THE REIGN OF SIN AND GRACE
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Thirteen)
Recommended Reading - Romans 5:19-21.
When we study this letter we need to be in the same
frame of mind as Paul was when he wrote to the Christians in Rome. We
should not have preconceived ideas; rather, we should try to clearly
understand what Paul is explaining. A number of very important issues are
covered in this letter to the Romans. While studying these scriptures many
experience a problem of feeling guilty. We need to understand that
according to the New Testament, we are guilty only if we willfully and
deliberately reject the gift of God, which is Jesus Christ. It is at that
point that we become responsible.
I. Paul ad's another dimension to our problem and to our solution.
· We see in Romans
5:19, that Adam's sin not only brings the condemnation of death, but
it also made us sinners.
· The same words
are used when describing how we are in Adam, as are used when describing
how we are in Christ.
· No human being
will be in the literal family of God, apart from the saving grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ. We are made sinners by Adam's sin, therefore we are
born sinners. Our sins are the fruit of what we already are. We commit
sins because we are already sinners.
· When Paul
addresses the Christians in Corinth, he refers to them as saints. Their
behavior was anything but saintly. Paul called them saints because in
Christ they were already righteous. The righteousness that God produces
in us, is the evidence or fruit of what we are in Christ.
· We are
righteous because of the righteousness of Christ. We ourselves are
not yet made righteous. We will be made righteous at the second
coming of Christ, when this corruption puts on incorruption. Then and
only then will all who accept Christ be made righteous. Until then the
just shall live by faith. Justification and sanctification are, by faith
alone.
II. Paul proves an important point in Romans 5:20.
· The question
often asked is, what did Paul mean when he said the Law entered? God
introduced the Law to Moses and the Law entered the promise. The promise
was one that was made to Abraham.
· God's Law is
eternal; it did not just enter into God's mind. God introduces the Law
as a part or a qualification of the promise He was making to Israel. It
was the first time God wrote the Law in a codified form.
· The Law and
principles of God are eternal and will never change. God's Sabbath has
always existed, and will always exist. God did not give the Law as an
extra requirement to faith.
· The Law entered
that the offense might abound. When you first read that, you might think
that God gave the Law to increase sin. In the scripture the word offense
is singular; therefore, the word offense refers to Adam's sin. Adam's
sin made us sinners. God gave the Law to prove that Adam's sin made the
human race sinners. Sinners all produce sin; the Law tells us that we
are sinners. Paul stated in Romans 7:7, that he did not know sin
except for the Law. God is not a sinner. We are sinners by nature and
the Law shows us that to be true.
III. Christ learned obedience by the things He suffered.
· Christ learned
obedience because through His humanity, the part of Him that was human
had a different will than God. What Christ wanted, as a human, was to do
those things that are important to the flesh. Christ chose not to do
that; He learned obedience.
· The Logos never
had a problem with obedience. The nature of the Logos was the same as
God for the Logos was God. The Logos naturally did the Law because the
Law was a manifestation of the nature of, or the mind of, and the heart
and core of God. There was no pull; it was natural.
· Once the Logos
became a human being, He then learned obedience by suffering. The
opposite end of that is we have not learned what it is like to naturally
be God. We have learned and only know a sinful nature.
· God opened our
eyes to the Law to show us that we are sinners, so that we may accept
His grace, which is His Son Jesus Christ. The Law did not make us sin.
The Law simply took the lid off of our self respectability, and showed
us what we are like inside.
· The only way
that our nature can change is at a rebirth. The rebirth does nor occur
through an emotional tickling in your heart. The rebirth occurs, as was
described to Nicodemus, in stating that: what is of the flesh is flesh,
and what is of the Spirit is Spirit. John 3:6.
IV. What God did in Christ was super abundance.
· We see this
point in the second half of Romans 5:20. God not only canceled
Adam's sin, He canceled our sin's, past, present, and future.
· God not only
canceled sin, He brought in the verdict of justification to life for all
men. God also condemned sin in the flesh. Where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound.
