back to index2016-06-12 One Man Comes in the Name of Love
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If you can turn your Bibles to Romans chapter 5, and I'm going to read from verse 12 to 00:00:18.640 |
"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and 00:00:24.760 |
so death spread to all men because all sinned. 00:00:28.060 |
For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where 00:00:34.320 |
Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the 00:00:39.500 |
transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 00:00:43.720 |
But the free gift is not like the trespass, for if many died through one man's trespass, 00:00:48.640 |
much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, 00:00:54.040 |
And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. 00:00:57.840 |
For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following 00:01:05.200 |
For if because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will 00:01:09.960 |
those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life 00:01:18.200 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this morning. 00:01:21.480 |
We pray, Lord God, that your word would go forth and that it would convict our hearts. 00:01:26.080 |
Help us, Lord God, to understand the depth of your grace and love in us, that all our 00:01:30.360 |
lives, Lord God, our mind and our heart, all of it, Lord, may be thoroughly gripped by 00:01:37.380 |
So we pray for your help and the Holy Spirit to lead and guide so that we may understand. 00:01:44.840 |
I think some of you guys may know if you've been hearing me preach for a while that you 00:01:49.040 |
know that U2 was one of my bands that I liked when I was younger. 00:01:55.360 |
They've been around for what, three decades or something? 00:01:57.760 |
And when I was younger U2 had a lot of songs. 00:02:00.720 |
And part of the reason why I was intrigued is because supposedly they started out kind 00:02:06.200 |
So if you listen carefully to their lyrics, there's some Christian theme in it. 00:02:10.000 |
But it's very confusing because they backslid for decades and then Bono ended up recently 00:02:14.720 |
started coming back and talking about his faith. 00:02:17.520 |
But if you listen to a lot of the early songs, it has some Christian themes kind of mixed 00:02:22.640 |
It's like you could tell he's a mixed up Christian. 00:02:26.240 |
One of the songs that kind of stood out to me as I was preparing this message was the 00:02:32.720 |
And the lyrics go like this, and some of you guys may know the songs. 00:02:43.960 |
In the name of love, what more in the name of love? 00:02:46.120 |
In the name of love, what more in the name of love? 00:02:56.840 |
In the name of love, what more in the name of love? 00:02:58.920 |
In the name of love, what more in the name of love?" 00:03:02.440 |
Now that we have Google, I've always wondered, what does he mean by this? 00:03:06.240 |
Now that we have Google, we can just type it up. 00:03:12.040 |
And I found out what the lyrics mean behind it. 00:03:14.880 |
And immediately, if you look at it superficially, it sounds like he's talking about Jesus. 00:03:21.800 |
That's a one man come to justify, and one man betrayed with a kiss. 00:03:29.160 |
But the author of the song basically explains that the song was predominantly written about 00:03:39.400 |
He said that the song basically is about how one man can be so powerful that he can change 00:03:44.920 |
the world, or he can feed the poor and do all of this. 00:03:47.240 |
And how Martin Luther King Jr. representing the Civil Rights Movement and how he made 00:03:59.240 |
But in history, I can only think of two people who had that kind of effect on mankind. 00:04:06.160 |
And those two people are mentioned in this text. 00:04:08.200 |
No matter how much we try to venerate Martin Luther King Jr., he was not the only guy. 00:04:15.960 |
There's plenty of civil rights leaders prior to him, during his time, and even after. 00:04:21.680 |
We think about the Reformation, typically Martin Luther, the Martin Luther of the Reformation, 00:04:27.880 |
the monk, say, "Oh, he sparked the Reformation." 00:04:31.280 |
But if you study the Reformation carefully, you'll know that there are many, countless 00:04:35.400 |
number of people who gave their lives that created the foundation for the spark of the 00:04:41.200 |
So, he just happens to be the name that everybody knows. 00:04:48.000 |
But when it comes to history, there's two particular people that literally had an impact 00:04:55.280 |
