Here in chapter 5, Paul sets
before us a picture of the reign of sin through the first man,
through Adam. And the conclusion, the result
of the reign of sin is death. That by itself, if we would stop
there and not consider anything else, is not a very pretty picture. Death by sin. Adam and all his
descendants each inherit their daddy's nature. You've heard
the expression, like father, like son. We're like our daddy
Adam, fallen Adam. Look what we read here in verse
12. Wherefore, as by one man sin
entered into the world, that is by Adam, and death by sin,
so death passed upon all men, no exceptions. that little five-month-year-old
baby in Dubai, it didn't skip him. He inherited the nature
of fallen Adam. For that all have sin, every
family tree. Now some people take great delight
in tracing their roots. I've never really had too much
of an interest in doing that because of what I've heard, there's
nothing there to be proud of. It's tracing my family roots.
There's a picture my aunt gave me of a very distinguished looking
gentleman on the wall at the house, among other pictures of
my family, sons, daughters, grandchildren. And he looks very distinguished. And she said he was a music teacher. On the side, he was a bootlegger.
So if I shake my family tree, I'm afraid of what might fall
out. Whether you trace the tree or roots of the Copelands or
the Christas or the Butners or the Hoags or whoever, I guarantee
you this. Fallen Adam will come tumbling
out. Death by sin, we read. Not physical death alone, of
course. Of course, the Lord told Adam
in the day. The very day that you eat thereof
thou shalt die. Adam ate of the tree of the fruit
of the knowledge of good and evil, but at that moment he didn't
die. It was quite a while afterwards
that he died, but he did die at that moment spiritually. Spiritually. It's more than physical death
or it doesn't end there. It's more than that and it's
worse than that. Spiritual death. Spiritual death. What a picture of helplessness
that is. Paul in 1st Corinthians 15 said,
in Adam, all die. Now if that wasn't bad enough,
the picture gets even worse. Because eternal death. Eternal death. A man dies without
Christ. He dies without hope. He dies
without grace. He dies without salvation. He dies separated from God forever
between that lost soul and glory. There's a great gulf fixed, our
Lord said, and there is no passing from the one place to the other.
Listen to what we read in Revelation chapter 20 concerning this eternal
death. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it. And death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man
according to their works. And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
whosoever, whosoever, no matter how moral a person they may have
been, no matter how religious they may have been, no matter
how of an upright life they may have led, Whosoever was not found
written in the book of life, that book that has the lamb and
all those that were in him, whosoever was not found written in the
book of life was cast into the lake of fire, and Adam all died
again. The picture that Paul sets before
us here in Romans 5 is not a pretty picture, but That's not the whole story. That's not the complete picture
Paul gives us here, because onto this field of battle, where death
reigned, another steps forth. When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth his son. Oh, my soul, behold him. He steps forth, the monarch of
the universe. may liken to the Son of Man.
He steps forth on this field of battle where death reigns
and he brings eternal life, everlasting grace. There are steps forward
one who is mighty to save. This one who comes forth from
everlasting is that one who will trod the winepress alone, all
by himself. There will be none to help. He
comes forth who by himself shall and has purged our sins. Oh, child of God, behold him. Behold him. Are you cast down?
