Covenant Theology: Sin vs. Grace (Romans 5:21)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.440 --> 00:00:03.080 So I invite you now to turn in your bibles, if you would, 2 00:00:03.080 --> 00:00:10.189 to Romans Chapter Five. Now, before I read the text for today, 3 00:00:10.230 --> 00:00:17.550 let me just refresh our memories about what Paul has told us so far and 4 00:00:17.710 --> 00:00:25.140 this marvelous letter to the church in Rome. In Romans Chapter One and Chapter 5 00:00:25.179 --> 00:00:30.820 Two, the Apostle tells us what our problem is. Our problem is sin. 6 00:00:32.539 --> 00:00:37.649 Our problem is estrangement from God. We've rebelled against God. No, 7 00:00:37.770 --> 00:00:42.049 it's doctor R C sproll once put it. We've been very bad. God 8 00:00:42.170 --> 00:00:49.450 is very mad. In chapter three, Paul Sets Forth God's solution to our 9 00:00:49.609 --> 00:00:57.640 problem, and that is justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. 10 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:03.759 He sets forth the atoning work of Christ, the importance of our trust in 11 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:10.150 him alone as God's way of salvation. That's his resolution to our problem. 12 00:01:11.829 --> 00:01:15.790 In Chapter Four Paul defends his protector view from scripture. He shows that it's 13 00:01:15.829 --> 00:01:21.500 just not something that he worked up on his own, but it's actually an 14 00:01:21.540 --> 00:01:26.900 old testament idea that were justified by grace through faith in Christ the loan. 15 00:01:27.219 --> 00:01:34.209 And so in chapter four he demonstrates that he demonstrates justification by faith from the 16 00:01:34.250 --> 00:01:40.250 Old Testament and he uses two stories. He a story about Abraham and the 17 00:01:40.370 --> 00:01:46.090 story about David. And now in Chapter Five, Paul begins to draw some 18 00:01:46.250 --> 00:01:53.799 implications from this glorious doctrine of justification. He tells us at the beginning of 19 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:57.959 the chapter that because we're justified by faith, we have peace with God, 20 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:04.230 we've been reconciled to him and as a result, we need to have no 21 00:02:04.510 --> 00:02:12.509 fear of final judgment. We are secure in Christ. And then in verse 22 00:02:12.669 --> 00:02:16.979 twelve, to the very end of the chapter, Paul completes his account of 23 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:23.939 justification by speaking of the way centers are put right before God in Jesus Christ, 24 00:02:23.020 --> 00:02:31.129 and he illustrates that one and only way of salvation by comparing what Christ 25 00:02:31.289 --> 00:02:38.490 did for centers to what Adam did, or, to be more accurately, 26 00:02:38.650 --> 00:02:44.759 what Adam did to the entire race at the very headwaters of human history. 27 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:52.159 Paul says in that text there that there's a likeness, there's a similarity between 28 00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:57.240 Adam and Jesus Christ and that like this is in the way that what they 29 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:04.870 did bears on other people. And so this paragraph, versus twelve through twenty 30 00:03:04.949 --> 00:03:10.189 one, it's extremely important, so of an immense importance to the biblical understanding 31 00:03:10.389 --> 00:03:15.219 of reality. So please turn there, as you would, the Romans Five, 32 00:03:16.699 --> 00:03:21.500 verses twelve through twenty one. I'm going to read the entire paragraph and 33 00:03:21.580 --> 00:03:25.699 then we're going to concentrate on Paul summary of the main theme of the paragraph, 34 00:03:25.699 --> 00:03:30.409 which is in Verse Twenty One. So let's stand as I read this 35 00:03:30.610 --> 00:03:35.729 passage, Romans Five, twelve through twenty one. This is God's word for 36 00:03:35.770 --> 00:03:42.240 us this morning, so let's pay heed to it. Therefore, just as 37 00:03:42.319 --> 00:03:46.919 sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so 38 00:03:46.159 --> 00:03:51.080 death spread to all men because all sin, for sin indeed was in the 39 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.360 world before the law was given. But sin is not counted where there is 40 00:03:54.520 --> 00:04:00.469 no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who 41 00:04:00.629 --> 00:04:04.710 sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the 42 00:04:04.830 --> 00:04:10.939 one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass, 43 00:04:11.900 --> 00:04:15.220 for if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace 44 00:04:15.300 --> 00:04:18.139 of God and the free gifts, by the grace of that one man, 45 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:25.329 Jesus Christ, abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the 46 00:04:25.410 --> 00:04:30.490 result of that one man's sin, for the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, 47 00:04:32.129 --> 00:04:38.370 but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. If, because of 48 00:04:38.529 --> 00:04:44.079 one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those 49 00:04:44.160 --> 00:04:48.360 who receive the abundance of grace and the Free Gift of righteousness reign in life 50 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:56.509 through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led the 51 00:04:56.629 --> 00:05:01.829 condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life 52 00:05:01.949 --> 00:05:08.180 for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made 53 00:05:08.220 --> 00:05:13.699 sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 54 00:05:15.019 --> 00:05:17.939 Now the law came in to increase the trespass. But where