Morning Message Text: Romans 5: 12-19
Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.
14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.
19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Morning Message
Our focus this Lenten season is on God’s Amazing Grace. If you are paying attention to your Lenten devotionals you will notice that we are celebrating one of the all time favorite hymns of the church. This year is the 250th anniversary of this hymn written by John Newton, a former sea captain. There are many definitions for the word grace, but during Lent I would like to focus on just two of them. First, grace is: The favor and love of God. And second, grace is: Mercy; Clemency. These are some of the attributes of God. God is Love, full of mercy and grace; he is lenient and compassionate toward us. What makes God’s grace towards us so amazing is that we are so undeserving of it. We don’t like to think of ourselves that way. Most people would rather think that they deserve much better than what they receive from this life, but the truth is, from God’s perspective and from a righteous perspective, we are blessed beyond anything that we deserve. To fully appreciate God’s grace we have to see ourselves through God’s eyes and in light of his nature. God’s Word is the closest thing we have to God’s heart and true nature. Romans 3: 23-24: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his Grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Think about this first and foremost today. God’s grace is not in question, our acceptance of it is.
Why do we need God’s grace? I am a pretty good person. I try to do what is right. I do my best to live a good life and please God with my good works. If you ask anyone, okay here is a challenge for you. The next person that you meet, even if it is a family member, ask them if they think of themselves as a good person. The answer that you will get will sound something like this: “Yes, for the most part; well I am not as bad as some, compared to most; yes, I am a good person.” Here is your follow up question. Are you good compared to God? When Jesus was called good teacher he replied, “Why do you call me good? There are none who are good, only God.” Here is why. God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a perfect environment. They had everything that they needed and were given all freedom to enjoy life and fellowship with God. There was no work, no struggle, no worry, no everyday hassles of life to weigh them down, just a beautiful garden, paradise for eternity. God only gave them one rule. You already know what that rule was. Weather it was an apple, or some other type of fruit doesn’t really matter. Pay attention for a moment, because many still miss this today. There are only two choices here and there are only two choices in our lives today; we either obey God’s word, or we disobey. Everyone thinks that there was something magical about the fruit. It wasn’t the fruit that opened their minds and their hearts to sin; it was their disobedience. Once God was no longer the focal point of their lives, they could see and feel the sin all around them. It’s the same for us today.
Why do we need grace? “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.” Now many might think to themselves: This is not fair; why do all of us have to suffer and pay for what Adam and Eve did? Some day maybe you can ask them why, but I think if we look at our own lives and short comings before God, we will see that we have fallen short in so many ways. Yes, sin came into the world through the first people and there is nothing that we can do about that. But God, in his grace, gives all of mankind a way out from under the curse of sin and death. This always amazes me about human nature. We would rather point fingers at the mistakes of others even when the solution to our problem of sin is right in front of us. Christ, in his obedience, rectified the wrong Adam did in his disobedience. Christ is not Adam’s successor but his Savior. They are alike only in the sense that both had universal significance: Adam for death, Christ for life. The key is much more. Whatever humankind has inherited from Adam, they have much more in Christ. You have inherited a sinful nature, but thanks to the grace of God, you can not only overcome it, you can defeat it.
Christ’s one act of salvation was far superior to Adam’s one act of rebellion. That the one single misdeed should be answered by judgment, this is perfectly understandable; that the accumulated sins and guilt of all the ages should be answered by God’s free gift, this is the miracle of miracles. Christ’s reign in life is greater that Adam’s reign in death. Christ’s obedience is greater than Adam’s disobedience. The world wants us to believe that our sins are not that bad and that we shouldn’t take sin so seriously. When we talk of repentance, the world and even some in the church say, why humble yourself in that way? The church has cheapened God’s grace by acting like we don’t need forgiveness. Are we too proud to repent and admit that we have failed as Christ’s church? We have this wonderful gift of God’s grace, but it’s only truly a gift if we unwrap it and apply it to our lives.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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