Our subject this morning is two
representative men. Two representative men. This passage we've read concludes
the first five chapters of the Book of Romans, which is dealt
with two main themes, condemnation and justification. Chapter 3
is very clear, speaking of both Jews and Gentiles, concerning
condemnation. There is none righteous, no,
not one. There is none that understandeth.
There is none that seeketh after God. They're all gone out of
the way. They are together become unprofitable. and are all condemned, Jew and
Gentile alike. Then the theme of justification,
chapter 3 and verse 24, being justified freely by the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus. In chapter 5, where Wayne read
just a few moments ago, it opens with the blessing of justification,
peace with God, access to God, standing in the grace of God,
joying in hope of the glory of God, saved from wrath, having
the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
Oh, the blessing of justification. In this present passage we just
read, 12 through 19, Paul introduces and compares two characters as
the fountainheads of these two conditions, condemnation and
justification. He introduces Adam, the first
man, as being the one who brought condemnation. and he introduces
Christ, the Son of God, as being the one who brought justification. The latter part of verse 14 makes
a very profound statement. You would think that Adam, the
one who brought sin and death and alienation from God upon
the human family, you would think he would be the last person on
earth to be compared to the precious Son of God. But we actually read
in this verse, verse 14, the end of it, that Adam was a figure,
that is, a type, a projection, a picture of Him that was to
come, which of course is Christ Jesus the Lord. So this scripture
that we've read this morning, this passage, It requires, in
locketing Adam to Christ and Christ to Adam in certain particulars,
this requires that we deny any such foolish theory as evolution. I guess a lot of people think,
well, what damage really is it? It's been so long ago. What does
it matter? It matters a great deal. It declares
the truth or the vanity, one or the other, of God's holy word. So, in other words, the first
man, Adam, created by God, exactly as the scripture says. It's important. He was as real as Christ is real. If you can deny one, you can
deny the other. If there's nothing to Adam, what's
to say there's anything to Christ? So that's the real heresy and
the real awfulness of such a foolish thought and teaching as evolution. Creation, as the word of God
records it, is the order. And now here, Paul compares and
also contrast the first Adam with Christ Jesus, the last Adam. This passage of scripture is
so very, very valuable for a clear understanding of the gospel. And I'm going to say this because
I hadn't said it yet. I am happy that you're here.
I'm very happy that you're here because you need to look into
this passage and understand the things we're going to say today. If you're here and you're not
really settled, you're not really convinced of the doctrine which
we believe and preach here at East Hendersonville, this passage
of scripture will help you if you're interested. If you're
not, nothing will help you. God has to create the interest.
So if you're interested, there's help here. The one thing that every sane
person is concerned with is our eternal destiny. I mean, people
with no thought and no concern about what awaits them at the
end of this life, those folks are insane. So those who would
be honest with your own hearts, It is a relief to learn from
this scripture that your eternal destiny does not depend on you. Now, most religion in our part
of the country will tell you today and every day that your
eternal destiny does depend on you. It's up to you to decide
whether or not God wins or loses. It's up to you to decide whether
or not God sending His Son into the world and His Son shedding
His blood upon the cross, dying, buried, rose again, ascended.
It is up to you to decide whether that really was of any value.
It is up to you to decide whether God wins your soul or whether
the devil wins your soul. Well, I want to say this morning,
I refuse to put God on the same level with Satan and make you
the referee. I won't do it. The Word of God
does not teach that. What the Word of God teaches,
and this is so clear in this passage, is that God has never
really dealt with humanity concerning our eternal destiny except in
two individuals, Adam and Christ. Now let's look at the passage,
verse 12. Wherefore, meaning on the basis of what's been said
already, wherefore, since condemnation in Adam is a reality to all of
us, and since justification in Christ is a reality to some of
us, Paul is going to explain how each of those conditions
came about. Condemnation and justification. First, the condemnation. Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world. That one man we know
was Adam, that initial transgression in the Garden of Eden. And because
of that one sin, death entered. And death by sin, and so death
passed upon all men, for that all have sin. We were all constituted sinners
in Adam. It's very important to understand
that. We were not born, you were not
born into this world with the privilege of deciding whether
or not you'd become a sinner. You were born a sinner. We know that so because, and
Paul's going to go on to say this, we know that is so because
The wages of sin is death. And you were not born with the
privilege to decide if you'd die. You were born dying. And in the next five verses,
Paul explains this. Now these five verses, 13 through
17, you'll see this. They are a parenthetical
statement. of explanation. You see the parenthesis
at the beginning of verse 13 and at the end of verse 17. He
is explaining that all men are sinners in Adam, even before
we were born. He says in verse 13, for until
the law, sin was in the world. Even before the law was given
by God through Moses at Mount Sinai, even before that, sin
was in the world. But sin is not imputed or charged
when there is no law. Do you understand that? I mean,
if it wasn't against the law to steal, then if the police
caught you stealing a car, They couldn't do anything to you.