sin increased, 55 00:05:18.860 --> 00:05:24.410 grace abounded all the more. And then our texts for the day, so 56 00:05:24.610 --> 00:05:30.290 that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to 57 00:05:30.449 --> 00:05:34.529 eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let me pray for us as we 58 00:05:35.439 --> 00:05:40.560 try to understand this passage. Our Father, we thank you for this word 59 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:43.879 this morning. We pray that you would teach us by Your Holy Spirit what 60 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:50.189 it means for as deep and as profound as Paul Paul's words are here. 61 00:05:50.230 --> 00:05:56.589 He he wrote them not to impress us with his grasp of your ultimate truth, 62 00:05:57.069 --> 00:06:01.709 but the comfort us with that truth and especially to comfort us with the 63 00:06:01.829 --> 00:06:08.019 reality of your amazing grace. As such, he meant to be understood. 64 00:06:09.100 --> 00:06:13.459 So, by Your Spirit, help us to understand and to respond accordingly. 65 00:06:13.740 --> 00:06:20.329 In Jesus name. Men, please be seated. You know most of us 66 00:06:21.449 --> 00:06:30.930 of the reforms persuasion we've we've heard this term Reef Covenant Theology. It's a 67 00:06:31.050 --> 00:06:34.720 term bandied about quite often in our circles. It's part of our DNA. 68 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:43.360 However, I think it's a term that's widely misunderstood and I think for entirely, 69 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:48.310 you know, understandable reasons. It's used by different people to mean different 70 00:06:48.389 --> 00:06:55.550 things. You know, to some Coven at Baptist Covenant Theology Means Infant Baptism. 71 00:06:56.670 --> 00:07:00.500 The others it means a particular view of the relationship between the Old Testament 72 00:07:00.540 --> 00:07:08.459 and the New Testament. But fundamentally and originally it means something else. You 73 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:15.060 know, Bible Readers here the Term Covenant Theology and they naturally suppose that we're 74 00:07:15.100 --> 00:07:19.129 talking about all those covenants mentioned in the Bible. You know, the Covenant 75 00:07:19.170 --> 00:07:25.970 with Noah, the Covenant with Abraham and with Israel at Sinai King David, 76 00:07:26.769 --> 00:07:30.279 so on. You know what else could would the term refer to? And 77 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:38.959 in Fact Covenant Theology eventually does make a great deal of these covenants. But 78 00:07:39.120 --> 00:07:46.550 in fact those biblical covenants are not really what Covenant Theology is about, at 79 00:07:46.589 --> 00:07:53.389 least in the way the term is used by reform theologians. In fact, 80 00:07:53.670 --> 00:08:00.660 the covenants of Covenant Theology are never called covenants anywhere in the Bible, and 81 00:08:00.740 --> 00:08:05.500 that just like a theologian to do something like that. And what's more, 82 00:08:07.459 --> 00:08:11.379 they are very different things than the covenant the Lord made with Abraham and with 83 00:08:11.579 --> 00:08:18.209 Israel or David. There are two covenants in Covenant Theology, the Covenant God 84 00:08:18.449 --> 00:08:24.889 Made With Adam and the covenant he made with his son Jesus Christ. And 85 00:08:26.050 --> 00:08:31.559 in each case the one man stands and he acts as a representative of a 86 00:08:31.639 --> 00:08:39.639 race of people. I was never true of Abraham. Abraham's faith didn't make 87 00:08:39.679 --> 00:08:46.990 all his descendants believers. Was True of David. His faith fulness to his 88 00:08:46.149 --> 00:08:50.990 calling didn't make the Kings that descended from him faithful as well. Neither of 89 00:08:52.070 --> 00:08:58.259 these men represented and acted decisively for and in the stead of an entire community 90 00:08:58.340 --> 00:09:03.259 of people. Quite the contrary, indeed. We know that. But Adams 91 00:09:03.379 --> 00:09:11.690 Fall meant the fall of every human being. His disobedience made all human beings 92 00:09:11.769 --> 00:09:16.370 who would come from him to be guilty, sinners from the very beginning of 93 00:09:16.490 --> 00:09:22.250 their lives. In other words, we come into this life not with a 94 00:09:22.330 --> 00:09:28.279 clean slate but as sinners because of Adam Sin. It's what this text tells 95 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:35.799 us today. And in a similar way, Christ righteousness, his death on 96 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:43.710 the Cross, made Christ people righteous before God and reconciled to God. Now 97 00:09:43.789 --> 00:09:50.269 the consequences of the actions of these two men, the two atoms as Paul 98 00:09:50.389 --> 00:09:54.019 calls them, over in First Corinthians fifteen, the first atom and the last 99 00:09:54.139 --> 00:10:01.539 atom, will unfold as people come to life in this world. But there 100 00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:09.450 can be no escaping the result achieved by each people's representative. You know the 101 00:10:09.490 --> 00:10:16.090 English Puritan Thomas Goodwin. The puritans have a way of putting things. He 102 00:10:16.250 --> 00:10:20.600 put this in kind of a homey way in the seventeen century. He said 103 00:10:20.600 --> 00:10:28.519 that there are but two men standing before God, Adam and Christ, and 104 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:33.960 these two men have all other human beings hanging from their belts. So it's 105 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:39.309 this view, I think you know, based supremely on this short passage and 106 00:10:39.389 --> 00:10:46.230 in some cases in First Corinthians fifteen, that all of God's dealings with mankind 107 00:10:46.029 --> 00:10:54.820 are in terms of these