Preached September 11, 2011
from
Romans 5:12-21
Theme: This passage shows us how God turned our fall in Adam into an opportunity to shower His abounding grace upon us.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Today is the tenth anniversary of the most pivotal event of this generation. Over the past decade, Americans have all pretty much marked time as either “before” or “after” 9/11.
I’ve been revisiting that day in my mind this week, just as probably everyone in this room has been doing. We’ll never forget the horrifying images we saw on the news that morning, nor how sickened we felt afterwards. We’ll never forget how extremely hard it was to rise up and go about our business that day; nor the long chain of sleepless nights that followed afterwards.
But we’ll also never forget the stories of courage and compassion and personal sacrifice that began to unfold over the days and weeks that followed. When I talk about “sleepless nights”, what that kept me awake most often were the stories of things that airplane passengers, office workers, first-responders, and just common, everyday Americans, did at the cost of their own lives to defend their country and save the lives of others. I laid awake thinking about folks like me who woke up that day just like I did—expecting to go to work as usual; but who were called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice before the morning was over.
Over the past week, we’ve been hearing some of the audio recordings of last-minute “good-bye” phone calls that people were making to one another on that day. And someone who had been gathering a lot of those recordings together took note of something. They said that you didn’t hear people urging their loved ones to take care of some material things and temporal matters. Rather, you usually heard them simply say, “I love you.”
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So; that event was the pivotal event of our lifetime. It was a day of unspeakable evil, horror and loss. But it was also a day on which we began to hear a growing body of stories of sacrifice and love that still inspire us even now.
But 9/11 was our pivotal event. In all humility, we have to recognize that there have been others. Our parents and grandparents from a generation ago felt that way about the Friday of November 22, 1963, when President Kennedy was assassinated—and about the troubled decade of the ’60s that followed. A few generations further back, it was December 7, 1941 at Pearl Harbor. Another generation beyond that would have marked time by October 29, 1929—”Black Tuesday” and the beginning of the Great Depression. Another generation before that might have thought back to June 1918, and to be beginning of what some have called the deadliest natural disaster in recorded human history—the Spanish Flu pandemic that killed nearly a million of our nation’s people. Still further back, another generation might have measured life as either “before” or “after” the War Between the States.
All if these dates, and the lived that were irreversibly changed by them, need to be remembered by us. But it has set me to thinking; What would God—who sees all of human history in one glance—consider to be the pivotal event of human history? At first, I was tempted to say that it would be the birth of His Son Jesus Christ into the world. That, truly, is a pivotal event like no other. But after thinking about it, I realized that even that pivotal event was made necessary by another.
If you would turn in you Bible to Romans 5:12-21, I’d like to share with you what I believe God would look upon as the most pivotal event in human history. This passage not only shows us the tragic event from which all other tragic events in human history have sprung forth—including 9/11; but also shows how God, in the midst of it all, has called out to humanity in its anguish and misery and said, “I love you.”
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Now; in this New Testament book of Romans, Paul the apostle had been setting forth the gospel that he preached. The grand theme of this gospel is “justification by faith”—that is, that all members of the human family are guilty as sinners before a holy God and are all in need of salvation; and that men and women are graciously declared righteous in God’s sight as a free gift—not through their good deeds, but only through their faith in what Jesus did on the cross.
And in the middle of setting forth this doctrine of “justification by faith”—in the latter half of chapter five—Paul, as it were, digresses for a moment; and expresses his wonder at the greatness of what God has done in the light of the tragedy of our need.
In verses 12-21 he writes;
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:12-21).
If you’ll look at the beginning of this passage, at verses 12-14, I believe you find what God would say is the pivotal event in human history—the single event from which all of human sorrows have sprung forth, and because of which He Himself has acted in love. Those verses tell us of . . .
1. THE TRAGIC EVENT OF THE FALL (vv. 12-14).
Look at how Paul begins: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned . . .” And in this, Paul is pointing our attention back to Genesis 3; and to the story of humanity’s fall in Adam.
After God had created Adam in perfection, and placed him in a perfect environment, He told him, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). But the Bible goes on to tell us the terrible story:
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings (Genesis 3:1-7).
Now; you may have noticed that Adam and Eve didn’t physically die that day. But an immediate death nevertheless did occur. They immediately became separated from God who had made them for a relationship with Himself. God called out to them, but they hid themselves from him; and soon afterward, God declared Adam and his offspring to be in a state of cursedness before Him. Adam also began to experience a relational separation from creation, because he would no longer be able to care for the land with ease. Instead, it would bring forth thorns and thistles, and he would have to eat his food by the sweat of his brow. What’s more, humankind began to experience a relational separation within itself. Do you remember the next thing that happened? Adam’s son Cain slew his brother Abel. Murder began to show itself in the human story—and has remained an aspect of the story ever since. Each member of humankind now became subject to physical death. Adam’s sin set the spread of human death into motion. Eventually, Adam, and his wife Eve, and all their offspring—all the way up to even you and me—would eventually experience death. What a devastatingly pivotal event!