And every single human being has been affected in some way or another because of these two 00:05:00.280 |
And obviously, the two people that we are referring to is Adam and Jesus Christ. 00:05:06.920 |
Adam is introduced to us in verse 14, saying, "Adam, who was a type of the one who was to 00:05:14.320 |
Now, when the Bible, in theology, when we talk about types, we're talking about something 00:05:19.360 |
that is outlined for us in the Old Testament, kind of like a shadow. 00:05:24.760 |
And the reality is fulfilled in the New Testament. 00:05:28.280 |
So we can say the tabernacle, the sacrifices, those were the types of Christ to try to teach 00:05:34.880 |
that there needed to be blood sacrifice in order for sins to be atoned. 00:05:39.520 |
The high priesthood, that was a type preparing for Christ, that he was going to come, he's 00:05:44.080 |
going to be the priest, and he's going to be the king. 00:05:48.200 |
Jonah also was a type of Christ, where he goes into the valley for three days and comes 00:05:52.960 |
Again, a type of Jesus in his death and resurrection. 00:05:55.160 |
So there are all kinds of types in the Old Testament that is fulfilled in the New Testament. 00:05:59.940 |
But in this particular instance, in reference to Adam and Jesus, they actually use the term 00:06:07.200 |
Just in case you don't see the connection, Paul is trying to make that clear connection 00:06:11.640 |
that Adam was a foreshadowing of what he is about to say. 00:06:16.160 |
Now the reason why he introduces this, he's been talking about justification by faith 00:06:20.480 |
and how because of that, our sins have been forgiven, we've been reconciled with God, 00:06:28.640 |
So all the benefits of justification that we receive because of Jesus' sacrifice. 00:06:34.400 |
So the question is, if all mankind has been affected by what Jesus has done, how can that 00:06:45.480 |
Again, because we're raised in the Church, oftentimes we don't ask critical questions. 00:06:52.120 |
And we just kind of assume, "Yeah, Jesus died for me, died for me on the cross." 00:06:55.680 |
But again, as a Jew who is listening to this for the first time, in their sacrificial system, 00:07:02.160 |
they had to give sacrifices over and over and over for every sin that they commit. 00:07:09.000 |
Even the Day of Atonement, that has to happen every single year. 00:07:14.700 |
So the question that they were having was, if Jesus' death and sacrifice was once and 00:07:19.760 |
for all cleared our sins, how can that one act from one man do such a thing? 00:07:26.000 |
So Paul is trying to answer this question by introducing Adam because they already knew 00:07:33.580 |
So what Paul is trying to do is illustrate the power of Jesus' one act on the cross in 00:07:45.420 |
So again, if we're engaged and we're really thinking through the Gospel, and we're talking 00:07:49.940 |
about original sin, how Adam, because of his sins, it affected all mankind. 00:07:59.700 |
We're not talking about Adam who sinned for many years to come. 00:08:11.060 |
And because of that one sin, all mankind has become corrupt and is deserving of death. 00:08:19.500 |
It's hard for us to comprehend because we typically think of sin as a mistake, we've 00:08:29.020 |
But what this reveals to us is God's view of sin. 00:08:33.660 |
Now years ago, Wendy's, it's probably been over 20 years, but Wendy's had a big scandal 00:08:44.700 |
I don't know if you've ever eaten their chili, it's delicious. 00:08:48.380 |
If you eat their chili, they found a little mouse's head inside the chili. 00:08:54.380 |
And initially you can't tell, but you look closely, you can see the mouse in the chili. 00:08:58.840 |
And after that came out, obviously, I love their chili, but after I saw that picture, 00:09:07.820 |
And nobody went, I don't know anybody, you go to Wendy's, it's wide open. 00:09:11.780 |
There was a period when Wendy's was ruined for a while. 00:09:15.060 |
But logically speaking, they probably sold tons and tons of chili every single day. 00:09:22.380 |
So that little rat's head, logically speaking, is probably not even .0001% of whatever is 00:09:30.820 |
But nobody's going to say, "Ah, it's just one little mice." 00:09:35.260 |
The thought of that mice in the chili, even if it is a minuscule percentage of that, ruined 00:09:42.580 |
And not only did they not eat the chili, they wouldn't eat their hamburgers. 00:09:51.460 |
So that one little thing in that chili ruined it for everybody for a long period of time. 00:09:56.420 |
It's been 20-some years, I've had many chilis since then. 00:10:04.900 |
