You're listening to the teaching ministry of Harvest Fellowship Church in Boyertown, Pennsylvania. You can find out more about us on the web at www.harvestfellowshipchurch.org. We pray that through our teaching, we may present everyone mature in Christ. Please rise for the reading of God's Word. Today's scripture reading is from the book of Romans, chapter 5, verses 12 through 21. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned. For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass, for if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of God of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin, for the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This was the reading of God's word, you may be seated. As you can see from the reading of God's word this morning, we have our work cut out for us today. I was a little bit frightened listening to different preachers preach this because three of them said this is the most difficult portion of scripture in all of the Bible. Nevertheless, nevertheless, Paul wrote to Timothy and said all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God might be complete, equipped for every good work. So Father, we come before you this morning as we open up your word. We thank you for the power of your word, that your word is able to sanctify us, even as Jesus prayed when he was there on the last night with his disciples. And he said, sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. So Lord, we look to your word as the truth, as the lamp for our feet, the light for our path. The means of our sanctification that you've given to us, oh Lord, is your word. So today we open our hearts and we open our minds and we open our lives to your word that we might continually be transformed. Lead us that we might understand even this portion that is laid before us today, oh gracious God, we give you thanks in Jesus' name, amen, amen. You know, friends, within the relatively short span of time that my life has covered, I've observed some tremendous changes in our society, and I think you would probably agree with me. Now, growing up in the city of Philadelphia, I came to realize that the different neighborhoods that made up the city were identified by the predominant ethnic groups who lived within those neighborhoods. For example, if you were from South Philadelphia, you were Italian, right? And if you were from Germantown, at one point that would have meant that you were German, right, German. But by the time that I was growing up, Germantown had become a predominantly African-American culture. So it was from Germantown where the African-American culture was invested in Philadelphia. My own neighborhood was partly German and mostly Eastern European. Now, whether you think about it, whether it was good or whether it was bad, in the 1950s and 60s, people tended to identify themselves with the larger community that was around them. They saw themselves as something that was bigger than just themselves. They were Irish, and they were proud of it. They were Italian, they were German, and they took pride in their family heritage and pride in their neighborhood. But my friends, in modern society, well, we have become increasingly, even radically individualistic. Neighbors rarely even know anything about the people who live right next door to them. And this radical individualism has become an extensive part of modern society. You see, today, well, we create our own little world because we live much of our life online with a laptop in front of us or with that tablet sitting in front of us all the time. So we build up our own neighborhood. We communicate with those that we friend on Facebook. These are people of our own choosing that we allow to come into our own neighborhood. We develop and we promote our own identity and we share our lives with a community of our own creation. In a virtual reality, this individualistic world, you can make yourself whatever you want to be. If you think that the old binary gender identity system is inadequate to describe your individuality, well, you can choose from 51 different ways to express your unique gender on Facebook. You can be agender, androgynous, bigender, gender fluid. If you're really feeling rebellious, you can be non-binary, whatever that is. So I have to ask, how has this individualistic society, how has it influenced the church of Jesus Christ? Well, over the years, a great number of people have abandoned the local gathering of believers under the misguided notion that they really don't need anyone else to live in Jesus Christ. They have their own personal relationship with God and they can read and they can interpret the Bible for themselves. And if that proves insufficient, well, we can access all kinds of great teaching on the Internet without ever having to rub shoulders with any other believer. This radical individualism is often reflected in the way that we present the gospel. It's common to hear a preacher say, if you were to die tonight, and you were to stand before the throne of God, and God should ask you, why should I let you into my kingdom, what would you say? Well, you see, that question suggests that you will stand before the throne of God alone, that it's just you and Him, and you will give an account for the specific sins that you've committed against Almighty God. And while it is true, my friends, that we are personally accountable to God for our sins, here