David asked, why art thou cast down, O my soul? And usually
the reason is, if not always, the reason is from looking within
ourself. O may God give us grace to look
without, and again behold him. Isn't he lovely? As a matter
of fact, he's altogether lovely. As a matter of fact, I find no
fault in him. As a matter of fact, I see Him
who is all of my righteousness, all of my salvation, all of my
hope, all of my acceptance before God Almighty. Behold Him as He
comes forth, the representative of His people, the captain of
our salvation. Concerning Him, we read in verse
21 here in Romans 5, that as sin hath reigned unto death,
What a tyrant. What a power. Oh, but he meets
his match. Even so might grace reign. Mike, that's the kind of grace
I need. Anything less than that's not
going to help this sinner. Oh, but so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life. As death is the outcome
of sin, so eternal life is the outcome of grace, which comes
to sinners through and by the Lord Jesus Christ. That grace
might reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord. Grace reigns by Him. Oh, see Him. Made of a woman,
made under the law. As John read this morning from
Matthew chapter 5, he said, I come not to destroy the law, No, the
law must be honored. The law must be kept. And he
did so as our representative. He fulfilled the law by living
a life before God of sinless perfection. Sinless perfection. Oh, my soul. He never had a sinful
thought. A sinful thought never entered
his mind. He never spoke a sinful word. He never performed a sinful action. He alone could say, I always
do those things in word, in thought, in deed. Everything I say, everything
I do, everything I think, pleases the Father. I do always those
things that please the Father. And the Father Himself testified
on more than one occasion, this is my beloved Son in whom I am
well pleased. God never had said that concerning
any other man before or since other than the God-man Himself. Yes, He lived a life fulfilling
God's holy law, a life of sinless perfection. I've heard people
talk about living above sin. You ever met anybody that talked
that way? Living above sin. Really? Really? No, what they
mean, they set certain rules and they live according to their
rules, but they never live above sin. I've never met anyone, anyone,
and I never will in this life, that lives above sin. There's
only one man who ever did that. or who lived above sin, who lived
the life of absolute sinless perfection, and that's the Lord
Jesus Christ. Turn back, if you will, in John
chapter 17. Here our great high priest, that
one who steps upon this battlefield of sin and grace, the captain
of our salvation, is near the end of his journey now. He is
about to make atonement for the sins
of his people. But here in chapter 17 of John,
look what he says in verse 4. He says, I've glorified thee
on the earth, speaking to his father, God. I've glorified thee
on the earth. I've finished the work which
thou gavest me to do. I've honored your law. I've kept
every jot and tittle of your law. The precept of the law has
been fulfilled by me. But that's not all that was required. The law said, God's justice said,
the soul that sinned, it must die. Justice demands satisfaction. And again, by one man, The last
Adam, the law's penalty, is paid in full. Just like we sometimes
sing, Jesus paid it all. Jesus paid it all. I like that. Jesus paid it all. If that's true, If Jesus paid
it all, why do we worry whether or not we're safe from God's
wrath? If Jesus paid it all, why do
we worry whether or not we shall ever come into condemnation? Why do we worry whether or not
we're safe in the arms of our eternal Redeemer? If He paid
it all. Are you still in John's Gospel,
chapter 19? Yes, in His life He kept the
precept of the law. Oh, but there was more, as we
said. The penalty must be paid. God in holy justice said, the
soul that sinneth, it must die. He demands satisfaction. He demands
satisfaction. Our salvation is as much a matter
of justice as it is of mercy and grace. Here in John chapter
19 verse 28, after this, Jesus knowing all things were now accomplished. Everything. that the scripture
might be fulfilled, said I thirst. And there was said a vessel full
of vinegar. And they filled the sponge with
vinegar and put it upon Hyssop and put it to his mouth. When
Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, this sinner, this sinner's everlasting
salvation depends on this. My entering heaven depends on
this. Whether I hear depart from me,
cast him out into outer darkness, or whether I hear these blessed
words enter into the joy, the everlasting eternal joy prepared
from you, it all depends upon this, where I spend eternity. Whether I spend eternity in hell
and darkness and separation from God forever or whether I enjoy
the bliss of bashing in the eternal smile of my Redeemer depends
upon this. Jesus said, it is finished. It's finished, John. It's finished. It's not half done. It's not
waiting to be complete. It's done. I've put away all
the sins of all my people. I've obtained their eternal redemption. I've satisfied God's justice. Now they must go free. Yes, Jesus
paid it all. If it's finished, if that's true,
then I'm secure. If so, I'll not come into condemnation. If on the cross, mercy and truth
have kissed one another, then I'm safe in the arms of my mighty
Savior. I must go free. I must go free. If God Almighty is just, then
this sinner trusting Jesus Christ must go free. He's paid my debt. I had nothing to pay. Oh, but
Jesus paid it all. And God, being a just God, must
set me free. As he said in John chapter 18,
when that mob come to take him, whom seek ye? Jesus of Nazareth. Oh, behold, the captain of our
salvation again. Glorious. He steps forth. He steps forth. He steps in front
of those disciples. He steps in front of his sheep.
His sheep, the great shepherd. God says, Awake, O sword, against
the man who is my shepherd, my fellow. Smite the shepherd. Smite
the shepherd. Strike the shepherd. Seek satisfaction
in the punishment of the shepherd. Oh, but if you do so, if you
do so, They must go free. And that's exactly what Christ
said, Whom seek ye? Jesus of Nazareth. I am he. Let these go their way. Isn't
that something? They come to take him. This is
your hour, he said. And the prince of darkness. They
come to take him and he willingly gives himself to them. But at
the same time, that one who spake is never a man's spake. That
one who said, all power in heaven and earth is given unto me. He
said, let these go their way. And that bloodthirsty mob, let
them go their way. Because the Son of God had spoken. Oh, I love that. Let these go
their way. Because payment God cannot twice
demand. First at my bleeding surety's
hand, and then again at mine. He won't do it. Look, if you
will, here in Romans chapter 5. We take as our text verse
15, where we read these words. This
is the title of my message. Grace by one man. Grace by one man. First, the need of grace. Consider that. The need of grace. In verse 6 of Romans 5, we read
concerning ourselves that we were without strength. Without
strength. Ungodly. Death passed upon all men. In Adam, all got hurt a little
bit when he fell. No. In Adam, all died. A slight wound can be relieved
by a slight cure, but death, oh, death, that's another story.
