Dr. Cecil A. Fayard - 2001 Sermons
Sunday, April 29, 2001   

INTRODUCTION: In the first eleven verses of Romans five, we find that justification is permanent. The believer is forever declared righteous in the sight of God because of what Christ has done for him. It is through Christ that we have peace (5:1). In verses 12-21, Paul tells us of the grace of God that is greater than all our sin.

Romans 5:12-21 is the center of the epistle to the Romans. Everything that has come before has pointed to the truth spelled out here, and everything that follows flows from this point of the epistle. It is here that sin, death, and judgment are connected with Adam and Adam with the human race. Also found in these verses is the free grace of God that saves the sinner.

1. VERSES 12-14, THE PRESENCE, PENALTY, AND POWER OF SIN
   1. Verse 12 a, the presence of sin: "By one man sin entered into the world." Here we have the entrance of sin into the world.
      
      1. The one man here is Adam. It is through Adam that sin entered in.
         
         1. God had told Adam and Eve that they could eat of the fruit of every tree in the garden except from the "tree of knowledge of good and evil."
            
         2. To eat of the fruit was to sin against god (Genesis 2:15-17). To eat was to die spiritually and to begin to die physically.
            
         3. Genesis 3:1-8 tells us the sad story of the fall of man. Adam, to whom God had given the direct command, ate of the fruit; and mankind was plunged into sin.
            
      2. Notice that it was not "sins" that entered into the world but "sin".
         
         1. Because of Adam's disobedience, he was indwelt by the sin nature.
            
         2. The presence of sin in every human being except Jesus Christ became a reality.
            
         3. It was not the many acts of sin that he later committed that made Adam a sinner. It was that first act of disobedience.
            
      3. You and I sin because we are sinners. We do not sin to become sinners.
         
      4. Sin was personified in Adam. J. Frank Norris said:
         
         It is more than ""all have sinned. "
         It is more than "all are under sin.
         Here sin is a personified monster.
         Here sin is a conscious less dictator.
         Here sin is over-running the world destroying it. Here sin is the victor and our captor, leading us Captive at his will.
         Sin entered as an aggressor, as a thief, as a robber,
         As a murdered, as a tyrant,
         And he slew the world of humanity.

   2. Verse 12 b, The penalty of sin: "And death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
      
      1. At the very moment Adam ate of the fruit of "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" he died spiritually (separated form God) and the process of physical death began whereby Adam died physically years later. "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return" (Genesis 3: 1 9).
         
      2. "So death passed upon all men."
         
         1. At the moment Adam ate of the fruit, death was immediately passed from Adam to each and every individual descendent of his.
            
         2. Mankind suffers from several kinds of death because of Adam's sin:
            
            1. Spiritual death- this is to be separated from God, to be "dead in trespasses and sins". All unbelievers are in this position (Ephesians 4:18).
               
            2. The second death that sin brings is physical death. This separation from friends and loved ones.
               
            3. The third death is eternal. The sinner who dies without Christ will spend eternity in punishment.

   3. Verses 13-14, The power of sin.
      1. Sin was in the world before the written law was given at Mount Sinai.
         
         1. Sin's punishment, death, ruled from Adam to Moses.
            
         2. Man was sinful without the law because of the sin nature, because of the fall.
            
         3. Although there was no written law, there was law (Romans 2:14-15).
            
      2. Man was not able to commit the sin of Adam for he and Eve had been evicted from the garden where "the tree of knowledge of good and evil" stood.
         
      3. "Who is a figure of him that was to come."
         
         1. In the first Adam, men die.
            
         2. In the second Adam, men live.

2. VERSES 15-17, THE OFFENSE AND THE FREE GIFT (Note the times gift and free gift are used in this passage)
   1. Verse 15, The offense and the free gift are contrasted.
      
      1. Through the sin of Adam, men die. Through the second Adam, Christ, men are made alive.
         
      2. The second Adam is the answer to the sin problem.
         
      3. The gift of grace is greater than sin. All who receive Christ are recipients of the gift of grace.

   2. Verse 16, Adam's sin brought judgment; but through Christ, we are justified.
      
      1. We are condemned in Adam.
         
      2. We are set free in Christ and condemnation is lifted (Romans 8:1).

   3. Verse 17, This verse speaks specifically about the reign of death that came by Adam.
      
      1. Also seen in this verse is the "much more" of grace, the supremacy of grace.
         
      2. Death is replaced with life (John 5:24-25).
         
      3. The believer is righteous because of Christ.
         
      4. Sinner, trust Christ for His grace is sufficient.
         
      5. Those who are His will one day rule and reign with Christ as kings and priests and all of this through Christ.

3. VERSES 18-19, THE TWO ADAMS CONTRASTED
   1. Verse 18, Adam's trespass resulted in judgment, a judgment that came upon all men to condemnation.
      
      1. The one act of righteousness resulted in life giving righteousness.
         
      2. In Adam, all are condemned. In Christ, all who believe are justified.

   2. Verse 19, By Adam's disobedience, men were made sinners.
      
      1. In Christ, by His obedience many, those who believe, are made righteous.
         
      2. Preacher, what can I do with my sin problem? Trust Christ. He'll take care of it.
         
      3. Paul mentions Christ death as the remedy for sin three times in Romans 5 (verses 6, 8, 10).

4. VERSES 20-21, ABUNDANCE OF GRACE
   1. Verse 20, God purposed that man's consciousness of sin might be sharpened. That men might be guilty in their hearts.
      
      1. No matter how great the sin, God's grace is sufficient.
         
      2. Amazing Grace is truly what this is.

   2. Verse 21, God's grace is greater than our sin.
      
      1. "Grace meets sin head on and defeats it" (Hendricksen 185).
         
      2. All that the believer has is "by Christ Jesus our Lord."
         1. Righteousness- a righteousness provided by God Himself.
            
         2. Everlasting life- forever with the Lord.