"Abounding Grace" Romans 5:12–21

Some of you, if you've been in the evangelical world for some time, would have been, are familiar rather, with John Piper, the pastor and theologian who led Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis for decades.

I bring him up just because, as we are going through Romans, we are in chapter 5. We've been in Romans for a few months now. John Piper started his sermon series in Romans in 1996, and he ended it in, I think, 2004.

It was something like 8 1⁄2 years. I might be getting the exact years wrong, but he spent 8 1⁄2 years in the book of Romans.

225 sermons to cover 443 verses. Wild. He crawled through each verse, parsing out the grammar and words and spending a ton of time just digging into this book of the Apostle Paul.

So, going into Romans, I thought about John Piper quite a bit. I thought, how on earth did he do this? And maybe more importantly, why on earth would he do this?

I mean, to take your time to go through almost verse by verse, you know, less than two verses per sermon on average.

You know, you lose the flow of a letter, right? This is a letter, first and foremost, written to a group of people to be read in one shot.

Nobody gets a letter from grandma or gets a letter from a friend. I don't know if anybody still is into pen pals.

But you don't parse it out and read line by line, word by word, digging deep into the grammar.

Nevertheless, it's God's word, and every word counts and matters.

But still, going into Romans, I'm like, why on earth would you do that?

And then I got to chapter 5, which we were in last week and we continue on in this.

And you realize that the Apostle Paul has written a letter to a church, of course,

but he has written something of a theological treatise that is unbelievably dense and so theologically rich.

And every sentence, every word, the grammar that he has chosen, everything about it is robust and full

and absolutely pregnant with meaning, allusions to the past, typology.

He touches on creation, what it means to be human, who God is, how he has interacted with us,

what salvation is, on and on and on and on.

So, get to chapter 5, I get it.

Now, just if anybody's worried, we are not going to spend the next, say, 4 years or 5 years in Romans.

Our hope is to have it finished up in at least two more chunks.

But we're going on, I'd say, a pretty good pace.

Nevertheless, Romans chapter 5, we're in the second part this morning, starting in verse 12.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

And it will help us, this chapter and this section of this chapter,

will help us to understand how very deep and pervasive sin truly is.

Now, we've touched on sin, but Paul is going to explain to us the genesis of sin

and why it isn't just a problem that affects some,

but it is at the very core of what it means to live the human life in this world.

He will also tell us, in light of that sin, that pervasiveness of sin, the depth of sin,

just how glorious the grace of God is.

It's an incredible chapter.

We will do our best to read it and wrestle through it,

but without a doubt, we will leave things unexplained.

But that's just going to be the nature of how we're going to go through this second half of chapter 5.

The text breaks up quite nicely and quite easily into three sections,

which is always good for the preacher.

All of these sections address either Adam or Jesus or both,

either comparing them with their similarities or contrasting them how they are different.

So it'll break up like this.

First point, verses 12 to 14, we'll look at Adam and sin.

The second portion, verses 15 to 17, we'll look at Christ and grace.

And then finally, the remaining three verses, 18 to 21,

we'll look at how Christ is the greater Adam.

And I'll explain what that means shortly.

So if you have a scripture journal, you can turn with me to Romans chapter 5.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

We'll be at the bottom of page 24.

There are still, I think we have some Bibles.

Now, normally I'd say just point you back at the welcome table.

The welcome table is out those doors and around the side,

but you can go at any time to grab one and follow along.

It would be a great help if you could follow along with the text as we read it.

So before we open up into verse 12 and 13,

a bit of a reminder of what we looked at last week in chapter 5, verses 1 to 11.

In it, last week, Paul explained how the reconciliation that God offers through Christ,

how it came about.

And he contrasts how sin entered the world.

And he talked about suffering.

And in the end, how we can expect, because of what Christ has done,

to live a life that is full of glory.

In this section, he's going to continue on with this line of argumentation.