two representatives, the first in Adam, the second 108 00:10:54.940 --> 00:11:01.419 in Christ, in each case the head acting on behalf and for the body. 109 00:11:01.460 --> 00:11:07.210 And I say it's this view of the history of mankind that is properly 110 00:11:07.490 --> 00:11:13.009 designated covenant theology. And now you know, these covenants of biblical history, 111 00:11:13.129 --> 00:11:18.480 Noah, Abraham, Israel, David and so on. They're simply the historical 112 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:26.960 outworking the Presu the progressive revelation of that salvation that was accomplished by the Second 113 00:11:28.039 --> 00:11:31.759 Adam, Jesus Christ, and I think that's what Paul lays out for us 114 00:11:31.799 --> 00:11:39.230 here in this passage. Now we don't have time to develop this any further 115 00:11:39.389 --> 00:11:43.029 this morning, but I want to commend a much more detailed study of this 116 00:11:43.190 --> 00:11:48.059 Covenant Theology that Paul lays out for us here in these verses. Instead, 117 00:11:48.100 --> 00:11:52.299 let's just do this the time that we have. Let's take a look at 118 00:11:52.419 --> 00:12:00.419 Paul's Summary of this entire paragraph in Verse Twenty One. So that as sin 119 00:12:00.580 --> 00:12:05.730 reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life 120 00:12:07.289 --> 00:12:11.490 through Jesus Christ, our Lord. You know, it's as Paul wraps up 121 00:12:11.610 --> 00:12:18.200 this section in Verse Twenty One, it's like he sort of he sort of 122 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:26.759 draws back a curtain and in a very highly imaginative and picturesque illustration, he 123 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:35.870 summarizes the essence of Covenant Theology by introducing us to two rival kings, and 124 00:12:37.029 --> 00:12:43.429 they're competing kingdoms, and the way he gets into his illustration is by personifying, 125 00:12:43.509 --> 00:12:48.100 if you will, the power of sin on the one hand and personifying 126 00:12:48.179 --> 00:12:52.980 the power of grace on the other. He compares these powers to two people, 127 00:12:54.779 --> 00:13:01.649 to monarchs, two kings, if you will. Established the one king 128 00:13:01.809 --> 00:13:09.129 is a bad king, he's an autocrat, he's invaded our world and Esta 129 00:13:09.289 --> 00:13:13.919 at least, is ruthless control over all men and women. The end of 130 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:20.919 this king's rule is death, death for everybody. This king's name is sin 131 00:13:22.200 --> 00:13:28.669 and he came into the world through the man Adam. The other king is 132 00:13:28.830 --> 00:13:35.190 gracious and kind. He's come to save us from kings sin and bring us 133 00:13:35.190 --> 00:13:41.070 into a realm of eternal happiness, eternal joy. The end of this king's 134 00:13:41.110 --> 00:13:48.340 rule is eternal life through Jesus Christ, and this King's name is grace. 135 00:13:48.899 --> 00:13:56.850 So these two kings stand face to face. Each recognizes the other as his 136 00:13:56.970 --> 00:14:03.169 enemy and they do battle, they go to war, and the struggle is 137 00:14:03.289 --> 00:14:07.529 going on between and not only on the wide field of the world, we 138 00:14:07.649 --> 00:14:13.440 see that every day, but it's also going on in the narrow confines of 139 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:18.080 each of our hearts. Now I want you to see that's a pretty good 140 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:24.950 illustration, because I think it lays out for us a very important aspect of 141 00:14:24.190 --> 00:14:31.269 grace that perhaps we maybe we didn't even think about before. This illustration tells 142 00:14:31.309 --> 00:14:39.620 us that grace is much, much more and just an attitude, way much 143 00:14:39.659 --> 00:14:46.620 more than just a thought. It tells us that grace is in fact of 144 00:14:46.860 --> 00:14:52.539 power. It's a power which reaches out to save those who, apart from 145 00:14:52.580 --> 00:15:00.169 that power, would certainly perish. What does that means to it's a little 146 00:15:00.169 --> 00:15:05.129 confusing, I think. Well, to use this illustration of these two rival 147 00:15:05.289 --> 00:15:11.440 kings, grace is basically an invasion by a good and legitimate king of territory 148 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:18.600 that has been usurped by a bad king. No, we can't always see 149 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:22.830 this battle raging between these two kings, because this is spiritual, not physical, 150 00:15:22.950 --> 00:15:26.950 warfare. But you see, the attack is every bit as massive and 151 00:15:28.149 --> 00:15:33.830 decisive as it may not be a the best example, but it's just as 152 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:39.539 massive as the invasion of the beaches of Normandy by the Allied Forces. That 153 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:46.139 was the turning point of World War Two. You know the story. The 154 00:15:46.259 --> 00:15:52.009 allies throw everything they had into that invasion. They won to day and from 155 00:15:52.090 --> 00:15:58.090 that point on, even though there were many battles left to fight, we're 156 00:15:58.090 --> 00:16:02.570 going to be some setbacks, the outcome of the war was never in doubt 157 00:16:02.610 --> 00:16:07.799 after d day. Never victory was assured. And I think in a similar 158 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:15.000 way Paul assures these Christians in Rome. He assures us that God has thrown 159 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:19.909 his entire weight behind grace. The final outcome for us is no longer in 160 00:16:21.070 --> 00:16:25.830 doubt. Now we're going to have to fight many battles in this life, 161 00:16:26.230 --> 00:16:30.429 we're going to suffer some setbacks, but on the authority of sacred scripture, 162 00:16:30.149 --> 00:16:38.419 in the end King Grace will triumph over King's Sin. That's what this verse 163 00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:44.940 says. That's the main point, the main theme of this whole paragraph. 