Adam’s World (Part B)

Standing when all the forces are coming against a Christian, but they're clinging to God's word, and they're not giving an inch.

Well, that's hard to do. It's impossible to do without the Spirit of God, but we have the Spirit of God. He wants to see us embrace these things and not cave in. And when we cave in, we appease sin. It only makes sin stronger.

It doesn't help anybody. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Romans.

Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. Romans chapter 5 is the text Pastor Rick will be teaching from today on this edition of Cross-Reference Radio. The infants that perish before they're out of infancy, before they've sinned, are testimony to original sin that we are born in iniquity. Adam broke the law. Don't eat from the tree, Adam. He did, and he knew what he was doing, and Paul points that out. He was deceived. Adam willfully went into this.

There's a saying, you know, a happy wife, a happy life. Well, it didn't work for Adam. Be careful about that. Well, in the same way that Abraham demonstrated faith apart from the written scripture that we have, Adam demonstrated the existence of sin apart from the written scripture that we had. This takes away a lot of excuses that people like to offer to God.

God is going to say to many people that that great white throne, great white throne, you knew it was wrong, and you continued in it, because you didn't want to come to me. The law did not introduce sin into the world. It identified the sin as a charge against the guilty. Adam introduced the sin. Verse 14, nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned, according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of him who is to come. Well, I do strongly believe that when Paul is dealing with these issues in Romans, it's because he was dealing with them with people.

If Romans is complicated to you, it's because people are complicated. Sin is in everyone, whether there is a Bible or not, bottom line, that's what he's getting at. Death proves it, but there's more to the story than just death. There's the life that continues on from Adam to Moses.

Well, Jesus defeated the supremacy of death, but death is still here, and if you want more on that, Colossians 2, verses 13 and 15, Jesus triumphs over death. He says here in verse 14, even over those who had not sinned, according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, and there are the infants right there. They didn't get a chance to sin like Adam, to disobey God. They didn't get a chance to even learn a language to hear what God had to say, but it is inherent sin. And if they were given time, and I know I've said this quite a bit recently as going through Romans, every single infant, with the exception of Jesus Christ, if allowed to live, will not possibly sin, but guaranteed to sin. So it's got to be dealt with in their essence, who they are, because they go somewhere when they do not survive this life.

Everybody conceived goes somewhere, and there are rules, and there is grace, and we are very glad about that. Who is a type of him who was to come, and he's speaking about Adam being a type of Jesus. How is Adam a type of Jesus? He's called the last, Christ is called the last Adam later in 1 Corinthians 16. Well, the only two men without a human father, Adam and Christ. The only two to have experienced a sinless nature, though Adam, of course, forfeited his. Again, Matthew chapter 4, the temptation of Jesus Christ was not to say, boy, that was a close call. It was to show you it was impossible for him to sin because he has no sinful nature.

He's not like anybody else. He is the one that has come down from heaven, and if he be exalted, if he be lifted up, he will draw all men. Satan walked away from that exchange knowing this was not like anybody else he had ever engaged in creation in this world. Adam, the first fallen man, Christ, the first resurrected.

So there are the similarities. There is Jesus, a type of Adam, yet dissimilar to Adam because he is holy. Now, when we were singing Hallelujah to the Lord, well, Hallelujah means praise Yahweh. That in the beginning, Yahweh created the heavens and the earth. Well, Yahweh in the Old Testament is Christ in the New Testament. It's the same person, and we understand that when he was resurrected, he was 100% man in the flesh, 100% God in his being, he was divine, and he is the first fruits in that sense, the one to die, the one to be resurrected, to teach us that this can happen to us too if we abide in Christ. He is absolutely God, but he took on humanity, but he never gave up his divinity. He was always God, as sort of a best way, anthropomorphically, we can say it, he tied one hand behind his back. Now that falls short of the meaning, but it works for me, and I hope it works for you.

If not, come up with a better one, but don't tell me, I'll be jealous. Verse 15, but the free gift is not like the offense, for if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God, the gift by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ abound to many. Well, Adam got us into sin, as we've been saying, Jesus gets us out of its ultimate consequence, a serious business about, you know, Jesus saving and saving sinners and those that are unsaved.

Now go back up to those who are trying to recreate themselves in the likeness of sinful man, the transgender world. Someone told me about a well-known Bible teacher telling another Christian that it's okay to take a gift and go to their wedding. I think that was a huge mistake.

I hope he takes it back. That's enabling that world. That is dismissing all that Christ stands for, to send the wrong signal, to advocate sin. This is why we're here. It is the meaning of, you are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world. You know, we read about the heroes of the Old Testament standing their ground in the bean field until the word, the sword was attached to their hand and couldn't let it go. And we read that, that's the picture of the Christian standing when all the forces are coming against the Christian, but they're clinging to God's word and they're not giving an inch.

Well, that's hard to do. It's impossible to do without the Spirit of God, but we have the Spirit of God. He wants to see us embrace these things and not cave in. And when we cave in, we appease sin. It only makes sin stronger.

