Let's turn back to 1 Corinthians
chapter 15. Paul Mahan is going to be preaching
for us tonight. He's preaching at Bruce Crabtree's. I've asked him to come by this
evening and preach for us, so I'm looking forward to that. Let's read this verse of scripture
again. For as in Adam, all died. Everybody that Adam represented
died. Even so, in Christ, shall all
be made alive. I've entitled this message death,
the cross, and life. And I want you to pray for me
that I would preach the gospel, that I might be filled with the
spirit of God to preach the gospel. And pray for yourselves that
you would be given hearing ears to hear the gospel. We started this church in the
summer of 1982. So I've been preaching 35 years.
That sounds pretty impressive, doesn't it? I feel far too young
to be saying something like that. But I've been preaching 35 years. And I hope that this has been
the theme of every message I've preached. And if it's not, it
was not a good message. And I calculated, I've preached
about 8,000 messages since 1982. Some of you have heard most of
them. That's a scary thought. But the
point I want to make is any message that I've brought that does not
have this as the theme was not a good message. It was a message
that should not have been preached. If I preached any without this
theme that I'm going to try to deal with right now, It's not
been a good message. Now, the outline I'm using, I've
used probably a dozen times. I've given in different titles,
but I've used it probably a dozen times. Death, the cross, and
life. Death. I want us to consider
what actually took place in the Garden of Eden. Death. In Adam, all died. And I want us to consider what
took place on the cross. In Christ, shall all be made. On the cross, everybody in Christ
was made to be something they were not. What really took place
on the cross? And the third question is what
really takes place when God saves somebody? What really takes place? Some 250 years ago, an English
preacher by the name of Roland Hill made this statement with
regard to preaching and sermons. He said any sermon that doesn't
have the three R's in it is a sermon that ought not ever to have been
preached. And what are those three R's?
Ruined by the fall. Redeemed by the blood. Regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Now that's the same outline I
just gave you. Death, ruined by the fall. The cross, redeemed by the blood. And what happens when God saves
somebody? Regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Brother Henry Mahan, some 40
years ago, brought a message entitled Three Things The modern
day religionist does not know. I like that title, don't you?
Three things the modern day religionist does not know. And that's actually
where I got this outline. Number one, what really happened
in the garden? Number two, what really happened
on the cross? And number three, what really
happens to a sinner when God saves him? Now I pray that God
will enable me to preach this message in the power of God's
Spirit and that you will be enabled to hear because there couldn't
be anything more important that we are considering. And in reality, if I understand what happened
in the garden, I'm gonna understand the other two. These all go together. You either understand them all
or you do not understand them at all. Now, the first time I
ever used this outline that I'm giving you was 1984. And I don't
believe anything different than I did then. I hope I have a little
bit more understanding now. I mean, I ought to. I ought to. We're to grow in grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope
in those 30 some years, I've grown in grace and the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. But I don't believe anything
any different than I ever did. Hope I understand it more. Hope
you understand it more. But all of this, this message
is a message that needs to be preached in our day and needs
to be heard in our day. Now in that passage of scripture
I just read, verse 22, we have all three points. Death, for
as in Adam, all die. The second point is the cross
and Christ shall all be made. That's how, oh, I wish I could
emphasize this the way it ought to be. Everything in my salvation
is found in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the cross
shall all be made. And then what happens when God
saves a sinner? Life from the dead. Regeneration
by the Holy Spirit. Now what really took place in
the Garden of Eden? What really took place? Most
people know the story about Adam and Eve eating the fruit and
so on and the consequences of that. But what really took place
in the Garden of Eden? Now, Adam and Eve were placed
in the Garden of Eden, created by God, placed in paradise, and
they were created upright. I will not say that they were
created holy. Because holiness cannot fall. Holiness cannot
sin. God can't sin. The new nature
can't sin. Holiness is incapable of sin. So he didn't create them holy,
but he did create them upright. He created them innocent. They did not have fallen natures
the way you and I have. He created them upright. And they were given one law. One law. God put them in paradise. Talking about people that had
it made, that had it, oh, what a wonderful existence in Eden. Everything their heart could
wish. One law. One tree. Don't eat of that fruit. That's all they had to do. You
have every other tree. Don't eat of that fruit. Let me remind you, if you were
in their position, if I was in their position, we would have
done the same thing. We would have. Don't get down
on them. We would have. Turn to Genesis three for a moment. This is what took place in the
garden. Now the serpent was more subtle,
deceitful than any beast of the field which the Lord God had
made. And he said unto the woman, yea, hath God said you shall
not eat of every tree of the garden? And notice he added to
what God said. God said there's one tree you
won't eat of. But he said, as God said, you
can't have any of this fruit. Why, God's been cruel to you.