You weren't breaking any law, see? The Old Testament law was
not given until 2,500 years into human history. Nevertheless, in spite of that, nevertheless,
death reigned. People died. even before the
law. Death reigned from Adam to Moses,
whether they transgressed any law or not. Death reigned even over them
that had not sinned after the similitude or likeness or manner
of Adam's transgression. To make this simple, even infants,
not old enough to really know what we say right from wrong,
not old enough to deliberately transgress any law, yet they die. Babies do die. Death reigned. You look at that
newborn and you say, oh, sweet little thing, it's so innocent.
No, it's not. It's not innocent. It's born
a sinner. By nature, Adam's nature, and
the proof of it is that that newborn infant is subject to
die. Got to be a sinner. Death is the wages of sin. It's
not a sinner, it couldn't die. So death reigned over Adam's
race, infants included. Why? Because of Adam's transgression,
because of that one transgression. And verse 14 says, who, being
Adam, is the figure Not a, but the,
the figure, the one and only figure, in the sense that only
Adam and Christ are the two representative men. They are the two federal
heads. Who is the figure, the type,
the pattern, the picture of him, Christ, that was to come. He here compares Adam and Christ
as being alike. in certain points. Now he goes
into a contrast, verse 15. But not as the offense, so also
is the free gift. This this can be confusing language,
he says, not as and then he says, so also is. They're different,
but they're the same. Different in some ways, the same
in some ways. Not as, they're different. So
also is, they're alike. Now the offense referred to is
Adam's offense. And the free gift is Christ and
his sacrifice for sin. For if through the offense of
one, many be dead. In other words, because of the
offense of one man, Adam, many be dead. Death reigned from Adam
to Moses. Death still reigns in the human
family, not because of anything you do or don't do, but because
of that one initial transgression. Adam, the federal head, Adam,
the representative of all his race, because of his transgression,
all the race dies, much more the grace of God and the gift
of grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto
many. Now, in that verse 15, the many that
die or the many that be dead are all who are in Adam. And
the many to whom the gift of God abounds are all who are in
Christ. 1 Corinthians 15.22 says, For
as in Adam all die, how many die? All that are in Adam. Even so in Christ shall all be
made alive. How many are made alive? all
that are in Christ. And not as it was by one that
sinned, so is the gift. There it is again, blending together
the comparison and the contrast. Not as, they're different, and
so is, they're the same. They're different in some points,
they're the same in some points. And in the remainder of verse
16, He says the condemnation came
by one offense. But the free gift, justification,
righteousness has come in spite of many offenses. For if by one man's offense,
death reigned by one. If death reigns in the human
family by one. if it's because Adam's transgression. If it's because of that, that the cemeteries are busy
every day that dawns, the grave diggers are digging holes every
day that dawns. If all that is credited to one
transgression of one man, Adam, and it is, much more, much more of greater
impact. They which receive abundance
of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ, end of parenthesis. Paul has explained that we all
die because Adam sinned. We don't die because we sin,
we sin because we're sinners. Now in verse 18, therefore, on that basis, as by the offense
of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation. There it
is. Not by the offense of all, but
by the offense of one. Adam and all his race were alienated
from God. He's our federal head. He's our
representative. No use in you saying, well now,
and a lot of people have said this to me, I don't believe God would hold
me accountable for what Adam did. You are Adam. You do every
day what Adam did. Wouldn't have made a lick of
difference if it had been you back there and him up here with
us. See, we are Adam. He's the federal head. We're