But the idea of something as disgusting as a mouse in something that I'm going to put 00:10:11.660 |
in my mouth is enough to keep a whole generation of people everywhere away from anything that 00:10:19.540 |
The reason why we have a hard time understanding God's wrath upon mankind is because we don't 00:10:29.980 |
So when we talk about that if one sin of that man brought corruption to mankind, consider, 00:10:38.380 |
consider since then how many sins that even just Adam committed. 00:10:44.460 |
Consider the generations that came after him, whether you believe in the old earth or the 00:10:48.580 |
young earth, for thousands and thousands of years, sins committed over and over. 00:10:54.220 |
Let's just think about even just in this room, even just this week, our sins, our sins outnumber 00:11:02.260 |
that Adam's one sin probably by a hundredfold, maybe a thousandfold. 00:11:07.900 |
And so when the scripture talks about because that one man's sin, it brought corruption 00:11:12.140 |
to mankind even up to this day, how much more when the scripture talks about the wrath of 00:11:23.060 |
If everything that you and I have seen, the corruption that you and I have experienced, 00:11:28.700 |
even just last night, I don't know some of you guys may have watched the news, another 00:11:31.340 |
crazy gunman went into a nightclub in Florida and killed 50 people, wounded another 50. 00:11:37.460 |
So if you haven't seen it when you go home, it's kind of probably going to be the top 00:11:42.980 |
I mean you almost get numb to it because you just expect it, oh another one, another one 00:11:47.940 |
But if you compare that in human history, it's just a blip, right? 00:11:53.020 |
I mean we're horrified because it's closer to us, but I mean if you look at human history, 00:11:57.180 |
human history is filled with violence and rape and murder. 00:12:02.180 |
Imagine if that one man's sin brought corruption to mankind deserving of eternal death, when 00:12:09.220 |
the Bible says that the wrath of God is being stored up for all of sin of mankind, I believe 00:12:20.860 |
We have a hard time with the concept of hell being eternal and torment, because we don't 00:12:27.940 |
See, the point that he's trying to make here is that because of Adam's sin, that all mankind 00:12:34.660 |
was tainted, and you and I were inheritors of what has been tainted. 00:12:40.100 |
Now, every human being is connected to the previous generation, right? 00:12:45.100 |
I know that I have, I've had asthma and I have asthma, my father had asthma, my uncle 00:12:51.060 |
had asthma, and so I found out that generationally that our, my father's line, you know, our 00:13:04.660 |
And again, our physical deficiencies and decay, it's just a reminder of the corruption of 00:13:10.420 |
man, it's not just physical because God didn't create us that way. 00:13:14.700 |
God didn't create us to have heart disease, and God didn't create us to have cancer. 00:13:22.580 |
And so, these things are reminders to us that all mankind is under this sin. 00:13:29.500 |
You know, up to this point, we've been studying about how God's love is so high and so rich 00:13:35.500 |
that even while we were still weak and we couldn't do anything, even while though we 00:13:39.220 |
were sinners, even while we were yet enemies of God, God sent His only begotten Son to 00:13:48.100 |
So the more we dig, the more amazing this love is. 00:13:51.580 |
But what Paul is doing now is he's digging deeper just to see how deep this love is. 00:13:56.780 |
Because he said that while we were yet sinners, but what does it mean? 00:14:01.940 |
Because when we say you're a sinner, I'm a sinner, it impacts different people, different 00:14:06.780 |
Some of you who are weighed down by sin are filled with guilt and looking for some way 00:14:14.540 |
Some of you, when you talk about sin, it's like, "Oh yeah, yeah, of course, you know, 00:14:24.820 |
And depending on how you are affected by sin in your life, you will be affected by the 00:14:34.580 |
When the Bible says that while we were yet sinners, He reached down and got us, what 00:14:38.980 |
Paul is trying to convey is just how deep this sin goes. 00:14:45.660 |
That this, your sins that you're wrestling with, was passed down from your parents and 00:14:50.540 |
So one of the things that we always talk about in marriage counseling is talking about how 00:14:55.400 |
some things that you notice in the previous generation that you don't want to repeat. 00:14:59.960 |
Because that's always a temptation for all of us because we naturally just tend to act 00:15:05.460 |