164 00:16:44.940 --> 00:16:48.090 I think it's a good summary of Covenant Theology. So in the time we 165 00:16:48.210 --> 00:16:52.529 have left. Let me just put a little bit more flesh on that idea. 166 00:16:53.929 --> 00:16:59.730 You know, as you look back through history, all earthly kingdoms have 167 00:16:59.850 --> 00:17:03.359 a beginning. You know, the United States, for example, came into 168 00:17:03.400 --> 00:17:10.599 being in seventeen seventy six with our declaration of independence from England. We gained 169 00:17:10.680 --> 00:17:17.309 that independence through a military victory. Other kingdoms have come into existence through peaceful 170 00:17:17.390 --> 00:17:22.150 means. Well, what do you suppose was the origin of the Kingdom of 171 00:17:22.390 --> 00:17:27.710 grace about which Paul is writing here in Verse Twenty One? When did it 172 00:17:27.869 --> 00:17:34.460 begin? When was it inaugurated? Well, the answer that the Apostle Peter 173 00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:40.819 gives in First Peter One hundred and twenty is that this Kingdom of grace was 174 00:17:40.900 --> 00:17:48.369 inaugurated before the creation of the world. Now Peters referring in that one verse 175 00:17:48.529 --> 00:17:56.210 to the decision made in the eternal counsels of the godhead in eternity past to 176 00:17:56.369 --> 00:18:00.640 sin God's son, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Adam, to be 177 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:07.960 our redeemer. You know theought theologians sometimes call this divine decision and the Covenant 178 00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:14.470 of Redemption. It's a key part of Covenant Theology and it took place before 179 00:18:14.670 --> 00:18:18.910 sin entered the world. In fact, it took place even before the world 180 00:18:19.309 --> 00:18:26.539 was created. Well, how did it happen? Well, and that eternal 181 00:18:26.619 --> 00:18:30.779 covenant. God, the father, said, you know, I want to 182 00:18:30.819 --> 00:18:37.819 show the host of Heaven the nature and the power of my grace. I'm 183 00:18:37.900 --> 00:18:41.690 going to create a world of creatures to be known as men and women, 184 00:18:42.250 --> 00:18:47.970 and I'm going to let them fall into sin. I'm going to I'm going 185 00:18:48.009 --> 00:18:52.970 to allow sin to reign over them, enslaving them by its power and leading 186 00:18:52.009 --> 00:18:57.839 them at last to physical and spiritual death. But when sin has done its 187 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:04.759 worse and the condition of their race seems hopeless, I'm going to send a 188 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:11.029 heavenly being of infinite grace and power to rescue them and usher in a New 189 00:19:11.069 --> 00:19:15.910 Kingdom of grace. Who will go for me? Who will accomplish the salvation 190 00:19:17.109 --> 00:19:22.789 for these creatures? Well, the Lord Jesus was sitting there. He raised 191 00:19:22.869 --> 00:19:27.460 his hand and he said, I'll do it. Send Me. Here's what 192 00:19:27.579 --> 00:19:36.019 I'll do. I'll take the form of one of these creatures. I'll go 193 00:19:36.220 --> 00:19:40.130 and die for them. I'll die in their place, the innocent, further 194 00:19:40.170 --> 00:19:45.569 guilty, God for man. I'll bear the punishment of their transgressions. Then, 195 00:19:45.690 --> 00:19:49.130 when I've paid the penalty for their sin, so that they will never 196 00:19:49.250 --> 00:19:53.559 have to suffer for it. I will rise from the dead and be for 197 00:19:53.680 --> 00:20:03.240 them and ever reigning and ever gracious, King and Lord. That's what happened. 198 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:10.309 An agreement was sealed between God, the father, God the Son. 199 00:20:10.630 --> 00:20:17.630 A contract, a covenant, was enacted to establish a Kingdom of grace in 200 00:20:17.789 --> 00:20:22.859 which Jesus would die for a people whom God would give to him. Know 201 00:20:22.980 --> 00:20:26.059 the Holy Spirit, who was also present at the inauguration of this kingdom. 202 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:30.460 He Covenant to the lead, to lead those whom God had first chosen for 203 00:20:30.539 --> 00:20:34.849 this Kingdom of Faith in the crucified and risen Lord, by which alone they 204 00:20:34.930 --> 00:20:41.970 could enter it. So the this Kingdom of grace began with the Godhead, 205 00:20:42.410 --> 00:20:48.890 before the foundation of the world, and over the years that kingdom has grown. 206 00:20:48.569 --> 00:20:56.559 It's unfolded throughout history. It's the story of redemption. It's a story 207 00:20:56.680 --> 00:21:02.119 that's recorded for us in the pages of scripture. God wasted no time in 208 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:07.190 announcing his kingdom on that on the same day that Adam and eve send, 209 00:21:08.549 --> 00:21:15.670 God appeared in the garden to foretell the coming of his son and his atonement 210 00:21:15.750 --> 00:21:18.380 for these creatures. It was the first announcement of the Gospel, you know, 211 00:21:18.500 --> 00:21:25.460 thank Genesis Three fifteen. And although Adam and Eve didn't understand all this 212 00:21:25.740 --> 00:21:30.859 fully, they were a little confused, they did understand enough to believe God 213 00:21:32.140 --> 00:21:37.490 and to look for the coming of their redeemer. They thought it was going 214 00:21:37.529 --> 00:21:41.410 to be their first son King. It wouldn't. They were mistaken in that, 215 