If you would, go ahead and open
your Bibles to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. We'll start here in verse 12
and read through the end of the chapter. Romans 5 verse 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.
For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed
where there is no law. 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
is to come. But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For
if through the offense 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. 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 offenses unto justification. For if by one man's offense 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. Therefore, as by the offense
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. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound, that as sin hath reigned unto death, even
so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life
by Jesus Christ our Lord. Our text this morning will come
from the latter half of verse 20, but where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. Where sin abounded, where sin
overflowed, where sin came in and conquered, exceeding sinfulness,
a great abundance of sin. We read here, grace, grace did
much more abound. Thank God. We sing this song,
when I look down deep within and see the sinfulness of sin,
blessed Lord, how merciful thou was to me. I believe this verse
of scripture, where sin abounded, grace did much more, but I believe
that applies to Every picture in the gospel, every word of
this book, I believe it applies to everything that happens in
our life. And Lord willing, that's what
I want to give you a message on this morning. Let me give
you four illustrations of this. Turn with me and your Bibles
to Genesis chapter 6, verse 1. Genesis chapter 6 verse 1, and
as we go through these illustrations, these pictures here this morning,
I'd like for you to keep this verse of Scripture in mind, where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Here we have a familiar
passage of Scripture. You all remember Noah, but we'll
pick up here in Genesis chapter 6 verse 1. It says, And it came
to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and
daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw that
the daughters of men, that they were fair. And they took them
wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit
shall not always strive with man, for that he is also flesh. Yet his days shall be numbered
a hundred and twenty years. and there were giants in the
earth in those days. And also after that, when the sons of
God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children
unto them, the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of
renown. Verse five, And God saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth. and that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that
he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from
the face of the earth, both man and beast and creeping thing
and the fowls of the air, for it repenteth me that I have made
them. Verse eight, but Noah found grace
in the eyes of the Lord. Here we read that the wickedness
of man, it was great in the earth. And every imagination of his
thoughts was only evil continually. Can you imagine how sinful that
must have been? I mean, we look around today
and we think, boy, this world just keeps getting worse and
more sinful. God said every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually. And if we read on, it says God
said that it repented him to have made man." That word repented,
it means to cause grief, to mourn over, but it also means to have
compassion on. It repented God to have made
man on the earth and it grieved him at his heart so much that
God said, I will destroy man whom I have created. And if this
text just ended there, we wouldn't have any hope, any message here
for us this morning. But aren't we thankful that because
of one, because of Noah, God had grace. We read, but Noah
found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Had it not been for Noah,
there would have been no grace. Grace was had because of one,
And in our case, there's only one who can save us from the
judgment and the wrath and the internal condemnation of God
to come, and that's the man Christ Jesus. He's the only one who
found favor, who found grace in the sight of Almighty God.
And if it were not for Him, there would be no grace. This is the
first place in the Bible where we see this word grace mentioned. And aren't we thankful that where
sin abounded, where sin just came in and overflowed, that
grace did much more abound. My second illustration comes
from Genesis chapter 45. Genesis chapter 45. And here we have another familiar
passage of Scripture. Here we read of Joseph, and just
a little background on Joseph. Joseph was the beloved of his
father Jacob and his brothers. They hated him for that. And
at first, his brothers, they conspired to kill him. And then
Reuben said, let's not kill him. Let's sell him and make a little
money off of him. And they sold their own brother
into slavery. Can you imagine that? I've got
a brother. Paul and Wally, y'all are brothers.
They sold their own brother into slavery. Can you imagine how
sinful that was? How Joseph must have felt? And Joseph, he'd go on to serve
in Potiphar's house, and he'd be falsely accused and cast into
prison. And then when he was in prison,
he would interpret those dreams of the baker and the butler.
