The Nature Of Sin - [Romans 5:12-14]

So what we're gonna do this morning is a little bit different from your typical morning where you have a quiz. I'm not going to address these questions one by one as we work through the lesson this morning, but I want you to take a look at these maybe write something down.

Maybe not and then we'll work through the text and then at the end I think we'll have a better idea of how we can answer these questions, so that's what we're gonna. We're gonna do this morning. But why don't I open in a word of prayer?

Father in heaven. You have brought us to this place because. You have wanted to do that, and I thank you for that father. Absent of you, and you're working in our lives. We wouldn't even know Of the glory of your salvation we wouldn't even know what we were missing father.

But you have come down to us you have redeemed those that you have chosen to be your own not of anything that we've done but because it Pleased you and I just praise you for that father in light of Sin the sin that we have and the sin that we will learn about today.

It is ever more amazing that you would come down and save any of us in your name. We pray Amen. All right, so if you will open your Bibles to Romans 5 you can see in your bulletin. We're gonna be looking at verses 12 to 14 this morning.

I have the rare opportunity for this to be a two-parter so 12 to 14 this morning. And then next week, we'll be looking at 15 to 21 maybe depending on how far I get so. So that's where we're gonna be this morning.

Does anybody did anybody not get the handout that's making its way around. There's a couple more over here. Are there any extras or somebody make me some photocopies just grab somebody's Sam. Sam knows everything about everything.

Oh, it was this morning. I didn't break it. Oh. Well, you'll have to look on with a friend then. I guess Elise is unhappy about looking on with friends. All right. I'm gonna just just read for you starting in Romans 5 verse 12.

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. For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given but sin was not counted where there is no law.

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses. Even over those who sinning was not like the transgression of Adam who was the type of the one who was to come was anybody? Here last Sunday night when pastor Mike taught on Romans 5.

So a couple of people so some of this will sound familiar. I took notes because I figured it would help me out and teaching this morning, but I had already planned this so I'm not stealing his ideas just.

All right, so we're gonna walk through this text this morning. We're gonna pull out some key facts about sin. I think I have six. Yeah, but obviously we'll we'll get into depth we'll get into more depth on those.

So looking at this passage, what do you suppose the first fact is about sin that we're gonna see here. Therefore just as sin what? Came into the world through one man. This is something pretty interesting here.

When did sin start like what was the origination of sin when there was no sin ever anywhere and then sin began. When was that? Hmm the Garden of Eden the angels. Okay, anyway, anyone else anything else before the foundation of the world?

First John 3 8 whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. A couple quotes for you. This is Dr. MacArthur the one command talking about the one command that Adam disobeyed was the only point of submission to God required of Adam.

Except for that single restriction Adam had been given authority to subjugate and rule the entire earth but when Adam disobeyed God sin entered into his life and generated a constitutional change in his nature from innocence to sinfulness and Innate sinfulness that would be transmitted to every one of his descendants.

Now there's another quote this one is Very telling from Matthew Henry when God pronounced all very good. Genesis 131. There was no sin in the world. It was when Adam ate forbidden fruit that sin made its entry.

Sin had before entered into the world of angels. When many of them revolted from their allegiance and left their first estate. But it never entered into the world of mankind till Adam sinned. Then it entered as an enemy to kill and destroy a thief to rob and despoil and a dismal entry it was.

Then entered the guilt of Adam sin imputed to posterity and a general corruption and depravedness of nature. So we have this idea of sin. I mean, I think it's a pretty common worldview of sin. That if you actually believe in the in the creation story that sin Didn't exist and then Adam sinned and that was the genesis of sin.

That's how sin was created. But that's actually not what the Bible teaches the Bible teaches that the devil was the master of sin he was the Lord of sin and that sin Existed long before the Garden of Eden, but it entered into the world at that at that point so When the scripture says here when the verse says sin came into the world through one man.

What is that sin that we're talking about? When it says sin came into the world, what does it mean? Gary Adam sin. Anyone else? Adam's one an original sin that one sin was imputed to mankind and then as a result of that Just like Henry says and dr. MacArthur says the constitutional change of our nature, which is a result of that one sin.

Neil Armstrong Did a lot of great things. But there's one particular quote that Neil Armstrong is well known for does anybody know what that one quote is? One small step for man or a man one giant leap for mankind.

What does that mean? What is he talking about? You're my go-to guy today. It turns out that way doesn't it? All right, so Let's assume that Adam was you know, the paragon of man, which I think is reasonable.

