Go ahead and be opening up to Romans chapter 5. We're going to be finishing up the chapter this evening. So Romans chapter 5. And we're gonna read beginning in verse 12, Romans chapter five, 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 was 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 was 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 received abundance of grace and 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 reign unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. If you were with us last time, we're going to be really focusing on verses 15 through 21. We covered verses 12 through 15 last time we were in the book of Romans. And the last time we looked at the reign of death in Adam, that is, the way that sin has passed upon all men through the act of one. And we stated last time that this, Paul is doing this as a contrast of possibly to an objection of how is it that by one man, many could be made righteous? How is it by the actions of one are many men affected? And Paul is comparing and contrasting Adam and Jesus Christ as the one man, the spiritual heads of humanity. It was said by one of the commentators that God only sees men in two buckets, in Adam or in Christ. That's the truth. We fit in one of the two camps. We're in Adam or we're in Jesus Christ. And so I believe the great summary of this section that we're in, and it's a glorious summary, is where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And so our title for tonight is gonna be Grace is Greater than Sin. Grace is Greater than Sin. And so we're gonna start off with really trying to break down what Paul is doing here. At the very beginning, if you're like me, we read, but not as the offense, so also as the free gift. And you scratch your head and go, well, that doesn't make any sense. It's like it, it's not like it at all, but it's like it? What is Paul saying here? And as I was doing my notes, I stumbled upon two words in the English language, effect and effect. Now, if any of you have taken English classes, this has probably baffled you like it has me. Margaret still gets on to me for misusing these words. So as I was doing my outline, I was trying to figure out which effect to put into my outline because I was trying to be grammatically correct. And I stumbled upon the definition of them, and I thought it really fit well with what we're talking about here. that Adam and Christ, what Paul is saying is they were similar in their effect, A-F-F-E-C-T, but completely different in their effect. Similar in their effect and difference in their effect. And I thought of an illustration to kind of picturize this for us. If I was to make two meals and give them to two different individuals, I have affected those two individuals the same way. They both got a meal from me. Now if one, let's say for the sake of this argument, it's fried chicken and... Mac and cheese. I don't know why it took so long for that word to come to my mind. But fried chicken and mac and cheese. And one man, the chicken wasn't cooked all the way, and I used soiled milk for the mac and cheese, and he got food poisoning. The other man got perfectly cooked, it was delicious. The effect of those meals is completely different on those two men. One man now has salmonella and is in the emergency room, and the other man goes away full and happy. And that is what we're talking about here. In Adam, he affected many by his actions, but the effect of his actions was sin, condemnation, and death. And in Christ, he affected all those that are in his family, but the effect was righteousness, justification, and life. So we see that they're both affecting in the same way that by the actions of one, it's affecting many. But the effect could not be further from each other. They're completely different in their effect. So that all men, When Adam transgressed, all men were affected by that transgression. It passed upon all men, as we read earlier in verses 12, by one man's sin entered into the world. He introduced sin into the human system. And death is the wage of sin so that now all are dying. But in Christ, he introduces righteousness. He gives us his righteousness. He pronounces us justified because of His work on the cross, and He gives us life everlasting. So again, we have two actions here that are similar in that they're affecting many, but completely different in the way that they're affecting them. And so, now we can get into the nuts and bolts of the passage, and beginning in verse 16, And not as it was by one that sinned, the one that sinned, so is the gift. For judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification." And what Paul is saying here is that this condemnation or the judgment to condemnation, the judgment of sin to condemnation, was by one offense. The one offense of Adam cursed all of us. As we've read earlier in Romans 3, there are none that doeth good. There's none that seeketh after righteousness. They're all gone out of the way. They're altogether become unprofitable, useless. And death by sin. And so when Adam introduced sin into the world, he also introduced death so that all of us are dying. We're decaying. at varying rates, but decaying nonetheless. And it was by the one sin of Adam grabbing the fruit that God commanded him not to eat of it, and taking of it anyway. So this is our birthright, our inheritance in Adam, that sin was placed on all men in this position. And also, I believe, I believe the wording here is beautiful as well. The gift by grace. In other places in the passages, it's called the free gift. And I think this really draws back to what Paul has gone to earlier in Romans, just the inability of man to accomplish it on their own. We can't earn the gift. We can't do anything to gain the favor. We can't work ourselves out of an inheritance that Adam has bestowed upon us. But the gift is greater. The word here, much more the grace of God. Much greater, much more abounding is the grace of God. And the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. That