in Romans 5, which Stu just read for us, Paul reminds us that all men are a part of a larger group, a larger group of people that is made up of either sinners or saints. And so when we stand before the throne of God, we will stand not only as individuals, but as a part of a larger body that is represented by a head of that body, either by Adam, or by Christ, who is described by Paul as the second Adam. Now, in the text that's before us this morning, Adam and Christ are not merely exemplary individuals whose behaviors we should either avoid or emulate. No, no, they are individuals who represent whole groups of people before Almighty God. Now in order to understand more fully how the work of one man, namely Jesus Christ, could bring justification and eternal life to a whole community of people, Paul compares and contrasts the person and work of that one man, Jesus Christ, to the person and work of one man, literally named Adam. In verse 12, Paul describes humanity in its sinful condition under the headship of Adam. And then in verse 18, he describes that new humanity, a righteous body of people who are under the headship of Jesus Christ. Now, the complex nature of this text doesn't really lend itself to a three-point sermon. I knew you'd have fun with that. So this morning, what we're going to do is we're going to work our way through Romans 5, 12 to 21 by highlighting the comparisons and the contrasts that he puts out between Adam and Christ. Okay, that's our plan today. We're going to look at comparisons and contrasts between Adam and Christ. So we begin in verse 12. encountering an event. We come upon an event, which we have known, we have grown to know as the fall of man. You're familiar with this, the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. It was Adam's sin in the garden, and that event was followed quickly by the consequence of Adam's fall, which was immediate spiritual death and eventual physical death. Let's read it together in verse 12. It says, Now I'm sure that you remember. God's warning to Adam concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. From Genesis 2, verse 17, God warned Adam. He said, the day that you eat of it, you will surely die. Strong words. Well, as we know, Adam disobeyed the Lord, and in doing so, sin and death came into the world like alien intruders. alien intruders, sin and death came into our world. Now I want you to draw your attention to the phrase in verse 12 where Paul says, one man, one man. I want you to hang on to that phrase because as we walk through this text nine times in eight verses, Paul says, one man, one man. That must be important because he repeats it so many times. Now in comparing and contrasting the person and work of Adam to the person and work of Christ, Paul's primary purpose is to show how one man's death namely Christ, provided salvation for so many people, and he begins by showing how one man's sin brought death to the whole of humanity. Here in verse 12, sin and death are viewed as a universal consequence of Adam's rebellion. So I have to ask, What does Paul mean when he says that sin and death spread to all men because all sinned? One man fell in the garden, but that fall affected the whole of humanity. Death spread to all men because all sinned. Let's try to understand that. First, let me tell you what it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean that we inevitably die because we're following Adam's bad example. Adam was a bad example, don't follow his example or you might die too. That's not what Paul is saying. Literally, by Adam's rebellion, the corruption of sin defiled the whole of humanity, every single person who has ever lived. And so you see, we really aren't good people who are negatively influenced by our surroundings. That's not the case either. The word of God consistently teaches that by our very constitution, we are sinners. We come into the world corrupted by sin in every aspect of our being, our mind, body, soul, all corrupted by sin. And from time to time, people have asked me, Why would God hold me personally accountable for Adam's sin in the garden? And normally they follow that up with, I don't think that's fair. I really don't think that's fair. Why would God hold me accountable for what Adam did in the garden if I was there? Famous last words. If I was there. Well, let me ask you this. Let's put it into perspective, okay? when your congressman, when your senator makes a declaration of war against Afghanistan, against Iraq, or, God forbid, against Iran, whose children then go into battle and die? Is it just the senator's children that go into battle and die? Is it just the congressman's children who go into battle and give their lives? No. No, it's all of our children who go into battle because the senator decided that we, as a nation, are declaring war on Afghanistan. Now, let me ask you this. Did you make that declaration of war? I want you to think about it. Did you make that declaration of war? The answer is, yes, you did. You see, you were there in the halls of Congress in representative form. When the vote was cast to go to war, you were there in representative form. The one who represents you, who you voted for, stood in your place, and now you bear the burden of his decision, even if that decision leads to death. Now, in a very similar way, Adam is what we call the federal head of all humanity. He was the very, very best of us. He