Our Family Tree

Chapter 1.

I'm going to read them today just simply because there's a few different verses scattered through the Genesis that we want to read.

So it's on page 4, Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

So when you found Genesis 1 on page 4, also go to Romans chapter 5, which is on page 1132.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 5, which is on page 1132.

Romans 5 · chapter mention

So Genesis 1, starting at verse 26.

And then we'll go to Romans 5.

So let's read then from Genesis 1, verse 26.

Genesis 1:26

Then God said,

Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air,

over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.

So God created man in his own image.

In the image of God, he created him.

Male and female, he created them.

God blessed them and said to them,

Be fruitful and increase in number.

Fill the earth and subdue it.

Now go to chapter 2, verse 15 of Genesis.

Genesis 2:15

Chapter 2, verse 15.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and to take care of it.

And the Lord God commanded the man,

You are free to eat from any tree in the garden.

But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

for when you eat of it, you will surely die.

Chapter 3, verse 1.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman,

Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?

The woman said to the serpent,

We may eat from the trees in the garden,

but God did say you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden,

and you must not touch it, or you will die.

You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman,

for God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened,

and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye,

and also desirable for gaining wisdom,

she took some and ate it.

She also gave some to her husband who was with her,

and he ate it.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened,

and they realized that they were naked,

so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Now turn please to Romans chapter 5, verse 12.

Romans 5:12

Verse 12.

Verse 12.

Romans 5, verse 12.

Romans 5:12

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,

and death through sin,

and in this way death came to all men,

because all sinned.

For before the law was given,

sin was in the world.

But sin is not taken into account where there is no law.

Nevertheless,

death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses,

even over those who did not sin by breaking a command,

as Adam did,

who was a pattern of the one to come.

But the gift is not like the trespass.

For if the many died by the trespass of the one man,

how much more did God's grace

and the gift that came by the grace of the one man,

Jesus Christ,

overflow to the many?

Again,

the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin.

The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation.

But the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.

For if by the trespass of the one man,

death reigned through that one man,

how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace

and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man,

Jesus Christ?

Consequently,

consequently,

just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men,

so also the result of one act of righteousness

was justification that brings life for all men.

for just as through the disobedience of the one man,

the many were made sinners,

so also through the obedience of the one man,

the many will be made righteous.

The law was added so that the trespass might increase.

But where sin increased,

grace increased all the more,

so that just as sin reigned in death,

so also grace might reign through righteousness

to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Well, please keep your Bibles open.

Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

and we'll look at this passage together.

Let's pray.

There is so much that is familiar about what we are doing.

We come here each week.

We sit with our Bibles open and we listen.

There's so much that we know from the Bible.

There's things that we've read before.

And so our prayer, Father,

is that you would guard us

against familiarity.

And that what we read at together

and what we look at together

would be fresh to us.

That the grace of God

would intervene and penetrate deep down

into every one of our lives.

That we would grasp afresh the wonder

of what you have done

so that no one will leave here this morning

without having grasped

how great you are.

The life that we can have today

and the life that is to come.

So please change us, we ask.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, tracing your family's ancestry

has become quite a popular pastime.

In many ways, it's very interesting

to find out what your great-great-grandparents did

and whereabouts they lived.

But deeper than that,

I think there is this unresting desire

to know who you are.

What makes me who I am?

What's happened in the past

that shapes me

and who I am today?

Well, members of our family

have researched the records

and we can trace our family line

right the way back to Clan Grant.

Descendants of King Kenneth McAlpine,

apparently.

We were sheriffs of Inverness

in the 13th century.

Strong supporters of Wallace.

Do you remember Braveheart?

To picture right now

my great-great-great-granddaddy

charging across the heather in his kilt,

waving his sword

as he sent the English back across the border.

It's interesting, isn't it?

But it doesn't really tell me who I am.

We need to go much further back

to discover who we really are.

You see, there is another record

that traces back our family line

right to the very beginning.

Our first father.

Back in Genesis,

what we read earlier,

we were told that God made man

in his image.

The first man, Adam,

from whom flows the whole human race.

The present population of this world

stands at about 6.6 billion,

which includes thousands of people groups

and different cultures

and languages and races.

Yet for all of our diversity,

even here we're a diverse group.

But if we were to trace our family line

all the way back,

we would end up at the same place,

the same person,

Adam.

Now it's only when we look back to Adam

that we discover

who we really are.

What has shaped us

and what makes us

the kind of people we are today.

