A sermon from Brent Kercheville.
We have been looking at Romans 5 in which we read seven “much more” or “more than that” statements. The apostle Paul wants to show us what we have in Christ. In the first eleven verses of Romans 5 we learned that since we have been justified, we have peace with God, we have obtained access into grace in which we stand, we rejoice in our sufferings, we will be saved from wrath, we will be saved by his life, and we rejoice in our reconciliation. In Romans 5:12-21 we are going to see three more “much more” proclamations and we are going to see the hope of the gospel and the gift of the gospel available through Jesus our Lord. It has been my goal in our series in Romans this year to keep these messages simple and clear. I did preach line by line through Romans some years ago and those messages are available on our website. Romans 5:12-21 is considered a complicated text and I want to make sure that we do not miss the critical message of this paragraph. So we are going to observe some false concepts that are taught in this paragraph. But my greater focus will be on what this scripture is teaching us about the gift of the gospel of Jesus.
Introducing Sin (Romans 5:12-14)
We need to begin in Romans 5:12. Sin came into the world through one man. Before Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, there was perfection. God created the world and everything was good. But sin and death came into the world when Adam sinned, according to verse 12. Friends, one of the important messages of this paragraph is that the whole world changed when Adam sinned. Everything changed when Adam sinned. One just needs to read Genesis 3 and consider the curses that are given due to sin to appreciate this. Not only do we see the world cursed, but God had made a critical promise about what would happen if Adam and Eve sinned. In Genesis 2:17 God told Adam that if he ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die. Adam did sin. The power of sin entered the world and the consequence of sin, the power of death, also entered the world. Adam’s sin changed everything. Adam’s sin brought the curse into the world. Adam’s sin brought death into the world.
Now the rest of Romans 5:12 is very important. Sin came into the world through one man and death came through sin. Further, death spread to all people because all sinned. Why has death spread to all people? Death has spread to all people because all people do the same thing that Adam did. We would like to think that we are so different from Adam. We would like to think that if we were in the garden with God and God told us to not eat from that tree, then we would not eat it. But the point Paul is making is that we are not any different than Adam. Adam sinned and death was introduced into the world. We cannot miss that Adam and Eve became separated from God because of their sin. God removes them from the garden, removing them from his presence and from the tree of life that was in the garden. Paul does not say that death has spread to us because we are innocent and Adam condemned us. This would have been the perfect opportunity to state that point if that was the point. Paul could have said that death spread to all people because Adam sinned. But the words of Paul are clear. Death spread to all people because all people sinned. Paul says that sin and death were introduced into the world through Adam and we followed Adam. Death spread to us and we are also separated from God because we sinned just like he did.
I want to take a moment here to observe why this is so critically important to understand. Paul is going to state this point again in Romans 5:18-19. Paul is saying what happened through Adam to put his action in parallel with Christ. Look at verse 18. One sin led to the condemnation of all people so also one act of righteousness leads to justification and life. What Adam did and what Christ did are being held together in parallel. Look at verse 19. One man’s disobedience made many sinners so also one man’s obedience made many righteous. If Paul is saying that regardless of our actions we are all sinners because of Adam, then regardless of our actions all are justified and saved by Christ’s actions. Do you see the problem? Paul cannot be saying that the whole world is in sin because of Adam because the parallel would mean that the whole world is saved universally because of Christ. Very few read the scriptures to mean that the whole world is already saved universally without any faith or acts of obedience on the part of anyone.
This is why Paul’s explanation is so important to understanding the discussion. Adam introduced sin and death into the world and death spread to all people because we have followed Adam. We have sinned just like Adam did. When Paul proclaimed in Romans 3 that there is no one righteous and that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, his point was not there are no righteous people because of Adam. There are no righteous people because of our own actions. There is no one to blame for our sins but ourselves. We ourselves have sinned. The whole world changed because of Adam and we followed in his footsteps. We are under the condemnation of sin and death because of what we have done to ourselves. Death was reigning in every single person, even before the Law of Moses was given, because everyone has sinned against God (cf. Romans 5:13-14).