No matter how much you say, "I'm not going to be like that." 00:15:08.940 |
And they did that because of their previous generation. 00:15:14.380 |
Well, Psalm 51.3 says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother 00:15:19.100 |
conceive me, even before I was ever even born in my parents." 00:15:24.700 |
Psalm 58.3, "The wicked are estranged from the womb, and they go astray from birth, speaking 00:15:30.580 |
You know, we look at little babies and say, "Oh, they're so innocent." 00:15:34.540 |
And yet, the psalmist say, "They come out as sinners. 00:15:54.260 |
So it's been passed down from generation to generation. 00:16:06.380 |
It's almost comical for me to just one day decide, "I'm not going to be this." 00:16:10.780 |
It is equally ridiculous for an individual who's been seeped in sin from generation to 00:16:15.460 |
generation, all of human history, and all of a sudden, one day say, "I'm sick of it." 00:16:20.300 |
See, what Paul is trying to convey is just how deep this sin goes. 00:16:27.340 |
You know, yesterday, we were talking about what's going on with this building. 00:16:31.940 |
I'm going to make a little bit of an announcement at the end of the service, asking some of 00:16:35.620 |
you to come out to the hearing that's taking place tomorrow. 00:16:38.780 |
But I was on the phone with the real estate agent of the buyers of this building. 00:16:46.180 |
We're going to have a hearing tomorrow to see if the city is going to approve them purchasing 00:16:56.500 |
And they're concerned that, you know, we don't want to sell to them. 00:16:59.580 |
We're concerned that they're going to walk away. 00:17:02.340 |
And at the end of it, I could clearly tell that he wasn't a Christian, because he was 00:17:05.140 |
using all kinds of colorful language, you know, in between calling me pastor. 00:17:21.860 |
And at the end of the conversation, you could hear him just sighing. 00:17:23.620 |
He said, hey, you're a man of the cloth, right? 00:17:33.980 |
And so he was kind of asking, so what sense do you get? 00:17:36.820 |
Like something supernatural that I don't know. 00:17:42.660 |
So he's looking for some guidance because he's distraught. 00:17:45.820 |
So I thought it would be a good opportunity for me to at least introduce the gospel to 00:17:50.740 |
So we're on the phone talking and I said, hey, I think the way we should approach it 00:17:56.700 |
is this, because Christianity teaches, the gospel teaches that all have sinned and fall 00:18:02.900 |
And what that means is all man's inner being is corrupt. 00:18:07.140 |
So our primary motivation of why we're doing is self-preservation, is self-glorification, 00:18:14.320 |
And so the point of the gospel is that Christ came to deliver us from a tainted position 00:18:23.420 |
So we didn't get to finish the conversation, so I told him, so therefore when we're approaching 00:18:28.060 |
the council, don't pound too much about what is right and what is wrong, right? 00:18:36.100 |
But let's emphasize how this is going to benefit them. 00:18:41.000 |
You know, so I was talking to him about, hey, they made the mistake and everybody's angry 00:18:43.820 |
and this is going to relieve pressure for you guys. 00:18:46.140 |
So if you don't approve this, you know, this is actually beneficial for you. 00:18:50.180 |
For the city, it'll be beneficial for you guys, since you guys blew it with that building, 00:18:54.180 |
now you can redeem yourself with this building. 00:18:55.760 |
So we were talking to say, let's do that, because all have sinned and fall short of 00:19:00.500 |
I mean, dead silence on the phone, it's like, what are you talking about? 00:19:08.700 |
So I said, hey, let's talk more, you know, we'll have other opportunities. 00:19:12.020 |
So I just kind of planted the seed, you know. 00:19:15.260 |
But at the core of it, that's exactly what Paul is doing. 00:19:17.340 |
What Paul is doing is, he's trying to get everybody on the same page to understand just 00:19:27.300 |
But the next question that may come up if we talk about original sin is, how can that 00:19:32.500 |
Why would we be punished because of the sin of Adam? 00:19:36.020 |
Clearly, Ezekiel 18.20 said, "The soul who sins shall die. 00:19:41.700 |
The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the 00:19:47.780 |
The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked 00:19:54.300 |
It made it clear in Ezekiel 18.20 that you are not being punished for the sin of your 00:20:02.440 |
So how do we understand this when it says Adam's sin was imputed to us? 00:20:06.660 |