And what we find

is an inescapable likeness.

Look at verse 12,

chapter 5.

Therefore,

just as sin entered the world

through one man,

that was Adam,

and death through sin,

and in this way,

death came to all people

because all sinned.

Now that makes uncomfortable reading.

Of course,

we are reaping the consequences

of Adam's sin

that we read about in Genesis 3.

But this does not mean

that all the blame falls on Adam.

No, the point of verse 12

is that we are all just like Adam

because at the end of verse 12,

we have all sinned.

Now when our son is naughty

and stubbornly refuses what to do,

Kirstie will turn to me and say,

he's his father's son.

And of course,

that's the same thing

my mum says about me to Kirstie.

He's his father's son.

And what they mean is

that I have inherited

my father's sinful nature,

but I'm responsible for my behavior.

Likewise,

my poor son

has inherited

my sinful nature,

but he's still responsible

for his actions.

Look at the beginning of verse 19.

For just as through the disobedience

of the one man,

the many or all people

were made sinners.

It couldn't be more clear,

could it?

We have inherited

Adam's sinful nature.

We were born sinners.

We were made sinners.

But it's not all Adam's fault.

It's our responsibility.

Now we don't like that sort of thing

and of course,

there are objections to this.

And there are objections

in this passage here.

First of all,

you have the irreligious person,

the person who doesn't bother

with church

and don't like reading

their Bible

and they say,

well, how can you call me

a sinner?

Because I don't have a Bible

and I've never read it.

So how do I know

if I'm doing something wrong?

Well,

Adam didn't have a Bible either,

did he?

But yet he was considered

a sinner.

Look at verse 13.

For before the law was given,

sin was in the world.

But sin is not taken into account

where there is no law.

In other words,

how can you judge me

if I don't have the law?

How can you say

I've done something wrong

if there's no basis

to judge it against?

Verse 14.

Well, nevertheless,

death reigned

from the time of Adam

to the time of Moses.

Moses was the one

who was given the law.

Even over those

who did not sin

by breaking a command

as Adam did.

Let me try and explain

that a bit more.

Suppose you're driving home

and you're very, very late

for an appointment.

So you take a shortcut

over the back roads

and at great speed

you're dodging

all the potholes,

winding your way along

and then suddenly

you're stopped by the guards.

and the conversation starts.

But there was no sign officer.

I didn't see a sign

anywhere on the road

and I haven't a clue

what the speed limit is.

Do you think he'd believe you?

You see,

regardless of whether

there is a signpost or not,

your conscience

tells you

what is right or wrong.

You know

it's dangerous driving

and that you're guilty.

And that's what he's saying

here about Adam.

He knows

he's guilty

whether he's got a Bible

or not.

But then second,

the other objection

is the religious person

who does read their Bible

and you'll always find them

in church

and they'll say

well how can you call me

a sinner?

I do read my Bible

and I do know

what's right

and what's wrong.

Well look at verse 20.

It says

the law was added

so that the trespass

might increase.

In other words,

having a signpost

before you

that says

80 kilometres an hour

is never going to stop you

doing 100 kilometres an hour

if you want to.

It only tells you

what the speed limit is.

It can't stop you

from doing it.

In fact,

it only tells you

if you've broken the law.

It actually judges you.

And he's making

the same point here.

In other words,

reading the Bible

isn't going to stop you

from sinning.

Knowing what's right and wrong

isn't going to make

a type of difference

in your life.

It only makes you

aware of sin.

And you see,

what Paul is doing here

is he's reminding

this church

that he's writing to

which is made up

of a mixed bunch

of people.

There were Gentiles.

They were people

from a non-religious background.

And then there were

a bunch of Jews

who were from

a religious background.

But he's saying

you're exactly the same.

He'd been telling them

that back in chapter 3.

You may have

different cultures.

You may have

different family lines.

But you know what?

You are the same

sinful people

with the same

sinful pedigree.

And it's exactly

the same for us.

The uncomfortable truth

is whether we're

religious or irreligious,

whether we've read

our Bibles

or we don't read

our Bibles,

we all have

an inescapable likeness

to Adam.

We are all

natural born sinners.

Now this likeness

brings about

terrifying results.

I'm sure we've all

seen the news

and read the papers

and heard the story

about Michaela Hart.

A tragic event.

Starting out

on married life

with all their dreams

ahead of them.

And of course

people ask the question,

why?

Why did it happen?