And he connects it by anticipating a potential objection.

What's interesting here, before I read verses 12 and a portion of 13,

is that Paul jumps into this explanation where he's anticipating an objection.

And it's as if he is contrasting how sin came through the world by one man.

We'll read shortly.

But then it's like he stops.

And he stops midway through his compare and contrast here.

See if you can pick it up with me.

Look at verse 12.

Therefore, and that's therefore connects us with 5, 1 to 11.

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man,

and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.

And then verse 13.

For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given.

I'll pause quickly there.

Did you catch that?

So normally you'd say something like,

just as sin came into the world through one man,

so, and then you contrast it with, well, we'll see what Paul will contrast it to.

But what he doesn't do is he doesn't complete his compare and contrast.

Right off of that in verse 13.

Paul breaks from this comparison to address this objection.

How on earth is it possible for sin and death to spread to all people through one man?

So he's about to compare and contrast.

And then it's like he hammers on the brakes,

realizing how audacious and potentially offensive this statement is.

And he's going to take some time to explain it for us.

How on earth is it possible for sin and death to spread to all people through one man?

It's a real objection in the first century.

What's interesting is that this objection persists today.

To understand it, we need to understand what happened with Adam and do a bit of homework.

Now, we touched on this in a previous sermon,

and this is where this letter is so theologically dense.

So I'll try to sum it up in a paragraph or two.

What Paul is referring to is what Christians have called original sin or the fall.

It's standard across the Western church, for sure.

Original sin, that moment where the idyllic life that God created for humanity came crashing down

because Adam tried to reverse the roles.

Instead of understanding him as a creature, a creation of God,

and God as the uncreated one,

Adam as the vassal,

God as the Lord,

Adam tried to reverse this.

He tried to make himself in the place of God as Lord,

himself as the infinite one,

and God as something else.

Now, it turns out that something else is not who God is

and not who the scriptures communicate God to be.

So what we have in the garden is the complete breakdown

and the unleashing of a chain reaction where sin enters the world.

Where Adam no longer worships God,

no longer participates in the stewardship of God's creation,

no more do we see a deep, personal, vulnerable, loving, intimate relationship between God and man.

Instead, this chain reaction comes.

Sin enters the world,

and then death, both in a physical and a spiritual sense,

spread to all people because all have sinned.

The question that is important for us to ask

is whether we are sinful,

is whether we are all sinful,

and by extension,

are we acquainted with death because we sin like Adam,

or because we sinned in and with Adam?

Stick with me,

because this is where I think it's helpful to have a handle on some Greek,

which I don't have the greatest handle on,

but I have some great commentaries that help me with this.

So, here's the question again.

Do we sin,

are we sinful because we are sinning like Adam,

or because we sinned in and with him?

If it's the former,

then this objection seems to be easily answered.

Because if death is a result of sin,

and we all sin like Adam,

then we are all deserving of death.

But that is not actually what the text says.

It says that sin and death came to all because we all have sinned.

So, what is happening?

Again, it's helpful if we have a handle on the grammar,

but just to sum it up quickly,

Paul is telling us that all people sinned in one act in the past.

He is saying that the sin that makes us sinners

aren't because we continue on a lifestyle of sin,

which we do,

but because in some way,

in some fashion,

we sinned in the past.

And the verbiage that he uses,

the tense he uses,

is a tense that conveys

a completed act in the past.

Okay?

It's a past sin.

And whether or not it pours into the future,

that's a side issue.

But what Paul is saying is that we are all under sin,

all subject to death,

because we sinned in the past.

We participate in Adam's one sin.

And this one sin unleashed death into the world.

We are active participants with Adam.

Now, Paul's going to continue on here

to explain it.

But first,

if it seems awkward

and kind of nitpicky,

in the original language,

the original hearers,

it would have seemed just as awkward.

Okay?

You don't talk about somebody

who lives today

and talk about how they have sinned

hundreds, thousands of years prior.