All this good stuff that you're missing out on, that God's keeping
from you. Verse two, and the woman said unto the serpent,
we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. No, God
didn't say it. We can eat of all these different fruits, but
of the fruit of the tree, which is in the midst of the garden,
God has said, you shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch
it, lest you die. I think that's interesting. God
never said anything about touching it. She added that. And I believe
that this is the rise of touch not, taste not, handle not religion. Started right here in the garden. Verse four. And the serpent said
unto the woman, you shall not surely die. That's not so. For God doth know that in the
day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened. And you'll
be as gods knowing good and evil. Now here's the temptation. Right
now, you're spiritual robots. That's it. You've got an innocent
nature and you're just doing what you're programmed to do.
There's no moral virtue. There's no goodness in your actions. But if you eat of this fruit,
you're going to be able to discern the difference between good and
evil. and you'll have the will to choose
the good over the evil. The temptation in the garden
was free will. If you eat this fruit, you'll
have a free will. Now let me tell you what free
will is. Free will is a declaration of
independence from God's will. That's all it is. It's rebellion
against the very will of God. I'm free from that. That's all
free will is. People take it as a given. It's
the greatest evil in the world. I'm free. If I've got a free
will, that means my will is free from God's sovereign will. That's
all that means. And that was the great temptation
in the garden. And it sounded good to us. Well,
I think I would like to make good choices. I would rather
choose the good over the evil because that's what I want to
do rather than that's just what I'm programmed to do because
of my nature. There's no moral virtue in me being obedient because
it's my nature to. Well, you can use the same reasoning.
God doesn't have any moral virtue because it's his nature to be
holy. That's just a wrong way of thinking. But, verse six,
and when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that
it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desired to make one
wise. There we have the lust of the
flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. All there
in that verse. When the woman saw that the tree
was good for food, the lust of the flesh, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, the lust of the eyes, and a tree 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 them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
Now, they were naked before they ate the fruit, weren't they? They were naked beforehand. But
it wasn't an issue. It wasn't an issue. Why? Because they had innocent natures.
They didn't have sinful natures. But now that they partook of
the fruit, they now have evil natures. They have died spiritually. They didn't die physically, but
they died spiritually and they now have evil natures. Now, what happened in this transaction? Adam and Eve eating the fruit
and having their eyes open. They knew they were naked. They
sowed fig leaves trying to cover their own nakedness. They ran
and hid from the presence of God. They became spiritually
dead. What happened in this great transaction? What really happened? Number one, it was God's will
being done. That's what happened. It was
God's will being done. The only reason this happened
is because God willed it to happen. Look in chapter two of Genesis, verse 15. And the Lord God took
the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and
to keep it. 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. He didn't say if you eat, did
he? He said when you do. In the day
you eat thereof. thou shalt surely die. What was going on in the Garden
of Eden when Adam ate of that fruit and died? It was God's
will being done. Somebody says, are you saying
God's the author of evil? I'm saying God's will was being
done. And I make no apology for that.
I love it that way. I wouldn't want it to be any
other way, would you? It was God's will being done. Now let me remind you of this
fact. Never forget this. The cross
was not God's response to the fall. The fall was for the cross. That's the only reason for the
fall, for the cross. Without the cross, where would
we be? We would know who God is. We'd
know nothing about the forgiveness of sins. We'd know nothing about
the grace of God. We'd know nothing about the mercy
of God. We'd know nothing about the beauty
of God's character without the cross. Without the fall, there
would be no cross. This was God's will being done. And if you don't agree with that,
you don't agree with God. Your God is a weak God, a peanut
God, whose will cannot be done. But the God of the Bible is the
God who controls and ordains and decrees everything. And the only reason for the fall
was the will of God. Now I realize people can take
that carry it in all kinds of different directions, but I'm
not gonna not preach the truth because of being afraid of how
somebody will twist it. I'm not in control of that. But
I am responsible to tell the truth regarding God. The fall
was for the, because of the purpose of God. And don't you love thinking
about this? Christ is called the Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world, isn't he? Before there was ever a sinner,
there was a Savior. What happened in the garden? In the garden, Adam really did
die on that very day, as seen in him knowing he's naked. Now,
he didn't die physically. He wouldn't die physically for
some time after this, but he died spiritually. Now, what happens
when someone dies physically? Well, one thing, he can't breathe. He can't breathe air into his
lungs The blood gets the oxygen and takes it all over the body.