He was probably six four Muscular strong guy, you know handsome whatever so his arms reach is probably farther than mine because I'm short and you know, all of the opposites of all those things and. But you consider that even at the farthest reach when he's holding that fruit, whatever that fruit is.

It's not very far for that fruit to come from here to here. To eat that fruit, right? It's not there's not a it's not like he labored up a hill Crawling and you know gasping for water and seeing the oasis and finally getting to the tree where you could say finally I get to Disobey God he reached up grabbed the fruit.

Actually, I believe the fruit was given to him and he ate it one small step one small action for man. Giant ramifications for mankind. Similarly Adam didn't sin as a man it wasn't just him, but he was what he was the representative of the entire human race.

I Was thinking about other ways to explain this and I thought of Our country we live in a democratic Republic right where we have Representatives who go whether we like it or not and represent us in Washington.

So it's the first fact of sin that we see in this passage that sin came into the world through one man. What's the second fact? It's right there in the text next four words and death through sin. Before there was sin there was no death.

It didn't exist. Adam and Eve were immortal. They got along perfectly. Work was easy. This is sounding pretty sweet. I know. There was no pain there was there was very little effort it was a joy to work all the time but Something happened.

Adam sinned everything changed everything changed. The sin of Adam tainted the world in such a way that now everything dies. There was no death in the world before Adam sin. Everything Was great. In fact, the presence of death is proof of the continuing effects of sin.

So death came into the world through sin. Then the next point is the next part of the passage and So death spread to all men. Why? Because all sinned it was interesting because all sin does that talk about?

Particular sins does that talk about our sin nature? What does that talk about? As we think about I think think about this. Psalm 51 verse 5 behold I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Psalm 58 3 the wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray from birth speaking lies. So a baby comes out of the womb. First question is Can a baby die immediately right away on as soon as they've been delivered.

Yes, absolutely. Do we believe the life begins from conception? Yes, a boarded baby does not survive. The baby's still in the womb before it is killed. It doesn't even have the chance to commit a sin.

But they can die and death entered the world through what? Through sin. So, how do we put this together? And so death spread to all men because all sinned. Correct. All men sinned in Adam. And we'll work through that a little bit more, but it's an important Understanding when we look at this to say, okay, so because I'll send here is not Simply and only talking about the fact that we all commit sins.

We are all imperfect beings, but also that nature. Everybody knows Jeremiah 17 9 right? The heart is what? Deceitful above all things and desperately sick who can understand it. Job 15 14. What is man that he can be pure or is he or he who is born of a woman that he can be righteous?

It's just the same idea. What is it? This is just how we are man. This is how we're made. This is what has happened as a result of Adam sin. We have this nature. There's nothing we can do about it. It is the way that we are.

The sin nature that we now have permeates all of us and it does so at conception. We are procreated in the same way with the same nature as our procreators and. So the ramification is of this or something I already talked about babies, you know those who Really just don't understand that the mental infirmity whatever it might be that can't grasp whether or not they're sinning or or whatever it is.

Death is a reality for every living thing and it's because of the nature that we have because we all sinned in Adam. It was a popular. I don't know how popular it was, but there was a Sort of a nursery rhyme kind of thing that was taught, you know ages ago certainly long before I was around Mike likes to quote it which is how I remembered it in Adams fall.

Does anybody know this we Sinned all. So what a world huh when they actually just taught that to the kids hey. So, all right, so we have the first fact that sin came into the world through one man. Then the second that death entered the world through sin.

Third all die because all sin and or and have a sin nature and the verses 13 to 17 Are in typical Paul slash pastor Mike fashion a rabbit trail that goes off and expounds on sin and Various aspects of that and I'm not gonna go all the way down and go through all of it today.

I don't have time to but I'll we'll talk about verse 18 later. So here's where things get interesting. Verse 12 therefore justice in came into the world through one man and death through sin and so death spread to all men because all sin 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given but sin is not counted where there is no law.

Now as we as we progress into this. Let's talk a little bit about this death. It's a happy topic for a Sunday morning. The death that came into the world through sin is What it's physical death, right?

All right, I think we would agree with that anything else. Spiritual death separation from God. Good. I love the way you put that we'll get into that. There's a third part of that death. It is physical.

It is spiritual. It is eternal. It is an eternal death and we'll look at that as well. So right here in my notes another way to understand death is separation. So thank you for that. So Adam and Eve ate from the tree, right?

We know this what was the first thing that happened right after that? Genesis 2, right. They recognized their nakedness. I don't even have to great. Thank you. They recognized their nakedness and did what?

They covered themselves. There they were ashamed. There was a an immediate separation that separation didn't exist before they had Committed this sin before they had this in nature. They didn't I mean it was you know, just like it says the two had become one flesh.