That's not something you'd say

in the first century.

It's not something you'd say today.

But Paul is deliberately using

this past tense

to describe what's happening here.

So anyways,

Paul continues on

to build on this shocking truth

in the next section.

Read with me 13 to 14.

And then we'll try to unpack this a bit more.

For sin indeed was in the world

before the law was given,

but sin is not counted

where there is no law.

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses

even over those whose sinning

was not like the transgression of Adam,

who was a type of the one

who was to come.

Sin and death do not come

when the law is given but before.

Paul is not saying that sin

does not exist unless there is a law.

What he is simply saying

is that the law,

which comes later,

simply it shows us

in a more explicit way

what sin looks like.

But what he is saying here

is that even though

there wasn't a law,

wrongdoing existed.

And we know that

because death, Paul says,

reigned from Adam to Moses,

meaning the time

before the law was given.

Now if you are unfamiliar

with the biblical story,

I'll try to do a really quick

30-second summary.

Adam and Eve fall.

Abraham is promised.

Now we looked at Abraham

a couple weeks ago, right,

in chapter 4.

A bunch of other

really important stuff happens.

Israel goes into Egyptian slavery.

God saves them after 400 years,

brings them out to the desert,

on the way to the promised land,

and sometime in between

his salvation out of slavery

and into the promised land,

God gives Israel a law.

Okay?

I hope that kind of situates you.

That's all I'm going to say about it.

We can talk afterwards.

But at that time in between

Adam and the giving of the law,

it's not as if

this idyllic life continued,

or there wasn't wrongdoing,

or there wasn't sin.

No, it certainly did exist.

The law came afterwards.

The law only accentuated

or made explicit

what already was happening

in the history of God's people

and in the world.

So, even without the law,

that explicitly stipulates God's will,

explicitly stipulates

what is right and wrong,

all people from every place

and every culture,

are guilty of sin.

For the sin we are guilty of

was in and through Adam,

and it means that death

and everything associated with death

reigns over the just and the unjust.

The really, really nice people in your life,

the terribly rude people in your life.

The young, the old,

the men, the women,

everybody that you know,

everybody that you know is touched

and operates under sin and death.

You see, we fall prey to this false promise

that what is really needed

is more education.

You see, education is the problem.

We need to get people out of ignorance

and into knowledge,

and then life will get better.

Or maybe it's the alleviation of suffering.

People, when they're suffering,

when poverty happens,

they get desperate.

That's when they commit the sinful acts.

By the way, that's all true,

by and large.

Maybe the problem is

we haven't achieved enough progress.

We don't have enough wealth.

There's not enough relational harmony.

You know what?

Our roads are just terrible.

Have you driven down Merrillville?

It's horrendous.

They'll drive anybody bananas.

So we need good infrastructure.

We need safety regulations.

So on and so forth.

The list continues and continues.

And these things are excellent,

and they're worthy of pursuits.

And they make the world we live in,

the city that we belong,

a more functional, good,

and safe and comfortable place to live.

I don't want to downplay any of that at all.

These things are excellent,

and they're worthy of our pursuit.

But this text tells us

that the human problem of sin and death

is far greater than any solution

that we might come up with.

It is so widespread and so pervasive

because it goes all the way back to the beginning,

to our origin.

In fact, sin and death,

it's a key part of our origin story.

Connected to Adam himself,

first father.

Such sin and death,

it is what marks us as human beings.

But even so,

why and how did we sin in and through Adam?

I don't think I've answered that question yet.

We get a clue in the latter half,

especially later on in verses 18.

But it's a good question

that can be a very difficult one

for us Westerners to grasp

because we have a very heavy emphasis

on individualism and autonomy.

Paul tells us that Adam,

especially at the tail end of verse 14,

that Adam was a type of the one

who was to come.

So what is a type,

and what is he talking about?

In the Bible,

typology is a very important way

to read the Scriptures.