represented all of mankind there in the garden, even as your senators, your congressmen represent you there in the garden of the Capitol, right? Right. Adam, you see, didn't act alone when he sinned. He was the covenantal representative of all of humanity, and so he was the fountainhead of the entire human race. Now, when he sinned, the whole of humanity was cast into sin, and the sentence of death came upon all mankind. Now, some preachers will say that it is because of the way that we procreate, because of the way that we have babies, because we were all, he would say, in the loins of Adam when Adam sinned, and then Adam passed that sinful nature to all men through procreation, and that, my friends, is actually true. but it doesn't really fit what Paul is trying to say here in Romans 5. You see, Paul is drawing a comparison between Adam and Christ, and while we are biologically connected to Adam, we are not biologically connected to Christ. Rather, Christ took our place. He was our representative, and he bore our sin on the cross. Now since Adam brought sin and death on all of those who he represented, Christ then is able to bring justification to all of those that he represented on the cross at Calvary. Now do you remember in chapter four when we were studying the life of Abraham, how God credited Abraham with righteousness because Abraham believed God's promise. Genesis chapter 15 verse 6. You'll remember this. Abraham believed the Lord and it was counted to him as righteousness. You see right there in Genesis, God revealed his pattern of redemption, his plan of salvation for all men through this one man, Abraham. So that we too might be justified by the grace of God through faith in God's promised savior. Now, remember, in Romans 4, I introduced what we call then the doctrine of imputation, where the righteousness of Christ is counted, it's credited, it is imputed to all of those who believe. Now, my friends, we weren't physically present at the cross when Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. We weren't there when he perfectly obeyed the law of God for 33 years. And yet by his immeasurable grace, God imputes, God credits, God gives the righteousness of Christ to all of those who believe. Look at 2 Corinthians 5.21. He became sin who knew no sin so that we might become the righteousness of Christ in him. In that same way, let's think about it now. In that same way, we weren't physically in the garden when Adam sinned. And yet, God imputed, God credited Adam's sin and his guilt to the whole of humanity. And this is the nature of the federal and covenantal relationship that we share with Adam. And if we are saved, then we share with Christ. This is very, very important. This also explains, take a moment and think about this, this federal headship. This fact that all died in Adam. This also explains the sadness of why babies die in the womb. This explains why infants sometimes go off into eternity before they ever get to know right from wrong. How could they die? How is that right? It is because Adam. is the federal head of all of mankind, and because he brought sin upon every human being, and in so doing, he brought death as well. So that we understand that. Now as we move on to verses 13 and 14, Paul takes a step sideways. to ask what difference the law of God made to the sinful descendants of Adam. Did the law, when the law came, did that make a difference? He's going to answer that for us. Well, it's easy to understand why Adam died, right? It's easy to understand that. He disobeyed a direct commandment of God. In the same way, it's easy to understand why those who received the law of Moses died, because they too transgressed the revealed commandments of God. But what about those people, think about this, and this is what Paul is pointing to, what about those people who lived the 2,500 years or so between Adam and Moses who had no law? What about those guys? How could they die when there was no law? How could they die when there was no commandment? Let's think about it this way, okay? Those of you who drive on 422, if there was no posted speed limit on the highway, could you still get a ticket for doing 90 miles an hour on 422? If there was no posted speed limit, right? It's not illegal. to go 90 miles an hour if there's no posted speed limit. So if there is no divine commandment, do sinners still die for their sin? Paul deals with that in verse 13 and 14. He says, for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin was not counted where there is no law. Say what? Sin was not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam. Now, think about this. Reading through the book of Genesis, it becomes obvious. It's obvious that sin and death were reigning in the world before the law was given to Moses, right? It's obvious. We see God actively judging sin in the flood. Remember, Genesis chapter six, the flood came on all of humanity. We gotta say that's a judgment for sin, right? And what about Sodom and Gomorrah? The judgment of God, burned down, fiery, brimstone, on those who were sinners, right? So what does Paul mean when he says that sin was not counted where there was no law? Well, I believe that Paul's point is that the sins of those who live between Adam and Moses, though still punishable by death, were not technically counted against them in the same way that Adam's sin was counted against him. You see, unlike Adam, those whose