They didn't even recognize that they were naked in the sight of each other and they were not ashamed of that fact. But as soon as that sin nature crept into their lives. They realized their differences in sexuality and they were immediately ashamed and they covered themselves so there was a separation between the two of them that wasn't there before and Then right after that God comes into the garden and what did they do?

They hid they hid because they knew they were naked and they were ashamed. They were separated from each other. Immediately immediately, it's like the next verse and then as well from God. Ephesians 4 talks about the spiritual separation.

It says that in verse 18 unbelievers are darkened in their understanding. Alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. Okay, so We have this this separations this very real separation, I think physical death is pretty easy to understand, right?

I Don't know that I have to explain that one there was there was this physical separation what happened after you know, the Nuclear fallout as it were of of God confronting Adam and that whole situation.

What did God do? Get the boot out of the garden and. So they were physically separated in that way as well. It wasn't just in their minds that there was a separation that now exists. They were physically removed from the presence of God.

We talked about the spiritual separation. Spiritual death. This is why we need redemption, right? I mean this is you know, we before we're quickened before God saves us. We do we desire God? No, no, we don't.

Do we trip over springs do we Seek after God. No, there is a separation. There's a spiritual separation a very real separation that can only be made right. Through the act of another through the act of God on us to change us.

Talking about death being eternal book of Revelation talks about this. He reminds us of the eternal second death after the second coming of Christ. Pastor Steve read this this morning 21 8 but as for the cowardly the faithless the detestable as for murderers of sexually immoral Sorcerers idolaters and all liars their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur which is the second death so Christ comes back.

We're all raised some to glory some to judgment, right? New or new heaven or new earth some to judgment the second death the eternal death. They think hell is bad now. They don't know what's coming. Okay, so we have sin came into the world through one man.

Death came into the world through sin. All died because all have sinned and the eternal spiritual and physical Nature of death now, here's where things get really interesting. This is where the title of the message comes from the nature of sin.

Verse 13. I read this before I'll just read the rest of 13 and 14 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 death the result of sin the.

They kind of go together. 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 if it's not if the sin of the people from Adam to Moses is different from the sin of Adam.

We know that the effects of sin are there people died. You could just read Genesis pretty much all of Genesis and people died a lot of Exodus as well. But the particular transgressions were not counted against those between Adam and Moses whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam.

So, what do we know about the sin of Adam? Hmm it there was something unique about the sin of Adam that we don't see until after Moses. Anybody know what that is? It was a direct command of God. That is exactly right.

I'll go further than that. Never mind the difference between the sins of Adam and the seeds of the end. And the sins of those before Moses, what's the difference between what Adam did and what Eve did?

Genesis 2 15 and 16. This is before Eve was created. The Lord God took man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it and the Lord God Commanded the man saying remember this before he was created.

You may surely eat of every tree of the garden. But the tree of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. Or in the in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die. There is the command that was given to Adam do not eat of this tree direct command.

Literally God speaking to Adam do not eat of this tree. Now who ate from the tree first Eve. Okay, what does the Bible actually go further after the after that and and say happened. What's the difference between Adam eating from the tree and Eve eating from the tree.

Eve was deceived but Adam sinned. Okay, so there Eve did not receive this direct commandment from God that Adam did do not eat of this tree it didn't happen so. When we look at the difference between Adam sin and Eve sin did Eve sin.

Yes. But she didn't disobey the direct command. So now looking at this. What's the difference between Adam sin and the sin of all before Moses. The law had not yet been given. So through Moses God gave the law to Israel.

Through all of Exodus. That's a lot. What a lot of Exodus is about is the law of the end of Exodus. Schofield reference Bible says this personal sins are not meant here referring to verse 12 from Adam to Moses death reigned.

Although there being no law personal guilt was not imputed accordingly from Genesis 4 7 to Exodus 29 14. The sin offering is not once mentioned other offerings are mentioned. The sin offering specifically is not then since physical death from Adam to Moses was not due to the sinful acts of those who die it follows that it was a.

It was due to a universal sinful state or nature and that state is declared to be our inheritance from Adam. So as you look to your parents if they're still alive or you look to your children because you still are I would think.

You talk about inheritance, right? This is not a great inheritance that we receive from Adam but the fact is that They couldn't be held liable for disobeying the law because the law had not yet been given.

You know, it's it's like when We struggle with this at home. Well, we didn't tell her that she couldn't declare couldn't do X. So do we punish her for doing X? You know, it's it's kind of a difficult situation.

