The Gift of Grace — Don McClure

Sin Enters the World Through Adam

Romans 5 .12 Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned. For until the law sin was in the world but sin was not imputed when there is no law.

Death Reigns From Adam to Moses

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression who is the figure of him that was to come but not as the offense. So also is the free gift.

Grace Abounds Through Jesus Christ

For if through the offense of one many be dead much more the grace of God and the gift by grace which is by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many. Father we thank you for your word. And Lord as we read these words of Paul we ask that as we would meditate on them this evening that your Holy Spirit would bring this tremendous truth home to every one of us.

Lord our relationship to Adam in our relationship to Christ makes all the difference in the world and so as we study it may you open our hearts and minister to us for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Wonderful Romans chapter 5.

As we've already read a portion of it we'll see how far we get this evening I'm going to attempt to finish the chapter we'll see. But he who aims at nothing hits it every time. So aim at something see what happens.

But here once again in Romans chapter 5 we have this chapter. If you've been with us the last few weeks particularly as we've been in Romans chapter 5 we have this chapter where Paul explains to us that Jesus Christ once we have come to him he introduces us to God as royalty.

Back there he tells us that we have access by faith in that word access prosagogue where we get the word protocol or introduced as royalty to God. And as we are brought before God as royalty it isn't because of anything within us.

Paul goes on to explain there's nothing innately good or great or wonderful or attractive about us particularly that God has chosen us and allowed us to become his own and has brought us in before him as royalty.

But as a matter of fact Paul goes on to explain that God was fully aware when he did choose us exactly who he chose and all the weaknesses all of the the problems and the difficulties innate within every one of us.

He explains to us that we were without strength that we were ungodly that we were sinners. And then if that wasn't enough we were actually enemies of heaven itself the nature of God the character the person of God.

We were everything that he wasn't. But yet God was fully cognizant of all of this when he chose us when he loved us when he redeemed us there was nothing so much within us. All there was was something unbelievably glorious within him.

This nature of love unknown to us this agape love of God that is being shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who's given to us the more we can grow in him the more we understand this love. As the years go by you know we start off as a Christian oftentimes thinking that God loved us and we're grateful for that.

But that love I believe in reality only grows as time goes on the greater the realization of God's patient merciful kind love with us for all of our lifetime. The way that he watches over and cares for us in that love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

The Struggle of Sin in the Life of the Redeemed

But here now if I am in fact introduces royalty. I'm brought before God I'm accepted before him. He loves me this way fully aware of all of my difficulties my inconsistencies my sinfulness and my problems that are within me.

That sort of brings up another problem in a sense another struggle there if I'm so loved and God's know that knows that I am this person without strength that I am this person there who is ungodly and a sinner.

And somebody there that is an enemy of the state essentially. And yet there I am forgiven I am loved I'm accepted in the sight. Why is it though that I'm having so many problems in battles along this journey that I'm on on the way to heaven.

What is what is the what is it that's going on. Why am I not just the royalty that I supposedly am. Why don't I seem to know this very well. Why. Why doesn't everybody know I'm royalty. And what what is what's going on if God states these things about me why am I having such a terrible time embracing them and understanding them.

And here Paul he goes on to the remainder of the chapter to want to explain some fundamental truths to us because you see it has an awful lot to do with sin itself. And so he wants to go into a discussion on this.

He tells us in verse 12 he says where for as by one man sin entered into the world here Paul he wants to tell us there he says the problem that we're struggling with here is the fact that entered the world you know something that I don't think we think much about and probably be good if we did a little bit more but we don't seem to.

And that is that the world we're living in is a far cry from what God created and what God designed. Have you ever been in a place that is so serene so beautiful so magnificent something there that just it has God's fingerprint all over it as God's handiwork all over so glorious and it's as if it's never been touched.

It is something almost perhaps maybe like the Yosemite. Maybe you've been to Yosemite or you've been up on the mountains looking down at the Yosemite Valley in some place where you just see these gorgeous waterfalls you see the river you see animals you know walking around and you see something that is so serene so gorgeous so beautiful so magnificent.