Death requires a miracle. Death requires a miracle of God's
grace. It took a miracle to hang the
world in place, one hymn writer said. We look out upon this creation. And it wasn't the result of some
big bang theory. No, no, no, no. It took a miracle
to hang the world in place. In the beginning, God, God created. And it took a miracle to put
the stars in space. But when he saved my soul, cleansed
and made me whole, it took a miracle. It took a miracle of love and
grace. Nothing less than that shall
accomplish the salvation of a sinner because he's dead. He's dead. He can't help himself. He's dead. He who said I'm the resurrection
and life must come to him and give him life or he remains dead. All my life I heard preachers
say, if you'll take the first step, whoa, preacher, I'm dead. I can't take the first step or
the second step or any step at all. I can do nothing because
in Adam all die. That's the sinner's condition.
How does the Bible diagnose our state? By nature. Sin reigned, we read, reigned
unto death. That means I can't see. I can't see. I'm blind. I'm blind
to my need of grace. John touched on this this morning.
Until God Almighty shows me my need, I'll never be aware of
it. Only God can get a man lost. I can't get my children lost.
No matter how sincerely I speak to them, no matter how much I
pray, no matter how many tears I shed on their behalf, no matter
how much I preach to them, I cannot get them lost. Nothing that I
do or say can show them their need. Oh, but when God says,
come down, when God gets them lost, they're lost. Being dead
means not only that I can't see, that I'm blind, I can hear. I don't have an ear attuned to
that glorious gospel of God's grace, that good news that says
salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ
alone. I'm deaf to that by nature. And the reason is I'm dead. I have no ability. I mean, does
death not set before us a picture of complete inability? And that includes my will. Oh,
that golden calf of modern day religion. Man's so-called free
will, John. He doesn't have one. He doesn't
have one. Brother Scott Richardson said,
man's will is free like the frog in the snake's belly. He might
wiggle, but he can't get out. He can't get out. My will is
enslaved to my fallen nature. It's not separate. It's not independent. When Adam failed, that included
his nature. The whole man died. His will included. That's why
Christ said, ye will not come to me. Ye will not come to me. And he spoke those words to people
who had come, come across the sea. had come across the land
seeking for Him. And they sought for Him until
they found Him. And He turns to them and said,
You've not really come to me, my soul. They moved their feet. They sought Him out physically. They saw Him with the natural
eye. But He said, You've really not
come to me. No man can come to me, savingly,
spiritually, No man can come to me unless the Father fetches
him. Fetches him with the long arm
of grace. Oh, the pit in which we fell
in our daddy Adam is a deep, deep pit. Oh, but the arm of
grace is a mighty long arm. It can reach all the way down
and pick sinners up and set them on the solid rock of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Man can be religious. and he
can work to weave a robe of his own righteousness, but left to
his so-called free will, Christ says, you'll never, you will
not come to me. That's why here we don't use
the gimmicks of modern day religion. We don't do it and we'll not
do it. We don't, at the end of the message,
give what is called an altar call. We don't call on men to
make their decision. I think I've told you this before.
Not long after I moved here, I was in one of the stores in
Sylacauga, and some lady that worked there was waiting on me,
and she asked me who I was, where I came from, why I came, and
so forth. And I told her, she said, oh, I went to that church
one time. I remember that man, Tommy Robbins, yeah, was pastor. She said, I've never been in
a church like that in my life. And I thought, I dare say you
haven't. She said, that man didn't even give an altar call. They
didn't even have an altar in that church. Why don't you have
an altar? And I said, because we don't offer animal sacrifices.
Christ is our altar. It just blew right by. She didn't
hear me. She said, how are people going
to get saved without an altar? How are people going to get saved
if you don't give an altar call, if you don't give them a chance?