00:21:41.730 --> 00:21:47.160 but they continue to look forward to a redeemer. You know, the 216 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:52.920 Old Testament Rep records a long period of preparation for this new king, for 217 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:56.680 his coming. And then again, the God of all grace was doing it. 218 00:21:59.559 --> 00:22:04.029 Now. God established a Godly Lion in the midst of the world's sin. 219 00:22:07.069 --> 00:22:11.869 Was the line in which his name was remembered and faith in this coming 220 00:22:11.990 --> 00:22:18.339 redeemer was kept alive. Remember Seth. He was the third son of Adam 221 00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:22.900 and Eve. He was the first of this new line. From him came 222 00:22:22.940 --> 00:22:29.779 others, including Enich, who walked with God. Noah. Then there was 223 00:22:30.650 --> 00:22:37.170 job right there at the beginning of redemptive history. He knew he would see 224 00:22:37.210 --> 00:22:41.529 his redeemer walk up on the Earth. It's nothing less than a prophecy of 225 00:22:41.690 --> 00:22:51.200 the incarnation of Christ, way back in job later came Abraham, then Isaac 226 00:22:51.599 --> 00:22:56.839 Jacob, Jacob Sons, the twelve patriarchs of Israel, and were priests like 227 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:06.349 Aaron, prophets like Isaiah Jeremiah, godly kings like David, and just before 228 00:23:06.390 --> 00:23:11.549 the birth of Jesus, there were people like Zachariah and Elizabeth, Joseph and 229 00:23:11.710 --> 00:23:18.019 Mary, Simeon and Anna and others, all of whom look forward to Christ's 230 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:23.779 coming. He was thirty nine. Says that these were all commended for their 231 00:23:23.859 --> 00:23:30.250 faith, yet none of them receive what had been promised. All these people 232 00:23:30.329 --> 00:23:33.769 were saved by grace. They were part of the preparation for this coming of 233 00:23:33.930 --> 00:23:40.410 God's kingdom, but the true light that gives light to every man was only 234 00:23:40.529 --> 00:23:45.960 then coming into the world. Now the death of Jews, of the Lord 235 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:52.920 Jesus for Sin. It's a very basis and center of God's Kingdom of grace. 236 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:57.630 So we shouldn't be surprised to find Paul thinking of this specifically as he 237 00:23:57.710 --> 00:24:03.869 unfolds his illustration here in Romans Five, verse Twenty One, saying that Grace 238 00:24:03.029 --> 00:24:08.910 Reigns through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. 239 00:24:11.339 --> 00:24:18.140 You know, I think his words remind us that grace it doesn't mean the 240 00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:22.619 setting aside of God's law, doesn't mean the waving of justice, as if 241 00:24:22.700 --> 00:24:25.970 God was saying, Hey, go ahead and sin, it doesn't matter, 242 00:24:26.690 --> 00:24:32.089 I'll forgive you. Well, Sin does matter. It's a terrible thing. 243 00:24:32.130 --> 00:24:36.369 Verse Twenty One says that it leads to death, and this life and death 244 00:24:36.450 --> 00:24:41.559 in the age to come. God doesn't overlook sin, he deals with it. 245 00:24:44.240 --> 00:24:48.559 Christ died for Sin and God counts Christ divine and utterly perfect righteousness as 246 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:56.710 ours. Well, you know, a kingdom, as it moves along and 247 00:24:56.829 --> 00:25:03.150 grows, needs citizens. God is in the business of providing subjects for his 248 00:25:03.349 --> 00:25:10.059 Kingdom of grace. Well, how does he do that? Well, theologians 249 00:25:10.099 --> 00:25:17.940 speak of something called the Ordo salutists, or the order of salvation. It's 250 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:22.970 fascinating. It refers to the steps that God takes to bring citizens into his 251 00:25:23.170 --> 00:25:27.450 Kingdom of grace. Most of you know the order salutist. Let me just 252 00:25:27.650 --> 00:25:34.170 review it. First, there's foreknowledge. It means that God takes saving notice 253 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:40.359 of these would be citizens of his kingdom. He sets his favor on them, 254 00:25:40.599 --> 00:25:49.109 he gives them grace. The second there's predestination or election. This means 255 00:25:49.190 --> 00:25:56.029 in the eternal counsels of his will, God has determined to save them by 256 00:25:56.109 --> 00:26:00.750 bringing him to Christ. Third There's effectual calling. This is the call of 257 00:26:00.869 --> 00:26:08.339 the Gospel. It actually produces a proper, believing response in God's elect it's 258 00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:12.539 like the calling of Lazareth, which brought him forth from the tomb, from 259 00:26:12.619 --> 00:26:18.650 death, back to life. The fourth step is regenerated, and it's a 260 00:26:18.690 --> 00:26:26.450 spiritual quickening, making alive. Everything that comes becomes good in US flows from 261 00:26:26.490 --> 00:26:32.250 that. The fifth step is repentance and faith. We turn from sin, 262 00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:37.400 will eat, we believe. We believe on Christ because we've been made alive, 263 00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:45.119 we've been regenerated. Sex is sanctification. The new life of Christ within 264 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:51.230 the believer works itself out in an increasing growth of holiness, good works. 