I think you know we live in a world that everything has just been so touched by man. We're born in cities and grow up in cities and all around cities. And everything man is built man has structures and man's fingerprint is everywhere but it'll never touch the serenity and the beauty and the magnificence of what it was that God created and so breathtaking so magnificent something that we can only imagine how glorious the Garden of Eden had to be this place.

There were God literally there as he prepared it by his own hand. Is he there you know planted it. And is he there initiated all of this as he put Adam and Eve there in this garden as glorious and as beautiful and as magnificent as was the Bible makes it clear.

There was such a place there's no doubt in the Bible's mind of course whatsoever about it. And something so beautiful and so wonderful. There was one such a place and it was creation that was simply there before sin entered.

There was a time that sin was not it had not happened here in creation. But since that awful day that we know through the rest of the Bible essentially is the fall of man when sin simply entered with that came all of the other problems of mankind political social moral physical health famine pestilence.

They're all a direct consequence of sin in entering into the world here when God created man he put him there into the garden. He gave him dominion over the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea here in a sense when God created this something so magnificent.

And then God you had where man was to tend it and to care for it. Well then Satan came into the garden. The Bible tells us when he came he came in as an usurper. The Bible calls him he usurped an authority that was not his through deception the father of all liars there came in and masked himself as somebody there that could offer to Adam something that he of course had no equipment to fulfill no capacity to do.

But through his great lie sin entered. And at that point really the whole of creation the Bible tells us waiteth and travaileth in pain waiting for the full redemption. Not only did man fall but creation fell with it.

The next thing you know and you know literally the the animal kingdom is in fear of the very ones that called them by name. And that that where there was there with this this wonderful affection and harmony no fear whatsoever anywhere in it.

And the next thing you know the earth is bringing forth thorns and thistles and weeds are taking over. We're fighting it with you know DDT and everything else. And there's earthquakes and famines and pestilence.

The whole world is outside of being regulated at all not just simply the heart of man. But but the simple fact is is that sin entered into the world. And that is something there that we've got to constantly realize.

That is the fact of history. That's the central fact that is the central problem at all. Do whatever else you want to politically morally socially scientifically medically for man or for the world solve any of its problems.

And as long as you still have sin that is entered you really solve nothing at all. Paul goes on here he tells us in verse 14 is the after he says sin entered. He then goes on and and and calls it in and out of.

And in verse 14 Adams transgression he in in verse 15 he says he calls in the offense. In verse 19 he says by one man's disobedience. And and here we have something that there is absolutely no way to minimize this fundamental truth.

This is the great problem of all you know and out of this one occurrence sin entering came all of man's problems every one of them and you take that away in history is entirely different. What a thrill in magnificent place the world would be if you could simply take out sin.

The Universal Consequences of Adam's Sin

And I think sometimes even we as Christians we fail to recognize this simple fact all of the world's problems all of the things that need to be done no matter what it is that if you could do for the world as long as there is sin in it you can't help it in a essentially as as a unit in a sense.

And unless the sin that is in it is cured to only hope for it it's it is to imagine for example if there was a person who were cancer entered into the body and then that cancer with time was allowed to grow in the next thing you know there's brain cancer heart cancer lung cancer.

And it's in the kidneys and it's in you know the liver and spleen and and it's you know throughout the body it's in the bones it's in the blood. And if you came along to that person that had this cancer that was throughout their body and you were able to offer them an absolutely perfect heart or a perfect set of lungs entirely untouched by cancer.

But if you could open them up and put in a whole new set of lungs for this person that was couldn't breathe because of the the lung cancer you'd realize what that beauty it's a waste of lungs until you as long as cancer is entered just the same thing as with mankind sin entered and it is you know gone throughout the whole body and no matter what transplants you do in the world no matter what you may do with it I mean we you know something happens with Saddam Hussein we catch him or you know anybody else and we replace him with a brand new wonderful person you know or something there.