his offspring. Therefore, as by the offense
of one, judgment came upon all men. to condemnation. All men is all men in Adam. Christ was not in Adam. It's
referring to all men in Adam. Even so, by the righteousness
of one, the free gifts came upon all men under justification of
life. Again, it's all men in Christ. All Adam's race is not justified,
but all in Christ are. So it's talking about all who
are in one or the other of these representative persons. So this
clearly, clearly, clearly refutes the idea that every tub sits
on its own bottom. Not at all. You're in Adam's tub and you'll
perish there. Or you're in Christ and you're justified
in him. Not just by him, but in him. In him. You're not going to face God
in your own identity. God will look at you and see
Adam and say, put him in hell. Put her in hell. Or he'll look
at you and see you in his son. And say, well done, thou good and
faithful servant. You're not the good and faithful
servant. Christ is. He's our representative. Now verse 19, for as by one man's
disobedience, many were made sinners. How many is the many? All that are represented in that
one. How many were made sinners by
Adam's disobedience? All who sprang from Adam. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so the obedience, or by the obedience
of one, shall many be made righteous. How many are made righteous?
By Christ's obedience. All who are represented in him,
in that obedience. His perfect obedience unto death,
even the death of the cross. So if you contend this morning,
as the religious world does, all around us they do, if you
contend that you are not condemned in Adam, that you make your own
decision to go to hell, leave Adam out of it. You refuse to
be represented by another. You will stand for yourself.
Then you must also stand for yourself to be justified before
God. You see, the principle is the
same representation represented by Adam. We were alienated from
God. But represented in Christ, we're
reconciled to God. Oh, if you will not believe the
word of God concerning this, then you're condemned in Adam,
a sinner in Adam, perishing in Adam. If you reject that principle
of representation, that Adam was our federal head, we are
Adam reproduced over and over and over. That's all we are is
Adam. If you deny that, then you cannot
plead representation in Christ. If you don't allow Adam to represent
you, if you're better than Adam, then
Christ cannot represent you. If you're better than Adam, maybe
you don't even need Christ. Is that the idea? Some people are so foolish to
say what I said a moment ago. I don't believe God will hold
me accountable. for what Adam did, implying they would not
have done what Adam did. When the truth is, we all do
what Adam did. Every day we live, we are Adam.
David, in the Old Testament, I was reading this week, in a
time of need, he ate the showbread from the holy place that's reserved,
set apart for the priest only to eat. Why didn't God kill him on the
spot? I mean, he's, that's forbidden. That's holy bread. It's for the
priest. Why didn't God kill him? Because
God never saw the feeble, failing, sinful man, David. God saw his
own son, the Lord Jesus, our great high priest, who is welcome
always at the Father's table. You know, I love the story of
Mephibosheth. We've spoken from 2 Samuel 9
several times through the years. And in that chapter, not all
that lengthy a chapter, we read that Mephibosheth was to eat
bread at the king's table continually as one of the king's sons. Four
times says that. Why? Why? Representation. King David was not seeing the
crippled, rejected, despised grandson of Saul. No. David was seeing that one, Jonathan,
his friend, with whom the Bible says their hearts were knit together
as one soul. We're talking about representation.
Let me ask you this. Why is it that God did not slap
you into hell this past week? Is it because you didn't do anything
worthy of that? Absolutely not. It's one of two reasons. One
of two reasons. And neither of them depends on
you. Number one, God has left you as one individual in a long line
of Adam's descendants to live in rebellion against God until you join that long list
one day of whom it is said, and he died, and she died, and hell is your lot. Or else,
number two, why didn't God slap you into hell this past week?
