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