And a fine good old capitalist you know or something there that probably is one somewhere I don't know but anyway but we did but it wouldn't be long that in terms of saying have we solved the world's problems.

You'd say of course not. And and that's essentially here's Paul as he's looking there at whether an individual or in mankind the result is with us individually or corporately. Sin entered it came in and sin there it has a terrible and a devastating result.

In verse 18 you know Paul says by one man's offense many died. And he says by one man's offense judgment came upon all men. One person sinned and the result of it is is that many died. All died essentially with him.

In first Corinthians 1522 Paul adds to this. He says all die in Adam here sin entered there in Adam in the end in the moment that entered there you know all that were in Adams loins all the way yet to be born now picked up the disease it's now passed on to everyone that would ever come out of his loins everyone that would ever be reproduced out of the loins of Adam and Eve there there were people that would have the same disease within them.

Sin entered and it entered all mankind as a consequence of it. The Bible makes that clear very very clear. And whether it's individually or corporately that's what's happened to the world now that anger some people some say that isn't fair.

Some people you know want to go around and say why do I have to suffer the consequences of somebody else's sin thousands of years ago why is it. I wasn't there. I didn't do it. I didn't have any choice in the matter you know and I did an unfair that I should have to suffer the consequences of it.

But we can go around and round on that I suppose all night long or a month or year long I suppose. And some people have done it I suppose. But at any rate the simple truth is and after you're all said and done far bigger than our ability to discuss it or understand it or evaluate it or analyze it.

The Bible says it happened period it occurred you know in it. And that's how it happened. One man did it and the whole world suffered the consequence you know not I don't know how many decades ago was but there was a fella pretty well famous now named Albert Einstein who came up with a theory of relativity and he equals MC 2.

And going into the discussion out of this comes the atom in nuclear things and all sorts of other ramifications of it. And supposedly this theory was so brilliant that at the time that it came out there was only 12 people in the world that could even understand it and but there it sat.

And then with time is more studied it they came up they thought there was about a hundred who understood it. And then some of those hundred got together and began to work with it and found ways to create a weapon with some of this understanding and some of his theories.

And the next thing you know these are a few hundred people put together something that in 1949 45 over Hiroshima they dropped an atom bomb. In the next thing you know hundreds of millions of people were affected by what one man had enter into his mind the whole world now had to deal with and to this very day nuclear and you know I mean and now the whole world has to deal with the nuclear issues whether you want to look at any place on the planet you want to go to the Middle East and nuclear threats you want to go you know to Pakistan or throughout Asia or India and you want to look at North and South Korea and the nuclear thing.

But it happened it's it entered by one man. It started there but now the whole world whether it likes it or doesn't like it whether it says it isn't fair or whatever else they want to think about it. One man brought some things upon and then somebody maybe did other things with it than he originally ever dreamed.

But nonetheless it entered and there it is. And now the whole world essentially has to deal with it. And essentially somebody once said no man's an island. And that's no more true than when it came down to sin.

We've all sinned sin entered into the world and it affected an entire race yet unborn. And and if somebody on one hand wants to be upset about that they can I suppose won't do you any good. I don't think.

But you can talk about it and everything else. But we were there now. The other thing is though even we want to be mad at Adam but we also might realize I wouldn't have any choice or any life at all if I wasn't in the loins of Adam as well.

And therefore I was there. There's tremendous benefits of being there potentially. There's also tremendous terror you know agony I suppose you might say. But nonetheless here the Bible says that's it now those are the cards that are dealt you in a sense.

And if you play old maid then you then those are the cards. But at any rate it's something we're here. Sin entered into the world. Well it no sooner entered than as far as Paul is concerned though as sin has this way of this once it gets there but I suppose like a cancer he tells us that it went on from there because sin abounds and and it has this way of growing it has a progression you know about it in verse 20 it says there moreover the law entered and that the offense might abound.