It can get overblown

and you can find types everywhere.

But a type simply is

something that, say, happens,

especially in the Old Testament,

that is a shadow of something to come.

It's almost like a trailer

of something to come.

If you're, I don't know,

do people watch trailers anymore?

It's like there's a trailer

that comes out,

it gives you a taste

of what the movie will be like,

but you're not going to get

the full picture of what that movie is

unless you go to see the movie.

The type is like that.

Adam is a type.

So what is he a type of?

We'll get into this

in a bit more depth,

but Adam is a representative for us.

Now, the type of one is to come,

we'll see, is Christ.

But what Paul is referring to here

is that Adam is our representative head.

He is the one who represents us

in the same way that an MP

represents you in the commons,

or if you are a part of a union.

A union rep represents you

in a collective bargaining situation.

Adam is our representative.

He is our head.

We are in solidarity with him,

so what he does

is imputed or counted to us.

So, if you guys remember,

we've looked at this a little bit

back in chapter 3,

but here's the problem,

and this is where the rub is for us.

The difference with Adam

is that unlike being represented

by an MP or by a union rep,

is that you don't have agency

in the matter.

The scriptures are telling you

that you can't move

to a different constituency

and change your MP,

or vote him or her out

at the next election.

You can't vote Adam out

of your life.

You can't join another union

or just quit your job

and go into a different industry.

Adam represents you

whether you like it or not.

He is your representative head.

We do not have agency in the matter.

But even if we could have

a better representative,

maybe we could pick

our own representative.

Maybe we would be

our own representative

who's going to speak for me?

I'm going to speak for me.

Do you think you could do

better than Adam?

It's a very important question

because God is the one

who gave us Adam

as a representative head.

He is the one

who made the best possible

environment for human beings

to flourish.

Adam was without sin.

He was without blemish.

He didn't have a history

that he was trying to hide.

He wasn't lacking

in any kind of way.

He was the perfect human being.

He was the best of us.

Okay?

He was the best of us.

And if he fell

as our representative head,

could we truly find

a better one?

It's an interesting question

to wrestle through

because if we are frustrated

with what Paul is saying here

that we don't have a say

in the matter,

that we are damned

to a life of sin and death

because of what happened

with Adam,

so much so that

his sin was really

our sin,

then the question is,

can you do better?

Is there another way?

You see,

headship or representation,

as frustrating as it may be,

is actually good news.

Okay?

It's good news.

Why is it good news?

Because God has called Adam

a type of the one to come.

Again,

look with me at verses 14.

We'll look at all of verse 14

and then I'll emphasize

the last part

that I want to draw

your attention to.

Yet death reigned

from Adam to Moses

even over those

whose sinning

was not like the transgression

of Adam,

who was a type

of the one

who was to come.

So the hope is

that even though Adam

was the best of us

and he fell,

that the type

that he is

hopefully is going to point

to a perfect version,

a better version.

And Adam 2.0,

where all the bugs

are worked out.

Okay?

Someone who is perfect

and without blemish,

who does not have

the ability to sin.

Okay?

He's not riddled

with selfishness

and pride.

Paul gives a clue here.

And then this brings us

to our second point.

Verses 15 to 17.

And we're going to look

at Christ and grace.

So how then

are Adam now,

Paul's going to move on

to compare and contrast

Adam and Jesus,

looking at how they're contrasted,

how they are dissimilar.

Adam's a type

of the one to come,

but in so much

as he is just

our representative head.

Okay?

So Christ also

is a representative

of head.

And Paul is going to say

in this next section,

that's where

the similarities end.

Almost certainly

where the similarities end.

Look with me

at verses 15.

And I'll just say

this really quickly.

How are Adam

and Jesus dissimilar?

There are many ways.

I think

the Apostle Paul

will spell out

at least three,

but we'll look

at two of them.

The first

is that

they're dissimilar

in the nature

of their actions.