How do you deal with that? Well for God, it wasn't a difficult situation because we all had the sinful nature of Adam and So even though we they were not directly disobeying the law they were still sinners.

Dr. MacArthur again yet because death reigned from Adam to Moses. That is death was universal even though there was no law. It is obvious that men were still sinful. It was not because of men's sinful acts and breaking the Mosaic law.

Which they did not yet have but because of their sinful nature that all men from Adam until Moses were subject to death. And we Moses came the law came and then there was something fundamentally different about the nation of Israel and how they obeyed God.

Right, they had specific rules just like Adam had one specific rule That he was commanded to obey once the Jews were given those rules this verse 13 description here. That sin was not counted where there was no law could no longer apply because there was a law so Back in Romans 5 What is verse 20 say Says now the law came in to do something.

Increase heard somebody say increase the trespass direct disobedience is A bigger deal than committing a sin without knowing it. We saw it with Adam and Eve, right? It was Adam. I mean we talked about Adam.

I want to do a search to see how often The Bible the entire breadth of Scripture talked about Adam and talked about Eve as far as this whole thing was concerned I would put a lot of money on it that Adam is far more present, but I didn't have time to do that.

So Didn't so I apologize. So we start with Adam and Eve we see it here as well. There certainly they're both sins. I don't think that's the dispute. That's not the question, but one is a bigger deal than the other.

Jesus talks about this Kind of idea in Luke 12. Longer passage you want to turn there Luke 12 starting verse 41. I'll read to you in a minute. Okay, starting in verse 41 Peter said Lord Are you telling this parable for us or for all.

And the Lord said who then is the faithful and wise? Manager whom his master will set over his household to give them their portion of food at the proper time. Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

Truly I say to you he will set him over all his possessions. But if that servant says to himself My master is delayed in coming and begins to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and get drunk.

The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him to pieces and put him with the unfaithful and. That servant listen to this who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act.

According to his will will receive a severe beating. Sometimes I wish that we could just do that in this society, right? Be a good deterrent. But the one who did not know and what and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating.

Everyone to whom much was given of him much will be required and from him whom they entrusted much. They will demand the more. So there is this idea in Scripture that if you know better, it's a bigger deal.

But that doesn't invalidate if you don't know better. You're still sinning. There's still sin being committed. You know, this is one of the reasons why teachers. They're responsible of their flock. But part of the deal is you know better when you've sinned a lot more so than a babe in Christ.

Does a more mature? Christian would be you know expected to have a better understanding of right and wrong and how to obey God better than someone who has just Come to Christ and that's this idea that we see here before the law.

There is still sin after the law came. You could then point to the law and say you disobeyed this commandment given in the law which you couldn't do before it came. But they're still sinful. The sin is the sin is still there, but the trespass is increased with knowledge.

So the sixth fact about sin sin came into the world through one man. Death came into the world through sin. All died because all have sinned. The death is physical spiritual and eternal and. The effects of sin are Felt because of its presence, but the prediction the particular transgressions were not counted against those between Adam and Moses.

Whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam? So the sixth fact about sin is that Adam sin had a universal effect over all men. Just as Christ's perfect life and death has a universal effect over all believers.

So verse 14 ends with an interesting line. It says even over those Talking about death here. Even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam who was what a type of the one who was to come.

Nobody is in dispute about who Paul's talking about right everybody agrees that Paul's talking about Christ. So what does this type mean? What's this idea of a type a type of the one who was to come? Federal representation, okay.

Does anybody not know what federal representation is? I will explain federal representation in case you don't want to raise your hand. We talked about this earlier. We live in a Democratic Republic. We have Representatives that we elect they go to Washington, and they pretend to represent us and They pass laws and everybody's up in arms, so.

This side this idea this doctrine of federal headship is talking about and we talked about this before we sinned in Adam. Okay, so when Adam committed the sin of eating from that tree eating that fruit in a representation as a as a representative of the human race not as a Physical there's not there's not a physical link not a seminal headship situation, but as a representative a federal representative of the human race he sinned.

Thusly we all sinned in Adam if the president declares war We go to war the nation goes to war. It's what happens because he is our representative. Which leads to the next question is it fair that we're born with the sin of Adam?

Anybody have an opinion about that some people are nodding. Ultimately the question. The answer to that question is another question, which is does it even matter whether it's fair or not? It's fair in the sense that any of us in the same situation would have done the exact same thing and so There's really no question there as to it's it's unfair because Adam represented me while I didn't vote for him.

