Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ Romans 5:12-21 Every one of us will face death eventually. Why? How did death enter the picture of mankind and what can be done about it Vs. 12 Sin made its way into mankind through the first man Adam. Adam and Eve were real people with a lasting effect on mankind. Understanding Genesis 3 is foundational to Romans 5. Without Genesis 3, Romans 5 would not be needed. Genesis 3 is where sin entered in it lays a foundation for Romans 5. Through one man sin entered the world. Adam would be responsible for The Fall, not Eve. Eve was deceived but Adam sinned with full knowledge; instead of stopping sin, he embraced sin. The consequences would affect not only Adam and Eve, but all of humanity. The effect is what God warned Adam and Eve of before they chose to rebel death through sin and thus death spread to all men. 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 2:17 (NKJV) When man sinned against God, death entered the world. Death is the consequence (effect) of sin. It affects everyone. Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. Hebrews 2:14-15 (NKJV) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NKJV) 1
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV) Death and sin are connected. Death spread to all men, because all have sinned. A sinless man would not be subject to death. Death is the proof (evidence) that we have a sinful nature that was passed on by the first sinner Adam. Humans are mortal subject to death before they commit any sin themselves. Since mortality is the result of sin, it shows that we are made sinners by Adam s sin, not by our own personal sin. David Guzik David s confession of being sinful at birth: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Psalm 51:5 We don t have to teach our children to be bad they do that very well on their own! What happens to a baby who does not come to term or an infant that is too young to understand the concept of salvation that dies? But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. 2 Samuel 12:23 (NKJV) When King David s child died, he had the assurance that he would meet him in heaven. That s the inspired Word of God this could have been kept out of Scripture, but the Lord saw fit to include it. He shall judge the world in righteousness, and He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness. Psalm 9:8 (NKJV) God, the judge of the entire world, will do right. Infants go to heaven, not because they don t have a sinful nature, but because of God s great mercy and grace. Vs. 13-14 2
Paul can hear some objecting, I thought we were sinners because we broke the law? The law only proved to us that we were sinners by nature. Death was present long before the law had been given and we know that death is the outcome of sin; therefore, it was not the presence of the law that made man a sinner. Man was a sinner back in the Garden. The law proved that man could not save himself, nor did the law have the ability to save sinful man. The law was too late and too weak to prevent or save man from sin and death. Between Adam s sin and the law being given to Moses, death was present; thus, the sinful nature had to be present as well. The principle of sin was at work in every human. Adam was a type of who was to come. The word type implies that Adam was a picture, a representation but of who? Vs. 15-18 Paul contrasts Adam s work with the work of Jesus. The word one is used 11 times. We see our identification with Adam and with Christ. The word reign is used 5 times. We see two men Adam and Christ each of them reigning over a kingdom. Finally, the phrase much more is repeated 5 times. The implication here is what we have gained in Christ is much more than what we lost in Adam. Adam in Comparison to Jesus: Adam one man. Jesus one man. Adam committed one offense. Jesus at the cross, one righteous act. Adam his sin brought condemnation. Jesus His righteous act brought righteousness. Adam his sin brought judgment. 3
Jesus His righteous act brought justification. Adam his act brought death. Jesus His act brought life. Adam his act affected all men. Jesus His act affected all men. Paul tells us 3 times in chapter 5 that Christ s gift of life is a free gift. You think he is trying to get his point across? When I say something three times to my kids, it s because I know they have a propensity to forget what I am telling them, so I say it again and again. A gift implies that it must be received. As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him Colossians 2:6 (NKJV) Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. Acts 2:41 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name John 1:12 (NKJV) Vs. 19 Adam polluted us. Jesus purifies us. Adam washed out. Jesus washes us clean. Jon Courson Vs. 20-21 This chapter should change the way we look at the world and each other. Everything wrong in the world today has to do with Adam s sin. In Genesis, before sin entered in, we read that it was good it was very good. When sin entered, Adam s son, Cain, murdered his brother Abel. It did not take long for murder to enter the picture. Then we get to chapter 6 of Genesis: 4
And the Lord said, My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years. Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Genesis 6:3, 5-6 (NKJV) Why? Because of Adam s failure. Knowing this should help us see people differently. Whether it s a solar company that gets away with millions of taxpayer dollars, or a mother who murders her child, or terrorists who fly passenger airplanes into towers killing thousands of people I am no less of a sinner than any of them and it all goes back to Adam. This is why Jesus could look at the crowds and have compassion on them. This is why He could look at the adulterous women and say, Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more. This is why He could look at Jerusalem and say, How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under wings This is why He could say to the thief on the cross, Today you will be with Me in Paradise. This is why He could say on the cross, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. When we believe that through one man came righteousness, justification, and grace, it s then that we will stop striving. We all become the same. In Adam we re all sinners but in the second Adam Jesus Christ we are all made righteous. When we fully understand this we cease trying to prove ourselves to the Lord and instead become worshippers of the Lord. It moves us to lift our hands with gratefulness, to bend our knees in humility. In the midst of a world gone bad, when the heart of the Lord grieved that He had made man, one man stood out: 5
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:8-9 (NKJV) Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The word found in verse 8, in Hebrew, means to take hold of, to acquire, to find. The grace of God was present. Noah had to receive it; he had to open up his heart to the grace of God. Because he did, verse 9 tells us that he was a just man, his life was marked by holiness; he was a man who walked with God. The word walked in verse 9, in Hebrew, means near, nearness, with, or by. In other words, Noah was walking with or near to God. It s like this couple that I see riding up my street once in a while. They ride a tandem bike; he s in the front and she s in the back. At the top of my street they are putting all they have into that ride, peddling with all their might. They re together, there is a nearness; they are in sync with one another. That was Noah. You can go back to Enoch he walked with God same thing. In tandem in unison. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. Revelation 9:6 (NKJV) And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4 (NKJV) And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. Revelation 12:11 (NKJV) but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel 2 Timothy 1:10 (NKJV) 6
By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, and was not found, because God had taken him ; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. Hebrews 11:5 (NKJV) For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit 1 Peter 3:18 (NKJV) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2 (NKJV) For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:21 (NKJV) Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. John 5:24 (NKJV) 7