Look with me

at verses 15.

Yeah,

just verse 15.

But the free gift

is not like

the trespass.

For if many died

through one man's trespass,

talking about Adam

in the garden,

much more

have the grace

of God

and the free gift

by the grace

of that one man,

Jesus Christ,

abounded for many.

So,

we've talked about it.

The trespass

of Adam

that Paul is referring to

is the rebellion

and idolatry

that happens

in the garden.

Adam,

he elevates himself.

Alright?

He does not want

to worship God.

He wants to be worshipped.

His will

is what matters,

not God's will.

So,

Adam,

as our representative head,

did what we would have done.

Therefore,

as we have seen

in that previous section,

death reigns in us

as it did Adam.

Compare that to Christ.

Christ doesn't

self-promote himself,

does he?

Upon the cross,

what does Jesus do?

He sacrifices himself.

It is the perfect example

of humility.

And now,

this one act

of righteousness

that Jesus does

on the cross,

it becomes

our righteousness.

Interestingly,

why?

Because now,

Christ is our head.

And that is where

the connection

between Adam

and Christ

begin

and almost certainly end.

Just as Adam

was our representative head,

now Christ

is our representative head.

And because sin

came to us

because of our connection

with Adam,

now righteousness

comes to us

because of our connection

with Christ.

Christ is now

our representative head.

He is not like

the old Adam

who,

through the act

of disobedience,

brought death.

Instead,

through his act

of self-sacrificial giving,

it says that

we are given life.

The nature of the first Adam

is to bring death.

The nature of the second Adam,

the Adam 2.0,

if you will,

is to give life.

One self-exalts,

the other lays down his life.

One is prideful,

one is humble.

We have two separate,

separate,

very different kinds

of Adams.

The second difference

is the immediate result

and then the ultimate effects

of their actions.

Look with me

at verses 16 and 17.

By the way,

if you're a bit of a,

a grammar nerd

or you enjoy getting deep,

going deep dives

into scripture,

you'll notice in verses 15

and then also in verses 16 and 17,

Paul uses a not like

much more language

to compare and contrast

Jesus and Adam.

And he does it here

for the second difference.

This is what he says,

verse 16.

And the free gift is

not like the result

of that one man's sin.

For the judgment following

one trespass

brought condemnation

but the free gift

follows many trespasses.

Following many trespasses

brought justification.

Verse 17,

for if because of

one man's trespass

death reigned

through that one man,

bit of a separation here,

much more

will those who receive

the abundance of grace

and the free gift

of righteousness

reign in life

through the one man,

Jesus Christ.

Guys,

that is a thick sentence.

It's a tough one

to get our minds around.

But here's an attempt.

Adam's sin brought

death and condemnation.

That was the immediate

results of his sin.

Adam sins in the garden.

He is rightly judged

and condemned

and he is banished

from the presence of God.

That's what happens

in the garden.

Adam and Eve,

they were barred

from entering the garden,

to re-enter the garden.

Because they were

disconnected

from the source of life,

they became cut roses.

They were beautiful.

Mankind is beautiful,

capable of much,

but disconnected

from the source of life.

We bloom once,

we do not bloom again.

But what of Christ?

On the cross,

Christ Jesus,

he justifies us.

We have spent

a fair amount of time

examining this

in Romans thus far.

But in essence,

it means that before God,

we are made right.

And given the very standing

and stature of Christ himself,

even more than that,

the ultimate effects

of Christ's death

on the cross

is that death

no longer reigns,

but life does.

It's like we are reconnected

to the source of life

in some miraculous way,

grafted into a living tree,

or if we're going to use

the rose analogy,

a living bush.

Even more than that,

the ultimate effect

is that,

is not just that

life reigns over death,

but it says actually

that we will reign

in life through Christ.

This is where

it's unbelievably dense,

where Paul's getting into

an absolute

theological treatise here.

