Month: January 2012

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 32 – Joined with Christ for Eternity

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Last time we went pretty deep into a subject that doesn’t get talked about much, the Federal Headship of Adam, and the Superior Headship of Christ for believers.  I don’t know why pastors don’t talk about the hard things in the Bible.  I am comforted by the words of Christ, who when he was about to be crucified said this to his disciples – John 16:12-13 – “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth”  Now, we know that as believers, the Holy Spirit dwells in us.  So I realize that what we talked about last time was meaty and difficult maybe for some to take in, but we stand or fall on God’s Word as truth.  I am confident that the Spirit will guide you into all truth, even those truths that are difficult. 

Today’s message continues the message from last time, which is my way of saying that it’s not going to be much easier.  That message again was that through Adam, all man has sinned and been condemned to judgment (even before they are physically born)  (Psalm 51:5).  Eveneryone of us is a physical descendant of Adam.  Although we cannot remember it, in God’s eyes, all of humanity was with Adam when He sinned against God (in his loins).  This truth is set up as a comparison to our salvation in Christ.  While none of us were actually on the cross with Jesus, and we cannot remember it, not by the flesh, but by our faith, we were with Christ.  Just as Adam’s sin was counted to us as condemnation and death, Christ’s death through our faith, has given us salvation and life through Him.  Through Christ, the “second Adam”, according to the will of our Heavenly Father, everyone of us has been born again through the Spirit of God.  Much more than that, every blessing that is found in Christ has been promised to us, who are adopted sons and daughters of God.  

Let’s be honest, it’s difficult to take in that everyone is condemned by God before they’re born. If you’re having a hard time with that, and saying “that’s not fair”, I’ve been there, so I’m sympathetic to that reaction.  However, I never promised to preach an easy message, just the Truth from God’s Word.  My exhortation is to look at what happened after Jesus’ sermons.  You’d have thought that thousands would run to Him, but more often than not, He would start a message with a great crowd, but by the end, no one save His disciples would be left.  We must humble ourselves before God, and submit that while we may not understand some things, it is Truth because God has told us it is truth, and then ask/work to see God’s good purposes in it.

Why is all of this talk from Romans 5 about the headship of Adam and the headship of Christ important?  It’s important to understand because it explains so much of the Bible.  Let me talk through a few questions and answers based on this Truth from Romans 5.
Question:  Why was it important that Jesus was born of the Spirit and not physically through Joseph?  Answer from Romans 5 – Because if Jesus would have been born through Joseph, he would have been born a sinner as all of us are, and there is no salvation from sin for a sinner.  There is only salvation through the spotless righteous Lamb of God.
Question:  Why is it important to believe in that everyone is born a sinner through Adam?  Because if people do not realize that their “sin problem” before God is not primarily that they sin (that is to say they do sinful acts) but that they are a sinner (that is to imply every thought and intention falls short of the righteousness of God), then people will always be trying to “clean themselves up” instead of falling down on their knees and pleading the mercy of God.  Look at the example given of the Pharisee and Tax Collector in Luke 18 to illustrate this.  Luke 18:9-14 – “He (Jesus) also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 
Question:  Without trying to understand the mind of God completely (no one can), why might God have ordained things in this way?  Meaning if the end goal of God is His glory being magnified and enjoyed by His Church forever, how does this glorify God to have everyone born a sinner?  Humbly I would submit, that in part this was done to show how great the mercy and love of God is that He would come and die for His Church, a sinful people living under judgment.  Just above in Romans 5:7-8 we are told – “one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Was God’s love present before the condemnation of man through the fall of Adam?  Yes, He never chanegs; but his love wasn’t shown to us as glorious as it was through Christ on the cross.
Question:  Why is it important to know that ultimately God judges only two groups of people, Adam, and everyone born of him and Christ, and everyone born of Him?  Further why is it important to accept that Adam was your father, and his sin was imputed to you?   A lot of reasons, but let’s start with the second half of that question.  If you can understand and accept that Adam was your father, and his sin was imputed to you, the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to you through faith, is going to make a whole lot more sense.  Through faith, as a believer in Jesus Christ, you are now a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).  Christ is now your Saviour and Father, and whereas in the flesh, your former self had the sin of Adam imputed to you, now as a new Creation, the sin is gone, the wrath of God removed, and Christ’s righteousness is imputed to you.   Further, a lot of the language you’re going to read in the Bible is going to make a lot more sense.  Specifically, your “adoption” as sons and daughters, Christ as the “head” of the body/church, and imagery of you being grafted into Christ (Romans 11), the language of being “in” Christ, etc.  I could go on, but all of that language should start to have a rich meaning to you if you understand Romans 5.
Ultimately, I’m digging into Romans 5 because although it maybe difficult and confusing at first, I think in the long term, it will bring clarity to your understanding of the saving work of Christ, strengthen your faith, and be a wellspring of joy to you.  If you can believe this, all of that was just the intro.  Now let’s continue through the Word.    