So if you look at verse 12, I think it gives, it kind of gives us some guidelines as to 00:20:11.060 |
how do we understand this tension in verse 12. 00:20:13.860 |
"Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin." 00:20:22.900 |
But then the second part of it, it says, "And so death spread to all men, because all sinned." 00:20:29.980 |
So in other words, are we sinners because we sin, or are we, do we sin because we're 00:20:42.660 |
See, no man is guilty simply because of the sin of the previous generation. 00:20:51.140 |
And even though that sin had been imputed, everyone is guilty by their own sins. 00:20:57.700 |
So we sin because we're sinners, and we are sinners because we sin. 00:21:03.940 |
He goes even further than that in verse 4.13, he says, "For sin indeed was in the world 00:21:07.660 |
before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law." 00:21:12.900 |
And somebody may read that and say, "Huh, okay, then I don't want the law. 00:21:15.660 |
As long as I don't have the law, we're not Jews, so therefore we're not guilty of sin." 00:21:23.260 |
Don't shake your head like this, because that would be heresy. 00:21:28.100 |
Of course that's not what he's saying, because he spent the first three, four chapters trying 00:21:32.220 |
to explain, "If you have the law, you're guilty with the law. 00:21:36.060 |
If you don't have the law, you're guilty without the law." 00:21:38.660 |
So there's no way he's saying now, "Those who don't have the law, all your sins don't 00:21:46.660 |
What he is trying to say is that when the law came, that they began to keep record of 00:21:52.620 |
It's kind of like, you know, if you say, "Well, who's the greatest basketball player today?" 00:22:05.140 |
You notice how people don't talk about Kobe Bryant anymore? 00:22:08.020 |
Like ten days after he retires, like he's gone. 00:22:21.960 |
And so they kept a record so that they can compare and say, "Hey, look at his greatness." 00:22:27.820 |
Now, were they a good basketball player or not a good basketball player because they 00:22:34.980 |
Whether they kept the record or not, a good basketball player doesn't change because somebody 00:22:41.180 |
So that's why the scripture says, "The sin came to make sin utterly sinful." 00:22:45.780 |
It wasn't something that wasn't sinful and then made it sinful. 00:22:50.980 |
It was something that was already sinful and revealed it as sinful to people. 00:22:59.220 |
That when the law, the sin was there even before the law came. 00:23:02.580 |
But when the law came, they start keeping records of sin for what purpose? 00:23:08.340 |
So that you can recognize just how utterly sinful we are. 00:23:18.460 |
If one man's sin, one act deserved that wrath, how much more? 00:23:25.480 |
And the wrath of God has been stored up from generation to generation. 00:23:35.620 |
See, basically what Paul is saying is, sin is much deeper than you realize. 00:23:44.660 |
That's why Jesus constantly was telling the Pharisees and he begins to poke at sin that 00:23:53.960 |
But I say to you, if you look at a woman lustfully, you've committed adultery." 00:23:56.900 |
See, a lust can't be measured by the law because it's internal. 00:24:03.360 |
But if you hate your brother, you're guilty of murder. 00:24:15.660 |
See, if you measure righteousness simply by the law, you can become righteous and say, 00:24:20.980 |
"Hey, I go to church and I do this and I do that." 00:24:24.220 |
And not realizing just how deep we are in our sins. 00:24:27.140 |
In fact, the people who are sometimes the most dangerous in the presence of God are 00:24:36.540 |
But greed, hatred, bitterness, pride is so deeply embedded in them. 00:24:42.300 |
But because they keep the law, they feel safe. 00:24:52.420 |
We were deep in sin prior to you ever even recognizing it. 00:24:57.660 |
Romans 7, 13, "Did that which was good then bring death to me? 00:25:02.740 |
It was sin producing death in me through what is good. 00:25:06.020 |
In order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through commandment might become sinful 00:25:11.300 |
We've been talking about the height of His love. 00:25:17.340 |
And when we recognize just how deeply desperate we were. 00:25:22.100 |
Even though we've been saved, sometimes we don't realize exactly what it is that we have. 00:25:28.300 |
Until we recognize who we were before we met Christ. 00:25:37.140 |
We forget how lost we were before we met Christ. 00:25:44.500 |
And so therefore grace just becomes grace, but not amazing. 00:25:48.660 |
See, as a result of that, as a result of that sin, He says, "Death came into the world, 00:25:56.500 |