The Gift of Grace (Romans 5:15-19)
Therefore, God would do something to reverse this situation in which sin and death are reigning in the world. We must appreciate the grace of God here. God could look down and say that we are doomed because we have followed in the footsteps of Adam, rather than learning from Adam’s error. But God is going to solve our sin problem. Look at Romans 5:15-19. Paul makes this point in a number of ways to make sure we clearly see the contrast. In verse 15, Adam’s sin brought death but much more did God’s grace brought the gift of grace in Christ. In verse 16, Adam’s sin brought condemnation but Christ’s righteousness brought justification to the world. In verse 17, because of Adam’s sin death reigned but because of Christ’s act life reigns. In verse 18, Adam’s sin resulted in condemnation but Christ’s righteous act resulted in justification and life. Verse 19, Adam’s disobedience made many sinners but Christ’s obedience made many righteous. The whole point of this paragraph is to show that Christ has sufficiently solved the problem of sin and death. Everything that Adam did through his one act of disobedience has been overturned by what Christ has done through his one act of obedience.
Now I want to zero back in on a point that I made earlier so that we see the parallel made here in this paragraph. Death spread to all people because all people have sinned, according to Romans 5:12. But look at Romans 5:17 now. Who are reigning in life? Verse 17 says those who are no longer under the rule of sin and death but are now reigning in life are those who “receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness.” Just as there was an action on our part to join ourselves with Adam (we all sinned like he did) there is also an action on our part to reign in life with Christ. We must receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. It is not his point right here to explain how we do this. But the implication of the text is clear: we need to join ourselves to Christ. We joined ourselves to Adam because all sinned. Now we need to join ourselves to Christ. Read Romans 6 and you will see how we are joined to Christ. The New Testament is filled with scriptures that proclaim that we need to belong to Christ and be in Christ (cf. Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 2:11-12; Ephesians 1:3-7; Philippians 3:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17). The point I am making is it is not that death spread to all people universally without their own actions and it is not that life has spread to all people universally without their own actions. Death spread to all people because we sinned like Adam and are joined to him. Now grace and righteousness can spread to all through Jesus Christ when we are joined to him.
Grace Abounding (Romans 5:20-21)
Now we need to consider how Paul ends this idea with the great hope of the gospel. Look at Romans 5:20 and you will notice that the introduction of the Law of Moses did not fix anything. The history of Israel is a great testimony to this truth. Israel was given the Law of Moses and how did they do with that special privilege? They find themselves under the same condemnation as everyone else because sin increased. The Law of Moses did not stop the sinning. The prophets would often be outraged to note how the actions of the people of Israel would be worse than those of the Gentile world. Law reveals our sins. Law shows us how far short of the glory of God we have fallen. The Law clearly shows that there is no one who is righteous, not a single person. But look at the rest of verse 20. Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. We have a song in our song books that proclaims this amazing truth. The chorus ends with the words, “Grace that is greater than all our sins.” Look at verse 21. Because of Christ, sin does not have to have the final say. The reign of sin and death have come to an end if you are in Christ. Grace reigns through righteousness leading to eternal life.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV)
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. (Hebrews 2:14-15 ESV)
Friends, Jesus was stronger than the devil. Jesus destroyed the power of sin and death and gave us the victory. We are no longer enslaved to sin. We are no longer under the power of sin and death. Our chains have been broken through the blood of Christ. Grace has abounded all the more and covers our sins. This is the gift of the gospel. The well of grace is greater than the rule of sin and death.
We are supposed to hear these words and be convicted to want to leave the rule of sin and live in reign of grace. We want to leave the realm of darkness and come into the kingdom of the marvelous light of his Son. We want to no longer be in Adam. We want to be in Christ. We want to belong to him so that we can have the grace that is greater than all our sins. We want to be set free from the power of sin. We want to live in rule of righteousness. You need to leave the life of sin because that is following in the footsteps of Adam. Leave the life of sin and follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Join yourself to Christ, have your sins washed away, be set free from the power of sin, and be heirs of the promises of God.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. (Galatians 3:25-29 ESV)