Covenantal Representation (rerun)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ. Based on the theme in Galatians 2 verse 5, where the apostle Paul said, but we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn't for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we're called by the divine trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here's our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio ministry. Today, I'd like to introduce one of my favorite all-time preachers, Samuel Lewis Johnson Jr. Today, S. Lewis Johnson will be preaching on No Compromise Radio.

I talked to Grace Johnson, Grace Monroe, his daughter, and she's giving me the thumbs up to play his material on No Compromise Radio, working on a book, editing some of his material as well. And so I wanted to make sure you got to listen to S. Lewis Johnson.

I tried to affect you and infect you with the virus of his teaching. Thousands of messages, I listened to eight hours a week, probably on my bicycle, and wanted you to be encouraged and convicted by S. Lewis Johnson and have you listen this summer to this preacher that God molded and shaped and called and saved and gave gifts to.

And we are encouraged that his gift still remains with us through audio. And so today is part two, S. Lewis Johnson on No Compromise Radio ministry.

Enjoy it. Now, in verse 13 through 17, he says, all die because one sinned. Verse 12, all die because all sinned. Verse 13 through verse 17, all die because one sinned. That's simple too. It's the solidarity of representation.

In fact, to emphasize the point, Paul five times says that death and condemnation are according to the one sin of the one man. Isn't that interesting? Five times, even I can get that. Five times, look at them.

Verse 15, for if through the offense of one, many died. Verse 16, for the judgment came by one to condemnation. Verse 17, for if by one man's offense, death reigned by one. Verse 18, therefore, as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men.

Verse 19, for as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. Isn't that enough? Five times, five times. That surely should be enough. Five times, he says, death and condemnation take place, result from one sin by one man.

Well, that's very important. Now, one might ask, how do we interpret into the results of the activities of these two men? Obviously, I was not in the Garden of Eden. Some people have sought to establish the point that I really was there.

Well, that is called the doctrine of realism in the study of Romans five. And some have sought to actually prove that. I'm sorry you laughed at it because at one time in my study of the scriptures, I rather thought there was truth in that.

I didn't realize I was so ridiculous in interpretation at that point. But nevertheless, we passed through stages and I leaned very much upon the fact that when Abraham met Melchizedek, he paid tithes and the writing of the epistle of the Hebrews says that Levi played tithes because Levi was in the loins of Abraham.

And then it finally dawned upon me that the writer of the epistle of the Hebrews was speaking typically and not actually. But you see, it seemed to relieve me from a problem of in those days, how I could be responsible for something that Adam did.

And if it could be shown that I was really in him, then maybe that offense was softened a little bit. But then as I thought about it afterwards, if I have a problem with being responsible for something that Adam did and it's ameliorated, that means softened, made a little better, by being in Adam, that forced me to consider how could I do something before I actually came into existence?

And that's just as big a problem. So I realized that to understand Paul, one must understand covenantal representation. He represented me. He was the divinely appointed representative for the race. So the reason or the means by which I received death and the means by which I receive life through Christ is called in scripture reckoning or by theologians, imputation.

That is the death of Adam is imputed to me, reckoned to me because he is my representative. And so the righteousness of Christ is reckoned to me or imputed to me because Christ stands for me. He stands for the people of God, imputation.

So I'm treated as if I failed in Adam and I'm treated as conquering through Christ. That's the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are declared righteous on the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, of course, we don't enter into that until by the grace of God, we are brought to rest in Christ.

Just as I don't feel the effects of having fallen in the garden of Eden until I'm born in this world. And as a matter of fact, I began to manifest it right from the beginning because when I was born, I was born with my hands clenched.

It's a vague, vague in my mind, of course, but with my hands clenched and I was kicking and I was screaming. Now the French say, some of the French doctors that the reason that we kick and scream is because we're usually born with bright lights.

And so some of the psychologists have suggested that if we were born in the dark, we wouldn't kick and scream and that would make us a whole lot nicer in our life. But that theory has not yet caught on.

I have some friends that I think it might catch on with if they had heard about it, but I don't tell them about that theory for that reason. At any rate, the reason or the means, instrumentality by which these things become ours, in the case of Adam, we're born into this relationship and this condemnation.

And listen, we prove it by everything that we do from the time we begin to breathe. And then entering into Christ is accomplished through the work of the Holy Spirit who brings us to rest upon him, renouncing our own righteousness, trusting in Christ's righteousness for time and for eternity.

