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Much More!
Romans 5:15-21
From the first Adam to the
last Adam [Christ] we see all we lost in sin and all we gained thanks to our
Savior! One man makes all the
difference.
What do we gain?
"Much more" it says, over and again...we gain much
more in Christ than we ever lost in Adam.
The disobedience of one was erased in the obedience of another.
Can the fallen angels be
saved? Why or why not?
No! They are not a race.
They sinned individually, were judged individually, and have no
federal head, so no individual can save them.
But you and I were lost in Adam, our representative and federal head,
and can be saved in Christ.
From Adam we inherit sin,
death, and judgment, so what is this "much more" we gain in Christ?
1.
The redemptive act of Christ was much greater than the condemning act
of Adam.
v. 15 God's grace is more
powerful than man's sin.
Even though man's sin had
far reaching effects, what Christ did is much more far reaching.
For instance:
When a person gets saved their spirit is quickened.
It comes alive. They were
dead in trespasses and sins, and their spirit was dead, but being born
again, they come spiritually alive.
But it goes farther than that, because not only did I receive
spiritual life when I got saved, but I also received the life of God,
eternal life!
Also, at salvation we are
restored to the state of Adam's original innocence.
But it goes farther than that, because Christ shares with us the full
righteousness of Christ! My sins
were traded for His righteousness, so God doesn't just see me as a sinner
who has been forgiven, but justified, just as if I'd never done those
things!
Additionally, the power of
Adam's sin can be broken. Jesus
breaks the power of sin and death, but the opposite is not true...sin and
death cannot break the power of Jesus!
The condemnation of Adam's sin is reversible, but the redemptive act
of Christ cannot be undone! The
effect of Adam's in is permanent unless it is nullified by Jesus, but the
effect of Jesus' act on our behalf is permanent on us who believe and is not
subject to reversal.
That's why it bothers me
when people talk about eternal security like it is just a peripheral issue.
"What's the difference between your beliefs and that church's
beliefs?" We answer, they
believe you can lose your salvation and we don't...that's the only real
difference. We mention it
lightly like it is some insignificant peripheral issue, but it is not.
If you say a person can
lose their salvation you are saying that Adam's condemning act is more
powerful than Christ's redemptive act, and can override it.
So much for this 'much more' passage in Romans 5!
God's grace is greater than
all our sin!
2.
What Christ did is much greater in its extent than what Adam did.
v. 16 God hates sin so much that
it only took one sin to condemn the entire human race and separate us from
His presence. That's how holy
God is. It's not that it was
such a heinous sin, he probably went on to do far worse in man's eyes, but
in God's eyes, no sin can appear for even a moment without justice having to
be done! Let this soak in...that
it only took one little sin to plunge the entire human race into darkness.
But this verse reveals that
there is only one thing greater than God's hatred for sin...and that is His
love for sinners!
Think of how you feel
toward a mother like Casey Anthony, or what despicable feelings you have
toward a cannibal like Jeffrey Dahlmer, and multiply those feelings times
infinity and that's how God feels about sin.
Then consider that when Christ saw us in our lost condition he would
come and take one of those sins upon His own self...but not just one, but
all of yours, and all of mine, and everybody's...He literally became sin,
the thing He hated the most.
Christ's redemptive act was
far greater in extent than Adam's sin.
3.
What Christ did is much greater in efficacy than what Adam did.
v. 17 Efficacy = the capacity to
produce a desired result.
When Adam and Eve sinned,
what was the desired result? To
be like God! They didn't take a
bite because they wanted to die, but they wanted to know what they were
missing...why can't I have this fruit, what are you keeping from me?
Did their sin produce the desired result?
No, the opposite. They
became less like God.
But when Jesus died on the
cross, what was the desired result?
That those He died for would receive Him and reign in life by
Him...did it work? Yes!
It's not just God's job to get us saved, but to keep us saved, and in
efficacy it achieves its desired result.
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it
until the day of Jesus Christ:
4.
What Christ did is much greater in essence than what Adam did.
vv. 18-19
These 2 verses summarize the analogy of Adam and Christ.
And the essence of Adam was disobedience, and the essence of Christ
was obedience. But this not only
means from a legal standpoint, but it means that if you are still in Adam,
your whole life is characterized by disobedience, but in Christ your life
will be characterized by obedience.
What is the essence of your life?
Some mock and say, if I
believed I was eternally secure I'd just get saved and go do anything I
wanted. What a gross
mischaracterization of salvation.
If you've been truly saved you will repent of sin and try to take on
a new essence.
5.
What Christ did is much greater in energy than what Adam did.
vv. 20-21
sin abounded, but grace abounded much more!
"When sin hit the high
water mark, grace completely flooded the entire world!"
And that grace was not a
late addition to God's plan...it was in His heart from the very beginning.
We call the OT the Law, but it's all about grace too!
Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and so did Adam.
Even his removal from the garden was an act of God's grace.
How so? If allowed to
remain he would have lived forever in his fallen state, and never had
redemption complete!
Adam came from the earth,
but Jesus is the Lord from heaven.
Adam was tested in a
garden, surrounded by beauty and love, but Jesus was tested in a wilderness
and died surrounded by ugly hatred.
Adam was a thief cast out
of paradise, but Jesus turned to a thief and said, today you'll be with me
in paradise!
The OT is the book of the
generations of Adam, and it ends with a curse.
Malachi 4:6
And he shall turn the heart of the
fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
The NT is the book of the
generations of Jesus Christ, and it ends with 'no more curse.'
Revelation 22:3
And there shall be no more
curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his
servants shall serve him:
Aren't you glad God's grace is greater than man's sin? Are you in Christ, or still in Adam?
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