It didn't just come into the world, it said death reigned. 00:26:06.140 |
He doesn't just say that death came in and became part of life. 00:26:09.300 |
You know, kind of like we say that every time we go to a funeral or we hear about death, 00:26:18.340 |
It is part of our natural experience, our humankind, but is that what God intended? 00:26:30.740 |
God's intent in creation of mankind was not for us to be created, become a teenager, and 00:26:43.500 |
The diseases that you have, the physical defects, all of these things came in as a result of 00:26:52.380 |
But not only did death come in, it said death absolutely reigned. 00:27:00.620 |
We typically think of death as something that has happened. 00:27:06.140 |
We understand salvation in three parts, right? 00:27:10.760 |
We are justified, we are being sanctified, and one day we will be glorified. 00:27:16.180 |
So we are saved, the Bible says we are being saved, and we will be saved. 00:27:22.620 |
But the Bible also describes death in three parts. 00:27:29.460 |
And the Bible also says the gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing, but the power 00:27:38.620 |
So not only is life described in the present tense, ongoing, so is death. 00:27:45.240 |
So death is not something that just happened and then just, "Oh, it just happened in the 00:27:49.060 |
There is a continual decay and reigning of death. 00:27:52.240 |
A greater and greater experience of death in mankind. 00:27:56.020 |
And then ultimately in Revelations it says, "Inasmuch it is appointed for all men to die 00:28:02.220 |
And the judgment is called second death in the book of Revelation. 00:28:06.300 |
So death is described as past, death is described as present, and death is described as future. 00:28:14.100 |
So what this means is all mankind is experiencing a growing amount of this death reign. 00:28:25.780 |
You know, when you're younger you see older people, they're so cynical and grizzled, and 00:28:33.100 |
But they get older and everybody gets kind of like bitter and angry. 00:28:44.060 |
I just want to go up the mountain, get on a boat, just go fishing. 00:28:50.060 |
And why, if you go to certain areas of the world where it's just kind of heavy population, 00:28:54.660 |
where it's just kind of rubbing shoulders, where you don't see a train full of people 00:29:00.500 |
You know, it's like, "Oh my gosh, get off of me!" 00:29:07.380 |
You know, I've been to parts of the world where it's just so, I felt so claustrophobic, 00:29:15.940 |
You ask them what time it is, and they look at you like you've offended them. 00:29:21.580 |
Typically speaking, I'm not saying it's like that everywhere, typically speaking, if you 00:29:24.700 |
go to places where it's rural, where people don't interact with each other often, they're 00:29:29.460 |
And you ask them, "Hey, how did you get there?" 00:29:41.060 |
But they tend to be, tend to be in the rural areas a bit more friendly. 00:29:47.620 |
My theory is, if you're, what's corrupted in the world wasn't creation. 00:30:00.220 |
They're angry with the people who are conducting, making decisions. 00:30:02.700 |
So their anger and bitterness is toward other people. 00:30:06.900 |
So the more you are around other people where death reigns, the more you will experience 00:30:16.500 |
That's why when you have a bunch of young kids, they're happy, and then you have a bunch 00:30:20.900 |
And I'm not saying it's like that everywhere. 00:30:23.900 |
I'm just saying that's how life tends to get. 00:30:28.060 |
If you've been backstabbed, and people have hurt you, and you've seen sin over and over, 00:30:39.140 |
Death came into the world, and it absolutely reigned. 00:30:43.220 |
See, James chapter 1, verse 15, it says, "But each person is tempted when he is lured and 00:30:51.020 |
Then when it has conceived, gives birth to sin. 00:30:52.980 |
And sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death." 00:31:01.820 |
Typically, the temptation of sin is because we think that at that moment, that sin is 00:31:11.340 |
When we talked about Jesus came to bring life, life is where you feel the greatest joy. 00:31:17.300 |
Whatever it is that you're doing that causes the greatest joy is where you feel the most 00:31:23.140 |
So the opposite of that is when you look at sin, we're pursuing sin. 00:31:27.980 |
Nobody pursues sin because it's the right thing to do. 00:31:34.580 |
Sin is at that moment, you're tempted, and you think that by lying, by cheating, by watching 00:31:39.620 |
certain things, by doing certain things, that it's going to make you happy for that moment. 00:31:44.980 |