is, it is greater than the condemnation that Adam bestowed. It is greater than our inheritance in Adam. It has wiped it all away. And in verse 16, it says, the gift is of many offenses. So in Adam, it was one offense that plunged us into condemnation, into judgment. But the grace of God is abounded all the more that it covers many offenses. Friends, that's a beautiful reality that all of our sins that we ever have committed and ever will commit are cast away. Because grace has abounded more than the offense. It is greater than the offense. It has abounded much more. Much more. Ephesians 2, 4-5 says, But God, who is rich in mercy, with this great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are ye saved. And that's a beautiful summary of what we're looking at here. God, who is rich in mercy with his great love, when we were dead in sins, our inheritance was nothing. but condemnation and judgment. And yet He has quickened us together with Christ by grace. By grace are you saved. The unmerited favor of God. And so the gift is so much greater than the offense. It exceeds by leaps and bounds and has covered many offenses. That all of the offenses of God's people were bound up and placed upon Christ and forgotten. I love in Hebrews 7.25 where it says, He has saved us to the uttermost. The uttermost. That there is therefore now no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus. No condemnation. Turn with me to Isaiah 1.18. Isaiah 1.18. I believe this is a beautiful picture of what we're talking about here as well. Isaiah 1.18. And it says, come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. And friends, that's a beautiful picture of the blood of Christ has made us white as snow. That we were a scarlet in Adam. We were as vile as vile could be. And yet, Christ's righteousness has been placed upon us and we have been made clean in the eyes of God, whiter than snow, whiter than wool, no longer scarlet or red. Now moving down to verse 17, it says, for if by one man's offense death reigned by one, Much more, they which receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." Friends, this is what we were talking about earlier with the wages of sin, as we read in Romans chapter 6. The wages of sin is death. And so they are traveling companions. They come together. You can't have sin and not have death because it's the just earnings of sin is death. And that was the penalty for the offense is that death was passed upon all men. We read earlier in our passage here that even those that have not sinned after the similitude of Adam. So even those that don't commit a sin die because of the sin nature that is passed upon them. So death is undefeated against, undefeated, that word came out weird, undefeated against humanity. And it's the cruel reality of the human condition that we are all dying. We will all taste death one day, unless Christ comes back first. But again we have the contrast. Much more. Much more. How much greater they which receive the abundance of grace. The abundance of grace. And the grace of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life. Friends, in Christ, how much greater is the reality that Death is no longer going to have dominion over us. We are conquerors of the grave because it's no longer death and then the judgment. Turn with me to 2 Timothy 1, 9-10. We're going to begin reading in verse 9, 2 Timothy 1.9. And it says, Who hath saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but now is made manifest by the appearing of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath brought life and mortality to light through the gospel." And friends, I believe that's a... Isn't that just a beautiful reality that Christ has abolished death? That death is again, it's no longer reigning as it was, as it is among other men, but it is... we welcome death as believers. Because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It is no longer our punishment to die. It is our privilege. That's a beautiful reality, isn't it? Friends, that makes everything so much more hopeful. When we're praying over the list that we have here of sickness and disease and those that we know and love, and we think, Outside of Christ, this would be a helpless position. And we start to see why so much of the world is lost and confused and depressed. Because there's no hope. It's hopeless. I thought Brother Nathan did a wonderful job on Sunday with the quotes of the men of... I'm not even going to try, but you know, I care not. I care not. What's the point? What's the point? But friends, in Christ, we see the point because He has conquered the grave. He died. He tasted death for us and rose again victoriously. And so when we die, we now go to be with Him. And so our promise is the same as the thief on the cross. Friends, when you're on your deathbed, the promise is the same. Today you will be with me in paradise. That's a reality we can hold on to. I think it's also important to think about as well, just talking about the abundance of grace, the much more of grace. Friends, Christ is not restoring us to the position of Adam, but is putting us in a greater position. He's not just setting things back to the way they were. He's making them so much better. So much better. Romans 8.17 says, And if children then heirs, heirs of God, and join heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. Friends, Christ did not restore us to Adam's position. but grace abounded all the more that we are now joint heirs with Christ. We are now heirs, sons of God, sons and daughters of God. How much more glorious is the gift than the offense? In verses 18 and 19, we really see kind of the summary of this, that Christ is greater than Adam. And this is the point of Paul's message here. And if it wasn't clear enough in the previous sections. Friends, just look at the contrast of, in Adam we have received condemnation, a legal decree of guilty before a just and holy God. And along with that condemnation comes death. Because of Adam's offense, but much more the realities in Christ that we don't receive the condemnation. There's no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus, but we receive His righteousness in its stead. His righteousness on our behalf. and we shall be delivered because of His righteousness. Not of any action of our own, not of any work that we can do. 