Paul is saying. 294 00:30:30.440 --> 00:30:37.670 He's making a very, very specific point. There were some who did flagrantly 295 00:30:37.710 --> 00:30:41.549 disobey God's Moral Law, which was written in their hearts, and they were 296 00:30:41.589 --> 00:30:45.670 punished for this. Case in point was the flood, the judgment of those 297 00:30:45.710 --> 00:30:52.059 who built the power of Babel, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. But 298 00:30:52.220 --> 00:30:56.539 Paul's point is that there were others who didn't sin by disobey saying a direct 299 00:30:56.619 --> 00:31:02.220 command, as Adam did and as the people of the flood did, Babil 300 00:31:02.339 --> 00:31:08.650 did, Sodom and Gomora did. These others did not voluntarily and overtly violate 301 00:31:08.849 --> 00:31:12.809 and expressly revealed ordinance of God. You know. I don't know, but 302 00:31:12.849 --> 00:31:19.400 it's almost like Paul was thinking of people like infants or the mentally incapacitated, 303 00:31:21.759 --> 00:31:26.160 you know, people who are incapable of voluntarily violating a direct command of God. 304 00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:33.750 Yet those people died. There are infants who die, mentally incapacitated people 305 00:31:33.869 --> 00:31:37.710 die, you know, just like the rest of us. And Paul asked 306 00:31:37.789 --> 00:31:42.710 why. Why does that happen? Why did they die? How do you 307 00:31:42.789 --> 00:31:48.980 explain that? They didn't voluntarily violate a direct command of God, yet they 308 00:31:49.019 --> 00:31:56.059 died just like those who did? Why? And there's only one reason that 309 00:31:56.180 --> 00:32:02.049 Paul can think of. All died because all sinned in and through Adam, 310 00:32:04.609 --> 00:32:13.609 the representative of the human race. Everybody dies because of Adam's sin. Adam 311 00:32:13.930 --> 00:32:19.119 had been appointed by God to be the representative of the race so that if 312 00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:24.720 he stood, we two would stand, and if he fell, we would 313 00:32:24.759 --> 00:32:30.390 fall with him. And Adam fell, as we know. So death passed 314 00:32:30.430 --> 00:32:35.950 upon every single one of us. That's the explanation which Paul gives here of 315 00:32:36.069 --> 00:32:43.029 why all die. Okay, let's get to the point here. I can 316 00:32:43.150 --> 00:32:50.019 just hear some of you already protesting. Hey, that's not fair. I 317 00:32:50.259 --> 00:32:53.339 wasn't there I wasn't in the garden with Adam. I didn't ask Adam to 318 00:32:53.460 --> 00:32:59.490 be my representative. I want to pick my own representative. I want to 319 00:32:59.529 --> 00:33:02.650 represent myself. If I'd been in Adams Shoes, I would certainly have acted 320 00:33:02.730 --> 00:33:10.569 differently. Really, is that right? Well, I want to suggest that, 321 00:33:10.690 --> 00:33:17.440 far from being unfair, the federal or representative way of dealing with us 322 00:33:19.920 --> 00:33:23.440 was actually the fairest and kindness of all the ways God could have operated. 323 00:33:25.359 --> 00:33:32.029 You say it's not fair that you want to represent yourself. Bad decision. 324 00:33:34.430 --> 00:33:39.869 Think about it. Adam faced only one trifling temptation. He was not to 325 00:33:39.990 --> 00:33:45.380 eat of one simple tree. Besides, he didn't have a sinful nature. 326 00:33:45.380 --> 00:33:49.819 He had all his faculties, which are undoubtedly superior to us. He lived 327 00:33:49.859 --> 00:33:54.220 in a perfect environment. That does not describe me. For our part, 328 00:33:54.299 --> 00:33:58.049 were sinful, were weak. We live in a world filled with all kinds 329 00:33:58.089 --> 00:34:07.009 of temptation. So I maintain unequivocally that it was merciful. It was gracious 330 00:34:07.009 --> 00:34:14.559 of God to judge us in Adam and not in ourselves. And then there's 331 00:34:14.599 --> 00:34:21.079 this one great fact that we cannot miss. If God had chosen to judge 332 00:34:21.800 --> 00:34:25.110 us as each of us think we'd like to be judged, that is, 333 00:34:25.309 --> 00:34:31.389 in and for ourselves, with no relationship to any other person. Then we 334 00:34:31.469 --> 00:34:38.619 would all inevitably perish, because our only hope of salvation is that we may 335 00:34:38.659 --> 00:34:45.699 also be judged in Christ, he being our representative, just as we've been 336 00:34:45.739 --> 00:34:52.570 judged in our representative, Adam. Because we've been judged in Adam, we 337 00:34:52.690 --> 00:35:00.610 can also be judged in Christ and be acquitted. And, dear ones, 338 00:35:00.690 --> 00:35:07.519 that's precisely what happens for those who are called by God and joined to Jesus 339 