And eventually, he'd interpret that dream of Pharaoh and predict
those seven years of famine and the seven years of plenty. And
through him, God would God would deliver that nation of Egypt
from the famine to come. Joseph, he gathered that corn
and filled up those storehouses. And when the time that that famine
came, Egypt had corn when no one else did. And eventually
those brothers who sold Joseph into slavery, they'd have to
come to him for corn. And that's where we pick up here,
here in verse 45. I just can't help but think what
a picture of Christ that Joseph is in this. We'll pick up here
in verse 1. It says, Then Joseph could not
refrain himself before all them that stood by him. And he cried,
Cause every man to go out from me. And there stood no man with
him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And
he wept aloud, and the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph, doth not my father
yet live? And his brethren could not answer
him, for they were troubled at his presence. And Joseph said
unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came
near. And he said, I am Joseph your
brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore, be not grieved
nor angry with yourselves that you sold me thither, for God
did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath
the famine been in the land, and yet there are five years
in which there shall be neither earing nor harvest. And God did
send me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth
and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not
you that sent me hither, but God." Can you imagine the grace
it took for him to say that? They purposed evil in their hearts,
but Jacob says, it wasn't you that did this, it was God. Let's
read on here, and it says, And he hath made me a father to Pharaoh,
and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land
of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him,
Thus saith my son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt. Come down unto me, tarry not,
and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt be
near unto me, thou and thy children, and thy children's children,
and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast, and there
will I nourish thee. For yet there are five years
of famine, lest thou and thy household and all that thou hast
come to poverty. And behold, your eyes see, and
the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh
unto you. And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt,
and all that ye have seen, and ye shall haste and bring down
my father hither." He says, go and tell my father of all my
glory. I just think, what a picture of Christ. Back there in verse
10 it says, you'll dwell with me in that land of Goshen, so
you can be near unto me, thy and thy children and thy children's
children, and there will I nourish thee and keep thee. Is that not
what Christ did for us? And this story that had such
a sinful beginning, being sold into slavery by his own brothers,
look at the conclusion of it. Turn over to Genesis, just a
few pages, chapter 50, verse 20. This might be one of my favorite
verses in the Bible. Genesis chapter 50 verse 20,
it says, but as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant
it unto good to bring to pass as it is this day to save much
people alive. Where sin abounded, where sin
just overflowed. Their intentions were bad. They
had evil in their hearts. They meant it unto evil. But
we read, God mended unto good. Grace did much more abound. And God designed that only good
could come from it. And what He purposed, that's
what He did. To bring to pass, as it is this
day, to save much people alive. William Cowper wrote this song,
he said, Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for
his grace. Behind a frowning providence,
he hides a smiling face. His purposes will ripen fast,
unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste,
but sweet will be the flower. Oh, aren't we thankful that where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And we could just
keep going with every one of these pictures in the Old Testament.
We could go into the New Testament. We could look at Cain and Abel
and Abraham and Isaac. We could look at the children
of Israel down there in Egypt, the count of Ruth and Boaz, David
and Goliath, Jonah. Each one of these we could see
where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. But I believe
the real meaning of this verse As we'll get to it here in a
moment, it points to one time where sin abounded and grace
did much more abound. Turn with me over to Genesis
chapter 1. This will be my third illustration. Genesis chapter 1. Start here in verse 26. Here
we have the creation of man and the image of God by the hand
of God, by the word of God. Verse 26 says this, and God said,
let us make man in our image and after our likeness and let
him have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl
of the air and over the cattle. and over all the earth, and over
every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created
man in his own image, and the image of God created he him.
Male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God
said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the
earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing
that moveth upon the earth. Here we have God's creation of
man in the garden. And I thought a lot about Adam
this week. What he must have been like when
God himself, God who spoke this universe, into creation, when
God, the author of everything that we look out and see, God
who painted those skies and created the ocean, when God formed Adam
out of the dust, and it says He created him in His own image,
and He was created upright, perfect in the image. Could you imagine
what Adam must have been like? You know, we look around and
all we see is sinful man. Adam was created in the very
image of God, and we read that God gave him dominion. God gave
him power over everything in creation, over the animals, over
the fish of the sea, over everything he made, he gave Adam dominion. And I was thinking about that.
You know, we have dogs, and every once in a while I'll go out and
I'll call for my dog and maybe it'll come to me. Adam could
have done that with any animal in the creation. He could have
called a grizzly bear just like we call our dogs. And he was
never stung, he was never attacked by an animal. He had dominion,
he had control over everything. And that's something because
one of these days, if we're one of God's people, we're gonna
be made in an image even greater than that. In the image of Christ
Jesus himself forever. And we read here that God gave
Adam dominion over the garden, and He gave him this one commandment.
Look over a page at Genesis 2, verse 16. It says, And the Lord God commanded
the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely
eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not
eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die. And we read on, look over at
Genesis chapter 3, verses 6 and 7. You all know what happens
here. Says, 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. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and that they
knew that they were afraid, and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the
Lord God walking, and the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam
and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord amongst
the trees of the garden. Adam who once walked with God,
Adam who had fellowship and communion with God, broke God's law, and
he didn't just stumble, he didn't just trip up, he fell. God said,
in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. And Adam
died. And all the creation turns on
him. That fellowship, that dominion that he had is now gone forever. Everything, every creature despises
him. He's an enemy of God, dead and
dying. And sin has entered this whole
world because of that man. And when he fell, He took billions. He didn't just take himself.
When Adam stood, he stood as the federal head of the whole
human race, male and female, Jew and Gentile, white and black,
young and old. He stood in our place. And when
he fell, I died, I died in Adam. We all died in Adam. And there
is no part of us that's not contaminated. Over in Romans 5 verse 12, we
read this, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world,
and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all
have sinned, you too, and me too. And not only death came, but
in Romans 5 verse 18 we read this, Therefore, as by the offense
of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation. We don't
have an alibi. We don't have an argument. We
don't even try our case. The judgment's over with. We
don't have an appeal or a day in court. The trial's over. We
are born condemned. When Adam fell, this whole world
was brought into judgment. I was made a sinner. And if we
just stopped right there, boy, we'd have a bleak and sinful
picture. And it sure looks like sin has
had the full and the final victory. It looks like sin has just overflowed
and abounded. But that's where this verse applies
right now. Where sin came in and conquered
this special man that God created in this perfect creation, grace
did much more abound. Look over at Genesis chapter
3, verse 14 and 15. It says, And the Lord God said
unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed
above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon thy
belly shalt thou go, and thus shalt thou eat all the days of
thy life. And I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. The seed of
woman shall bruise the serpent's head. Here we have the first
promise of all the scriptures, and that's the promise of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound. And as I said earlier, this applies
to everything in the scripture. It applies to everything in our
lives. But I believe there's one instance in particular where
this applies. And here is the fourth and final
illustration. I believe all these things point
to the time that sin abounded and grace did much more abound.