The Law Magnifies Sin

But where sin abounded here he tells us sin entered in the next thing you know after sin entering it abounds that is it exploits itself it grows in devastating ways. And and here he tells us exactly how sin abounded in the sense how it grew he says moreover the law entered.

And in verse 20 there had always been sin as Paul tells us that even those that did not you know that had sinned in Adam though. And he said in verse 14 nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression.

Other people you know they're they're all sinners though their sins may be different. But here he tells us there in verse 20 that as soon as the law entered the law came when God gave to Moses and the children of Israel when he entrusted into them the laws of God that caused sin to abound.

And in other words what happened when God gave the law to man. He says this is what man was designed to be. These were his values towards God his values towards one another his values towards society.

This was his heart this was his nature this was his character throughout the Old Testament there whether it's the in the ceremonial law the Levitical law the judicial law in relating one to another and establish in societies and and and of course that's what God entrusted into the Jewish race all of these wonderful identities of what God created and wanted man to be in the standard that he said well as soon as you set up those standards and the law enters immediately he says now sin abounded sin entered.

But now the law even made it abound made it much made it stand out much more intensely. Essentially is what it means there. Maybe if you for example you know maybe you have a car that's you know five six seven eight nine years old and it kind of looks okay.

But could you imagine maybe if you took your car down to a car dealer that they were very good at what they did and you had them paint half of your car. What would that do to the other half your other half it would look okay.

Maybe when you drove it in but the but but the sin abounded. You might say the moment perfection was laid next to it. And and this is in a sense what happened when man there when he sinned he knew he was a sinner and knew sin and entered.

But the consciousness of how devastating it was was magnified when the law came. It's like maybe we grow up and we know we're you know we're all right. I'm a sinner I'm a naughty kid or I mess up or I do whatever else.

But it is something that as we grow if we at all grow with any sense of righteousness and correct living in the world our knowledge of our sinfulness intensifies it abounds as soon as there's a regulatory system of how we ought to live and behave and think and function.

And the more we enter into a maturity and we realize what we ought to be. We therefore realize what we're not and sin abounds within us. And here this is what Paul has to say. What this is this what he's telling is here's the things you've got to recognize.

Yes your royalty. Yes you're to reign in Christ. Yes you're loved. Yes you're forgiven. But there are forces out there he says I want to explain them to you. Sin entered into the world and sin abounded there.

It's something that it progresses. It took off it became an epidemic. It's almost like you know again a flu. You know where these flus come from every year and how they get started. But they have this way of what the flu just doesn't just stay by itself it just seems to like to abound.

Or diseases. We may not like the flu or the black plague or polio or or any of the AIDS or anything else. But once they seem to get into the system of man once they enter they abound they grow. So also is the same thing essentially that happens with sin.

Sin Reigns Over Individuals and Society

But then when sin enters and then it and then it abounds. In verse 21 he says as sin hath reigned he looks now and he says sin first it entered then it abounded and then it reigned. It literally took over the the throne of creation it took over the reigns over the world.

And we live of course in today today knowing there never been a time I'm sure in all of history where sin is reigned as it is now. The Bible tells us in the last days that the sin you know that will be going on in the world the hopelessness in a sense everywhere you go the planet it seems to be covered with with political the sin reigning as King.

Morally you know financially it's like wherever you go there is so much corruption in its permeated society hatred the envy the strife the famines the pestilence the whole fall the whole devastation of sin literally reigning over the world.

And Paul is saying you've got to see this to begin to better understand who you are and the battles that are around you. You got to realize this is in the world it's not just in the world just didn't enter.

It's abounding in the world and it is raining in the world. And that's the way that sin is. And once it starts somebody once said about sin that sin will always take you where you don't want to go. It'll keep you longer than you want to stay and it'll cost you more than you wanted to pay.

And sin has this way once we let it enter and then it has this force that just like a disease it grows it abounds as it enters then it abounds and then after it abounds it is determined to rain. The same thing whether you want to look at a nation you watch a nation go under where sin begins to enter.