· In view of
these points, Paul states in Romans 5:21, Adam brought into this
world a rein of sin. We were born under that rein. If we remain in that
condition, we will die eternally. We cannot change that fact. Paul says
that we do not need to remain there, because there is a new reign
established in Christ Jesus. If we move to that reign, letting
righteousness be produced in us, the end will be eternal life. That
is a tremendous and awesome blessing.
· Paul clarifies
a point that is not clear in Romans 5:19-21, by using two terms
concerning Christ, that are found in I Corinthians 15:45-47. One
term, applied to Christ, is that He is the last Adam. Christ is also
referred to as the second man. These two terms are very significant. As
the last Adam, Christ gathered to Himself all that is of the first Adam.
That is every single one of us. Christ gathered all mankind. Christ did
away with the Adamic race at the cross. The life of Adam had to die.
V. The Law was not affected one way or the other by Christ.
· The Law was not
altered, changed or sidetracked by Christ. Christ simply fulfilled the
Law; Christ did not end the Law.
· At the
resurrection the human race will be raised in Christ with a new life.
The life will be eternal and immortal. I John 5:11, explains that
we will be raised with eternal life in Jesus Christ.
· Christ rose
with a new human race who were redeemed from the old. In this sense Paul
can say in II Corinthians 5:17, that if any man is in Christ, he
is a new creation.
· Adam's sin
brought death to mankind. Christ's obedience brought the gift of grace.
We will rule with Christ for eternity. Christ's perfect righteousness
brought the justification to life to all humanity.
VI. We have the opportunity to be in the family of God and to live
eternally.
· We will be made
righteous with a glorified nature, at the second coming of Christ. We
will literally be born again.
· We must apply
this message to our lives. There are three very important points
relative to this.
1.) Every baby is born under the reign of sin,
condemnation, and death, because of the fall of Adam. If we continue
to live under this reign, we will end up with eternal death. There is
no reason why we should remain under this reign, because Christ has
made a way of escape. To deliberately remain under this reign, is to
ask for eternal death. We can no longer blame Adam, as we are no
longer lost because of Adam's sin - that was canceled by Christ. We
are lost if we deliberately, willfully and persistently reject the
gift of God. Repentance is the process through which this change takes
place. In the judgment, the real issue is not the sin question, but
the Son question.
In the judgment our sin's will not be reviewed and
discussed; what will be discussed is whether we are in the Son of God
- Jesus Christ.
2.) You are born in Adam, but you cannot choose to
remain in Adam and at the same time accept, by faith, to be in Christ.
These two men represent two opposite camps. One represents sin; one
represent righteousness. One represents death; one represents life. We
must change our position from Adam to Christ. Our citizenship is in
heaven. We live in the world but we are no longer of it. We should not
participate in it and in it's ways. We cannot be in Adam and in Christ
at the same time.
3.) Our eternal destiny depends upon which humanity
we have chosen. When the Bible uses the word unbelief as a sin, or in
the New testament as the unpardonable sin, it means a deliberate
choosing to remain in Adam and in the reign of sin.
· After the
gospel has come to us, and if we deliberately choose to remain in Adam,
the motto would be: eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you will
die. Do not expect to enjoy sin and be in the family of God at the
same time. You must come out of sin. Belief is willfully choosing to be
in Christ and the reign of righteousness. The master we have
chosen, we must serve. That master is either sin unto death, or
righteousness unto life.
God put us in Christ over 2000 years ago. He rewrote our
history in Christ; in Him we stand perfect. God looks at us as if we had
never sinned. We have a new life, a new position, and, a new destiny. God
says, will you please accept it? If we say yes, Jesus will say to us what
He said in John 5:24; we will pass from death to life. Build your
Christianity upon this platform. Christianity is not joining a
denomination or becoming a church member, that will not save you.
Christianity is the truth of baptism; the truth is, dying and being buried
in Christ. Then you are resurrected to newness of life in Christ. Choose
Christ to be your righteousness, your life, your savior and your hope. We
must build upon the platform of - not Adam but Christ! |
The Reign of Sin and
Grace 