Well the things

that I've read

is that people say,

well there wasn't

enough security.

If security was better

it wouldn't have happened.

Other people

are saying,

well in one part

it's a very affluent

kind of place

but the people

who are working there,

well they're struggling

with poverty

and that's why

they did it.

Well whatever answer

you come up with

the true answer

is sin.

Those who did

the murder,

those who are convicted

are all related

to Adam.

We might look

at our own country

and we give off

about it

and we say,

well why is it

the way it is?

People will blame

the markets

and they'll say

it's the banks.

Well the true answer

is it's sin.

And those who have

caused it all,

ourselves included,

are all related

to Adam.

And we look

at our own lives.

Stop looking

at other people.

Let's look at ourselves.

Broken relationships,

fallouts with family.

Why does it all

go so horribly wrong?

Well there's always

somebody else to blame.

It's always

somebody else's fault.

But the true answer

is we're all

related to Adam.

We live in a

sin-wrecked world.

And I'm sure

we've also seen

all the pictures

of the flooding

in Queensland

in Australia.

Did you see the way

the Brisbane River

has overflowed

and it spilled out

right the way

through the city

down every street

and into every

neighbourhood

causing devastation

and destruction?

Well the first sin

of the first man

way back in the

Garden of Eden

has been flowing

through the world

ever since

and its overflowing

effects has caused

universal destruction.

we see it all

around us.

The world is

terribly broken.

But we can't

keep pointing back

to Adam and blame

him.

We must put our

hand up because

we are all

responsible.

Look at verse 18.

Consequently,

just as the result

of one

trespass

with condemnation

for

all

people.

Well you say,

is that it?

That somehow

I'm tied in

in my relationship

through to Adam

that we live

in this sin-wrecked

world and

my life is sinful

and is that it?

Is there any way

to change our

likeness?

Is there any way

to change the world

in which we live?

Well,

thankfully there is.

There is,

secondly,

a remarkable

intervention.

Look at verse 14.

The very last

sentence of verse 14.

It says that

Adam

was a pattern

of the one

to come.

Do you see that phrase?

He was a pattern

of the one to come.

The one to come

was, of course,

Jesus Christ.

The one who can

not only stop

all the destruction

but actually

reverse it.

Now when it says

that Adam is a

pattern of the one

to come,

it's not saying

that Adam is the

same as Christ

but that he's a

pattern.

Let me explain.

Just as the

single act of Adam

caused death

and destruction

in the world,

so the single

act of Christ

has brought life

and transformation.

The one act

of Adam

has caused

death and destruction

but the one

act of Christ

has brought life

and transformation.

Read verse 19

and we'll get a

better picture.

for just as

through the

disobedience

of the one

man the many

were made

sinners,

so through

the obedience

of the one

man,

that's Jesus,

the many

will be made

righteous.

They're not

the same

but their

actions

both have

major consequences.

In fact,

what this passage

is telling us

that what Jesus

has done

is far superior

and far

greater.

The transformation

of Jesus

is far greater

than the

destruction

of Adam.

First,

the intervention

of grace.

Look at verse 15.

He says,

the gift is not

like the

trespass.

In other words,

Jesus is not

like what Adam

did.

For if the

many died

by the

trespass

of the

one man,

how much

more did

God's grace

and the

gift that

came by

the grace

of the

one man,

Jesus Christ,

overflow

to the

many?

Now,

Adam's

action

resulted in

the death

of many.

That's what

it's saying.

If we think

of that image

again of the

flooding river,

the flood

only started

with a few

drops of

rain.

And as the

rains continued

to fall,

so the river

began to swell.

And at first

it seems fine

that it's all

controlled and

that nothing's

going to happen.

But the more

rain that falls,

the more and

more it

fills and

the worse it

becomes.

And that's

what it's saying

here about

Adam.

His first sin

was like the

first drops of

rain in a

flood.

All the time

expanding and

increasing in

depth.

And it

spreads

throughout

history

causing

widespread

devastation.

But the

point here

is that

Jesus Christ

came and

intervened.

He broke

into this

world to

stop the

terrifying and

terrible effect

of sin.

Look at the

second part of

verse 15

again.

It says,

How much

more did

God's grace

and the gift

that came by

the grace of

the one man,

Jesus Christ,

overflow to

the many.

If you try and

picture a

different scene

in your mind

of a desert

wasteland,

barren and

lifeless,

a cracked,

dried up

riverbed,

but then a

stream of

water begins

to flow,

bringing with

it life.