You know It is what it is right, but in the same situation We would have done the same thing and so in that way yeah, it's fair. We he he was a better representative than anybody we could vote for so It doesn't actually matter.

2nd Corinthians 5 18 and 19 says all this is from God who through Christ Reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself not counting their trespasses against them and Entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

So exactly where you were going does is it is it fair that Christ? hung on the cross and took our sins that he didn't commit but we did and gave us his righteousness that you know he Obeyed perfectly and you can make a pretty solid argument that being God it wasn't very difficult for him to do that.

But he certainly endured trials. I mean he was he was frail in his humanity right and so it wasn't. You know easy right. Exactly right exactly right. Who are you to ask or declare the fairness of an issue like that?

Does anybody know what the theme of Hebrews is? Christ is superior talks about being Superior priest superior substitute the theme of the book of Hebrews is Christ is superior. And as we look at this and I think we'll go into this more next week probably.

This is a perfect example of that exact thing right so Adam comes Adam sins. Thanks, you know as a representative for the human race Christ comes. Christ is superior grace surpasses even the greatest sin right praise God for that.

So Christ doesn't deserve our punishment, so it doesn't really matter. You know as Christians when we look at this it doesn't make a difference whether it was fair or not that Adam sinned on our. Because Christ certainly didn't deserve to bear our sins.

In much the same way that we are unfairly affected by Adam sin believers are unfairly saved by the grace of God through his sacrifice so The sin quiz this is where we look on with our friends. We'll go through these.

Quickly in the five minutes that we have left. And then answer questions if there are any. Number one what is sin and questions I have the answers in red so. This is where we get user input. Disobedience to God's law.

Sin is the disobedience of the commandments of God. Okay, so let's expand on that we talked about. Before the law after the law we talked about the difference between Eve sin and Adam sin. Separation there is there is sin as a result of there is separation as a result of sin rather.

What I'm going for here is. Whether it's explicit or implicit whether we mean to sin or not when we sin we sin. So plausible deniability doesn't exist in the law of God. Sin does not require a specific knowledge of the law, but our awareness of the order of the world.

Serves as the conviction that condemns us talks about that in Romans 1. Do it our fallen nature we cannot of ourselves be sinless. So to what are the immediate penalties of sin, there's sort of two of them death and separation.

Okay, number three. What is the law of God capital L law? So we can work it through understanding God's commandments in general right and then when when in Romans he's talking about specifically the Pentateuch.

Right, so the the Torah the law of God given through Moses. It's certainly reinforced and reapplied in the New Testament. They are the particular commands that God gives for his people to obey perfectly in order to be received into heaven.

Can that happen? No. So here's the big question number four did sin exist before the law? Yes, or does sin exist because of the law. Sin doesn't exist because of the law but the trespass. Increased as a result of the law.

When did sin begin? Before the foundation of the world. How are sin and the law related the law exists to? Correct. To increase the trespass. So we are more aware of the sin that we commit because we are aware of the law of God and So that goes right into number five.

What is the point of the law? To increase the trespass and to show us how we are to conduct ourselves All right. Here's the most terrifying part. Are there any questions? Well, I mean we we do know I mean there was ritual that existed before Moses came and so we know that there was an oral tradition so to speak that taught us about God and Certainly the conscience that we have this innate knowledge of right and wrong that we have is part of that Natural revelation that shows us of the existence of God so I Mean you do see in there, you know, you have people like Abraham who he didn't have the law, but he believed right you have Abraham's descendants you have you know the defiling of Dinah the sin of on on all these different things that occurred that are even called sins that are that are Clearly wrongs that are done.

You can look at all the examples of Men who sought to please God who sought to be righteous and That didn't come as a as a as a you know a reflection of the law and saying I need to obey these commandments and therefore I'll do these things that's that role of the conscience and the role of that tradition that was carried down because You know who wrote the book of Genesis God, but who penned the book of Genesis Moses?

Well Moses wasn't around yet. So they didn't have that to look back on. So, how did they know about God? Through this oral tradition and through awareness of the order of the world. Correct, right. That's that's really where the conscience thing kind of kind of goes.

Any other questions? Mm-hmm. Definitely and we see that reflected in all of Christ's sermons. He's did he come to to abolish the law? No, he came to fulfill the law anything else. This is not raising a hand.

That's a fist bump right there All right, why don't we pray Father in heaven. I thank you once again for bringing us to this place where we can worship you through singing through praise Through the teaching of your word father.

I just pray that you would use this time to keep us aware of our sinfulness and how the entire world Exists in an order and in such a way that we should be aware of you and everything that you've given to us and the sinful beings that we are In spite of all that you have given to us father.