It doesn't help anybody. Well, back to verse 15. God using sin, of course, to determine who will make their way to him, side with him, and stay with him in the face of the alternative. The forbidden tree in Eden or the blood-stained tree at Calvary.

Your choice, your call. For if by one man, verse 15, if by one man's offense, many died, a single act of sin ruined mankind, much more the grace of God by the gift, by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ abounded to many. So by Adam, death abounded to all, by Christ, grace abounds to many. Why not to all? Because all won't receive it.

Very simple. And I love that part much more. That's eternal life. We believe this by faith. We suffer the things of this life, knowing that we're going to Christ. Verse 16. And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned, for the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. And so there is the alternative to Adam's world, Adam's cursed world, Christ. He chose to be sacrificed in order to cancel the curse on those who'd come to him. Verse 17. For if by the one man's offense, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.

The scripture, you know, the scripture never lets us feel comfortable with sin, and it always reminds us that the blessings are for those who come to God, and for those who don't, doesn't apply, but rather the condemnation. We don't take delight. This is the message. We deliver the message. You picture yourself a messenger in the ancient world of a king. You deliver the message. You don't open it up and say, well, you know, I don't really like this part. Well, here's my favorite part.

You just deliver the message. Death could not be stopped in Adam. It reigned, but eternal life can't be stopped in Christ.

I want that side. Verse 18. Therefore as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation even so, through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification. He has got to be signaling to the Jews here that, hey, the Gentiles are coming under this too. Paul repeats, he repeats this in verse 18, back from verses 12 and 15, and so verses 18 and 19, he goes back to it, in case you missed it. Well, when you're just reading the Romans, it can be a little confusing. It's like, did I just read this? But he's making a point.

He's emphasizing his points. So I'm going to use Scripture to teach Scripture. Ephesians 2 5.

Even when we were dead in trespasses, we were made alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. You don't deserve it. You didn't earn it. It's given to you.

You can turn it down, but who would? God's solution is bigger than our problem. Very basic Christianity. Again, in Ephesians, now, not verse 5 this time, but verse 8, he repeats it. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. I can't imagine the New Testament without these things, because there would be no New Testament without these things.

That's why it's called the New Covenant. And God does all the heavy lifting. We do the shuffling.

We just shuffle over to it and receive it, and then we're put to work. Now, it's been said, and I think this is true, the only part of evolution of the species that's true. Chimps can talk, but they're afraid if they talk, they'll be put to work. I don't believe any part of evolution of a species that categorically rejected, rejected its application.

All lies have elements of truth in it, and you've got to see through it. Anyway, you know, so what I'm saying is when you come to Christ, maybe you're afraid that you're gonna be put to work. You should embrace that. You can do it. It's okay to do something you don't like, especially if it's what it takes. You will find it will be rewarding, and you're still allowed to do things you can like. You know, it's okay to enjoy certain things in life. God's not gonna come snatch it out of your hands and say, stop that.

You're supposed to suffer. Well, again, verse 19 now, for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. Does it sound like to you he's making the same point over and over? Because he is. That's why.

And why is he? Because that's what's needed, because as simple as the gospel is, sometimes we find that we get a little foggy on some of the good details that we want to tell a certain person, and we go, where's that in the Bible again? I forgot where that is, and we start searching for it, because the Spirit, well, the Scripture is not natural. It is supernatural, and it requires work in the flesh, not the carnal flesh, but flesh and bone, and it requires the Holy Spirit, and that's why Jesus breathed on the apostles and said, receive you the Holy Spirit. Well, it's not, you know, it's not just for singing songs.

Well, I just have the Spirit when I sing songs. Well, you'll be cheating yourself and others. So verse 19, for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. Well, how can the sacrifice of one avail all? It's the worth of the sacrifice, the value of the sacrifice. What is that sacrifice worth? Well, the one making the sacrifice is the Son of God.

There's no greater value you can put on anything. This is outside of creation. He's self-existent. He has existed all the way back to eternity past, and he'll have no end, thus the Alpha and the Omega. When Christ sacrificed himself as the Lamb of God, he was not an ordinary man dying there as a sacrifice. He is the last Adam. He is the one that is without a sinful nature. Now, the old church father, as he is known in history, Chrysostomum, let's say that five times fast. He said this, he said, if a Jew should ask you how is it possible that through the power of the one Christ, the world is saved, then ask him how is it possible that through the one disobedient Adam, the whole world was damned? It's just logic.

It's just a very simple thing. One man got us into this, and a greater man will get us out and has gotten out. And the thing about verse 19 that is also very special, he says, many made sinners.

So let me go back to that. For as many, for as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners. Why not all? Because Adam was not made a sinner, and Christ did not ever come, was not a sinner, never sinned, was not incarnated as a sinner. And so these subtle things, if they weren't there, you know, there would be theological gaps.