And as the

river begins

to fill,

it overflows

and it

spills out

into the

surrounding

plains.

And that's

the picture

that we have

here,

that the

overflow of

God's grace

can spill

out from

that one

man,

Jesus Christ.

It

overflows and

spills out

into the

lives of

many,

bringing with

it life.

verse 16.

Again, the

gift of

God is not

like the

result of

the one

man's sin.

The judgment

followed one

sin and

brought

condemnation,

but the

gift followed

many

trespasses and

brought

justification.

the river

in Brisbane

has overflowed

causing chaos

and destruction.

Now in

hindsight, I

guess what was

required would

have been a

great big

barrier at the

head of the

river to

stop any

kind of

flooding coming

into the

city.

Well picture

now Christ

on the

cross with

loving arms

open wide.

And it's

like he

stands before

all mankind

as the

barrier.

The one who

absorbs the

torrent of

destruction of

our sin.

Again, look at

the second part

of verse 16.

The judgment

followed one

sin and

brought

condemnation,

but the

gift followed

many trespasses

and brought

justification.

the judgment

and the

condemnation,

the torrent

of God's

wrath,

flowed and

it fell on

Christ.

And so all

those who

turn to

Christ and

find their

rescue in

Him are

declared right

with God.

But there

is more

than just

intervention.

There is

also

transformation.

Look at

verse 17.

For if

by the

trespass of

the one

man,

death

reigned

through that

one man,

how much

more will

those who

receive God's

abundant

provision of

grace and

of the gift

of righteousness

reign in

life through

the one

man,

Jesus

Christ?

Because of

our relationship

to Adam,

we're told that

death reigns,

sin reigns,

it's hopeless,

it's empty,

it's a

terrible life.

But now,

because of

God's abundant

provision of

grace in

our lives,

we have been

completely

transformed.

Look at the

contrast that

we have in

verse 17.

Because of

sin,

death reigns

in us,

but now

because of

Christ,

it says we

reign in

life.

It's not just

that we move

from death to

life,

it's more

than that.

It says we

reign in

life.

Way back in

the Garden of

Eden, what we

read in

Genesis,

Adam was

given the

job to

rule over

the creation.

He was

living in a

sinless world,

enjoying paradise

in all of

its beauty.

But he

wrecked it,

and we

have wrecked

it.

But now

through Christ,

we are given

grace,

to reign,

literally to

rule in

life,

to be able

to do the

job that

Adam failed

to do,

to look after

God's world

properly,

to live in

God's world

the way we're

meant to.

It's a picture

of a great

king who's

reaching out

to one of

his enemies,

a rebel,

reaching out

beyond the

walls of

his city,

making him

a prince,

and inviting

him into

the city,

and giving

him a new

position to

live in

his kingdom,

to enjoy

its beauty

and safety

and security,

and say,

now rule

this land.

It's a

complete

transformation.

And that's

exactly what

God's grace

has done in

our lives

if we have

accepted it.

He has

transformed our

life from

being outside

to inside,

but more than

that,

he says,

now I want

you to

reign in

life,

to rule.

And of

course,

we do

live with

the ongoing

consequences

of sin,

but a

time will

come when

all those

who accept

his grace

are going

to reign

with King

Jesus in

the new

heavens and

the new

earth,

where we

will be

living in

paradise as

a prince

or a

princess.

Listening to

the reports

of what

happened to

Michaela Hart,

I listened to

one lady who

was a resident

there and

she said,

this country

is like

paradise.

She described

it as

heaven on

earth.

But then

this awful

tragedy,

this murder,

and she

couldn't come

to terms with

it.

How this

place,

where everybody

was so kind

and so

hospitable,

heaven on

earth,

and now

it's all

been destroyed.

Well,

that's just a

little glimpse

of the whole

world,

isn't it?

People think

it's heaven

on earth.

It's not.

It's a mess.

It's broken.

But we

have been

changed.

We have

been transformed

to somehow

bring heaven

to earth

to live

differently,

to be the

different kind

of people

God wants

us to be.

all the

while as

we await

for paradise

itself.

This is the

transformation

that grace

brings.

And the

results are

amazing.

Look at

verse 18.

Consequently,

and again

here, look at

the contrast

in these

verses.

Consequently,

just as the

result of one

trespass was

condemnation for

all men,

was so also

the result of

one act of

righteousness

was justification

that brings

life for all

men.