265 00:26:52.029 --> 00:26:56.309 And, of course, the final step is glorification, in which were made 266 00:26:56.430 --> 00:27:02.619 into the very image of Jesus Christ, without sin forever. And that happens 267 00:27:02.660 --> 00:27:10.660 when Christians die. They go to heaven. Think of that. I can't 268 00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:15.099 imagine any more glorious unfolding of the Kingdom of grace toward you and me. 269 00:27:15.490 --> 00:27:22.569 Then that process, dear ones, this is the power of God on display, 270 00:27:23.049 --> 00:27:29.329 providing for and then actually saving us who, apart from it, would 271 00:27:29.329 --> 00:27:32.160 certainly be lost again. It's a power. You know, if grace were 272 00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:36.880 only a handout or an offer to help, we would perish. The only 273 00:27:37.079 --> 00:27:44.309 reason we're saved is that grace first provides the way of salvation and then actually 274 00:27:44.430 --> 00:27:48.789 reaches out to turn us from sin and to quickenness, to draw us a 275 00:27:48.869 --> 00:27:55.710 salvation. There win's that's a great power and that power is all of God. 276 00:27:57.230 --> 00:28:03.259 And what a marvelous unfolding of the Kingdom of grace throughout history. You 277 00:28:03.339 --> 00:28:07.500 know there were times, you know read the Bible, that when it looked 278 00:28:07.539 --> 00:28:14.569 like it would end, but God always intervened in history. Always when it 279 00:28:14.650 --> 00:28:17.890 look like it when't going to happen, he intervened to keep it moving forward. 280 00:28:19.289 --> 00:28:26.609 But what about the nature of the realm of God's grace? What can 281 00:28:26.690 --> 00:28:30.119 we say about it now? What is it? What does it look like 282 00:28:30.440 --> 00:28:33.799 now? Let me just say a couple of things about that. I think 283 00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:37.960 the first thing that we can say about this reign of grace is that it's 284 00:28:38.039 --> 00:28:45.430 bountiful. Look back at Verse Twenty and look, this is what verse twenty 285 00:28:45.470 --> 00:28:48.950 says. It says where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. See 286 00:28:49.029 --> 00:28:57.220 God's grace never ends. It's overflowing with benefits. It's not odious, you 287 00:28:57.339 --> 00:29:02.940 know, I think Dean Martin Lloyd Jones says it best. What he says 288 00:29:03.099 --> 00:29:10.170 is so on target that maybe we ought to memorize it. He says grace 289 00:29:10.329 --> 00:29:15.930 always gives, whereas sin always takes away. Grace always gives, whereas sin 290 00:29:17.049 --> 00:29:22.009 always takes away. In a sin, this tyrannical king, he tells us 291 00:29:22.089 --> 00:29:26.880 just the opposite. He tells us that he'll give us all we've ever wanted. 292 00:29:29.960 --> 00:29:32.759 Grace will deprive us all of that. Sin Says, yeah, look 293 00:29:32.759 --> 00:29:37.160 at these Christians and never have any fun. Look at all the things they 294 00:29:37.240 --> 00:29:45.869 cannot do and all too often, just like the prodigal son, we buy 295 00:29:45.990 --> 00:29:52.109 into that Siren Song. We listen to this bad king, we take our 296 00:29:52.190 --> 00:29:57.539 inheritance and we journey into a far country where we don't have to listen to 297 00:29:57.740 --> 00:30:02.900 the good king's advice, we don't have to respond to his will. And 298 00:30:03.019 --> 00:30:07.970 what do we do there? Well, we blow our SS on the wild 299 00:30:07.089 --> 00:30:12.769 living, we waste our inheritance and when we come to the end of our 300 00:30:12.809 --> 00:30:18.809 days it's all gone. Sin Is taken it all and we find, as 301 00:30:18.890 --> 00:30:25.160 the Prodigal did, that no one will give us anything in the end. 302 00:30:26.000 --> 00:30:30.400 When we look to kings sin, whom we followed and asked for his help, 303 00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:34.279 what does he do? He laughs at us as he reaches out to 304 00:30:34.480 --> 00:30:41.230 snatch away even life itself. Dear ones, follow King Sin and he will 305 00:30:41.269 --> 00:30:48.589 rob you of your innocence. It'll rob you of your character. Follow King 306 00:30:48.710 --> 00:30:52.779 Sin and he will wither away your health. Follow King Sin and he will 307 00:30:52.859 --> 00:30:59.779 turn to ashes even the even the common, precious things in life, things 308 00:30:59.859 --> 00:31:07.690 like friendship, love, laughter, the innocence of children, Hope, contentment. 309 00:31:08.289 --> 00:31:12.250 Follow King Sin and he will ussure you to damn nation and he'll he'll 310 00:31:12.289 --> 00:31:18.599 laugh at you as you stagger through the door. But follow the king whose 311 00:31:18.599 --> 00:31:23.839 name is grace, and things will beat all together different. Now grace sees 312 00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:30.519 you staggering, he comes alongside to help you, bear you up. Grace 313 00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:33.950 sees US destitute, and what does he do? He pours, out the 314 00:31:34.029 --> 00:31:41.750 end, the inexhaustible riches of Christ and the father into our laps. Grace 315 00:31:41.789 --> 00:31:47.140 sees US dying, he imparts eternal life. The wages of sin is death, 316 00:31:48.059 --> 00:31:52.660 but the gift of God is eternal life. In Christ Jesus, Our 317 00:31:52.819 --> 00:32:00.059 Lord Gray says what do you need? Tell me, tell me anything at 318 00:32:00.059 --> 00:32:05.809 all. What do you need? And then grace provides for that in accord 319 00:32:05.890 --> 00:32:12.690 with God's perfect wisdom, invincible power, an unlimited supply. Grace is bountiful, 320 00:32:14.529 --> 00:32:19.000 but it's not only bountiful. Grace is also invisible or, I'm sorry, 321 00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:23.079 invincible. You know, some of you may be saying. Can you 322 00:32:23.200 --> 00:32:30.190 really say that to is grace really invincible? It often doesn't seem that way 323 00:32:30.309 --> 00:32:36.390 to me. In this life. It's not always true that good triumphs over 324 00:32:36.549 --> 00:32:43.190 evil. Can Anything as good as grace really triumph in the end? How 325 00:32:43.269 --> 00:32:47.299 can we know that in the end, Sin will not somehow still be there 326 00:32:47.380 --> 00:32:52.460 to assert its rule snatch God's bountiful gifts out of her hands? Well, 327 00:32:54.019 --> 00:33:00.849 that would certainly be possible if we're if it were only my grace or if 328 00:33:00.890 --> 00:33:06.490 it were only your grace that we're talking about, sin would indeed snatch our 329 00:33:06.529 --> 00:33:09.769 good gifts away. We couldn't stand against King Sin. But praise God, 330 00:33:09.809 --> 00:33:14.559 it's not my grace, it's not your grace, it's reigning. It's the 331 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:20.839 grace of God, and God is the Almighty one. Who or what can 332 00:33:21.000 --> 00:33:24.680 stand against God or his purpose? I want you to just consider again this 333 00:33:24.920 --> 00:33:30.269 morning now what Paul says a little bit later in this wonderful letter, Romans 334 00:33:30.349 --> 00:33:36.190 Eight, thirty one through thirty nine. If God is for us, who 335 00:33:36.269 --> 00:33:40.309 can be against us? He who did not spare his own son, but 336 00:33:40.430 --> 00:33:44.460 gave him up for us all, how will he not also, with him, 337 00:33:44.460 --> 00:33:49.339 graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect 338 00:33:49.619 --> 00:33:57.289 it is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the 339 00:33:57.410 --> 00:34:00.809 one who died, more than that, who was raised, who is at 340 00:34:00.849 --> 00:34:05.490 the right hand of God, who is indeed interceding for us? WHO shall 341 00:34:05.490 --> 00:34:13.760 separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or 342 00:34:13.880 --> 00:34:19.559 famine or nakedness or danger or sword, as it is written? For Your 343 00:34:19.679 --> 00:34:22.119 Sake, we are being killed all day long. We are regarded as sheep 344 00:34:22.199 --> 00:34:28.670 to be slaughtered. No, and all these things. We are more than 345 00:34:28.750 --> 00:34:34.429 conquerors to him who loved us. For I'm sure that neither death, nor 346 00:34:34.590 --> 00:34:37.940 life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present or thanks to come, 347 00:34:38.380 --> 00:34:43.179 nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all 348 00:34:43.340 --> 00:34:46.059 creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ 349 00:34:46.099 --> 00:34:53.809 Jesus, Our Lord. Never doubt it. In the end, King Grace 350 00:34:54.210 --> 00:35:01.250 will prevail, He will triumph over King Sin. God's grace is indeed invincible. 351 00:35:02.809 --> 00:35:07.840 Charles Wesley and a great hymn has it exactly right. He said, 352 00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:13.440 Oh for a thousand tongues to saying my great redeemers, praise the glories of 353 00:35:13.639 --> 00:35:19.039 my God and King. What the triumphs of His grace? The triumphs of 354 00:35:19.199 --> 00:35:24.269 His grace? There are no triumphs anywhere like those triumphs. There are none 355 00:35:24.309 --> 00:35:29.949 so happy, there's none so certain. You need to buy into it to 356 00:35:30.070 --> 00:35:35.820 believe it. So let grace triumph in you. Yield to it, yield 357 00:35:35.860 --> 00:35:39.659 to the grace of God in Christ. Open your arms to grace and let 358 00:35:39.699 --> 00:35:45.980 grace draw you in. Well, I need to sum this up. Let 359 00:35:46.019 --> 00:35:52.090 me just give you two principles which I think are exemplified in this concluding verse 360 00:35:52.210 --> 00:35:55.369 of Chapter Five. In fact it's it's kind of the summary of the entire 361 00:35:55.449 --> 00:36:00.210 paragraph and which I think are important for us to take away this morning. 362 00:36:00.889 --> 00:36:06.079 Two principles, I think. The first principle is that God takes sin seriously. 363 00:36:07.079 --> 00:36:12.280 You know throughout the Bible in the world about this. I think typically 364 00:36:13.320 --> 00:36:20.670 men and women are constantly trying to minimize sin and its consequences. But the 365 00:36:20.789 --> 00:36:27.710 Bible constantly emphasizes the seriousness of sin, and I think this text dramatically illustrates 366 00:36:27.789 --> 00:36:35.539 us done it now. Just just look at the devastation one sin brought to 367 00:36:35.619 --> 00:36:40.699 the human race. Adam sin brought about his own death, but it also 368 00:36:40.860 --> 00:36:47.889 condemned all mankind to death. I Adam sin brought us all down. So 369 00:36:49.050 --> 00:36:53.730 who can say that sin is not serious? You know, you think about 370 00:36:53.730 --> 00:36:58.369 it, most people are. They wouldn't even call what Adam did a sin. 371 00:37:00.090 --> 00:37:05.840 Look, what he did was it was just a little piccadillo is a 372 00:37:05.880 --> 00:37:15.400 misdemeanor, something like spitting on the sidewalk, like jaywalking. Adam simply ate 373 00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:19.230 the fruit of a tree. What's a big deal? Well, it's. 374 00:37:19.590 --> 00:37:25.389 The big deal was God had told him not to do that and act which 375 00:37:25.469 --> 00:37:30.980 men would hardly even think of. His sin today becomes the cause of Man's 376 00:37:31.059 --> 00:37:38.739 downfall. No, God does indeed take sin very seriously, and so much 377 00:37:38.820 --> 00:37:43.579 you and I. So that's one principle I think we need to take home 378 00:37:43.619 --> 00:37:47.889 with us from this text today. I think a second principle is that our 379 00:37:49.409 --> 00:37:57.090 identity today is found either in Adam or it's found in Christ. You know, 380 00:37:57.210 --> 00:38:00.760 as I said, both Adam and Christ were appointed by God to be 381 00:38:00.920 --> 00:38:07.320 representatives for other men and women. God appointed them to stand for others. 