We sang this morning in that last hymn that he will be with us to the end, but my Christian friends, there is no end for us. Now, that's what Paul says in 512 through 21 in a nutshell. The second thing I'd like to say a word about is the biblical illustrations of this principle.

Did you know, I'm speaking to those who haven't read the Bible through, did you know that this principle of representation pervades the word of God? It's found in the word of God almost from the beginning and almost to the end.

Take Ishmael, Ishmael knows about it. In Isaac, shall thy seed be called. God made distinctions. He arranges history in a certain way. Now, I am convinced that's the best way, but I don't necessarily understand all of the details of every point, but I think I understand that.

Or to take Jacob and Esau. As we said a moment ago, Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Do you realize that when Esau sold his birthright, that he didn't affect just Esau, he affected all of his descendants.

Everybody who descended from Esau was affected by what Esau did. The principle of representation and solidarity exists within our society. So, for example, Moab and Ammon. Moab and Ammon, because they did not treat the children of Israel properly as they were in their exodus to the land, they are excluded from Israel forever.

So the Lord God says. Korah, when Korah disobeyed and sought to take over the priesthood, who suffered? Korah, yes. Korah's wife, Korah's children. Representation. Now, you might say, I can just imagine Israelites saying that's unfair.

But God does deal in these ways. Take Eli. Eli was high priest, but he didn't treat his children as the Lord God said that he should. And so as a result of this, his whole house was affected by his failure in the ages that followed.

Take David. David sinned in the case of Bathsheba, but as a result of his sin, God said that there would be a sword in David's house forever. Or take Gehazi, the servant of Elisha. Naaman's leprosy was healed, remember?

And then Gehazi sought to obtain some benefits as a result of it. He came back to Elisha and Elisha said, Gehazi, what did you do? He put his finger upon him and then he pronounced a curse upon him. He said, Naaman's leprosy shall cleave to you and to your seed forever.

Now we could go on and on and on through the word of God. There are countless illustrations of the principle of representation. That's a biblical principle. In fact, we even have in the New Testament an expression that probably is one of the most common of all expressing this fact.

When Paul talks about the benefits of our relationship to the Lord Jesus, what characteristic expression does he constantly use? Why he says of believers that they are in Christ. What does he mean when he says in Christ?

Well, he's talking about covenantal representation. We are related to him. We are united with him. He and the saints of God form a body because he has dealt with the Lord God in their behalf. How many times does in Christ occur?

That's a rhetorical question. 164 times. Not a one of you looked in your Bible and started reading to find out how many times it occurred. I don't think you're really interested in how many times in Christ occurs.

Well, do you know it does occur about 164 times? And if you added other little expressions like in him, in whom, through whom, et cetera, but particularly in him, in whom, you have over 200 times. Covenantal representation is set out in scripture.

That's why I think this belongs among those important biblical truths. Now, where Paul learned this truth? Well, that's an interesting question for New Testament scholars. Some would like to say he derived it from the Lord Jesus' teaching in the Upper Room Discourse where he spoke about ye in me and I in you.

That, in essence, is the thought of union with Christ or perhaps on the Damascus Road. Some have even suggested that Paul's doctrine of union with Christ is simply the Damascus Road put to doctrine. When he heard the Lord Jesus say, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

And he recognized that in persecuting the saints, he was persecuting the Lord. And thus, there is some kind of union between the Lord and the saints. But it's not necessary for us to deal with that. I wanna go on now and the rest of the time we have and speculatively justify this principle.

I've never heard anybody preach on it. Maybe after this, your response will be such that no one will ever preach on it again, who knows? But it's so important it ought to be clarified. The great objection to the way God deals with men is simply this, it's manifestly unjust.

Why should I be dealt with through Adam? And why should I be dealt with through Christ? On the one hand, people object to being called sinners because Adam sinned and on the other hand, they object to finding salvation only through Christ.

They wanna find salvation through the church, through their good works, through their culture, through their education and all of the other things which are insufficient to measure up to the righteousness and holiness of the Lord God in heaven.

But that's human nature. So they say it's manifestly unjust. Now I'd like to say first of all, it's very unrealistic to say that. It's unrealistic even if you're a human being. Unrealistic for the simple reason that's a principle that pervades human life.