sin was not punished those whose sin was a transgression against a clear command of God, those who came after him had no commandment, but that did not make them innocent. They obviously rejected the revelation of God in what? We learned this, creation and conscience. They obviously rejected the God who revealed himself in creation and conscience. Even though they had no commandment, they were not innocent. And so, they did not give glory to God. They fell short of the glory of God, and so they were worthy of death. You see, Adam's sin was the fountainhead which brought forth a flood of sin and death that literally covered the earth. But here's the good news. Here's the good news. Because of God's great love, he sent his one and only son into the world as a second Adam. and he would bring life out of death through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now at the end of verse 14, we come to a transition that introduces us to a personal contrast between Adam and Christ. Here's a personal contrast we're gonna get into. Verse 14, yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam. Here we go, who was a type, Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. So Paul tells us here that Adam was a type. Adam was a shadow pointing forward to Christ who would come. Now this means that God specifically designed Adam in such a way that he would prefigure or foreshadow Christ who would come many, many years later. In Genesis, Adam was created in the image of God. Remember that? In the image of God, he made them male and female, he made them. Adam was created in the image of God, but Christ, but Christ Christ. In Hebrews 1.3 says, he is the radiance of God's glory. The exact imprint of his nature upholding the universe by the word of his power. Adam is a shadow created in the image of Christ. Christ is the reality. He is the image of the invisible God. Adam was called to obey a few simple tasks. But Christ lived in perfect obedience to the entire law of God, which I've read has included more than 600 commandments. And he did so continuously. He did so flawlessly throughout his entire life. We also remember that Adam was tempted in paradise. Tempted in paradise, right? where everything was freely provided for him, and he failed miserably. Jesus, however, endured horrific temptation in the desert wilderness where there was no food and there was no water for 40 days, and Jesus overcame the serpent. Adam yielded to the serpent. Jesus overcame the serpent. Now, we have these great comparisons. The first Adam and the second Adam. Now, as we continue on, we move into the comparisons with a contrast of what they did. Not just who they are, but what they did. Paul moves on to contrast each of their works, exalting or highlighting the grace of God in Christ against the dark backdrop of Adam's transgression. In verse 15 he writes, and he says, But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many. Do you see what he's doing here? He's taking Adam's transgression, and he's holding it up against the grace of God that is in Jesus Christ in order that this darkness against light, this sin against glory or holiness might come into contrast so that he could exalt Christ, so that he could lift up God's plan of salvation so that we might see the wonder or the glory or the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, the one man who took on sin and overcame it. who beat death by resurrecting from the grave. Now the glorious gift of salvation that comes through this one man, Jesus Christ, is far greater than the sin and judgment and condemnation that was brought on mankind through the rebellion of Adam. The trespass of Adam in the garden was nothing. It was nothing compared to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Adam took a bite of the forbidden fruit that was handed to him by the most beautiful woman in the world. She was the only woman in the world, but it was still the most beautiful woman in the world. But Jesus, see Jesus on the other hand, he bore the eternal fury of God's wrath. for the sins of his beloved people on the cross for a period of six long hours. He suffered spiritually, he suffered emotionally, he suffered physically like no man has ever suffered in the world. As Paul will say in chapter six, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The spiritual separation from God, the physical separation from the body, which is death, is a rightful payment for man's sin, but far greater than death, beyond imagination. Eternal life cannot be earned. It is the free gift of God that comes by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And then Paul moves on in verse 16 to say, and the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. Now here in verse 16, Paul's still comparing here, still contrasting the legal ramifications of the actions taken by Adam compared to those that are taken by Christ. The judgment that came through Adam's one offense resulted in condemnation. Now I want you to know that this word for condemnation is a very intense word. It takes the word judgment and puts it on steroids and makes it go beyond that so that we might so that we might say that sin led to judgment and judgment led to final irreversible judgment. However. However, the free gift. The free gift of righteousness that comes to man following a multitude of offenses. In justification. The devastation of one man's sin, one sin by one man