382 00:38:07.840 --> 00:38:15.510 Both became what we call federal heads of particular bodies of people. Each is 383 00:38:15.630 --> 00:38:19.829 the source of what can be called either the old or the new humanity. 384 00:38:20.389 --> 00:38:23.309 You see, the old humanity is the race as it stands apart from Jesus, 385 00:38:23.349 --> 00:38:29.699 Christ, following sin, headed for destruction. That's what we see today 386 00:38:29.699 --> 00:38:34.139 in the world around us, all around us. The new the new humanity 387 00:38:34.340 --> 00:38:37.699 is all redeemed people who have been saved by Jesus. And you see, 388 00:38:37.699 --> 00:38:45.570 the entire human race is divided into these two humanities by virtue of their relationship 389 00:38:45.690 --> 00:38:52.690 to these two representatives. You know, just it's kind of shift gears here. 390 00:38:52.610 --> 00:38:58.480 Let's just look at this principle of our identity in either Adam or Christ 391 00:38:58.599 --> 00:39:05.280 another way. You know this. This passage in Romans five explains the words 392 00:39:05.960 --> 00:39:09.469 of our Lord spoken to Nicodemus better than, I think, any other new 393 00:39:09.590 --> 00:39:15.670 testament texts. You remember Dicodemus, remember what Jesus said the Nicodemus. Truly, 394 00:39:15.710 --> 00:39:20.869 truly, I say to you. Unless one is born again, you 395 00:39:21.070 --> 00:39:27.659 cannot see the Kingdom of God. Now Remember the apostle, Paul over their 396 00:39:27.900 --> 00:39:34.539 John Three. He introduces Nicodemus as a Pharisee and as a ruler of the 397 00:39:34.579 --> 00:39:39.849 Jews. He also says he's a teacher of Israel. Those are pretty good 398 00:39:39.889 --> 00:39:45.409 credentials and I think with those kind of credentials, Nicodemus, this renowned teacher. 399 00:39:45.809 --> 00:39:52.880 He had to have taught about Adam. He had to have taught about 400 00:39:52.920 --> 00:39:58.440 Adams Fall and the downfall of the human race. But if he was like 401 00:39:58.519 --> 00:40:02.000 the rests of the Pharisees, and he was, he trusted, in his 402 00:40:02.199 --> 00:40:08.829 physical descent from Abraham and in his pre possession of the law to save you. 403 00:40:09.190 --> 00:40:14.269 That's what he thought was going to save you. Now, what a 404 00:40:14.349 --> 00:40:19.829 shock it must have been for Nicodemus, this Pharisee, this teacher of the 405 00:40:19.909 --> 00:40:24.699 law, when Jesus told him that entrance into God's Kingdom of grace required a 406 00:40:24.820 --> 00:40:31.019 second birth. You know that expression, born again. It should not have 407 00:40:31.179 --> 00:40:37.889 been foreign, should not have been a foreign thought to Nicodemus. I think 408 00:40:37.929 --> 00:40:39.889 it should have caused him, as it does us, to think in these 409 00:40:39.969 --> 00:40:44.289 terms in which Paul speaks of us here in Romans Five. How was it 410 00:40:44.409 --> 00:40:47.250 that the human race fell into sin? Paul tells us here that it was 411 00:40:47.329 --> 00:40:52.760 on account of Adam. Nicodemus should have seen that. He should have known 412 00:40:52.840 --> 00:41:00.960 that. But how did each individual fall under the curse? It was by 413 00:41:01.079 --> 00:41:07.469 being born, simply by being born, birth made one a son of Adam 414 00:41:07.630 --> 00:41:15.429 and thus a sinner. We inherited Adam sin when we were born, and 415 00:41:15.590 --> 00:41:21.300 the solution to the guilt of sin encountered at birth was another birth, a 416 00:41:21.500 --> 00:41:27.579 second birth by God's grace. To be saved, men must exchange their identity 417 00:41:27.699 --> 00:41:31.969 with Adam, by which they're condemned, to an identity with Christ, by 418 00:41:32.050 --> 00:41:38.769 which they're justified, by which they're saved. As physical birth was the source 419 00:41:38.809 --> 00:41:45.969 of Man's sins, so another birth is the solution to man's sin. See, 420 00:41:45.050 --> 00:41:50.039 this is what the Gospel is all about. This is the guts of 421 00:41:50.519 --> 00:41:55.199 Covenant Theology. Jesus Christ came to Earth to offer men a cure for the 422 00:41:55.280 --> 00:42:00.760 curse which adam sin brought upon all mankind. So you see, I think 423 00:42:00.800 --> 00:42:06.710 the Gospel confronts each of us with a choice. Will you remain in AB 424 00:42:07.030 --> 00:42:13.590 and Adam, subject to the penalty of death, or will you accept God's 425 00:42:13.630 --> 00:42:21.780 gracious provision for a new identity in Christ? See, being born again is 426 00:42:21.860 --> 00:42:28.019 our Lord's way of speaking of that point in a person's life when they acknowledge 427 00:42:28.099 --> 00:42:34.210 their own sin, their own guilt and the just sentence upon them of death. 428 00:42:35.250 --> 00:42:38.570 It's ceasing to trust and what we are and clinging to WHO Jesus Christ 429 00:42:38.769 --> 00:42:46.719 is. It's finding our identity in Christ rather than in Adam. It's turning 430 00:42:46.800 --> 00:42:53.599 from condemnation to justification. It's turning from death to life, from Adam to 431 00:42:53.679 --> 00:43:00.190 Jesus Christ. And so the question which I press on each of you this 432 00:43:00.309 --> 00:43:06.909 morning is, have you been born again? It was necessary for Nicodemus, 433 00:43:07.309 --> 00:43:17.219 this famous religious leader, famous teacher. was necessary for the Romans. It's 434 00:43:17.260 --> 00:43:24.420 also necessary for you. It's necessary for me. Will you choose death or 435 00:43:24.500 --> 00:43:31.690 life? Will you choose sin or grace, Adam or Christ? You know, 436 00:43:31.769 --> 00:43:37.809 there's no more important decision you will ever make than that. The salvation 437 00:43:38.010 --> 00:43:44.440 which God has offered in Christ. It's not automatic, has to be received. 438 00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.840 I pray that if you haven't already done that, you will receive it 439 00:43:49.960 --> today.