I said, lady, salvation is not by chance. Salvation is by God's
mighty sovereign grace. God saves sinners the way he
always does because the lost man needs life. And that life
doesn't come by his decision. Life doesn't come by walking
an aisle. Look at our father Adam after
he fell. My soul, we read in Genesis,
after he fell, he as he had heard many times God's voice calling
to him, Adam, Adam where art thou? Imagine that, my soul,
imagine that. God comes down to speak to man. God comes down to commune with
man. The old hymn writer says, he
walks with me. He walks with me. And he talks
with me. And he tells me that I am his
own. And the joy we share as we tarry
there none other has ever known. But Adam hears God's voice after
he fell. Free will indeed. Is Adam's will
to come out? To come out and commune, to fellowship
with his God, his Creator? No. He hides. He hides. Adam thinks he can hide from
God. What happened to him? He's changed. He's fallen. He hears God's voice
and he tries to hide, as I said. Like father, like son. We're
a chip off That old block, Adam. Men today still try to hide. They hide in religion. That's
one of the favorite hiding places for sinners in religion. In churches. They think they can cover their
sin with fig leaves. Fig leaves. Fig leaves of just
some religion. Fig leaves of morality. Fig leaves of doctrine. But God says, of all of it, it's
filthy rags. Our Lord spoke about one who
tried to do that in Luke 18. He came before God with his fig
leaves and said, I'm not like other men. Look at my fig leaves.
I tithe. I give 10% of everything I possess. I'm not an extortioner. I'm not
like that publican down there. And our Lord said, to the big
least, accept your righteousness, exceed the righteousness of Pharisees,
usually no wise inherit the kingdom of God. Before God accepts me,
I must have a perfect righteousness. Think about that. Before God
accepts a sinner, that sinner must possess a perfect righteousness. If not, if not, I'll be cast
into outer darkness forever. Oh, but now, let's turn away
from that scene. Now, let's look at the cure by
grace, grace by one man, Jesus Christ. Free grace. I like that. Free grace. If it's free, then I have hope.
Unmerited, undeserved, unearned. This is the true grace of God. It doesn't offer to save or attempt
to save. God's grace saves. In Titus chapter 2 we read of
the grace of God that brings salvation. Man's works won't
bring salvation, but God's grace does. God's grace doesn't offer
to save, God's grace saves. It's reigning grace. Grace that
raises dead sinners to life in faith. Grace alone can convince
a man of sin. Only grace can get a man lost. Only grace can teach a sinner's
heart to fear. Only grace can do that. Only
grace can bring a proud rebel down to the footstool of Jesus
Christ. Only God's grace. And God's grace
that brings salvation, it always succeeds. Always succeeds. Oh, Mom. Your heart breaks for
that prodigal son. Don't quit praying for him. As
long as he's alive, there's hope. As long as he's still on this
side of eternity, there's hope. As long as salvation is of the
Lord, there's hope. As long as God is still sovereign
and mighty, as long as his grace rules, there's hope that he might
speak to that son and that son or daughter shall live. Didn't you? Didn't you? What made you to differ from
another? Nothing but God's sovereign grace.
His grace always succeeds. Saul of Tarsus, by God's grace,
is brought down in a dust before that very one who he was at that
very moment persecuting. And Saul is made willing to preach
that gospel that he had before so labored to destroy, all the
wonders of God's grace. Only that, listen, only God's
free grace, grace by one man, Jesus Christ gives a sinner hope. What can give a sinner hope of
salvation, eternal life, and everlasting glory? Only the grace
of God that brings salvation. How sweet, how sweet, how comforting
to trust in nothing else but this, to be able to say, by the
grace of God, I am what I am. I'm not a self-made man. I'm
not the product of religion or my will. I'm only a sinner saved
by grace. It's just not that I had a religious
spasm. Everybody has, just about everybody
we know has. Oh, but no, God reached out his
hands for me. Religion didn't make me to differ,
but God's mighty sovereign grace in Christ has made me to differ,
and I'll never be what I once was, glory to his name. This gives me hope before a holy
God, a God that will accept nothing less than that which is perfect. And dressed in the righteousness
of Christ, you're looking at a man who before God himself
is perfect. Perfect, John. God sees my savior
and then he sees me in the beloved. I'm accepted and free. Perfect. Jesus Christ himself
being all of my salvation and all of my hope. Last of all,
look at the place of God's grace. The place of God's grace. Our
text again, verse 15. The gift of grace by one man,
Jesus Christ had abounded unto many. Where does such grace come
from? Our text says by one man and
it identifies him. It doesn't leave us to guess
or to wonder or to speculate. It says this one man is Jesus
Christ. Concerning that babe born in
Bethlehem's manger, Jesus, he shall save his people from their
sins. Nobody else can. No one else
is able. No one else is appointed to this
great work of salvation and of obtaining redemption except the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's not by preacher or priest
or church. It's not by man's merit or man's
worth or man's work or man's will, but by one man, Jesus Christ. Through this man, grace abounds
over the sin of the first man. Through this man, all who believe
are justified. Justified. Now, I don't know,
child of God, What you might be going through at this very
moment, I don't know. I don't know what heartache,
what burden you may have carried in here with you this morning.