led to death, but this free gift of Jesus Christ covers a multitude of sins. Think of every corrupt thought that has passed through your mind. Think of every corrupt action you have taken, everything you have stolen, everything that you have spoken in gossip, every word you have spoken in anger, all of the sins, every single one of them, a multitude of them are covered by one man's action on the cross of Calvary. One sin brought death to the whole of humanity, but one man's death covers a multitude A multitude of sins for multiple generations of those who are God's redeemed. Now, when we stand in a court of law today, the judge generally issues one of two verdicts. The defendant is either guilty or he is innocent. But when we stand before the divine judge, we are declared either guilty or we are declared righteous, not innocent, not innocent. There is no one who is innocent. We are either guilty in Adam or we are righteous in Christ. Either we stand before God in the sin-stained, filthy rags of our own depravity or we stand robed in the perfect righteousness of Christ, pure and white. Adam's one act of rebellion brought condemnation and judgment. But the gift of grace that comes through Jesus Christ is all the more great. It brings justification no matter how many transgressions you have committed. And in verse 17, Paul says, for if because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more, you see this? Much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Now because, of the one man sin, death reigned over all men. But much more, super abundantly will those who receive God's gift of righteousness, they will reign in life. Reign in life, not just this life, but eternally they will reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Adam's transgression brought death, Jesus Christ's death removes our transgression and brings eternal life. Paul wrote to the Corinthians in chapter 15 verse 21, for as by one man death came, by one man also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Then in verse 18, Paul says basically the same thing. Therefore, as by one man's trespass, as by one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience, the many will be made righteous. Let me take a breath here for a moment. At first glance, Paul appears to be speaking in universal categories here. All people are guilty of sin because of Adam's one act of disobedience. Then does that mean that all people are automatically righteous because of Christ's obedience? Some people believe that. Some people believe that the death of Jesus covered all of humanity just as Adam's sin covered all of humanity. Therefore, you don't have to do any evangelism because everybody's saved. That's called universalism. Universalism. And it is patently false. Others believe that because Christ died for everyone, that there is a potential, a potential salvation that's out there. All you got to do is go and grasp it. That, too, is false. The heresy of universalism totally negates the larger context of the Book of Romans that is summarized in the very first chapter when Paul wrote, and he said, for I am not ashamed, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to who? To everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. So when we proclaim salvation through the gospel, it is to all those who believe. In the same way, Romans 321, but now the righteousness of God has been manifest apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there is no distinction. So the gift of God's righteousness is freely given to those who believe, those who trust in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the payment for their sins. We have that? It's not a potential salvation. It is a salvation that is freely given by God to those who believe. Now hang in there. One more comparison that I want to bring to your attention. Only two more verses and we're through chapter five, but let me read this to you. Now, the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, the giving of the law came through Moses actually led to an increase in the number of trespasses simply because it defined what sin was. I didn't know what sin was until I saw the law of God. I didn't know what it was. Paul writes that in Romans chapter 7, verse 7. He says, if it had not yet been for the law, I would have not known sin. For I would have not known what it is to covet if the law had said, you shall not covet. So you see where sin abounds then. By the giving of the law, it brings a magnifying glass onto our lives, and so that you can then see the sinfulness of your own heart by looking at the law of God. You shall have no other gods before me. And yet everything in this material world, I want it, I want it, I worship it, but you shall have no other gods. If it were not for the law, I wouldn't know that I was an idolater. I need to have this, and I need to have this. Even our children, when they come from the womb, they say, mine, mine, mine, mine. I have that in my house right now. Every other word is mine, mine, mine. No, what is that? It is the depravity of the human soul that says, I covet what you have, so all I have to do is say it's mine. And eventually, because I have a stronger will than you are, you're gonna give it to me. No. Well, understand this. By the giving of the law, sin is magnified so that we can see it as it is and throw ourselves on the mercy of Christ. Where sin abounded through the law, grace in Christ superabounded. Here's that contrast again. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And once again, in verses 20 to 21, Paul uses superlatives to show the surpassing glory of God's grace when it is compared to the sinfulness of man. In verse 21, Paul points to the reign of death that was brought on by Adam and the reign of grace that brings eternal life in Christ. Now this word reign that we use reminds us of a king, a monarch, someone who is reigning over a realm. And if you were to imagine a good, and a gracious king. You might describe that king in words of bountiful and benevolent, extravagantly gracious. This is a good king, and we're learning about this good king, Jesus. Certainly, these descriptions are characteristic of Christ's reign of grace. And nowhere in the scripture is the contrast between Adam and Christ more striking than in what Paul describes as the reign of sin and the reign of grace. You see, grace brings life and sin brings death. Grace always gives and sin always takes away. Mine, mine. Sin always takes away. Consider the comparison of the reign of sin and the reign of grace as it is illustrated in Jesus' story of the prodigal son. After leaving his father, the prodigal found himself in a position where everyone took from him. They took his money. They took all of his valuables. They left him empty and void. No one was willing to give to him even a morsel of food or a crumb from their table. He had lost everything. He had squandered his fortune and no man gave anything to him, Jesus said. And just like our good time friends, sin always deserts us. It leaves us empty and exhausted, holding nothing but empty husks in our hands. That's the terrible thing about sin. It holds up the fantasy of fame and fortune, but it always fails to fulfill its fanciful promises. Sin promises life and vitality, but it can only bring death and destruction. Talk to the drunkard the morning after he has indulged himself in the excesses of frivolity. And you will find that he is exhausted and empty just like the prodigal son. Sit with me some time across the table from a man whose wife just left him. because he continually set her aside in order to give himself to the empty promises of momentary pleasures promoted by pornography on the internet. The reign of death brought on us by sin destroys our lives. It ruins our relationships and it separates us from our benevolent king, creator. But the reign of grace The reign of grace is vastly different. It not only gives, but it gives in a royal manner. The reign of grace, there's nothing more stingy, nothing more frugal about it at all. It gives life and it gives life abundantly. Consider Paul's words, our last scripture for the day, but consider Paul's words in Ephesians chapter one, and think of the reign of grace, the royal reign of grace, how powerful, how glorious, how abundant it is that God has given to us. Ephesians 1, verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, that reign of grace with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses in accordance with the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight. I'm captivated by the reign of grace, the abundance of God's goodness, the glory of His mercy, that He would take us to bring us as sons and daughters into His own household? That He would lavish His grace upon us in all wisdom and understanding in Jesus Christ? Friends, do you see the abundance, the glory of God that is being held up by the Apostle Paul? Why would we live in this sinful condition where people are constantly stealing from us? where we are robbed, killed, and destroyed by the wicked one, when we could be in the family of the King and live in the abundance of His grace for all of eternity. As we close, let me ask you, Are you exhausted? Are you empty? Is your life continually spiraling downward as an ever increasing bondage to your fleshly passions? If you are, then I would call you to repent of your sin. and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in him will you find the riches, the glory of his grace. Only in him will you find true freedom and eternal life. As we began, my friends, among all of the nations, all of the ethnicities, all the tribes of people on this earth, there are only two families. whether you live in South Philly or North Philly, there are only two families that you can be in. The sons and daughters of Adam who live in the flesh and die in their sin, or the sons and daughters of Christ, of God, adopted into the family of God through the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ on the cross. Let us pray. Father, I ask that this word that you've given to us through the pen of the Apostle Paul would have a deep impact on our soul. As you've revealed the glory of your grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. And him crucified. I pray, oh gracious God. that for your glory, you would grant some within my hearing, O Lord, some, O Lord, that precious gift of eternal life through faith in Christ alone. Let today, O Lord, be the day of their salvation. May today be the day when you radically transform them by the power of your word. And for those who belong to you, I pray that, Lord, we would be built up by your most holy word, that we would be sanctified by your word, because your word is truth. Now, Lord, I ask that you would accomplish this for your glory. In Jesus' holy name, amen.