But instead of making you happy, as soon as the act is done, does that bring life? 00:31:55.260 |
You see what the scripture says, and it confirms over and over again. 00:32:07.180 |
That feeling of guilt that comes over, that presses you, that compresses you, the desire 00:32:13.420 |
to hide, it ruins fellowship, and it kills the joy in your life. 00:32:24.100 |
And that's what the scripture says when Adam introduced this, all mankind is under this 00:32:32.260 |
And the deception of sin is constantly thinking that if you just did this, if you just cut 00:32:36.900 |
this corner, if you just do this, that somehow I'm going to be happy. 00:32:39.640 |
But at the end of that, you know that that's not there. 00:32:46.060 |
In Genesis chapter 1, 28, God gives the command, creation command, that this is what God desires 00:32:55.660 |
He said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, subdue it and have dominion 00:33:04.580 |
So there's five commands in the creation account. 00:33:11.260 |
And the three are, be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. 00:33:19.540 |
Now, after the fall, were they able to do that? 00:33:33.340 |
And that's the reason why he created Eve, because Adam can't reproduce by himself. 00:33:45.060 |
No, to be a suitable helper so that you can procreate, to be fruitful, to be multiply 00:33:50.860 |
But the second part of this command, to subdue and to have dominion, is where the corruption 00:33:58.620 |
The word "subdue" in the Hebrew basically means to overcome and to bring under submission. 00:34:06.420 |
My professor, Dr. Saucy at Talbot, we're going through this in theology, and he said that 00:34:11.740 |
word that is translated for "subdue" in the Hebrew means to conquer. 00:34:29.460 |
But since then, I've been meditating and thinking upon, like, what does he mean? 00:34:32.260 |
Why would God use the word, a military term, to describe creation mandate? 00:34:39.200 |
And it makes sense because when we come to Ephesians, Jesus described our walk on this 00:34:51.380 |
And then in 2 Corinthians 4, 4, it says the god of this age is who? 00:35:01.700 |
When did his kingdom get established that we needed to be delivered from to bring into 00:35:18.520 |
So the idea of it is that God created creation, and he wanted them to multiply and fill the 00:35:24.160 |
earth and somehow capture, or somehow subdue, at least that's the language that is used, 00:35:36.500 |
But instead, what God created Adam and Eve to do, what does it say? 00:35:42.340 |
Adam commits a sin, and because of sin, death comes in, and death what? 00:35:51.060 |
What God intended Adam and Eve and mankind to do, now death took over. 00:35:55.940 |
And who has the, who has the, who is the accuser, right? 00:36:04.940 |
It's in Hebrews chapter 2, 14 and 16, it says, "Since therefore the children share in flesh 00:36:10.380 |
and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same thing, that through death he might 00:36:15.460 |
destroy the one who has power of death, that is the devil." 00:36:22.100 |
So when it says that death reigned, what does it mean? 00:36:25.540 |
By holding death over the heads of all mankind, and deliver all those who through fear of 00:36:35.060 |
I know probably a lot of you guys have probably read that text before and said, well fear 00:36:38.620 |
of death and to slavery, it's like oh that's what the Bible says. 00:36:43.540 |
Before you became a Christian, were you living in fear of death? 00:36:48.940 |
I mean that's what it says, but was that your experience? 00:36:53.500 |
Are the non-Christians that you know, are they living every day like in fear of death? 00:36:57.660 |
You know, at least from what I'm observing, there's a lot of people who jump off of buildings 00:37:01.580 |
with a little cloth, you know, saying, "I'm going to live it, if I die, I die, whatever." 00:37:09.180 |
Tight rope, and bungee jumping, and rock climbing, and they do all of this stuff, it's like, 00:37:16.900 |
I know there are some people who are living in fear of death, but for the most part, it 00:37:19.660 |
seems like we just kind of marginalize it, we just don't think about it. 00:37:23.460 |
We need to understand what the author means here in the context, right? 00:37:29.140 |
What is the greatest, last rule of interpretation? 00:37:32.620 |
Again, I already said it, it starts with a C, not commentary, but context. 00:37:58.260 |
In case you didn't know, I was called Hebrews. 00:38:03.740 |
It's written to Hebrews, meaning Jewish people. 00:38:06.700 |