Romans 5:15-21 – “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.  And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.  For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.  Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.  For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.   Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,  so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

I could literally spend hours here and probably only scratch the surface of what is being proclaimed.  Here’s what I want to focus on today; the grace of God in Jesus Christ is sufficient to cover ALL your sin.  I want to do a quick side by side comparison between Adam and Jesus, as Paul describes above.
What did each do?
Adam committed one sin – unbelief, manifested through his choosing to believe Satan instead of God and eating the fruit he was forbidden to eat
Jesus committed one act of righteousness – belief, manifested through his trusting the will of the Father and dying in the place of sinners to redeem a people to God
What was the consequence?
Adam’s sinful act – death and separation from God to himself and everyone that came from him physically
Christ’s righteous act – life and reconciliation to God for Himself (rising from the dead to sit at the right hand of God) and everyone that came from Him spiritually by faith.
What is the abiding fruit of Adam and Christ?
Adam – sin, which continually grows, leading to final condemnation, judgment, and the wrath of God
Christ – grace, which continually grows, leading to complete righteousness, and the peace, love, and joy of God
There is ONE main thing that if you get nothing else out of today’s scripture, I want you to see, know,  and savor deep in your heart:  Just as there is no hope for anyone who is from Adam, born a sinner, condemened to die, there is nothing that can rob you of your hope if your hope is in Christ.  Just as there is no hope for the most moral of people who have been born of Adam, because their condemnation was secured in him, and they themselves are sinners inwardly, there is always hope for anyone who trusts in Christ.  Why?  Because when Christ died, his one act of righteousness, ACTUALLY saved people.  Jesus’s act of righteousness didn’t just cover your first 20 years of sin, or 50 years of sin, Christ’s death covered ALL your sin.  He did not leave men to ask sinners to manifest belief (righteousness) in themselves; they never would!  Even the faith to believe is a gift from God, secured by Christ’s finished work on the cross.  Just as non-believers remain joined to Adam, and receive the condemnation due him, all believers are joined to Christ through faith, and the victory over death and sin that Christ evidenced through his ressurection is yours as well.  This is foundational.  Every one of us as believers will have ups and downs, times where we feel closer to God than others, but at our core, when everything else is lost, we cannot lose Christ.  My hope for each of you, is that this doctrine, although difficult to take in, will give you a peace that surpasses all understanding.  If you hope in Christ alone, if you love God and seek to follow after him; know that He is enough.
I apologize that this message has taken me so long to get out.  There’s a combination of reasons between my studying for my CPA exam (without a love for accounting) and honestly, the difficulty of this text and deciding where to press.  We really could spend a year in this one chapter of Romans, and be well served.  If you are a Christian, at some point you’re going to have to wrestle through Romans 5 and 9 honestly, and ask God to grant you wisdom and Truth in accepting it.  I say acceptance because the hardest part of these two chapters are not as much interpretating what it says as it is accepting that it means EXACTLY what it says.  Though it may stretch your faith, I promise you, it will be healing to your soul to know that from beginning to end, God is in control, and He is good.  We bring nothing but our sin to the table, but in Christ, we have been given a new righteousness, the righteousness of God.  We are already accepted by God for once and always, because we are in Christ through faith.  Know that you’re loved and prayed for.
Grace be with you,
Adam

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 31 – The Headship of Christ

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As promised, today we’re going to seminary together.  These waters we’re wading into are deep, but hopefully will be helpful to better understand the gospel.  Specifically, today we’re going to look at the depth of man’s sin, and what is called the “Federal Headship” of Adam.

I want to ask a leading question first.  What is man’s greatest problem?  Now many people would answer “sin”, and not a bad answer in itself, but not really complete in light of Romans 5.  I want to take that answer a step further today, and suggest that man’s greatest problem is that he is born through the line of Adam, thereby inheriting the condemnation of Adam.

Let me explain what I mean by that.  Most people know the story of Adam from Genesis, how Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil against the command of God.  The consequence of Adam’s rebellion was the judgment of God that Adam would endure hardship from then on and would ultimately return to the earth (death).  Federal Headship is the Biblical concept that Adam, as the first born man, represented all of humanity, thus when Adam sinned against God, His sin was counted (imputed is the Christianese term) to all of humanity.  That means that the consequences of Adam’s sin; a sinful nature, physical death, and separation from God were also put on everyone that would come through the line of Adam.  (Quick side note:  This is also why it was essential that Jesus was born of the Spirit, not through Joseph)  Therefore, everyone born through Adam has already been judged by God as guilty in Adam.  In a very real sense, every one of us is born already condemned.  People talk about sin and separation from God as being the “cause” of our judgment, but really those are not the cause of our judgment primarily, sin and separation from God is our judgment, the fact that we willfully continue as sinners merely stores up the wrath of God against us to be unleashed upon those unbelievers for eternal punishment.