His heart can't pump blood because he's dead. He's dead. Now when you're dead, you can't
see. I can show you a beautiful picture,
a beautiful sunset. What can a dead person, does
he have any appreciation of it at all? He can't hear. Playing the most beautiful music,
he can't hear it. Give him a piece of perfect filet
mignon, stuff it in his mouth. He can't taste it. It means nothing
to him. He can't smell the savor of a beautiful rose. He can't feel. If you touch him,
he can't feel. If you hit him, he can't feel
it. He's dead. Dead. What can a dead man do?
Nothing. He can stink. That's it. He can
decay. He can stink. But he can't do
anything. Adam died. He no longer, well, he couldn't
believe. He couldn't perform the functions
of life. He couldn't believe. He couldn't repent. He couldn't
hear the gospel. Now, he could hear it physically,
audibly, but it would mean nothing to him. He wouldn't understand
it. He couldn't hear it as gospel. He couldn't see the beauty of
Christ. He couldn't smell the sweet fragrance of the gospel.
He couldn't feel the embrace of Christ. He could feel none
of these things. He was dead. Dead, graveyard dead as far as
spiritual ability. Now, I realize that many people
would say, well, Adam lost his original innocence and he became
bad, but he still retained some power, the power of free will,
and he could accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior and get out
of this mess. No, dead. What that means is total depravity. Would that describe you? Total
depravity, total inability. He can do nothing to save himself. And this spiritual death manifests
itself by a hatred of God. Now let me repeat that. Now I
want everybody to get this. This spiritual death manifests
itself by a hatred of the living God. Somebody says, well, I don't
hate God. Well, let me tell you something
about this God. This God is absolutely sovereign, and He discriminates
in His grace, and He chooses to save some and pass by others. That's the God of the Bible.
Well, I don't love that God. I know you don't. I know you
don't. But that's the God of the Bible.
And people don't find out that they hate God till they hear
the gospel. It takes hearing the gospel to find out you hate
God. But oh, when you hear the gospel, you find out that's not
the God that I love. Now in Adam, all die. Romans chapter five, verse 12,
for by one man, sin entered the world. And death by sin, so that
death passed upon all men in that all have sin. Now you know
what that means? That means when Adam sinned,
you sinned. Well, Adam's sin was charged
to me. No, it wasn't. Yeah, it was, but here's the
deal. When Adam sinned, you sinned. By one man, sin entered the world
and death by sin, so that death passed upon all men and that
all sinned. When Adam sinned, you sinned.
You were guilty of that transgression. You can't say, well, I'm being
condemned for somebody else's sin. No, you're not. You're being
condemned for your own. But here's the blessed truth concerning
that. If you can be condemned by being
in Adam and sinning in Adam, you can also be saved by being
in Christ. When he obeyed the law, you obeyed
the law. I love it when the Lord said
to John the Baptist, Thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Now when Christ fulfilled all
righteousness, if you're in Christ, you personally fulfilled all
righteousness. That's the great mystery of union with the Lord
Jesus Christ. But what happened in the garden? And if you're wrong on this, if you're wrong on this, you're
wrong on everything else. This is the starting point. This
is so important. If you're wrong on this, if you
don't believe exactly what is being said regarding what took
place in the Garden of Eden, you're not gonna believe the
gospel. You're gonna be wrong everywhere else. Like one man
said, wrong on the fall, wrong on it all. That's how important
this is. In Adam, all died. What happened in the garden?
Death. And let me say this to you. You were born, I was born, dead
in sins. And if God is not pleased to
use his discriminating grace to do something for you, you
will not be saved. Now, you can have two responses
to that. I don't like that. Or, save me. I can't save myself. Save me. What a prayer. Save me. Lord, deliver me from myself. Save me. If you don't do something
for me, I won't be saved. Now, what's your response? or
save me. Now here's the second point. What really took place on the
cross? What really happened? And Jesus
of Nazareth, the son of Mary, the son of God, for 33 years,
lived a perfect life. He never sinned. He loved God with all of his
heart. And he loved his neighbors himself.
He never put anything before God. He never created some idolatrous
thought of God to, like me and you do. He never
took his name in vain. He had complete reverence for
his father. He's the only one to ever keep
the Sabbath and to rest completely. How he honored his mother and
father and was in subjection to them in all authority. He
never killed anyone. He never murdered anybody. He
never murdered anyone's character. He never gossiped, said anything
bad about anybody. He never committed sexual sin,
even in his mind. He never had the thought of lust. He never told a lie. He always
told the truth. He never stole anything. Get
this, he never coveted anything. He was in perfect agreement with
everything God brought his way. He was completely content. The
only holy man to ever live. I love thinking about his life,
don't you? I think about when he was a kid. He lived a perfect
life and nobody understood. His brothers and sisters didn't
know what he was doing. They didn't understand that this is
holiness. Now, what this is a reminder to me of is that he was holy. He is holy. And nobody got it. That lets me know how little
the natural man understands of holiness. He was holy. And nobody
understood. Yet this holy man was nailed to a tree. And he
was forsaken by God. And he was forsaken by man. And
he died a shameful, ignomious death on Calvary's tree. Now what was going on there?
