+ INI                                                                 Pentecost 5A                         June 15 & 16, 2008 + 

Romans 5:12-15 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!

Grace and peace be yours in abundance. (1 Peter 1:2) Amen.

In the name of Jesus, dear fellow believers,

For the third year in a row, now, Time Magazine has put its list together of the most influential people in the world. And who was on it this year? Well, their top three most influential people in the world were the Dalai Lama, Vladimir Putin, and Barack Obama. Lower down the list we find people like New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; a man named Oscar Pistorius who achieved world class sprinting times with two prosthetic legs. Who would be on your list? What things would you look for? Helping to improve society, contributing to medical advances, having a big impact on the world’s economy? Imagine that our text for today is like a magazine cover, featuring the two most influential people of all time. Their impact wasn’t on social work, economics, politics, culture, or anything like that. These two people had an impact on humanity, and on each of us personally, that nothing and no one else can even come close to competing with. And one more thing: these are God’s choices for the two most influential people of all time. Today we want to come to

Appreciate the impact of the two Adams!

I.                   the first Adam’s sin condemns us all; but

II.                the second Adam’s gift of grace brings life to us all.

For the past few weeks, we’ve been following along in Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome. We heard last week in Romans chapter 5 how our Christian confidence is firm and solid, because it’s based on Christ’s sacrificial love for us ungodly, undeserving sinners. Paul spends the rest of chapter 5 comparing the two Adams and their impact. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—   Paul just stops half-way: “just as the first Adam... dot-dot.dot…” He doesn’t get to the second part “so also the second Adam” until later in the chapter. Here in our text, Paul focuses first on the impact of that first Adam. It was through that one man that sin entered the world. Sin – the departure from God’s will, the failure to reach God’s standard, the missing of God’s target – sin entered through Adam and changed everything. From perfection to perversion. From peace and harmony to pain and suffering. From a beautiful, intimate relationship with God to separation from God. An awful impact that first Adam had!

And it set off a chain reaction: sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin. When sin entered the world, death followed right on sin’s heels as God’s just punishment for sin. And then we begin to appreciate just how huge an impact this all had: and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. The life God intended us to enjoy with him has been ruined. Every single person is doomed to die because of sin; because every single person sinned when Adam sinned.

“But wait a second,” Paul’s Jewish readers might have said. “What about Moses? Didn’t he have a big influence, too, since God gave his law through Moses?” But Paul anticipated their question: for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam. The law of Moses didn’t really change much in the big picture. The law just pointed sin out, so that it was taken into account. But sin had been there the whole time. And here’s the proof: every single person during that time, with the exception of Enoch, died. Death came to all men, because all sinned. Adam’s impact was universal. His sin condemns us all.

Do you appreciate just how hugely Adam has impacted you and me thousands of years later? It’s not easy to swallow, though, is it? It doesn’t seem fair to be condemned for someone else’s wrongdoing. Guilt by association; guilt by heredity; guilt just by being alive. Most people can admit that they’re not perfect, that they have flaws. Many people can even admit that they’re sinful from birth. But think about what our text is really saying: even if we could find a person who managed to avoid committing any of their own sins, that person would still be guilty, still be liable for punishment, still be condemned, because of Adam’s sin. The little baby in the mother’s womb is already guilty in God’s sight and liable for punishment, even apart from any sin that baby commits herself.

Maybe you’re thinking: “You’re right! It doesn’t seem fair. I thought the Bible says that everyone is accountable for his own sin.” Well, that’s true, too. Our own sinful words, actions, and attitudes surely deserve God’s punishment, too. But really, as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, we were objects of God’s wrath by nature. Each of us is already at fault just by being alive, just by our link with Adam and his sin. It’s tough to swallow. But it’s true. And do you want proof that it’s true? Just look at your own sin. Look at my sin. It’s not as if we can try to separate ourselves, disassociate ourselves from Adam. None of can claim innocence before God, or accuse God of being unfair with us. By our own sins, we sign our name to Adam’s sin. By our own sins, it’s as if we’re telling God that by nature we are totally on board with Adam’s sin, that given half a chance, we’d do it all over again ourselves. Our own sinfulness is proof that God is right to condemn us for Adam’s sin. We share his guilt already by the original sin we inherit from him. We simply prove our guilt and add to our guilt by the sins we actually commit.  

Are you starting to appreciate the impact that the first Adam had on you and on me? When we come to  appreciate the impact of the first Adam, we’re able to appreciate the impact of the second Adam.

When I was reading verse 14 the first time, I left a little bit out. As Paul was describing the impact the first Adam had, he attached this very small, but all-important label to Adam: he was a pattern of the one to come. Literally, Adam is stamped out of the same mold as the one to come. And you know who the second Adam is: Jesus Christ. Just as Adam has impacted all humanity, so Christ has impacted all humanity. Just as the first Adam, so also the second. In 1st Corinthians 15, Paul actually calls Christ “the last Adam”. 

But even though Christ followed the same pattern as Adam, he is also dramatically different than Adam. The impact of the first Adam came through a sinful mistake; the impact of the 2^nd Adam came in a gracious gift. But the gift is not like the trespass, Paul says. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! It’s as if Paul is saying: “Yes, Christ follows the same pattern. But don’t be fooled. They’re not mirror images of each other, having equal, but opposite impact. Christ’s impact goes way, way beyond Adam’s impact. By Adam’s sin, all humanity died. That’s huge! But by Christ’s gift of grace, God’s saving love came overflowing abundantly to all humanity. That’s ten times as huge!

Christ’s impact is a lot greater than Adam’s because, as Paul says in 1st Corinthians 15: The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven (1 Corinthians 15:47). Christ came as a human descendant of Adam, yet was perfect. He was not born within Adam’s race, as we were, with original sin and Adam’s guilt. He was born into Adam’s race from the outside by his conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth, as the holy, sinless Son of God. This second Adam came as the perfect substitute for all humanity. He took on our group guilt, inherited from Adam, and treated it as his own. By the suffering and death of the second Adam, God has forgiven all humanity. The proof of this gracious impact is that Christ rose from the dead. The sin-and-death impact of the first Adam has been cancelled and undone. And more than that – Christ’s impact brings more blessing and grace than Adam lost. 

Paul brings all of this to a head at the end of Romans chapter 5: Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous (Romans 5:18-19). Just as Adam brought condemnation for all humanity, including you and me, so Christ brought the gift of forgiveness and eternal life to all humanity, including you and me.

Turn with me, if you would, to the hymn we just sang, hymn 378. Go down to the 4^th stanza, and let’s read stanzas 4 & 5 together:

               But Christ, the second Adam, came

               To bear our sin and woe and shame,

               To be our Life, our Light, our Way,

               Our only Hope, our only Stay.

As by one man all mankind fell

And, born in sin, was doomed to hell,

So by one Man, who took our place,

We all were justified by grace.  (CW 387:4-5)