Turn over to John chapter 18. John chapter 18. I take you here to the garden. John chapter 18, we'll pick up
here in verse 1, and it said, When Jesus had spoken these words,
he went forth with his disciples over the brook Kidron. And he
entered, and his disciples, and Judas also, which betrayed him,
knew the place. For Jesus oftentimes resorted
thither with his disciples. Judas then, having received a
band of men, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees,
come a-thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. And
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon
him, went forth and said unto them, Whom seek ye? And they
answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am. And Judas also, which betrayed
him, stood with them. And as soon as he said unto them,
I am, they went backward and fell to the ground. Then he asked
them again, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus answered, I have told you that I am. If therefore you seek
me, let these go their way. That the saying might be fulfilled,
which he spake of, of them which thou hast gavest me, have I lost
none. Then Simon Peter, having a sword,
drew it, and smote off the high priest's servant, and cut off
his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus.
Then said Jesus unto Peter, put up thy sword into thy sheath,
the cup which my father hath given me. shall I not drink it? Then the band and the captain
and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him and led him
away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which
was the high priest of the same year. Now Caiaphas was he which
gave counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that one man
should die for the people. And you all know what happens
here. They try him, and they mock him, and they bring false
witness against him, and they turn him over to those Roman
soldiers who scourge him and beat him and spit upon our Lord. Turn over just a few pages, and
we're going to... Hang on, I've lost my scripture
here. And he says, I turn you over
to him to be crucified. Look at John chapter 19, starting in
verse 13. It says, When Pilate therefore heard
that saying, he brought Jesus forth and sat down in the judgment
seat in a place that is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew,
Gabbatha. And it was the preparation of
the Passover in about the sixth hour. And he said unto the Jews,
Behold your king. But they cried out, Away with
him, away with him, crucify him. And Pilate saith unto them, Shall
I crucify your king? And the chief priest answered,
We have no king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore
unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus and led him
away. And He, bearing His cross, went
forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called
in the Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others
with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the midst. Look
down at verse 28. It says, After this, Jesus, knowing
that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled,
saith, I thirst. And there was a vessel full of
vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon
Hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation
that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath
day, for that Sabbath was a high day, besought Pilate that their
legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. Then
came the soldiers and break the legs of the first and the others
which were crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and
saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs. But
one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith
came thereout blood and water. And he saw it, and bear record,
and his record is true. And he knoweth that he saith
true, that ye might believe. For these things were done, that
the scripture should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken.
And again another scripture saith, that ye shall look upon him whom
they have pierced. We read these other scriptures. His visage was marred more than
any other man and his forms more than the son of man. Isaiah 53
verse 5 says this, but he was wounded for our transgression.
He was bruised for our iniquities. Isaiah 53 verse 7 says this,
he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before
his shears is dumb, so openeth he not his mouth." And we grow so accustomed to
just to thinking Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified,
and that is absolutely true, but we also read in scriptures
This is God Almighty. Christ Himself said, I and my
Father are one. And John chapter 1 verse 1 says
this, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. I and my Father are one. This
is God Almighty. Who we just read a few minutes
ago spoke this earth into creation. He came down and bore our sins
on His body on that tree and was crucified by men. Could there
be a more sinful moment? ever. Could there be a more sinful
moment? God Almighty, where sin abounded,
where sin overflowed, where sin came in and looked like it had
conquered. And you all know they took him down from the cross
and they put him in a tomb and rolled that stone before it.
and everyone walked away. And if the Scripture just ended
there, boy, we wouldn't have any comfort, any hope, any grace.
You might ask this question, did sin win? Did sin triumph? Was it just too much? The forces
of hell and earth and the prince of the power of the air, they
abounded. In this moment, they abounded.
And did sin triumph? Was it just too much? No sir,
they came to the tomb the next morning and they rolled the stone
away and there was that angel sitting saying, why seek ye the
dead? Why seek ye the living among
the dead? He is not here, he is risen. And up from the grave
he arose, my representative, my sacrifice, my sin offering,
my savior. With a mighty triumph over his
foes, he arose a victor from the dark domain, and he lives
forever with the saints to reign, where sin abounded, grace Grace
did much more abound. And we look around at this world,
and we think, boy, it just keeps on getting worse and worse and
more sinful. And we see sin abounding. But
one of these days, one of these days, grace will much more abound. And we sing this song, and forever
I will be with the one who died for me. Oh, what a day, glorious
day that will be. I hope this has been a help.