What happened? Why did this take place? He never
sinned. He perfectly honored God and
kept God's holy law, and he never sinned. Why? What was going on
in this transaction? Well, first point, God's will was being done. You got to start there. Just
like we did in the garden. What was happening in the garden
when God's will was being done? What was happening on the cross?
God's will was being done. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God. You have taken and with
wicked hands have crucified and slain. It was God's will being
done. Both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and
the people of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever
thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. Why was he
nailed to a tree? It was the will of God. It pleased
the Lord to bruise him. He had put him to grief. It was God's will being done. The Lamb slain from the foundation
of the world is now the lamb slain in time. The scriptures
were being fulfilled. I love that scripture in Acts
chapter 13 in Paul's first recorded sermon, when it says, he says,
and when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they
took him down from the cross. What was being done? The scriptures
were being fulfilled. What was being done? The execution
of the absolute justice of God. Now once you think about that
statement, what was being done on the cross? Absolute perfect
justice was being executed by God Almighty. This is the justice
of God taking place. Now I've heard preachers say, The innocent was punished that
the guilty may go free. Speaking of Christ. And I understand
that statement. And it's half true. The just for the unjust. That's what was going on. It
was the just for the unjust. But let me ask you a question. If I would be punished for your
sins, Would it be just? If you committed a crime and
I said, I'll take your place and I'll take your punishment,
would the law accept that? Would that be just? The answer
is no. There wouldn't be any justice
for that at all. Now when Christ, here's what
happened on the cross. When Christ was made sin, My sin, my personal sin, the
sin that's ever before me, my sins, my iniquities became his
sins so that he himself became guilty of those sins. Do you remember when he said,
the cup which my father hath given me to drink, shall I not
drink it? What was that cup? That was the
cup of the sins of the elect. That's what he saw in Gethsemane's
garden when he said, if it be possible, let this cup pass from
me. He was talking about drinking
the cup of the sins of his people where he would actually bear
those sins in his own body on the tree and bear them all. Who knows? I don't know what
I'm talking about. I realize that. But I know that's what
took place on Calvary's tree. What happened on the cross? the
execution of absolute justice. God is just. God is going to
punish sin. On the cross, my sin became His
sin. So that He said, my iniquity
My iniquities have taken hold upon me so that I'm not able
to look up. Now, turn with me for a moment
to Proverbs chapter 17. This is an important distinction. Proverbs chapter 17. Verse 15. He that justifieth the wicked,
and he that condemneth the just, even they both are an abomination
to the Lord. And that gives us some understanding
of what was going on on the cross. Christ, or God, was not condemning
the just. My sin became His sin, and God
was executing judgment, absolute judgment and justice upon Him.
And in the very same manner that my sin became His sin, His righteousness
has become my righteousness. That's what took place on the
cross. We were made In Adam all die,
in Christ shall all be made. Think of that scripture in 2
Corinthians 5, 21, for he hath made him to be sin for us who
knew no sin that we might be made. That's what happened on
the cross. I was made to be something. I
was made the very righteousness of God in him. On the cross, Complete satisfaction
took place. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
10. What really happened on the cross? Well, Christ died. Yeah,
but what's that mean? Hebrews chapter 10. This is a quotation from Psalm
40. Verse 5, whereof, when he cometh
into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not,
but a body hast thou prepared me. In burnt offerings and sacrifice
for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come. In the volume of the book it's
written of me to do thy will, O God. Above, when he said sacrifice
and offering and burnt offering and offering for sin, that which
is not, neither hath pleasure therein, which are offered by
the law, then said he, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh
away the first, that he may establish the second, by the which will,
by God's will, we are sanctified, called made holy through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily
ministering, offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can
never take away sins. But this man, after he'd offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool, for by one offering, he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified. Now what took place on the cross?
I'll make perfect. Every believer, was made perfect. Complete satisfaction was made
so that God says regarding everyone Christ died for, you're holy,
you're unblameable, and you're unreprovable in my sight. You know, I'm saying to this, I'm saying
to myself, I'm saying this to you and I'm saying this to myself,
this ought to make us jump for joy if we're believers. Holy
and unblemishable. Nothing to even be reproved of.