Really what Paul is saying here

is that because,

again,

thinking of headship,

thinking about

Christ being our

representative head,

what happens to Christ

as our head

is what happens with us,

and what happens with Christ.

He rises from the grave,

he ascends into heaven,

and is seated

at the right hand

of God himself

to rule and reign

over this world.

Paul is saying

that we get to participate

in that

in some kind of way.

We are not Christ,

we will never be Christ,

but we are so connected

with him.

He is our head,

we are the body,

he represents us,

he is Adam 2.0,

and Paul is saying

in this text

that we will reign in life.

What that looks like,

how that will ultimately unfurl,

it's hard to understand

and comprehend

in its fullness,

but what it ultimately says

is that death

no longer has a final word.

Life will always triumph,

death,

death,

and that the grave

is truly robbed

of its power,

truly robbed

of its power.

Our destiny

is the same as Christ's,

to be in the presence

of God forever.

You notice how

we're starting to see

how Jesus is

the better Adam?

Adam being completely removed

from the presence of God,

never to be allowed back in,

and what does Christ do?

He is in the presence of God,

he is God himself,

and he brings us with him.

He is our representative head,

so where he goes,

we go also.

One additional point

before we get to

our third

and final point,

and this is key,

both for being under

this new representative head

and for the gospel itself.

Notice in verses 15 to 17

how many times

Paul uses the term

free gift,

okay?

I'll just read a bit,

but the free gift

is not like

the trespass.

The free gift

by the grace

of that one

Jesus Christ,

the free gift

is not like the result

of that one man's sin.

The free gift

following many trespasses

and so on and so forth.

Five times in three verses

he uses the term

free gift.

And then three more times

he speaks of the grace

of God.

So why the emphasis

on gift and grace?

And then why even mention

that the gift is free?

Is that not a kind of redundancy?

I mean,

it's a,

people do this,

I'm sure I've done this.

If you give a gift with,

we can give gifts

with strings attached.

They're not really

great gifts,

if that's the case.

It takes the joy out of it.

But in its essence,

a gift is free,

right?

You're giving somebody

something that they

didn't pay for

because you want to,

because it's a joy

to do so.

So it seems a bit

redundant for Paul

to say the free gift.

Why is he emphasizing

grace and gift

in this way?

I think it goes back

to the ultimate effect

of Christ,

namely,

that we will reign

with him.

You see,

if we were to have

access,

sorry,

if we were to have

success and victory

in anything,

as again,

broken,

sinful human beings,

we want to take credit

for it,

whether in small victories

or even in eternal life.

I wonder if this is

especially the case

for some of us

here this morning.

You've studied,

you've saved,

you've made right decisions,

you have taken risks,

but they're calculated risks.

You've exercised,

you've eaten well,

you've raised children

with good values,

or you've been

a fantastic volunteer,

you've done all the things

right,

and these are all

wonderful things,

but if any of these things

are done in such a way

as to garner

eternal life,

or garner salvation,

or garner reputational

bliss,

so to speak,

then what we are doing

ultimately is trying

to buy something

that is not for sale

that God only gives

as a gift.

And we take something

that is good

and wonderful

that is salvation,

and we say,

I want a part to play

in earning this.

I do not like the idea

of being gifted something

without taking some kind

of credit for it,

but when we do that,

it becomes utterly useless,

because the gift

no longer is a gift.

We are trying to earn

our salvation

by our own works,

but friends,

you need the grace of God,

and that grace of God

is a free gift,

and Paul is saying,

listen,

if you make it

into anything else,

it loses all its power,

and it can be

a very difficult thing

for us to accept,

especially if we are

of the variety

of people

that like to be

somewhat self-made,

like to work hard

and do good.

It's a very hard thing

to just receive something

that is so unbelievably great,

but as hard as that

may be to accept,

this is really

the only thing

that brings full

and lasting freedom.