How do we know that man is born condemned?  Aside from the Bible telling us it is so, that everyone of us is born in iniquity (Psalm 51:5), it is seen because everyone of us sins against God in the same manner as our common father, Adam, and everyone of us sees the fruit of that sinfulness in physical death.  Adam’s sin was counted as our sin.  In many cultures, this idea is well understood and accepted without issue, but in the US and western culture people (myself included initially) often take issue saying “it’s not fair”.  My short answer to that response is that everyone who makes that argument has themself sinned against God willfully, and therefore their point about fairness is moot.  The longer answer is that the complete and total fall of ALL humanity through Adam is actually good news to us, and I explain why that is so.  That’s where I hope to get to today; where as a believer in Jesus Christ, you are encouraged by this Biblical doctrine of Federal Headship and find a greater peace and joy through Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:12-14 – “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned — for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.  Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.”

A lot of people think about sin as perhaps breaking one of God’s 10 commandments.  Romans 5 raises an interesting question though.  If one of the consequences of sin was death, how was it that people were dying before God gave Moses the written law? (roughly 2,500 – 3,500 years)  The answer given above is that sin was already present in the world, evidenced by physical death.  The entire purpose of the written law was not to remove sin from man, but simply to be a mirror to show man how truly sinful and fallen they were, that they could “count” their own sins.  I would lose count personally after a couple days of living.  In Adam, as mankind’s federal head, man had fallen such that they were incapable of any true righteousness before God.

So how does the Federal Headship tie into the gospel and why is it good news?  To understand that in Adam, your Federal Head, you have already been judged and condemned, you are immediately confronted with the reality that in yourself you have 0 hope, none.  No amount of “good works” could undo the condemnation already incurred.  It would be like a convicted murderer on death row, going back to the judge and asking to be set free because he’d cleaned up his cell some.  Now, there is no more troubling knowledge for those who fear God to know that He has already condemned you, and your time/sins now are only storing up God’s wrath to be unleashed upon you for all eternity.  If you do not see that, you will not treasure Christ as you ought, you will not understand what Christ accomplished for you as you ought, and your joy in Christ will be limited because you will believe that Christ merely covered “part” of you on the cross (the sinful part) instead of ransoming a whole condemned person under judgment already.  Even more, just as the sin of Adam was imputed to you through Adam’s sin, the perfect righteousness of Christ has now been imputed to you through faith in the finished work of Jesus.  If through one sin in Adam, you were condemned to die, how much greater must the grace of God through Jesus Christ be to you, who have inherited His life and righteousness?  Let’s see how this is explained in 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 – “For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.” 
God is so loving to those with eyes to see, so I want you all to see and feel what I’m about to say.  All of this was actually good news for man.  How so?  The answer is actually given later in Romans 8:1-4, 28-30 – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.  For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”  Simply put, the second creation of man, the new creation in Jesus Christ described in 2 Corinthians 5:17 is MUCH greater than Adam.  Adam walked with God, but He did not know the plans of God.  Adam talked with God, but He did not have the Holy Spirit within.  Adam obeyed God, but he did not reflect the glory of God like we will.  Adam lived a relatively care-free life, but He did not have the fullness of joy in perfect fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Brothers and sisters, my hope is that this doctrine would be sweet to you and encouraging to your soul.  While your condemnation in Adam was complete, our freedom in Christ is greater still.  We boast in no righteousness of our flesh, but in the perfect righteousness of Christ which has been imputed to us.  What greater news is there than the wrath of God removed through the blood of Christ, the infinite love of God poured out to us for eternity who are joined with Christ, and the joy of the glory of God as a treasure from a God with infinite power at his disposal to maximize his glory and thus, our joy?  Paul speaks of our joining with Christ through faith in a verse many of us will be familiar with, and if you are not, I commend it to you as worthy of memorizing – Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”   More than words on a page, that is reality for those of us who have been set free from our bondage to know and love our Lord Jesus Christ.  My hope and prayer is that each of us would own this verse, that we would claim the victory and life that Christ accomplished for us, and walk in fellowship with our God.
Grace be with you,
Adam 

Reconnecting with the Gospel pt. 30 – At The Right Time Christ Died For The Ungodly

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For many of you like myself, today is the first day back from a long vacation, and the first work day of the new year.  As we ease back into work mode, we too are going to ease back into Romans 5, before we get really, really deep in the next few messages.  My hope is that as always you are encouraged in knowing and following Jesus Christ our Lord.  There is no greater joy than fellowship with God.  So that is my goal today and everday – to lift up the name of Jesus Christ to you, and pray that if He wills, He will reveal more of Himself to you through the Word.  My hope is that your true teacher, the Holy Spirit within you, would grant you renewal, fresh eyes to see and savor God in Jesus Christ – for your joy.

