“IT’S NOT FAIR!”
Rom 5:12-21
“Life is not always fair!”
Sometimes we get exactly what we deserve!
Sometimes we don’t get what we deserve!
Sometimes it seems we’ve done nothing to deserve what “life deals us”
“It’s not fair! Children usually only see the negative side of that statement.
As adults, we realize that sometimes we’re GLAD life isn’t fair!
When we speed through a radar trap, and DON’T get caught!
Numerous ways life seems not to be fair!
Nobody asked me!
* Where I’d be born!
Place: (Ezequiel => Chequi )
Language: Lucas– grass hut in PNG Speaking Sepik Iwam
Social class Citizenship: Michael/Jonathan
* What I’d look like!– Physical inheritance
short (Deanna) or tall (Melinda) bald–My dad has hair/ what about me?
* What my spiritual heritage would be! Christian/muslim/religious /pagan
addictive abusive
Paul points to that same inequity as a theological principle in Romans 5.
Rom. 5:12-21, is commonly acknowledged to be one of greatest theological portions in Scripture; at same time, it’s one of the most difficult!
BENEFITS OF THE GOSPEL 5:1-11
2 logical results (benefits) of salvation by faith.
1st benefit: Peace with God.
2nd benefit: JOY –even in hard times!
We rejoice in our hope 5:2b
We rejoice in suffering 5:3-10
We rejoice in God 5:11
Thanksgiving is a good time to remember the benefits God has poured out on us and rejoice!
Rom 5:12-21, reveal’s God’s answer to question . . .
HOW we received these benefits which are ours in Christ:
FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE OF THE GOSPEL: IMPUTATION
–HUGE theological word we all need to understand!
You may survive without knowing the Word, but it’s important we ALL understand the concept!
Imputation is “to charge with fault, or responsibility for something”
Accounting: TO CHARGE OR CREDIT SOMETHING TO SOMEONE ELSE’S ACCOUNT.
Two-way street: negative and positive side:
Negatively: Adam’s sin has been charged to our account.
Positively: Christ's righteousness has been credited to our account.
We usually cry “Not fair!” when we think of negative side
Nobody cries “Not fair!” when we consider the positive side of imputation!
God credits to our account righteousness we don’t deserve!
Paul assumes the negative is true–“all die”–“statistics on death are impressive 1 out of 1 dies!”
Paul uses that fact to explain how Christ’s righteousness can be applied to our account
Paul begins by explaining the nature of the imputation of Adam's sin.
IT’S NOT FAIR THAT ADAM’S SIN SHOULD BE CHARGED TO US!
We may not LIKE it, but
Just as truly as your parents affected your place of birth, your language, and MY hairstyle!, . . .
My nature has also been affected by my spiritual heritage:
Because we were in Adam, we acquired a sinful nature. 12-14
One person sinned. Because of his sin, sin was passed to every human.
Penalty for sin is death.
Therefore, all people die 5:12
Sin was in the world before God gave the law.
That's why there was death when there was no law.
But you can’t charge a person for an offense when there’s no law.
Montana’s speed laws—no maximum speed limit.
Can’t charge someone for going 90 mph on open highway
But there is a “safe speed” law.
So people have been charged for traveling 120 mph because that’s not a safe speed!
Swindoll: As a boy, had a paper route. He used to cut across lawn of corner houses. One had a narrow trail where he cut through so many times. One day as he rode up, he saw a sign saying: “KEEP OFF THE GRASS. NO BIKES!”
As member of the “future preachers of America,” he rode across it anyway—right to the feet of the author! As Swindoll put it, “he shared with me a few things from his heart!”
He hadn’t violated any laws, UNTIL the man posted the sign.
Our litigious society requires us to post signs for everything. Many products forced to include warning: “It is illegal to use this product in anyway not specifically defined in these instructions!”
You couldn't attribute guilt to people because there was no law.
From Adam to Moses–after Adam’s sin but before the law
–no basis to charge people for sin, people still died!
Genesis 5—lists people who lived from Adam to Noah’s day—well before the law—
Name after name—people lived hundreds of years—yet,
Each concludes: “. . . and he died.” They all died (except for Enoch)!
Even those who didn’t break God’s specific rules, like Adam, still died.
That’s the principle: => v. 12 =>
One man’s sin brought sin into the world.
One man’s sin brought death into the world
That’s why someone defined: Death--When you stop sinning suddenly.