Here's another

contrast,

verse 19.

For just

through the

disobedience of

the one man,

the many were

made sinners,

so also

through the

obedience of

the one man,

the many will

be made

righteous.

This change,

this transformation,

it's all down

to God's

amazing grace.

Yes,

sin is

serious.

Sin is

devastating.

Sin is

destructive.

But God's

grace is

superior and

greater.

Look at the

second part of

verse 20.

Where sin

increased,

grace

increased all

the more.

There's so

much mess,

but where

there is so

much mess,

God's

intervening

grace is

so much

greater.

One writer

put it like

this,

there is

more grace

in Jesus

than there

is sin

in me.

I'm delighted

with that

news.

There is

more grace

in Jesus

than there

is sin

in me.

Do you see

what it said

at the second

part of

verse 15?

There is

this repeated

phrase in

verse 15

and 17,

how much

more?

How much

more?

There is so

much sin in

my life

that causes

so much

heartache.

How much

more did

God's grace

and the gift

that came by

the grace of

the one man,

Jesus Christ

overflow

into my

life

and into

your life.

Verse 17,

look at that

phrase again,

how much

more?

How much

sin

wrecks and

ruins

our lives

and the

world around

us,

but how

much more

will those

who receive

God's abundant

provision of

grace

and of the

gift of

righteousness

reign in

life

through

Jesus

Christ.

The

abundant

provision of

grace that

overflows into

our lives by

faith in

Christ is

more than

sufficient to

cover up all

of our sin,

all of our

mess, past,

present and

future.

There is

nothing,

and I mean

absolutely

nothing that we

have ever done

or said or

thought no

matter how much

has accumulated

through our

lives,

that His

grace isn't

big enough

or great

enough to

clean us

and to

renew us

and transform

us every

single day.

If somebody

says they

are too

far gone,

they haven't

really understood

the measure

and the

abundance of

God's grace.

God's grace.

It's so

transforming

that it

transfers us

from being

part of

the Adams

family, and

we know what

they're like,

they're a bunch

of funny

people, aren't

they?

We're

transformed from

the Adams

family,

literally,

and transferred

into Christ's

family.

He owns

us, we

belong to

Him.

Verse 21,

so that

just as

sin reigned

in death,

so also

grace might

reign through

righteousness

to bring

eternal life

through Jesus

Christ our

Lord.

Since we

come into

Christ,

this family

is where

grace reigns.

Grace is to

be the

family motto.

if we

could have

any

banner

above that

door as

you came

in, it

would be

the word

grace.

Grace is to

be the

family motto.

We

remember, in

fact, we are

to never to

forget where

we all came

from.

We all come

from the same

family.

We all have a

sinful nature.

We're all

equally messed

up.

It's just that

some people are

better at hiding

their mess

than others.

We are all

natural born

sinners.

I don't care

what your

background is

or who you

are.

And he is

reminding these

people here,

the Jews,

the Gentiles,

divided amongst

themselves,

one thinking

superior,

one thinking

inferior.

Forget it.

You're all

the same.

So don't

start looking

down and

judging and

condemning and

pointing fingers

at one another.

don't be

taking pride

in your new

family as if

you somehow

deserve it.

It's all

by grace.

And this

grace is to

be available

for everyone.

It's not

just for the

people who

are in this

room.

Look at the

size of the

hall.

The majority

of it is

empty.

Remember

what it

said,

verse 15.

It says

it overflows.

It

overflows.

Verse 17.

There is an

abundant

provision of

God's grace.

It's not just

that there's a

small amount

dished out to

a few people

and it's

only for the

few.

It overflows.

There's an

abundance of

it.

And as we

come into

this new

family,

God's

abundant

grace is to

flow from

us,

from our

lives,

into a

world which

is broken

by sin,

where people

live with the

devastation and

destruction of

it every

single day.

And we are

to bring that

grace to

people's life,

to bring that

healing,

to bring that

restoration,

to show them a

better way,

to show them a

new way.

family.

And so

together we

are to be a

united family

under the

banner of

grace,

a family that

bubbles over

and it floods

the community

with God's

grace.

Picture the

scene of the

river flowing

through Brisbane.

Now put your

minds and just

think of that as

grace flowing

out through the

community into

every home and

every person that

you come in

contact with.

God's grace is

so much greater

than sin,

so much more

powerful.

And when we

have grasped

grace, sin

will no longer

reign, but we

will reign in

life.

Let's pray

together.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.