For our eternal life

is not contingent

on our best efforts,

but on Christ's

everlasting gift.

Christ is truly

the greater Adam,

and this leads us

into our third

and final point,

starting in verse 18,

and I'll read

to the end of the chapter.

Therefore,

as one trespass

led to condemnation

for all men,

so one act

of righteousness

leads to justification

in life for all men.

For as by the

one man,

that again,

Adam,

for as by the

one man's disobedience

the many were made sinners,

so by the one man's

obedience the many

will be made righteous.

Now the law came in

to increase the trespass,

but where sin is increased,

grace abounded

all the more,

so that as sin

reigned in death,

grace also might reign

through righteousness

leading to eternal life

through Jesus Christ

our Lord.

Paul returns

to his

half-completed sentence

in verse 12.

He completes

the comparison

between Adam

and Christ,

and we can see

this in how

Paul structures

this paragraph

with as so.

That's how he's going

to compare and contrast it,

as so.

Verses 12,

18,

19,

and 21.

And in doing so,

he's going to highlight

the supremacy of Christ

and what he has done

over and above Adam.

How great is the grace

of God?

Paul asks,

so great that the one

act of righteousness

by Christ

renders the power

and consequences

of sin and death

powerless.

One act

and sin

is completely

emptied of power.

Christ,

upon the cross,

does the most

righteous thing

and it says

that he redeems

the world.

But here's an interesting

thing,

because if you go back

to the second half

of verse 18,

I'll read the full thing.

This is what it says,

therefore,

as one trespass

led to condemnation

for all men,

so one act

of righteousness

leads to justification

in life for all men.

The question,

I think,

is an important question

to ask.

Is Paul saying

that on the cross,

Jesus saves all people?

Is there a universalism

where regardless

of how

we respond

to Christ,

because we are

represented

by him,

okay,

are we then

saved by him?

Is Paul saying

that all

really means all

in verse 18?

Listen,

if we haven't

gotten in the weeds

enough in this

chapter,

we're going to go

a bit deeper in.

Listen,

this next section,

I've got to ask

for a bit of grace.

I understand

enough

to be a bit dangerous.

But what I don't

understand

can be

a bit dangerous

as well.

When it comes

to the biblical

understanding

of salvation,

some theologians

and very excellent

ones subscribe

to an idea

of double

predestination.

The idea

that God

predestines

some

to election

and salvation,

but then

elects some

for hell

and damnation.

salvation.

And as a result,

Christ's sacrifice

on the cross

is only for the

elect and not

for the world.

However,

a passage

like this,

what we have

in chapter 15,

18,

and on to the

end of the chapter,

a passage like

this makes

an audacious

claim

that God

in the one

act of

Christ's

sacrificial

death on the

cross

truly died

to atone

for all the

sins

for all

time.

Therefore,

Christ's death

is universal

in its

sufficiency

and scope.

Universal

in its

sufficiency

and scope.

Okay?

When we

consider how

the one

act of

Adam's

rebellion

has permeated

all of

humanity,

okay,

Adam's

rebellion

is also,

in a sense,

universal in

scope,

it stands

to reason

that the

one act

of Christ,

the second

Adam,

should likewise

carry this

universality

for all

people.

The redemption

must fit

the sin.

And I

think I

would be a

heretic if I

paused there,

if I ended

there.

Because we

need to be

careful with

reading what

Paul says and

what he

doesn't say.

I think

Paul,

in his

excitement,

and I

don't say

that to

dismiss him

at all,

but his

excitement in

understanding

how grand

and fantastic

the salvation

of Christ

truly was

upon the

cross,

he gets

as close

to the

line of

universalism

as possible.

Okay,

but he

doesn't cross

it.

We need

to be

careful to

not put

words in

Paul's

mouth or

defend a

belief that

the church

has never

held in

finding a

random proof

text to

fit it.

In some

ways it would

be wonderful

if universalism

was true.