And I don't know what tomorrow holds for you. I don't know what
it holds for me. But I know if you've tasted of
the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, if you have received grace by
this man, that God Almighty says concerning you, justified. Justified. I look down at that
sinner as though he'd never sinned. He's not guilty. He's not guilty. My soul, I can roll my weary
soul on that pillow of comfort and hope God says, I'm not guilty. The law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth came by this man, Jesus Christ. Through one
man, Adam, came the sin that poisoned all men. But through
this man, Christ, comes the antidote that bears all my sins away. Like the priest, symbolically,
transferring the sins of Israel. on the head of that scapegoat.
And he was taken out into the wilderness and let go, never
to be seen again. Oh, the bliss, the bliss of this
glorious thought. All my sins, not some of them,
oh no, all of them, all my sins were borne away. by my great
God and Savior, Jesus Christ. The river of grace, listen, this
is what we read of in chapter 5. Where sin abounded, grace
doth much more abound. Where sin reigned, grace reigns.
The river of grace runs deeper than the river of sin by this
man. But, but, But there was a fountain opened,
and the blood of God's own Son purifies the soul and reaches
deeper, deeper than the stain has gone. The grace that is in
Christ Jesus isn't a bandage that simply covers
our sins. Oh, it erases our sin. It erases
our sin. Let me read you one of my favorite
verses. In those days, God speaking,
in those days and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity
of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none. There shall be none. And the
sins of Judah, they shall not be found. They don't exist. They don't
exist. You can't find what doesn't exist. The blood of Jesus Christ God's
Son has cleansed me from all sin. So I'll stand before God
and to be loved without sin. For I will pardon them which
I reserve. Yes, that's a grace. by this
man that reaches deeper than the stain that has gone. Look
up, child of God. Trace the fountain. Trace the
fountain of grace to its source. And you'll see Jesus Christ himself
sitting on a throne of grace, full of grace and truth. In him
dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead body. All the fullness. of the Godhead resides in this
man. And Paul said, you are complete
in him. Complete in him. Lacking nothing. Lacking nothing. If I'm not complete, he must not possess all fullness
and grace. If I'm not complete, if a sinner
lacks anything, that would prohibit him from entering into glory. The fault must be in that one
in whom he trusts, the Lord Jesus Christ. He must like something. But our text says no, oh no,
no, no. You receive grace by him. Now we see, yes we do, now we
see, Paul said through a glass darkly. our very best days, our most
sincere heartfelt worship. Still, we see through a glass
darkly, but soon, face to face, I've told you, I've told you.
Last time I saw Brother Lowe, I said, I'll see you when I get
back, Brother Lowe. And he said, well, I'll see you
here. Or I'll see you there, he said. Soon I'll be in the
presence of that one by whom God gave me grace. Imagine that. And through whom God has promised
that he'll also give me glory. In Revelation chapter 7, John
said, I beheld in low a multitude which no man could number of
all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before
the Lamb. Oh my soul, Can you believe this? Can you believe this? I see that multitude, thousands
and thousands and hundreds of thousands, standing before the
throne of God. And look at this, look at this. Oh, this requires faith. There stands Larry Criss. He's
clothed with a white robe like all the rest. And he's waving
a palm leaf of victory like all the rest. And he's singing with
all the rest, salvation to our God that setteth upon the throne
and unto the Lamb. Only faintly now I see him with
the darkling veil between. Oh, but a blessed day is coming.
when His glory shall be seen. Face to face. Face to face. Oh, I can't reach that far, my
God. Face to face. Oh, John. Face to face with Christ my Savior. face to
face, what shall it be when with rapture I behold him, Jesus Christ
who died for me. The grace which is by Christ
Jesus will not merely or barely bring us into the harbor of heaven,
but bring us in triumphantly with full sail spread with shouts
of grace, grace unto him who have loved us and washed us from
our sins in his own blood. To him be glory, both now and
forever. Amen. Amen. God bless you.