Romans 5:12-21 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (13) (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.(14) Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.(15) But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.(16) And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.(17) For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)(18) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.(19) For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.(20) Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:(21) That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
In these verses of Scripture, the Apostle Paul, writing by Divine inspiration, draws a very instructive parallel between the first Adam and the last Adam, between the first representative man (Adam) and the second representative man (the Lord Jesus Christ, 'The Lord from heaven"). It is not my intention in this message to expound these verses of Scripture. But I do want to call your attention to five things revealed in this last half of Romans chapter five. These five statements will lay the foundation for my message tonight.
1. Sin and death entered into this world and was passed upon all the human race by the sin and fall of one representative man, our father Adam.
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
2. In his act of disobedience and the penalty of death he incurred as our representative, Adam was a type and figure of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was ordained of God to come into this world as the Savior of a chosen race.
Romans 5:14 "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come."
3. God's elect are made righteous and granted life and salvation in Christ in exactly the same way as we all became sinners, died, and became subject to eternal damnation in Adam - BY THE DOING AND DYING OF THAT REPRESENTATIVE MAN WHO IS HIMSELF GOD, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
Romans 5:15 "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many."
Romans 5:17-19 "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)(18) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.(19) For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
4. The Lord God, in his sovereign wisdom, goodness, and grace, ordained and permitted the entrance of sin into the world by Adam's disobedience so that he might magnify his name and the glory of his grace in the salvation of his elect by Christ, so that in the very place where sin abounded grace might super-abound.
Romans 5:16 "And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification."
Romans 5:20 "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."
5. The purpose of God was not, to any degree, frustrated, but perfectly fulfilled in the sin and fall of our father Adam.
Romans 5:21 "That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
Now, I want to talk to you this evening about The Sin And Fall Of Our Father Adam. The law God gave to Adam and the covenant he made with him as our representative were broken shortly after Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden.
Proposition: Though he was created in the image of God, in a state of innocence, integrity, and righteousness, by an act of willful disobedience and sin, Adam fell from that lofty state of righteousness and life into a state of sin and death; and we all (all the human race) fell in him.
Divisions: As we seek to understand what happened in the Garden, I want to answer three simple questions. The questions are simple. The answers are revealed with utmost clarity in the Word of God. Yet, the answers to these three questions are some of the most controversial and profound things revealed in Holy Scripture. I hope you will give me your careful, careful attention and follow me through the Scriptures as I show you…
I. The very first thing that must be consider is the answer to the question - WHO SINNED?
The Word of God declares that both Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, sinned against God, first Eve, then Adam.
1 Timothy 2:13-14
A. Eve was first in the transgression.
She was beguiled and deceived by the old serpent, the devil. He persuaded her to eat of the forbidden fruit.
Genesis 3:1-6 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?(2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:(3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.(4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:(5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.(6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
B. However, as I have pointed out to you many times, it was by Adam's transgression and sin that sin and death entered the world and plunged all the human race into sin and death, under the wrath of God.
God's covenant was not made with Eve. It was made with Adam. I do not minimize the fact that Eve personally transgressed God's law and his covenant; but she was not the covenant head and representative of the race. When she ate the forbidden fruit, nothing happened. But when Adam, with his eyes wide open, took the fruit in defiance of God, immediately, the human race was corrupted by sin and plunged into spiritual darkness and death, under the wrath of God.
Genesis 3:6-7 "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.(7) And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons."
You see, Adam was Eve's federal head and representative in exactly the same way as he was our federal head and representative. I stress this because it is very important. God arranged it so that the entire human race would stand or fall by the obedience or disobedience of one representative man. He did that because he had purposed that all his elect would be recovered from Adam's fall by the obedience of one man, the God-man, his darling Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.(22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
C. In his act of sin, by which we were all made sinners, in his spiritual death, by which death passed upon all men, our father Adam was, by Divine appointment, a type and figure of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have already seen this stated in Romans 5:14. This is not something I drew off the top of my head. These are the words of God the Holy Spirit. Adam was "the figure of him that was to come."
Adam's transgression was a horrible, treasonous act of rebellion against the Lord God. He knew exactly what the consequences of Eve's sin would be. She had sinned. Therefore, she must die. Adam, therefore, with his eyes wide open, in a fit of fury against his Creator, snatched the fruit from Eve's hands and willfully plunged himself into death, under the curse of God. Perhaps you are thinking, "How can that be a picture and type of Christ?" I am glad you asked.
1. Adam loved Eve. - Christ loved his bride Church.
2. Because of his love for Eve, rather than be separated from her forever, Adam chose to become what she was, to become a sinner with her. - The Lord Jesus Christ, because of his great love for us, rather than be separated from his people forever, chose to become one of us and to be made sin for us.
3. When Adam took that forbidden fruit, he knew full well that the result would be his own death under the terrible wrath of almighty God; but he willingly chose that death because of his love for Eve. - Even so, the Son of God, because of his great love for us, chose to become sin for us, knowing that when he was made to be sin he must also suffer all the wrath of God and be banished from his Father as a cursed thing as our Substitute.