Even if you knew nothing about the gospel, nothing about the Bible, you could still talk about covenantal representation. Now you could of course define it in a little different way. You wouldn't define it exactly as the Bible does, but you'd probably say something like this.

The acts of our parents affect us. That's the way we're created. That's the way the race is. That's the way human beings are. When I was growing up and was in college, Edward VIII came to the throne. He lasted 372 days.

He was a very popular king for less than a year. But when he announced that he was going to marry one who was not royalty to start with, and then secondly, who had already had two husbands and was in process of being released from the second, and the king would be the third, the result of it all was that Edward VIII abdicated.

And we heard constantly the fact that he made his decision on account of the woman he loved. And then he spent his life largely in exile afterwards, though he's buried right there at Windsor Castle today.

Now if Edward had had any children, then all of his descendants would have been affected by his action. As a matter of fact, we don't have to think about royalty. We can talk about the national debt. Yeah, that's right.

You're in debt. Legally, you're in debt. I don't care. You might say, my children are gonna have to pay it. I go free. I take Social Security and all the rest of the things that I have, and they pay for them.

How nice. Our society is built on representation. It's sad. We ought to pay our debts. We ought not to leave our children with that. But the fact is that they will be responsible. Everything that we do, as a matter of fact, affects others.

The alcoholic who wastes his life finds it reflected in his children. The drug addict finds it reflected in his children. The man who inherits a fortune and wastes it, his children have no recourse. They cannot go to court and say, that's unfair.

It ought to be mine. Our society is built on this. Think about it. Why? Well, because God has arranged it that way, ultimately. That's why. So, even if we didn't wanna even talk about the scriptural thing, we'd have to say, this doctrine of representation has empirical support.

But now let's, for just a few moments, think about what God could have done if he's going to have a human being, what could he do? Well, option number one, Adam could have been created as he was and left in a natural relationship to the Lord God under the law of retributive justice forever.

In other words, if he obeys, he enjoys the Garden of Eden. If he disobeys, he dies eternally. In other words, his safety would be forever contingent, conditional. Now, I ask you a question, my friend, would you like that?

I wouldn't. Do you know why? I have the sneaking suspicion that I wouldn't last as long as Adam did. I don't want that kind of arrangement. The result would be universal ruin because man is finite by creation and the variety of trials that may be brought to me would be infinite coming from an infinite God.

And what would be the result after, well, maybe a short period of time, but let's say a lengthy period of time, what would be the result? God would have a planet and no people. So that option is out. Strikingly, a lot of people kind of think deep down within without really thinking that maybe is what God should have done.

No, no. I'm glad he didn't do that. Well, what about the Pelagian plan? This is a common plan people have suggested. Adam should be left upon the earth, this is the second option, under limited probation, say just 70 years.

And if Adam succeeds, he and his descendants have eternal life, or they don't like to think about his descendants. His descendants, if they succeed, have eternal life. And if he fails, Adam dies. But here's a striking fact, the Pelagians who have offered this as their understanding of things, because they say men die because of personal sin.

Now we all believe men sin personally, but we die because of Adam's sin. That is, we've already come under judgment for Adam's sin and we're sinners and that's why we sin. But let's assume that there is no such imputation of Adam's sin.

And so we are left like this for 70 years and this is the Pelagian scheme, but strikingly the Pelagians admit because they look out at human history and they admit everybody has sinned. And so to a good believer in representation and we're sinners because Adam sinned, what does the Pelagian say?

How can you explain universal sin without exception? The only exception being the one person who wasn't born as we are born, Jesus of Nazareth. Why it's simple, so they tell us, by example. Everybody sins by example.

Of course, that doesn't explain how Adam sinned. He didn't have a sinner as an example. So Pelagian scheme, furthermore, my Pelagian friend, if it's wrong for the principle of representation to apply with reference to guilt, in other words, if representative guilt of Adam is irresponsible, as you say, then is not representative salvation, which you sometimes like to preach, is not that irresponsible too.

So if we fall by virtue of our own sins, maybe we should be saved by our own righteousness. Now, pure Pelagian would say yes, but nobody would be saved because the standards are so low. So we'll have to drop option two, that won't work either.

I have the feeling that God thought of this all a long time ago, don't you? I have the feeling He's not learning a thing by my lecture this morning. Well, the option is the third option, which Paul has set forth.

Adam is left under federal probation for a limited time. What's the support of this? Well, the creation itself supports it because the race is united by blood.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at six. We're right on route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

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