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, For He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. And friends, that's a glorious contrast, just the realities of in Adam, what we are in Adam. And we read about that in Romans 1, the sin of man. We see that also in Romans 3, just the natural condition. I think often when we're reading this, and such were some of you, the were is the important part because that is no longer our reality in Christ Jesus. We were in Adam's inheritance. We did receive sin and condemnation in the grave. And yet we were adopted. And that's a beautiful picture, isn't it? The adoption of sons. That God has pulled us out of of Adam's family. And chosen us unto himself. That. And gave us his righteousness. Because we couldn't. We couldn't earn it on our own. Because he loved us. Because He loved us. Because we wear the righteousness of another. And friends, if that's not good enough, then He says, and we see in Scripture that we will live with Him for eternity. Friends, what greater love is that? What greater love is there? There's no greater love. So we see that judgment came by the offense and condemnation, so the righteousness, the free gift came upon all men to justification of life. And in verse 19, by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, but by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. When we were studying last time in Romans, We referenced Timothy where he says that Eve was deceived and Adam wasn't deceived. It was disobedience on Adam's part when he took the fruit. His eyes were wide open and he sinned. But friends, how much greater the obedience of Christ. It took the disobedience of one to plunge us into the depths of depravity, but by the obedience of one, He has restored us much more. Again, I believe the perfect summary of this, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. It has abounded all the more, that Christ has bridged the gap that was created, the schism between us and God. brought us together again and has brought us to a better position than one that we could ever imagine before. How much greater the obedience of God's own Son than the disobedience of Adam. And so lastly, we get into the last two verses here. Moreover, the law entered that sin that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." And so again, we've covered this multiple times in Romans, but again, consider who Paul is writing this to, a predominantly Jewish audience. For instance, they had such high esteem for the law, and they believed that they could earn righteousness before God by keeping the law. They believe that by really... And you see this in the Pharisees and the hypocrites. Christ says they're straining at a gnat while they have a two-by-four in their own eye. And they were so focused, and yet it did nothing for them. And so to a Jewish person hearing all of this, they'd go, well, what point is the law? Why did we have that in the first place? Well, Paul answers that. He says that the law entered that the offense might abound. Friends, the law was given as a mirror. I love the quote of Charles Spurgeon on this. The law is a mirror. It shows you your spots, but you cannot make yourself clean in it. You can't wash yourself in a mirror. It only reveals where the problem is. But it does nothing for you. It does nothing for you. So you must go somewhere else to be clean. And that's exactly what the law did. It showed the offense. It showed us God's standard. And showed us how we don't measure up. How we can't measure up. But it points us to the one that would come. The one that is greater than the law. The one that is greater than Adam. the one who lived the perfect life and who sacrificed Himself on the cross for the sins of His people, who could pronounce us clean, who can make us clean indeed. And so where sin abounded through the law, grace did much more abound. It increased all the more. the unmerited favor of God is greater than our sin. And though the law accuses us, grace is far greater. We also see lastly in verse 21, sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Christ Jesus. Again, just the reality that In Adam, death is the end and then the judgment. But in Christ, it's the beginning of eternal life. That is no longer the end of our story, but the beginning of eternity. And so grace reigns, has full preeminence. And all those in Christ, we can have full confidence. We can have full confidence. Death is no longer the scariest thing we will endure. Even though it's scary at times. But friends, we can have confidence that that is not the end. That's the beginning. The beginning of better. In a land where there will be no more tears, no more sorrow, no more pain. We will reign with Christ forever. And so, I pray this has been an encouragement to you. It's a joyous passage. We have been adopted out of the inheritance of Adam and brought into the family of God. So let's pray in closure. Our gracious Heavenly Father, Father, we thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives the life we could not live. who died on the cross for our sins. Father, you've told us in your word that greater love has no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends. Father, we thank you for our greater representative, one who is greater than Adam, who has made us justified in your sight. Father, we thank you and we praise you for these realities and we pray that you would make them all the more real to us. that you would restore under us the joy of our salvation, and what a joyous thing it is to be justified in the beloved. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. All right, anybody have anything on their hearts or minds before we dismiss?