From that time on, all have died . . . with or without law, all die
People died because God saw them "in Adam;" He attributed the sin of Adam to them as his descendants 5:13-14
God sees us “in Adam.”His sin affects us.
When our ancestors left the “old country” and came to the “new world,” it affected us.
We were born in new world because we were “in them” when they came.
We didn’t deserve to be born here. We hadn’t done anything.
We live with consequences of their action, because we were “in them.”
That’s how it is with sin. God sees us “in Adam”—His sin affects us as well.
We’ve all been infected with the disease!
Witmer: John Bradford, leader in Protestant Reformation in England.
He saw criminals led away to execution. Each time he’d remind himself:
“There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford.”
Bradford was conscious that the virus of sin infects every descendant of Adam.
Apart from God’s grace, congenital sin would express its malignant corruption in every person, including John Bradford.
[Vernon Blythe: “His sin shows!” ]
IT’S NOT FAIR THAT CHRIST’S RIGHTEOUSNESS SHOULD BE CREDITED TO US!
On positive side, principle of imputation is applied to Christ’s gift
– just as unfair! We don’t deserve it!
Because we are in Christ, we have acquired new life. 15-21
v. 14: Adam establishes a pattern: Jesus is like Adam
yet, there are some fundamental differences!
Situation of those who receive the gift of God is different from that of those found guilty in Adam. 5:15-16
Same principle holds true,
BUT gift isn’t the same as the offense!
–follows same pattern as the offense, in that many are affected by one
But there are qualitative differences:
One offended => many died
One showed grace => many received grace
The grace was far greater than the offense
Principle still true, but new application far surpasses first:
Just as Adam’s sin is passed to us, Christ’s righteousness is passed
But that’s where the comparison stops!
Application of Christ’s grace goes far beyond the extent of our sin!
16: Condemnation which leads to judgment focuses on one person’s one sin
Grace which leads to justification focuses on many transgressions
Second difference:
SINNERS continue lifestyle that provoked Adam's judgment.
Sooner or later we receive death penalty because of our own sin,
because we all fail either in our actions or attitudes,
We eventually earn what we receive!
Those who receive God’s gift are still sinners.
We never deserve the righteousness of God credited to our account. => We never earn what we receive!
We have received what we could never earn or deserve!
God's grace and gift abound even more to us, in spite of the fact that we never consistently live the same way as the One who died for us.
Those who die condemned, receive logical consequences of our lifestyle.
Although we die because of one man’s sin, we are rebels by nature and deserve what we receive.
Those to whom God imputes His righteousness do just the opposite.
Those declared righteous are characterized by many offenses.
Even so, we are declared righteous, because God sees us “in Christ.”
Paul goes on to present several additional points of comparison:
5:17 Just as the sin of one man caused the DEATH of all, even so by one man it has been made possible for all to receive LIFE
Subtle change partially breaks parallelism:
Death reigned because of the offense of the one.
Death holds us in its grip. DEATH reigns!
However, it isn’t life that reigns.
CHRIST reigns.
Those who receive the grace WILL reign in life, through Him, and together with Him.
5:18 Just as the sin of one man brought condemnation on all, so also the righteousness of one made it possible for all to receive justification (to be declared righteous)
5:19 Just as disobedience of one caused many to be declared sinners, more accurately, it caused all to be declared sinners, so also the obedience of one made it possible for people to be declared righteous
God established law so we might be aware of standards He requires His people to live by.
When law became known, it made people’s sinful nature more obvious.
As sin became more severe, God’s grace increased to cover it.
Thus GOD'S GRACE MANIFESTED IN CHRIST IS SUFFICIENT TO COVER ALL THE SIN OF ALL PEOPLE.
Christ’s death provided righteousness to give eternal life to all 5:20-21
No matter how great our sin, grace super-abounds—far in excess of the greatness of our sin, His grace overflows and overwhelms it!
Ironside: Epitaph on tombstone of 4 children in St Andrews, Scotland, brings the passage into focus:
Bold infidelity, turn pale and die.
Beneath this stone four sleeping infants lie.
Say, are they lost or saved?
If death’s by sin, they sinned, for they are here.
If heaven’s by works, in heaven they can’t appear.
Reason, ah, how depraved!
Turn to the Bible’s sacred page, the knot’s untied:
THEY DIED, FOR ADAM SINNED.
THEY LIVE, FOR JESUS DIED.
Whatever your previous spiritual/social/physical background,
God is offering you a NEW IDENTITY IN CHRIST!
It’s NOT fair! It’s GRACE!!!