|
The first part of chapter five talks about our reconciliation with God in Christ. Through Christ we have gained access to God (see also Ephesians 3:12, Hebrews 4:16); we rejoice both in our future hope and present circumstances, appreciating more and more the love and grace God showed us in the death of Christ. The second part of chapter five is teaching that all people are sinners and without Christ we die. The two over-riding perspectives of people today are: 1.) I am bad and it is not possible for God to love me, or 2.) I am good, (at least good enough), and not in need of a Savior. The truth that all people are sinners and die because they are united to Adam in his sin is a very foreign concept to our culture. People grumble that it doesn't seem fair sin entered the world through one person. But, is it fair that sinless God came to earth to die for me, taking upon Himself the sins of the world? Salvation has no fairness in it at all as no one deserves it! Salvation comes from God's grace offered lovingly and righteously to an undeserving people. It is easy to grumble about Adam and the injustice of his sin, but if Adam hadn't sinned who among us can say we wouldn't have? The good news of chapter five is even though you cannot help being in Adam, you do not have to continue to live in Adam. Everyone is born a sinner. No one can, by him or herself, keep from rebelling, doing bad things and thinking evil thoughts. But we do not have to stay that way. Because Jesus lived and died and rose again, you and I can be different. Adam is the representative of all people. That means his sin and sin nature are now a part of all people. Ever since the time of Adam's sin every person has been born a sinner. Does that mean babies are sinners? Yes. Does that mean the babies who die are going to hell? No. God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy. (Romans 9:14-15) 'What-if' questions are often an excuse not to trust in the sovereign, merciful, all knowing, holy character of God. Perhaps a more appropriate question is, do I trust in God to do what is right even if I do not completely understand all the truths of God? In questioning God's judgment, we often set ourselves up as being more merciful than God in many situations. God's character is infinite and beyond our grasp. When we place our limited sense of justice, mercy and understanding next to God's and somehow think that we are capable of higher moral judgments, we stand on extremely shaky ground! God's grace is greater than our sin. Does that mean that everyone is saved? No, it does not. God's word clearly states that only those who come to Jesus for forgiveness and receive Him as Lord will have eternal life. Adam's one disobedience brought judgment on the whole world. Christ's one act of obedience covered all the sins of all people. But salvation occurs individually, one person at a time receiving God's grace. In chapter five Paul develops the idea of two kingdoms; the kingdom of sin and the kingdom of grace. Everyone is born into the kingdom of sin through Adam and is sentenced to death. The people who live in the kingdom of grace are those who have received the grace of God through the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ. The kingdom of sin carries with it the lie that sin is fun, that real happiness and freedom can be found apart from God. It also questions the word of God. In the garden of Eden Satan asked, "Did God really say..." (Genesis 3:1) The kingdom of sin also presents the lie that self must be first. The desire for more possessions, freedoms, and personal rights leads us in a downward spiral of first complacency and then destruction. Sin is a mocker that brings death to those who desire to cling to the illusions it presents. In the kingdom of grace, we receive God's forgiveness, mercy, and love. God's righteousness enters us and we have union with Christ. This union with Christ Is what Jesus prayed for in John 17:23. The fact that Christ lives in us through the power of the Holy Spirit is difficult for nonbelievers to understand. But it is only in His power and righteousness that Christians can claim the full measure of joy within them. (John 17:13) For it is only through Christ in us that we can and will resist sin. In John 17:17 Jesus asks his Father to "Sanctify them by the truth; your Word is truth." The truth of scripture is understood and made real in our hearts by the Spirit of God working and living in us. The union of the believer with Christ is one of the three great unions taught in Scripture. The first is the three persons of the Godhead, the Trinity. On the basis of the revelation of God in Scripture, we believe that our one God exists in three persons as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This perfect union enabled Holy Father to send Himself in the form of His Son to earth to die for the sins of sinful man. It also enabled the Son to leave the gift of the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, "who will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment." (John 16:8) It is this union that provides perfectly for our salvation. The next union is that of the two natures of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is one person, yet both man and God, possessing two natures. This fact is important since the benefits of Jesus' death depended on His being both man (so He could die) and God (so that His death would have infinite atoning value). Both Christians and non-Christians can agree upon the truth of verse 12. This verse tells of the universality of sin (though non-Christians will not call it sin) and the universality of death. Even the most thoroughly secular person will not claim to be perfect, and everyone knows he or she must die. As far as sin is concerned, the secular view assumes that it is only an imperfection which with time will be overcome. This view of sin fits the evolutionary framework of our day. As to death, the secularist explains this as being merely natural. All living things die, they are meant to do so. The problem is that none of us really believes that or wants that. We sense that we were meant to be immortal, that we should not die. In Christianity death is not natural. It is the punishment of God for sin. Adam's sin was imputed to us just as Christ's righteousness is imputed to those whom God saves. Justification through faith is said to be the doctrine by which the church stands or falls. However, this is an incomplete statement. Our justification through faith comes by God's grace to us. It was His sovereign will to provide His Son, our Savior and Lord, as the atonement for our sins. Therefore the right relationship with God is through faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ's work alone. Flashing like a beacon of light on a dangerous night is Romans 5:20-21. "But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as
sin reigned in death, so also grace
might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord." Grace is God's unmerited favor to those who are
undeserving. Grace is shown when God reaches out to save those who
would perish otherwise. God sees us staggering and by grace comes
alongside to bear us up. God sees us dying and by grace imparts eternal
life. God sees us destitute and by grace pours the inexhaustible riches
of Christ into our laps.
|