You'd have to say, wait a minute now, something's missing here, but they are there, and it's not missing. Verse 20, moreover the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace abounded much more. There is not a more beautiful verse in all scripture, not that it's a competition, but this one just shines out. Where sin abounded, grace did much more, verse 21, and I'll comment on the whole, the two verses together, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And now he's going to get back, he's going to develop this through chapters, through chapter 8, and then he's going to turn his attention back to the people of Israel. Now back to verse 20, some Jews thought that their law protected them from guilt. Paul dealt with that earlier, but that's just the reality of the day he lived in, as there are people today that think that their religion protects them from hell. They don't have to love God, they don't have to know his word, they're just, you know, they made an offering at the church or filled out a card or whatever they did.

Maybe they say, well I got baptized or I was christened, and it's all useless without a relationship with Christ. In reality, their law exposed their guilt and only covered it, but it didn't take it away, it was still there, thus their atoning sacrifices are called kophars, coverings. And thus John the Baptist said, the Lamb of God, unlike all the other lambs that are offered at the temple, this lamb does not cover your sins, he takes them away. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And when the law was finally given, it was to preserve a people for Messiah, the Savior of the world, to come through. And this is significant that we understand he's moved in a way from Messiah to Christ.

He is not only the Jewish hero, he is the hero of the world. The Gentiles are loved just as much. Gentiles are not B-class citizens of heaven. When you get to heaven it won't be like the Jews over here and the Gentiles are across the tracks to the other neighborhood. So the law was given and it encased the prophecies, it organized into coherent context the plan of salvation and it put time stamps and prophecy stamps in it for reference points so that we can look at Israel today and say you see God said that was going to happen and it happened and it's pointing to the end. And we can look at a cashless society, we can look at the technology, we can look at artificial life, the AI, we can say all these things are found in the book of Revelation. These are part of the processes of the last days and God has put it in print all the way back in the Old Testament in through the New Testament for us to use today it is for all humanity.

So it takes more than an education to be Christlike. It takes faith, it takes action and to sin with a high hand, a defiant and haughty look, a defiant heart, it forfeits grace. Isaiah made this very clear, he said let grace be shown to the wicked.

Well what makes them wicked? They walk opposite of God. I mean they had no intention of walking with him. They're not in agreement with him.

The two cannot walk together. Let the grace be shown to the wicked yet he will not learn righteousness in the land of uprightness. He will deal unjustly and will not behold the majesty of Yahweh, of the Lord. So it takes more than an education. It takes Christlikeness. It takes the Holy Spirit.

It takes faith. There are many parts to our salvation and they are in rhythm and when you are around a Christian that is born again you can hear the hum of that rhythm. But where sin abounded? Well sin is aggressive. It is a hunter. I'm hoping to do a sermon on this one day.

You can be the hunted or you can be the hunter. As a Christian, which are you? I can't say anymore but then I won't have a sermon. You'll say oh we heard that.

What else you got? But without Christ, without Christ sin will always abound. It will always win. Even with Christ it gets the upper hand many times.

You know it's like a wrestling match. You know you can be losing for a long part of that match and in the end you pin the other guy and that's why it's going to be for the Christian and that's why he says where sin abounded grace abounded much more. It does not say that he was manifested to stop us from sinning in this life but to take our sin away. That means the penalty of that sin. 1st John chapter 3 verse 5 and you know that he was manifested to take our sins away and in him there is no sin. That's never said about anybody else that there is no sin in them that they can take away our sins. Only Christ. All right let's move on. Your inability to be perfect as Christ does not mean the salvation is not working and so he says but where sin abounded grace abounded much more.

How can you not love that much more? It is emphatic. Psalm 105 captures some of this. The Psalmist right, he God increased his people greatly and made them stronger than their enemies. That's what salvation is. We have three enemies as Christians.

The obvious of two, well the obvious one is Satan, the other is the world in its system and then there the other is our flesh, our sinful nature. Yet he increased his people greatly and made them stronger than their enemies. Where sin gains victories, God's grace gains greater victories. Even so grace might reign. Well God's grace has dethroned sins ultimate effect which is eternal separation from God we know as hell. But death no longer reigns.

Verse 20 now, still in verse 20. Through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord and that is of course just the sinless proof of Jesus. His righteousness. The gift of eternal life comes through him. Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Verse 21, so the cross of Christ is the storm that wrecks mankind's hope for self-salvation. You can't do it.

It's not possible and I think it's okay there was someone says well you know I'm a good person and God understands okay to laugh in their face because it's an evil joke being played on them. What do you have the antidote? The truth. You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Thanks for joining us for today's teaching on Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia.

We're currently going through the book of Romans. If you're in need of hearing this message again or want to listen to others like it head over to crossreferenceradio.com. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast too so you'll never miss another edition. Just go to your favorite podcast app to subscribe. On our website you'll be able to learn a little more about the ministry of Cross-Reference Radio so make a note of it crossreferenceradio.com. That's all we have time for today but thanks so much for listening. Pastor Rick will be back next time in the book of Romans here on Cross-Reference Radio.