Sermon 14

Adam And Jesus

Romans 5:12-21

Today's message begins with a warning. The verses that form our text are regarded as the most difficult in Romans to comprehend. If I weren't preaching through Romans, verse by verse, I would skip this passage. Even as we read it, you will probably get the sense of its difficulty.

When coming to a difficult passage, it often helps to identify key words and phrases. There are some of those in this passage. The simple little word "one" is found 11 times in these 10 verses. Another key word is "reign" which occurs 5 times. These verses speak about the reign of Adam and the reign of Christ; the reign of death and the reign of life. Another phrase which must be mentioned are the words "much more" which are found 5 times. These verses contrast Adam and Christ, showing that we have gained "much more" in Christ, than we ever lost in Adam.

Why Die?, Vs. 12-14.

These 3 verses center around the truth that death is universal to the human race. That is a truth, isn't it? All men die. None of us can deny that. The question is "Why?" The answer is found in these 3 verses. It is an unusual explanation for the death of all.

Sin Entered The World Through One Man, v. 12a. Sin did not originate with Adam but with Satan (I John 3:8) but sin entered the world (humanity) through Adam. God gave to Adam many privileges but only one prohibition (see Genesis 2:15-17) which Adam promptly disobeyed.

Eve disobeyed first but she was deceived (I Timothy 2:14). Adam was not. Adam was the one who had received the direct command from God. He was responsible because he was suppose to exercise his headship of the home. Instead, he followed his wife and walked wide-eyed directly into disobedience. The effect of Adam's sin was monumental. Adam's sin generated a drastic and constitutional change in his very nature ... from innocence to innate sinfulness. In turn, Adam passed on this sinful nature to every one of his descendants.

This verse indicates that "sin" entered into the world. Not "sins" plural, but "sin" singular. This is not speaking simply of man's actions but of his very nature. Adam bequeathed to all his descendants his physical nature; likewise he also bequeathed to all his descendants his fallen, sinful spiritual nature. Man is not evolving; rather man is devolving. Each generation degenerates to greater and deeper sinfulness. Since Adam's simple act of disobedience, eating forbidden fruit, sin has accumulated and intensified.

Adam brought sin into the world. He did not just sin as a man; he sinned as man. Adam was more than just an actual human being; he was the original human being.

Death Entered The World Through Sin, v. 12b. There is "the law of of sin and death" (Romans 8:2; 6:23; Ezekiel 18:11; James 1:15). Death comes from sin. If there were no sin, then there would be no death.

The fact that all die indicates that all are in possession of a fallen sinful nature. We do not become sinners by sinning; we sin because we are born sinners (Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Job 15:14; John 8:44). Sin is a matter of the heart (Matthew 15:19).

The Bible speaks of 3 kinds of death:

There is spiritual death - Ephesians 2:1-2.

There is physical death.

There is eternal death - Revelation 21:8.

Death Spread To All Men Because All Sinned, v. 12c. No human ever escaped death. Not all experience the second death; some have even been spared physical death (Enoch; Elijah; the rapture); but all of us were born spiritually dead and will remain in that condition until we trust in the Lord. We die because of sin.

History Proves That Death Reigns Over All Men, vs. 13-14. Before the "law of God" was given unto Moses there was still sin. How do we know that? Because men died (Genesis 5). Without law, one may not be responsible for certain sinful acts but one is still in possession of a sinful nature. Men do not die because of some connection to the law of God; men die because of their connection to Adam who brought sin into the world, making all mankind sinners.

Death is universal because of Adam's sin which has infected us all. Why die? The answer is because of sin, sin which began with Adam the first man whose nature has been inherited by us all. We all resemble our father, Adam!

Reverse The Curse! Vs. 15-21.

We probably wouldn't think to contrast Christ with Adam. But that is exactly what Paul does in verses 15-21.

Death was made inevitable by Adam's Sin

Vs.

Life was made available by Christ's Sacrifice.

Verse 15 - By one act of Adam many (all) died - By one act of Christ many abound.

Verse 16 - One offense condemned all = Adam ® One free gift covered all = Christ. God hates sin so much that it only took one sin to make mankind condemned; but God loves sinners so much that it only took one sacrifice by Christ to cover sin (II Corinthians 5:9).

Verse 17 - Adam's sin did not produce the desired result. Satan promised to make man like God through sin. But he lied. In fact, because of sin man become unlike God. On the other hand, Christ's sacrifice did produce the desired result.

Adam's sin was one-dimensional, it brought only death. Christ's sacrifice was multi-dimensional. It provided not only life, but also righteousness and power over sin.

Verses 18-19 - Adam 's one act led to man's disobedience; Christ's one act lead to man's obedience.

Vs. 20-21 - Grace does what the law could never do. The law does not save. It only proves us to be sinners. In fact, the made men more sinful. ILLUSTRATION: If a sign reads 'Do not pick the flowers", we are more likely to want to pick them than if there were no sign at all. The sign (law) restricts our freedom, causing us resentment and making us more likely to do what we otherwise might not have thought of doing. But grace does save. No matter how sinful, grace is greater than all our sin. The more sinful we are, the more grace abound. Verse 21 is a summary.

Adam was given dominion over a kingdom but he sinned and lost his kingdom. Because of Adam's sin, all mankind is under the curse of condemnation and death. Christ came to be king over a new creation. By his obedience on the cross, He brought in righteousness and justification. Christ not only undid all the damage that Adam's sin caused, but he accomplished "much more" by making us the very children of God. The curse has been reversed in Christ. We've gained much more in Jesus than we ever lost in Adam!

As a result of the curse of sin, Adam was cast out of paradise. As a result of the cross of Christ, a thief was ushered into paradise! The Old Testament is a "book of the generations of Adam" (Genesis 5:1); it ends with a curse (Malachi 4:6). The New Testament is a "book of the generations of Jesus Christ" (Matthew1:1); it ends with "no more curse" (Revelation 22:3).

Adam and Jesus have both had an effect on you. From Adam, you have inherited a sinful nature. From Christ you can receive saving grace. You cannot help being in Adam. But you can help staying in Adam. By faith you can be "in Christ".

Jesus said, "Ye must be born again".