Okay,

I have

family members

that have

died without

knowing Christ.

Right?

I would

love for

them to

be in

heaven with

me.

Okay,

if,

say it

this way,

if universalism,

if you

scoff at

it,

and there's

not an

ounce of

you that

wishes it

could be

true in

some way,

shape,

or form,

your heart

might be a

bit cold.

It might

be.

I'm not

saying it

is,

but it

might be.

Nevertheless,

it's not

something that

the Bible

will teach.

Again,

we need to

be careful

here,

because Paul

isn't saying

that this

universally

sufficient

atonement

is universally

applied.

Okay?

Instead,

we see that

although I

would argue

that it is

universally

sufficient what

Christ does

on the cross,

so that if

hypothetically

every single

person put

their faith in

Christ,

they would

truly be

saved,

it is

particular in

its application.

And how do

we know this?

Well,

let's go back

one verse

in verse 17.

This is what

it says.

For if

because of

one man's

trespass,

death

reigns

through that

one man,

much more

will those,

here's the

key bit,

who receive

the abundance

of grace

and the free

gift of

righteousness

reign in

life through

the one man,

Jesus Christ.

You see,

Jesus' death

on the cross

was so

very great,

okay,

dying for

the sins

of the

world.

God so

loved the

world that

he gave

his only

begotten

son.

But it's

still a

gift that

must be

received.

And how

do we

receive it?

By faith.

Now,

why do

some people

receive it

gladly and

some don't?

I think

there truly

is a

doctrine of

election.

we're not

going to

talk about

it.

And to

be perfectly

honest,

there is

a high

degree of

mystery that

who knows

the mind

of God?

Why?

Some go

to heaven

and some

don't.

Okay?

But nevertheless,

there is this

call to

receive what

Christ has

given.

To receive

it.

To not

stand on

our own

merit.

To not

stand on

our own

self.

promotion,

but to

humble

ourselves

and say,

I can't

get salvation.

I can't

beat sin.

I can't

conquer

death.

But you

have.

So I'm

trusting you.

You are

my new

head.

You are

Adam 2.0.

You're

the one

that I'm

going to

trust.

I'm

going to

receive

this

gift.

God

truly

in

Christ

has

proven

to

the

world

that

he

doesn't

want

to

see

people

die.

And he

doesn't

want to

see

death

persist.

Christ

truly is

the

greater

Adam.

Just as

through

Adam,

the first

representative

head of

mankind,

sin became

universal,

so too

did

righteousness

come into

the world

by the

second and

greater

Adam.

friends,

let us

think about

this and

dwell upon

it and

receive it.

This free

gift given

to us.

Nothing is

needed to

be added

to it.

It doesn't

need a

fix of

some kind

of way.

There are

no bugs

that need

to be

worked out.

It is

perfect and

it is

yours.

Will you

receive

it?

You

see the

grace of

God

given to

us in

the

obedient,

justifying,

righteous death

of Christ

is far

greater than

the effects

of sin.

In fact,

Paul says

that grace

abounded all

the more.

Where sin

is, grace

abounds all

the more.

Literally,

grace super

or hyper

abounded,

which is to

say that the

gift of

eternal life,

it towers

over death.

Death is

strong and

if you've

tasted death

in any kind

of way,

you will know

that that is

quite the feat.

It is like

an ant

standing

walking,

whatever ants

do,

do they

stand existing

next to the

sea and

tower,

only infinitely

greater.

Life

towers over

death.

Wherever there

is sin,

there is

abundantly

more grace.

There is

abundantly

more life.

So grace

is superior

to sin,

life to

death,

the free

gift to

sin earned,

Christ's

solution to

Adam's

problem,

Christ

himself over

Adam.

He is,

if you

receive his

gift this

morning,

if you

receive his

gift this

morning,

he is your

new representative

head.

And where he

goes, you

will go also.

And friends,

he is at the

highest height.

Will you go

there with him?