00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:14.559 Christ through the channel of saving faith. We don't deserve it, we can't 340 00:35:14.599 --> 00:35:20.639 earn it, but this is the way grace works. Disgrace from beginning to 341 00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:25.550 end. Christ's righteous this is imputed to us, just like Adam sin was 342 00:35:25.630 --> 00:35:34.030 imputed to us. Well, I've got to stop. You know, it's 343 00:35:34.070 --> 00:35:37.579 interesting. Apart from the story of the fall, it's remarkable how little is 344 00:35:37.699 --> 00:35:40.860 written in the Bible about in the Bible about Adam. You ever noticed that 345 00:35:44.059 --> 00:35:49.659 he was created by God. He was commanded to take dominion over creation. 346 00:35:49.780 --> 00:35:54.369 He fell for him the first blood sacrifice was made. He had so several 347 00:35:54.489 --> 00:36:00.929 children. The first one was a murderer, the second was the type of 348 00:36:01.010 --> 00:36:05.480 those who believe and follow Christ, and the third was the progenitor of a 349 00:36:05.559 --> 00:36:09.400 race and fulfillment of the promises of God. I was in it. Ros 350 00:36:09.559 --> 00:36:14.039 also recorded his age at death. He was nine hundred thirty years old when 351 00:36:14.079 --> 00:36:21.150 he died. That's an instant. That's an extremely meager biography, but too 352 00:36:22.469 --> 00:36:30.429 stupendous facts make Adam one of the most famous names in history. He was 353 00:36:30.510 --> 00:36:37.380 the first man, he was the first sinner, he dissipated his children's heritage 354 00:36:37.739 --> 00:36:43.900 and we've all been in spiritual poverty ever since, you know. But as 355 00:36:43.980 --> 00:36:49.929 we look at him through the shadows of time, I don't think we should 356 00:36:49.929 --> 00:36:54.690 judge in too harshly, because we know that he did exactly what we would 357 00:36:54.690 --> 00:37:01.000 have done in his place. And indeed, I think we can look rather 358 00:37:01.039 --> 00:37:09.719 kindly upon this man because through him, through Adam, we learn this marvelous 359 00:37:09.800 --> 00:37:19.789 principle of the one standing for the many. At the Cross of Jesus Christ 360 00:37:20.070 --> 00:37:24.269 we see the other person, the last Adam, also standing for the many, 361 00:37:25.949 --> 00:37:29.710 you know, as Adam stood for many and brought death upon all of 362 00:37:29.789 --> 00:37:34.139 us, so our Lord Jesus Christ stood from any he brings life to all 363 00:37:34.260 --> 00:37:38.340 who believe, and so I have to pose the question. Can you, 364 00:37:38.500 --> 00:37:45.409 this morning, look to the Cross and know that you're in Christ? Now, 365 00:37:45.530 --> 00:37:50.530 having been, having been defiled by the stream that flows from Adam, 366 00:37:52.369 --> 00:37:58.250 you can find cleansing only by plunging yourself into the stream that flows from the 367 00:37:58.329 --> 00:38:01.360 Lord, Jesus Christ, dying for us as the head, the representative of 368 00:38:02.079 --> 00:38:07.280 the new race. Dear ones, we have to be absolutely clear about all 369 00:38:07.400 --> 00:38:14.750 this. All of humanity is in one of two persons this morning. They're 370 00:38:14.789 --> 00:38:20.030 either in Christ and, as a result, are justified before God and have 371 00:38:20.190 --> 00:38:25.670 eternal life, or they're still in Adam and, as a result, are 372 00:38:25.710 --> 00:38:31.539 unjustified before God and are condemned to experience his eternal judgment. That's where people 373 00:38:31.579 --> 00:38:38.260 are. You can't have it both ways. So where are you this morning? 374 00:38:39.820 --> 00:38:45.929 To whom do you belong? Are you in Adam or are you in 375 00:38:45.010 --> 00:38:53.090 Christ? How can you know you're in Christ? Well, I was thinking 376 00:38:53.130 --> 00:38:55.800 about that this week. It's sort of like the vows you took when you 377 00:38:55.840 --> 00:39:00.079 got married. If you got if you've been married. So I think you 378 00:39:00.159 --> 00:39:07.480 need to ask yourself, am I married to Jesus? You are if you've 379 00:39:07.519 --> 00:39:14.750 taken the vow promising to take Jesus to be your loving and faithful savior in 380 00:39:14.949 --> 00:39:21.070 plenty and in want enjoy and in sorrow and sickness and in health, for 381 00:39:21.269 --> 00:39:27.219 this life and for eternity. And if you're living for him, if you've 382 00:39:27.300 --> 00:39:34.099 taken that vow, then God has pronounced the marriage and I can tell you 383 00:39:34.300 --> 00:39:37.849 on the authority of Scripture that what God has joined together, no one, 384 00:39:38.170 --> 00:39:44.210 no one, no one, will ever put a sounder to him. Be 385 00:39:44.289 --> 00:39:45.650 The glory. Let's pray