We're living in a country right now where many of us that are you know have many years at all. There was a time when it's as if not that we were ever a sinless country by any means. But it's as if there was a sense of the sinfulness of man or the righteousness of God and of a godly desire to be a godly nation within us.

And it had this preserving effect upon us as a country. But it seemed as if you know with a lot of the things going back into the 50s and in the 60s and you can read all sorts of books on but essentially sin entered this country in an awesome ways.

We took prayer out of the school we took the Bibles out of the school we gave abortion let it begin to go and we unleashed these forces of just letting something enter. I don't believe anybody had any dream when they were just thinking they were just letting certain forces enter on how that they would abound.

And then one day they would rain. We right now we are living in the country where sin is raining it just isn't hasn't just entered. It isn't abounding to where it's kind of around. Hey it's not it's really moving.

No it is virtually taken over most areas and segments of our political life of our moral life of our economic life the selfishness the greed the corruption. You can't turn on a TV without watching something.

We're not. It just isn't entering. It is like somebody's just talking maybe about sinning on TV. What do you think about it folks. It's it's not just abounding. It rains. It rains on the radio it rains in the air in virtually all literature it is with the corruption that has gone on.

It's devastating in a sense of what has happened. And whether you want to look nationally or you want to evaluate it individually. When something when we let it enter somebody just decides well I'm just gonna have a little alcohol you and then next thing you know it has a way about it that is as soon as it gets in it's determined it wants to abound.

Man it'll never be happy until it rains. When somebody decides they just like a little pornography I mean just a little just a little peep show here and there there they've unload unleashed a force that once it enters it is gonna it is going to abound.

And it's gonna it's it's gonna rain within an individual life. And here is somebody is sitting there their love they're forgiven they're accepted by Christ they are introduced as royalty in the midst of all of our weaknesses.

And we're wondering why am I not doing well. Paul says we'll hear I've got to tell you there are these forces out there that called sin and it enters and it abounds and it is determined to rain within your life within the world wherever else it possibly can.

Death Is the Ultimate Consequence of Sin

And not only of course does it want to get in does it want to rain. But the consequence of that as well is that sin has a terrible consequence about it. In verse 12 he says sin entered and death entered through sin.

Sin has a consequence. It doesn't just simply take somebody out there in here just let him be an alcoholic or let him be caught up in pornography or let them where they're just for inevitably eternally caught up in in sinfulness where sin reigns.

The ultimate devastation of sin entering abounding and raining is it kills. It is there to bring death. This is death the spread unto all men. In verse 14 he said death reigned. Interestingly enough sin entered sin abounded sin reign.

He says now death entered death abounded death reigns. Right with it. These are the consequences when somebody decides and they get around this you know sort of a thing so obviously one led clearly to the other.

And you might say in one sense then this is the nature of Adam when I was when when Adam sinned and passed it on every one of us were born in this scenario we're sinning entered sin reigned or abounded in sin reigned.

And we were totally under its power. The result the consequence of it it had made us there without strength. Ungodly is sinners enemies. But God who is rich in mercy he looks at us and says I still have an answer for you.

You're born on death row. Essentially every one of us we're all you might say just born there on death row. Because sin causes death. And God told Adam in the garden the day you eat of it you'll die. The with the sin will come the penalty in the penalty will be death.

And every child has been born as I said on death row. And meantime we so often we go through this life we don't even think about death. Oftentimes that's the amazing thing about human beings. We just think how many years do I get before I die.

I want my 70 years. Three score in 10 you know. And if somebody doesn't get 70 we're upset. Hey they got cheated out of a few years. You get a few years more than 70. You think hey I'm doing all right.

But the result is you still die whenever it's happened. You're going to die. Hmm. Is this exciting study tonight or what. Are you glad you came. I mean this is what I came here tonight to hear. And I mean if you're over 30 or 40 years old you're you're you're dying right now right here there are forces at work within your body there are abounding towards your death that are waiting to rain over your death.

And finally you know pronounce you dead. That's what's going on. It's just I mean but that is what's happening. But here's the amazing thing is Paul now watch say but happily wonderfully in a sense we don't have to go this way.