In our day, as you know, the story of our first parents in Genesis is treated as a myth. It’s commonly thought that modern science has made it impossible for intelligent people to treat it as anything but a fable. But the fact is that modern science has done nothing of the kind. Jesus Christ spoke of it as real history. And clearly, so does the apostle Paul. Humanity truly began with just one man and one woman; and they sinned against the God who made them; and because of the fact that we were in them when they sinned, the curse of their sin—and the consequence of death—has spread to every one of us. The fall of humankind in Adam is the most empirically verifiable event in human history. It is proven every day. It explains why you and I sin. It explains why people die. It explains every evil act that has ever occurred in the history of humanity—including 9/11. It is the pivotal event in human history.
Paul spoke further in this morning’s passage of the time—later in human history—when God gave His righteous laws—summarized in the Ten Commandments—to mankind through Moses, and said, “For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law . . .” (v. 13). Sin was not a breaking of the law of Moses, because the law had not been given yet. No one else had received a law like the one Adam had broken—that is, not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. After all, no one else could ever again break that law because our first parents were driven from the garden. But it’s evident that the consequence of the curse of sin abode on all of Adam’s offspring, because they all die. As Paul goes on to say; “Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come” (v. 14).
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What a truly pivotal event the fall of mankind in Adam was. It explains everything—even the terrible death and destruction we remember from ten years ago. Because of Adam’s sin, death has truly reigned.
But do you notice the tiny glimmer of hope that Paul hints at in verse 14?—that Adam was “a type of Him who was to come”? This is pointing our attention back to the promise that God made in the garden. After our first parents had sinned, God told the serpent, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Right after humanity’s fall, God promised that the woman would have a “Seed”—an offspring. He would come forth as a member of humanity, and as a true offspring of Adam—not however as the Seed of Adam, but of the woman. And yet, it would be this promised Seed who would crush the head of the serpent. The serpent would bruise Him on the heel—a painful strike, but not a fatal one; and He would crush the serpent’s head—a final and fatal blow! This is speaking of the victory that our Lord Jesus Christ won for us on the cross. As Paul wrote elsewhere,
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons (Genesis 4:4-5).
And all of this now points us—in the midst of this most tragic, most pivotal of all human events—to . . .
2. GOD’S MERCIFUL ACT OF LOVE (vv. 15-19).
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to take human flesh upon Himself. He came to the rescue of fallen humanity—from within humanity itself—by becoming, as it were, a ‘second Adam’.
As we read on, we find that Paul lays out the glories of this act of love in contrast to the sad fall of Adam. He says that what Jesus did for us is like what Adam did to us—but makes it clear that, though it’s similar, it’s also dramatically different. He writes;
But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ (vv. 15-17).
How are Adam and Jesus alike? Both are solitary members of humanity who brought a pivotal impact upon the whole rest of humanity through one single act. All of humanity is summed up as being in relation to the single act of either one of them. But the differences between them that follow from those similarities are dramatic!
Look at these verses a little more closely. They first describe a difference in respect to the nature of the actions of Adam and Jesus. One’s action is called “the free gift”; and the others’ is called “the offense”—and there’s a world of difference between those two things! “For if by the one man’s offense”—that is, the offense of Adam—”many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many” (v. 15).
They’re also different with respect to the spiritual consequences of their actions. As Paul says, “the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense”—that is, the act of Adam—”resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses”—that is, the free gift of atonement for sin through the act of Jesus Christ—”resulted in justification” (v. 16).
And they’re different in respect to the final outcome of those two actions. Paul says that, by Adam’s offense, “death reigned through the one”. What a dreadful outcome! We can see that outcome played out in human history from then on. Death “reigned” through Adam’s act. But as a result of Jesus’ faithful sacrifice for us as the ‘second Adam’—look at it carefully, dear Christian brothers and sisters!—we “reign”! “[M]uch more”, Paul writes, “those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ” (v. 17).
What Paul left off saying in verse 12, he now picks up in verses 18-19; and he summarizes it all by writing;
Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous (vv. 18-19).
Do you see what God has done in response to the most pivotal event in human history? In the midst of all the devastation and destruction that Adam’s sin caused—in the midst of all the death and misery and pain and loss that his one act of sin brought upon us—God has called out to fallen mankind and said, “I love you.” He has sent His Son to be the ‘second Adam’, through whom the devastating curse of the first Adam’s fall is reversed, the horrible reign of death is brought to an end, and the wonderful gift of righteousness and eternal life are freely made available to whoever wishes to receive it.