Romans 5:6-11 – “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.  For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.  For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.  More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” 

Its the most common lie Satan attacks us with;  “You are not good enough for God to love you”.  Do you know how Jesus responded to that lie?  Mark 2:15-17 – “And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.  And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”  

Everyone is born a sinner.  Unlike how most people commonly refer to “sin”, our sin is a state of being rather than sinful actions we commit.  The sinful actions are simply fruit of sin that is already within us.  This will make more sense next time if this idea is unfamiliar to you.  So in one sense, our “sin” problem is much greater than we might think.  If you are waiting to arrive at a point where you are accepted by God on your own merits, it will NEVER happen.  I’ve got about 10 good years under my belt really pursuing Christ well, and I would tell you that I still sin everyday, still have to ask God’s forgiveness everday and the forgiveness of others often, but don’t take my word alone for this.  I recommend you talk openly with a Christian in their 70s or 80s about the sin they are still fighting.  You will always be battling sin on this side of eternity.  There was sin in you when you were born, you have sinned all your life until today, you will sin today, and you will sin every day until you die.  I says this not to make light of sin, but to make much of the holiness of God.  Even as a Christian, on this side of eternity your best prayer carries in it enough sin to merit God’s damnation of you for all eternity.  However, Psalm 32:1-2 tells us – “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.  Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity”   A good question here to answer for yourself, is “what sin did the blood of Jesus cover”?  Did it cover my sin yesterday?  Did it cover my sin today?  Did it cover my sin tomorrow?  The answer to all of these questions is Yes and Amen.
Let’s circle back to the text above.  When did Christ go to the cross?  Was it while His people Israel were triumphing over their enemies?  No, Israel had been conquered by Rome.  Was it while the religious leaders were passionately pursuing the Lord?  No, Jesus spoke most critically of the religious leaders of that time as hypocrites, who were in love with the world rather than its Creator.  Was it at a time when the people would see their God persecuted and cry out to save Him?  No, the people chose to save a murderer, Barabbas, instead of their King, who they cried out to have crucified.  That was the state of God’s people when He chose to die for them.  That was the “right time”.  Why?  It was to show that Christ saves sinners and to demonstrate the great love with which God loves us.  That truth of the gospel is for you; God’s encouragement to you as you put to death sin in your life and defend against the lies of the enemy.
Paul continues above by asking rhetorically, if God loved you enough to die for you while you were an enemy of God, how much greater love and joy must he have for you now that you have been reconciled to Him?  There is a sense in which God loves everyone.  We all breathe the same air and when it rains, it benefits us all.  However, there is a much greater love and plan for those who by faith are in Christ Jesus; covered by His blood; reconciled to God.  God’s love is poured out to us through Jesus Christ, perfect fellowship with God for our joy, a joy unspeakable without end.  My lawyer logical side is coming out here, but I think it will be helpful for me just list out a few things to help you see God’s plan for His glory and your joy through Jesus and the gospel.
  1. God having infinite power is working at all times to maximize His own joy
  2. Given God is perfect, having no imperfection, therefore there is nothing (no created thing) capable of producing greater joy outside God Himself
  3. God therefore pursues His own joy through enjoying Himself and Making His Glory (Perfections) known
  4. If there is nothing greater than God Himself, no greater joy to be found, the best “good news” of the Gospel of Jesus for us would be fellowship with God

This kind of puts a dagger in the whole “prosperity gospel” idea of health and wealth.  To live is Christ and to die is gain!  (Phil 1:21) We should feel that every day.  Each day is a new day to put to death sin, love others, and enjoy a closer fellowship with Christ – for our joy.  If being sick helps me draw closer to Christ, let me be sick.  If being poor helps draw me closer to Christ, let me be poor.  God is not about robbing you of joy, He is about giving you joy in full, fellowship with the Living God.  Creation, obedience to God, studying God’s Word, surrounding ourselves with Christian community (more than just one or two days a week)…. these are all means of pointing you towards the glory of God for your joy.

That’s my encouragement for today.  We don’t have to wait for a New Year, each day, each hour, each moment is an opportunity for renewed fellowship with God, resting on the finished work of Jesus Christ.  God didn’t save us from something (judgment) but He saved us to someone (Himself in Jesus Christ) for everlasting infinite joy.  Let us therefore not look around as much at the “sin” that remains in our life, but look to the author and perfector of our faith, Jesus Christ, and find in Him a joy that kills any desire that would draw us away from Him.

Grace and Peace,
Adam