That's what Christ accomplished on Calvary Street. It is finished. God says, I can ask no more. I can accept
no less. Because Christ made complete
satisfaction. That's what happened on the cross.
I was made. I was made. People talk about
a self-made man. No, I'm a Christ-made man. Christ
made complete satisfaction. And let me also say this before
I go into this last point. I'll be very brief. On the cross,
what happened on the cross? Every sinner was saved. If you're a sinner, Do you own
that? If you're a sinner, he saved
you. Well, I'm not a sinner. Well, I can't give you any assurance
that he did anything for you. But if you're a sinner, he came
to save sinners and that's what he did. And here's the third
point. What really happens when God saves a sinner? What really
happens? You know, somebody says, I got
saved. Well, I got cold. I got a fever. I got sick. I got, that's no way to speak
of God's salvation. I got saved. What happens when
the Lord saves a sinner? Well, let me tell you something
that doesn't happen first, and this is very important. Let me
tell you something that doesn't happen. God changed my heart. You're a liar. You're just as bad. You're just
as sinful. You're just as evil. You have
the same propensity to sin, the same corrupt desires, the same
perversion that you ever did. Now that's up. I've changed. I haven't. I'm just as sinful, and I'm saying
this with a broken heart. Wish it wasn't like that. I'm
just as sinful. I'm just as evil as I ever was. So when people talk about, well,
I'm changed. You really can't support that
from the scripture. Paul said, Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners of whom I What am the chief? Not who I used to be. Oh, wretched man that I used
to be. No! Oh, wretched man that I am! Who
shall deliver me from the body of this death? I've changed. No, you haven't. As far as you
go, You're just as sinful as you ever were. But let me tell you what does
take place. Life from the dead in Christ
shall all be made alive. I now have something that I formerly
did not have. My old man hadn't changed any
and yours hadn't either. And if you say it has, it's because
you don't have a holy nature to see what you really are. It's
the holy nature that sees the sinfulness of the old nature.
I've got life. I used to couldn't believe. I
do believe now. I used to didn't even know what
repentance meant. I stay in a state of repentance
now. I can now see the beauty of the
Gospel. Of God being just and yet justifying
the ungodly. I can see the beauty of God in
His forgiveness of sins. I can smell the sweet savor of
Christ. I can hear His voice in the Gospel.
I can hear His voice in the Word. I've got life that I did not
have before. It's not a change. It's not a changed heart. It's
a new heart! Won't you give Jesus your heart?
What would he want with it? What would he want with your
old corrupt heart? He would want, I tell you what you need to do
is ask him to give you a new heart. A heart that wasn't there
before. The heart that is his creation. What happens when God saves somebody?
They're given a life. Life from the dead. to where
I can now behold the beauty of Christ, the beauty of the gospel.
I now have a holy nature that hates sin. You know what my need
is? I need to be saved from God.
He's my problem, not the devil. I need to be saved from God.
He's holy, he can send me to hell. I need to be saved from
God. I need to be saved from myself. And I need to be saved
from my sins. And that's what life from the
dead is. It's a continual... I tell you,
if you've got life, you know what you're always gonna be saying?
Save me. Save me. Save me. That's your continual
prayer. Lord, save me. Save me from myself. Save me from my sins. Save me. That's the cry of life. When you're dead, you don't pray
that. What happens? When God saves somebody, life.
And what's the evidence of that life? What is the evidence? Well,
I have life because I see that I'm reading the Bible more, I'm
praying more, I seem to have more victory in my life, I have
more victory and power over sin, I seem to keep getting better
and, oh, really? What is the evidence of life?
One evidence. All you have is Christ. you look
to him only as everything in your salvation. It's called faith
in Christ. Faith is the evidence of things
not seen. What happened in the garden?
Death. Death. Wrong on the fall, wrong
on it all. What really took place on the
cross? On the cross in Christ shall
all be made. I was made to be something I
was not. Righteous, holy, perfect. Because of what Christ accomplished
on Calvary. What happens in a sinner's heart
when God saves them? Life from the dead. Life that
was not there before. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name that you would take your word by your spirit and give us new hearts because of what Christ accomplished
for us. Lord, I ask in Christ's name
that you'd save us. that you'd save us by your grace,
that you'd save us by your mercy, that you'd save us from our sins,
that you'd save us from ourselves, that you'd save us from our wrong
way of thinking and our wrong thoughts and our wrong actions
and our wrong deeds. Lord, that's our request, save
us. For Christ's sake, in his name
we pray.