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Now; you might have noticed that, back in verse 13, Paul said, “For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” A man may drive on a road faster than his conscience tells him that he should—even to the point at which he might be killed or kill someone else; but until the civil authorities post a sign that says, “Speed Limit 35”, the guilt of driving faster than he should is not imputed to him. But afterwards, he’ll be pulled over and charged with being a “sinner” against the law.
So then; why, after mankind fell in Adam, did God post up His moral “speed limit signs”? Why did He even bother to give the law to fallen humanity, when He knew fallen humanity could not keep such a law? Paul answers that question in the last two verses; and through it, shows . . .
3. THE RESULTING ABUNDANCE OF GRACE (vv. 20-21).
Amazingly, Paul writes, “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound” (v. 20). In other words, God gave His holy law to fallen humanity—already brought down by the offense of Adam—so that even though they may not have sinned in the same likeness of the offense of Adam, they nevertheless all thus become sinners who are as guilty before God as Adam! In fact, the law entered that “the offense” (note that it’s “offense” in the singular—that is, the one offense committed by Adam) “might abound” to all the rest of his offspring!
It may sound as if Paul had made a mistake in what he wrote; but the fact is that he truly meant what he said! The law was actually brought in by God in order to make even bigger sinners out of all of us! It’s not that the law itself is bad; because that would be a blasphemous thing to say. The law is an expression of God’s own holy character. It describes what He Himself is like. We should always honor it and obey it. But it’s the sin in us that rebels against that righteous law of God—rather than the law that forbids the sin—that is thus proven to be sinful. And this turns all of us into needy sinners who need desperately to be saved.
And that’s exactly what God was wanting to make happen in bringing in the law. He, as it were, graciously pushed all of us in a moral corner of condemnation before the Ten Commandments, so that we would have no choice but to cry out for His saving grace. In Galatians 3:19, Paul thinks back to that promise that God made in the garden and writes; “What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made.” He goes on in verses 21-24 to write;
Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:21-24).
And here’s were the greatness of God’s love is shown toward us. Even though the curse of Adam’s devastating act has brought death upon all of us—and even though now, because of the law which we cannot keep, we are turned into helpless sinners who are buried so deeply in the guilt of sin that we can never pull ourselves out—God’s grace through Jesus Christ is more than sufficient to restore us to Himself and make us righteous in His sight! It is, in fact, super-abundant! As Paul goes on to say, “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (vv. 20b-21).
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I mentioned earlier that there were a whole lot of stories of great courage and heroism and love that we would not have known had the terrible evil of 9/11 not occurred. But there’s also a sense in which the overwhelming greatness of the grace of God toward us would not have been known if Adam had not sinned.
Some folks have asked why it is, if God is all-powerful and all-good, that He allowed Adam to fall and bring such great misery on the human race. And I’m not sure that I have the wisdom to answer such a thing anywhere near to satisfaction. But as I have learned to look at it all from the standpoint of the grace of God that was brought about as a result, I can say wholeheartedly that I’m very grateful that it happened.
Let me explain. If the sovereign God had not allowed the fall, then Adam would not have sinned; and he would have forever remained in the state of bliss that he enjoyed while in the garden. And if He had remained in that state of bliss, we would not have fallen in sin with Him. And if we had not fallen in sin with him, we would not have needed a Savior. But because I—along with all the rest of humanity—am a helpless sinner in need of mercy, God has sent His own Son Jesus Christ to be my Savior! And because Jesus was born into the human race that came from Adam, He was able to take all the sins of Adam’s offspring on Himself and pay the debt for them. And because I have trusted in Jesus and my debt is now fully paid, God has placed all the righteousness of His Son Jesus upon me through faith! And because I am now—by faith—as righteous in God’s sight as His own Son Jesus, I am destined to dwell forever in the Father’s house as one of His own children! And because I am one of His children, I will share forever the inheritance that He has given to His Son Jesus! And because I am destined to share in Jesus’ eternal inheritance, I will sit on the throne with Him and reign forever with Him! And because I will reign forever with Him, I will forever be a partaker of His heavenly glory! And because I will share forever in the glory of the Son of God, I am thus raised to a position—through grace—that is immeasurably greater than the glory Adam would have enjoyed in the garden had he never sinned!
As we remember today the tragedy of 9/11—and act of evil that came about ultimately because of Adam’s sin—let’s be sure we remember it against the backdrop of a joyful thankfulness for the grace of God showered upon us through Jesus Christ! Let’s make sure we do so by being rightly related by faith to ‘the second Adam’.
9/11 is a product of the fall of man. But through Jesus Christ, God has brought to our fallen race an abundance of grace!