4. There are two great disparities between the first Adam and the last Adam.
Thus it has come to pass exactly as the Lord God purposed from eternity that where sin abounded grace did much more abound; and as sin reigned unto death, so grace now reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by our Lord Jesus Christ!
II. Here is a second question which, if thoughtfully considered, demands an answer - HOW COULD A PERFECT MAN, CREATED IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD, COMMIT SUCH A CRIME?
In my opinion, that is a fair, honest, and reasonable question. I have asked it many, many times, when contemplating the sin and fall of Adam. How could a man, so wise, so knowledgeable, so holy, just, and good, a man created in the very image and likeness of God commit such a violent, treasonous act as this?
A. The Lord God did not cause Adam to sin.
It seems abhorrent that I should have to even make such a statement as that. But those who despise our God and the gospel of his grace, despising the fact of his absolute sovereignty in all things falsely accuse us of making God the author of sin. Nothing could be further from the truth. God did not make Adam sin. He forbade it. He resented it. He was displeased with it to the highest degree. James declares, "God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." However, the sin and fall of Adam did not take God almighty by surprise! Considering this matter with reverence and sobriety, as we read the Word of God, certain things simply must be acknowledged by anyone familiar with the character of God and the plain statements of Scripture.
1. God Almighty could easily have prevented Adam's sin and fall, had he bee pleased to do so.
He who kept Abimelech from sinning with Sarah, kept Laban and Esau from hurting Jacob, and kept Balaam from cursing Israel could easily have kept Adam from sinning in the Garden.
Had it been his will to do so, God who kept Satan from destroying Job could have simply commanded the devil to leave Adam and Eve alone.
2. Without question, it must also be acknowledged that God, who "worketh after the counsel of his own will," foreknew, foreordained, and predestined the sin and fall of Adam.
I know, some people squirm at this; but either God was in control here or he wasn't. Either he had his way, or someone else had their way. Either God's purpose stood or it fell to the ground! What does the Book say? The Book says, "ALL THINGS ARE OF GOD!"
Isaiah 14:24 "The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:"
Isaiah 14:26 "This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations."
Isaiah 46:9-10 "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,(10) Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:"
Lamentations 3:37 "Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not?"
Romans 11:36 "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."
Nothing is done or can be done that God does not will and purpose to be done! The Word of God tells us plainly that the suffering and death of Christ, to redeem us from sin and deliver us from the fall, was ordained before the foundation of the world (Acts 2:23; 4:28; 1 Pet. 2:20). If our deliverance was foreordained, the fall from which we are delivered was so foreordained.
3. It cannot be denied that this thing came to pass because God permitted it.
I do not mean by that that God simply allowed it, or suffered it to come to pass without interference, or that he stood by as a spectator, but that he permitted it in the sense that he wisely and graciously planned it and willed it, though he did not in any way coerce Adam to sin.
John Gill stated it this way - "God permitted or suffered Adam to sin and fall, which permission was not a bare permission or sufferance. God was not an idle spectator of this affair. The permission was voluntary, wise, holy, powerful, and efficacious, according to the unchangeable counsel of his will. He willed, and he did not will the sin of Adam, in different respects. He did not will it as an evil, but as what he would overrule for good, a great good. He willed it not as sin, but as a mean of glorifying his grace and mercy, justice and holiness."
B. Satan, with great craftiness and subtlety, used that which was dearest and most pleasing to Adam, to destroy him.
The old serpent enticed Eve and thus arranged for Eve to become Adam's snare!
C. Adam chose to rebel and sin, therefore he rebelled and sinned.
That's the long and short of the matter. Adam sinned with the full consent of his will, without any force upon him. With purpose, forethought, and determination, he took the forbidden fruit. Never did a hungry man eat bread or a thirsty man drink water with greater eagerness than Adam had when he took the forbidden fruit.
III. The Lord willing, I will answer this third question more fully in the next few weeks; but I want to briefly answer it now. - WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF ADAM'S INIQUITY, TRANSGRESSION, AND SIN.
Turn back to Romans chapter five again. Let me show you three answers to that question. Look at verses 12, 18, 19, 20, and 21.
Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
A. When Adam sinned, we all sinned in him representatively, and we all became sinners.
1. Adam's sin was legally charged and impute to all the human race. "All have sinned!"
2. Adam's sinful, depraved nature is passed to all his descendants by natural generation.
B. Death and the sentence of death passed upon all men, because "all have sinned."
C. Now, look at verses 18-21. Here Paul tells us that The sin and fall of our father Adam, as it prefigured it, also made a way for the display of God's glorious, super-abounding grace in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:18-21 "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.(19) For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.(20) Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:(21) That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
Had there been no fall, there would have been no recovery. Had there been no ruin, there would have been no redemption. Had there been no sin, there would have been no Savior. Had there been no Savior, there would have been no such song as this…
Revelation 1:5-6 "Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,(6) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
Revelation 5:9-10 "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;(10) And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth."
Application: I know nothing more to say concerning the sin and fall of our father Adam than this…
Romans 11:33-36 "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!(34) For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?(35) Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?(36) For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen."
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