We don't have to. Because he tells us in verse 15 to go back here he says but not as the offense so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead will much more the grace of God and the gift of grace which is by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many here he says now he says sin entered.

Grace and Life Through Jesus Christ

But now enter grace enter. Here's Adam. Here's who he is. Here's what he does. Here's what he's all about sin enters sin. Rain abounds in sin rains period. Death will come to Adam and all of his race.

But you know as he says there in verse 15 but this wonderful you know there the three-letter word there and so not as the offense so also is a free gift absolutely free. This thing that enters in if through the offense of one many be dead much more the grace of God and the gift of grace he says grace enters.

And here it's something there did another had thing entered. You're about the same time Albert Einstein incidentally was doing his little thing there and working on his theory with the atom. There was another man walking around the planet named Alexander Fleming.

And Alexander Fleming was a fella who while he was walking around a very famous microbiologist he ends up to be because he discovered in 1928 this thing we today or they call it then penicillin. Same thing of course you know but also revolutionized the world.

One man came and had a theory that was abused that brought destruction into it. Another man came that had some information that brought healing to it. Two men in a sense there you know the one of them with the atomic and nuclear capacities.

Another one who's probably preserve far more lives than we're glad that have been lost through the atomic devastations. Penicillin to his offering to the world. Adam came sin and death with him. Jesus came on the other and along with him came something to which you can inoculate yourself with to deal with the problems essentially with Adam.

And here Paul says. And this outweighs Adam. This takes over this he says there. For if through the offense of one many be dead much more in other words as devastating it is to be caught in this as hopeless as it is as terrible as it is.

I've got something that's much more than that. There's a remedy that is out there grace as entered through Jesus Christ. In verse 14 Paul calls you know here Jesus a type of him that was to come you know in the sense there that one brought death and another brought grace.

One invented sin the other invented salvation is Paul very simply lays it out very simple. There's two heads in history as far as the Bible is concerned. There's the head of sin and death department. And there is the head of grace and life department.

And through life I now have the opportunity to choose which one I want to identify with. I know I can just simply be an angry at this and say I don't believe that I don't like that it doesn't exist because I don't agree with it.

And it doesn't make any sense to me. What you can argue AIDS or polio or the flu or the bubonic plague isn't fair. It isn't right. I don't like it. Or you can take and be inoculated with the cure. And you can argue about one and all you want to or very simply you either take the cure or you don't.

One headed up the sin department and through here in Romans 5 he calls it offense death disobedience. And through him all were made sinners. And the other heads up the righteousness department essentially and the free gift of justification and of righteousness as Paul writes about him Jesus.

And here he interesting and wonderfully says there in a sense that as terrible as sin and death are you know they're in as hopeless and as bleak as they seem more wonderful than that even more he says there much more there the grace of God and the gift of grace which is by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many for every sin that robs and ruins and attacks and mains and cripples there they there is a grace to deliver and to bless and to heal and to restore.

And here Paul is simply saying now as he's going to be taking us here in Romans 6 when we get in there on dealing with now my nature and how to deal with Adam here in chapter 5 he's just simply saying I want you to realize before we even deal with Adam and we deal with Christ and we talk about crucifying the old life being done with Adam and how to enter into a deep and abiding relationship with Christ.

First we got to know they're there we got to realize these two men one God man the other fallen man are with whom we have to do in this life. And who we identify with is going to be the key. Now we are going to you know reject one and accept the other and live as royalty in him.

But first we've got to understand it we've got to recognize it. And that's what he's doing here and wanting to lay out for them that while on one hand sin and entered into the world as terrible as it was you know there are two thousand years ago grace entered and while sin was doing its worst thing that it possible doing grace was entering into it.

While sin was abounding and saying crucify him grace was abounding and saying father forgive them. They know not what they do. And here is on one hand even look at the two thieves next to Jesus Christ you see the effects of both one of them two of them in Adam.