And the problem with the Jewish people, the second, third generation Jewish Christians, 00:38:11.280 |
is that they were reverting back to the old system of law. 00:38:15.940 |
And so what the author is saying is, they are saying that the power of death has enslaved 00:38:25.280 |
That they were going back to the Old Testament law, thinking that if they kept the rules 00:38:28.080 |
and the laws, and went back to their old system, that somehow they will be delivered from the 00:38:35.600 |
But instead, he says, if you go back to that system, all you're going to see is greater 00:38:42.320 |
And true life is found in Christ, and Christ alone. 00:38:44.420 |
So what he's referring to in Hebrews chapter 2, 14, are people who are constantly living 00:39:12.060 |
Now all of these things are mandated in scripture. 00:39:15.020 |
Now when we get to Romans chapter 12, I mean, he's going to lay that on thick. 00:39:19.620 |
But he's talking to a group of people who the power of judgment has so gripped them, 00:39:29.060 |
And that's what it says in John chapter 8, because these Jews were coming, who were so 00:39:34.860 |
And Jesus says, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." 00:39:45.500 |
Until you are absolutely gripped by the grace of Jesus Christ, you'll be enslaved for the 00:39:58.620 |
Thinking you're being righteous, but enslaved. 00:40:01.580 |
Thinking you're worshipping God, but absolutely enslaved. 00:40:06.220 |
Thinking that you have assurance, but deep, deeply inside, constantly living in fear, 00:40:15.220 |
That's why he says, "While we were yet sinners, while we were still weak, while we were enemies 00:40:25.260 |
And yet, despite all of that, because we were weak, because we were sinners, because we 00:40:35.060 |
We talk about all these details of original sin, and predestination, and justification, 00:40:40.820 |
And sometimes we get so caught up in that, and we forget the big picture. 00:40:48.460 |
Why is He saying all this, and why are we spending all this time in the morning, like 00:40:52.820 |
in a lecture hall, dissecting words and context? 00:40:57.300 |
And I know, you know, I hear it all the time. 00:40:59.940 |
You know, it's like, people don't want to hear it. 00:41:04.060 |
The point of all of this is to say the same thing that He's been saying all along. 00:41:10.780 |
That if you believe that Jesus Christ died for you, if you really believe that, not just 00:41:17.500 |
superficially, not just superstitiously, but if you really believe that, you're free. 00:41:28.300 |
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 00:41:34.260 |
Just as sin came into the world through one man, and brought death, and death reigned. 00:41:40.820 |
To the conclusion of this is not these four verses. 00:41:47.380 |
"But, but, but the free gift is not like the trespass. 00:41:52.700 |
For if many die through one man's trespasses, much more have the grace of God and the free 00:41:57.820 |
gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many." 00:42:03.460 |
We'll get to that when we talk about it next time, but let me conclude with the final pass 00:42:10.460 |
"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will 00:42:16.500 |
sound and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 00:42:22.580 |
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 00:42:30.500 |
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall 00:42:34.900 |
come to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 00:42:42.740 |
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God who gives 00:42:47.460 |
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 00:42:51.740 |
Let's meditate on this this week, you know, as we think upon the depth of His love, the 00:42:57.100 |
height of His love, the length and width of His love, that we may experience the fullness 00:43:03.340 |
Let's take a few minutes to pray as we invite the praise team to come up. 00:43:07.860 |
Again, it's important for us to wrestle with the small things because these small things 00:43:12.340 |
add up to the big picture, and the big picture is always Christ crucified. 00:43:16.980 |
It is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is the power of God for those who are 00:43:23.140 |
So let's fix our eyes upon Christ, author and perfecter of our faith. 00:43:25.980 |
So as we take some time to pray, to reflect on that, how deeply have we been affected 00:43:33.820 |
by what it is that we are learning in the Book of Romans? 00:43:36.020 |
So let's take some time to pray and come before the Lord and ask the Lord to strengthen us