“Death through Adam, Life through Jesus” Romans 5.12-19, March ‘20 Lent 1

1.                  Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word today this 1^st Sunday in Lent is taken from Romans 5:12-19, and is entitled, “Death through Adam, Life through Christ,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ. 

2.               What’s a major theme you hear when you listen to the news? What is a major theme you see when you look at the world? When you look at your own life? One common theme is this – problems. When you watch the news, the theme is problems. The Coronavirus that is affecting the world and even impacting the economy. The recent shooting in Milwaukee at the Molson Coors Brewery.  The threat of terrorism. Problems. When you look at your own life, you often see problems – maybe they are financial problems, family or personal problems, health problems.

3.               What’s the biggest of all the problems we have? It’s the one problem that no one likes to talk about -–the problem of death. Death is really everyone’s problem. Death doesn’t care who you are – regardless of your job, your physical condition, your family responsibilities, the number of people who depend on you – death doesn’t care about those things. It’s a problem that everyone has, regardless of who they are.  And why doesn’t anyone want to talk about the problem of death?  We could say it’s for two reasons. First, because there is no solution. No one will ever come up with a cure for death, a way to prevent it. Another reason people don’t want to talk about death, is because no one really knows for sure what happens next. Is there really a heaven? Is there really a hell? Or, is it like in the movies – after you die you become a ghost and float around the earth? Or are you reincarnated and become a cat, or a tree? What happens after you die? There is great confusion, there is no solution, and because of that, no one wants to talk about it.

4.               We live in a culture of denial. We pretend that death doesn’t exist, but it does. Rather than live in denial, let’s face this problem head-on. Let’s look in the Bible, and as we do, you might be surprised to find that there is a solution to the problem of death, that even though death has come to us through Adam, eternal life has come to us through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

5.               Romans 5:12-19 says, “¹²Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ¹³for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. ¹⁴Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. ¹⁵But 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. ¹⁶And 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. ¹⁷If, 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. ¹⁸Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ¹⁹For 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.”  Paul tells us here in Romans that sin is ultimately the cause of death. And it all began with one man – Adam.

6.               The Apostle Paul isn’t implying that Adam is the only sinner held responsible before God;  Eve also sinned as we see in our Old Testament reading for today.  The fall into sin has affected all of mankind.  We inherited original sin, which is a part of our very nature.  We’re not merely sinners because we actively commit sins, but we sin because we’re sinners by our very nature.  When the first humans deserted God, and began to trust in Satan and open themselves to his spirit, Satan left a scar on human nature that will never heal.  This scar doesn’t come from God and can’t be associated with Him.  Because of this we’re separated from God, deserted and abandoned.  It doesn’t matter if we live one day or a hundred years we’ve all fallen victim to eternal death.  The Bible doesn’t mean only bodily death; it’s also an existence apart from God, where we have lost the real meaning of life—life with God, the life we were created for—and end up in total emptiness, in the darkness outside. 

7.               But, all this has been changed through Christ.  He is the New Adam, the head of a new mankind.  Just as we all have inherited sin by nature and by being born into a world that has fallen away from God, so can we also become a part of Christ as limbs of His body and members of His Church, and be born again to a life that comes from Him.  Through Christ grace has come to His kingdom instead of death.  Through Jesus all is reconciled and can be forgiven.  The evil in our nature no longer prevents us from being embraced by God.  Our verdict makes us righteous and declares that we are a part of Christ through faith.  Our debt is paid in full and our sin no longer matters.  Just as death completely and without exception reigns over all those who belong to Adam’s family, grace so completely prevails over those who belong to Christ through faith in Him.  Everything is forgiven.  There’s no condemnation.  Nothing can separate from God’s love in Christ.

9.               There was once a movie called the Last Emperor. The young child is anointed as the last emperor of China and lives a life of luxury with 1000 servants at his command. “What happens when you do wrong?” his brother asks. “When I do wrong, someone else is punished,” the boy replies. Then he demonstrates, by breaking a jar, and one of his servants is beaten. In Christianity, Jesus reverses that ancient pattern. When the servants (that’s us) make a mistake, the King is punished. That’s how it works. Instead of us being condemned eternally for our sins, Jesus is condemned instead.

10. That’s the solution to the problem of sin and death! We read in Romans 5: “Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification for all men.” Because of what Jesus did, you are justified in the eyes of God. God looks at you and says, “Not guilty!”

11. Adam’s sin was the worst mistake in human history. But what Jesus did – his death on the cross – that is the best thing that has ever happened in human history. The single most important event in the history of the world – right here – Jesus taking on our sin and dying on the cross. How many people are affected by this? Billions. Our text says: “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.” God offers this solution to all people who believe in His Son Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Because of one man, Jesus Christ, and what he did, all who believe are made righteous in the eyes of God.

12. Now, you can be someone who has hope, someone who has peace. You can be someone who has confidence. When you think of death, whether it’s the death of a loved one, or your own death, you no longer have to be afraid or confused. You no longer have to worry about condemnation for your sins. You can be someone who has peace, because you know that God will welcome you into heaven after you die. Your sins have been taken away through our Savior Jesus.  When you face all the problems that come your way, you no longer have to feel pressure to fix everything yourself. You no longer have to feel despair that life is helpless and hopeless, that you’re on your own. You can feel peace and confidence, because you know that God will strengthen you and guide you. He has proven this to you by His Son’s death on the cross for your sins.  So it is true.  Death may have come to us through Adam, but eternal life has come to us through our Lord Jesus.  Amen.  Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting.  Amen.