He sees you in Christ. Representation. Not as one who
will ever qualify yourself for heaven, oh no. But as one already
accepted in Christ. Represented in Christ. And you're
in this world now to promote, to contribute, to practice the
spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ that he died for
sinners like us. That's why. Why are you here? Think about it. Why are you here? Are you a rebel against God?
wandering through this world, just waiting to be cast into
hell? That day will come. Or are you a believing sinner,
resting in Christ, trusting in Christ, living to glorify Him? You're not still here because
you're not as wicked as that fellow they buried last week.
He or she might have been a better person than you. That's not the
reason. What is God's reason you're here?
That's what we ought to think about. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound. The law wasn't given that men
might be accepted of God because they kept it. He was given too
late for that. The law wasn't given as a remedy.
It was given as a reminder. A reminder that we need a remedy.
And Christ is that remedy. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. As the law was so effectual to
magnify sin and make sin known in its abundance, grace did much
more abound to bring to us the very righteousness of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord. Before the fall, Adam was innocent. Before that one transgression,
spoken of here in the Garden of Eden, before that, Adam was
innocent. He was not righteous. Had he
been righteous, he could not have fallen, but he fell. So
get this clear. He was innocent back there. He
was not righteous. But in Christ Jesus, We're not
dismayed innocent again. We're made righteous. See the
big difference? As righteous as he is, the righteousness of Christ is
a quality of character, a holiness, a purity, a perfection that can
never become unrighteous. Christ could do no wrong in simple
terms. The Jews said he broke their
laws, but God said he never broke mine. And since this morning, I'm represented
in Christ. Since I'm represented in Christ, Hold your seat, because He never
transgressed, I never transgressed. If God is holy, and He is, and
He could never accept me in me, and yet I am accepted in the
beloved, representation, representation. requires, demands, and only accepts
perfection. And except he accept me in his
son, I could never be accepted any other way, nor could you.
We're talking about representation. Adam sold us out. Christ redeemed
us. The old poet said it like this
concerning our justification. our hope, our acceptance in Christ,
our redemption. He said it like this. Near, so
very near to God, nearer I could not be. For in the person of
his Son, I'm just as near as he. Dear, so very dear to God,
dearer I could not be. For in the person of his Son,
I'm just as dear as He. I'm telling you this morning,
to believe the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is, you've got to
leave yourself out of the equation. Look at these two representative
men. In Adam, I was as certain for
hell as if I'm already there. But in Christ, I'm as certain
for heaven as if I'm already there. Here's my hope, verse
21, that as sin hath reigned unto death. Boy, it has, hasn't
it? As sin hath reigned unto death. Every day, every day, every day,
they crank that backhoe and dig them graves all over this country
and every other country. As sin hath reigned unto death, does it? Has sin had such an
effect that men still die? Am I such a sinner that I too
must die? Yes. Yes. Even so might grace
reign. Even so might grace reign. Death
reigns even when I don't feel like I'm dying. And grace reigns
even when I don't feel like I'm saved. Huh? Even so might grace reign through
righteousness. Mine? No. But Christ's righteousness. Unto, and that little word unto
means as far as, all the way. Unto eternal life. Not just another year or two
here. Not just another hundred years or thousand years, but
unto. eternal life. How? By my profession? No. By my faithfulness? No. By my reputation among the
brethren? No. How might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life? It is by Jesus Christ our Lord. That's what it says. It is so
good this morning to be represented. If you refuse to be represented
a sinner in Adam, you're without hope because God only saves sinners. If you're better than Adam, hell
is for sure your lot. God only saves sinners. To see my ruin in Adam is the
bitter side, but to see my redemption in Christ is the blessed side. Old Brother Joe Parson once said
God's elect placed in Adam, he said we fell up instead of
down. What benefit that we're brought
to see ourselves hopeless, helpless, and in need of a savior. I needed
more than what they're saying today. A little persuasion, a
little encouragement, a little shove in the right direction.
No, I needed a savior. one to deliver me from the awful
degradation of sin, a filthy gutter which I loved and had
no intention of leaving on my own and couldn't if I wanted
to, but He lifted me out. It's all because I was represented
in Christ on the cross, chosen in Him before the foundation
of the world represented in him at Calvary and accepted with
God in him. Two representative men. Thank you for listening. Let's
stand together.