|
|
Romans 5: 12-21
I suppose most every one here today has heard of Alice Cooper. For those of you who are saying, "Oh yes. Alice Cooper. She's one of my favourites," well--you’ve given yourself away. Alice Cooper is a man. He is a rock star who became popular in the early seventies, and has had a remarkably long career, judging by rock standards.
Alice Cooper was the first "shock-rock" act. He used to parade on stage with make-up and live snakes and simulate his own decapitation--a pretty raunchy act. A few years ago his career received quite a boost when he appeared in the movie "Wayne's World." The scene everyone remembers is where Wayne and Garth have a chance meeting with Mr. Cooper, and they fall to the knees in worship, saying, "We're not worthy, we're not worthy." Alice Cooper's long and successful career is the epitome of everything that critics hate about rock-n-roll. He has glorified rebellion, immorality, idolatry, and excess like practically no other rock artist has.
Now, with this, many people were surprised when it was announced that Alice Cooper had converted to Christianity. He gave his life to Christ in 1995, and is now involved in a Bible church in Phoenix, Arizona.
Can you imagine, this hard rock singer singing in the choir - well he does. He even helps out in the nursery. (Can you imagine how a new person would respond to dropping their baby off in the nursery and finding out that Alice Cooper is the volunteer nursery worker that morning?) Right now, he is keeping a low profile and concentrating on growing in Christ, and finding out what his next step should be as a disciple of Jesus.
The most surprising aspect of this story is not the fact that this former "man of darkness" is now a believer. The most surprising aspect of this story is the number of Christians who do not believe it is true. In fact, one publication reported that they had received a significant amount of mail from people who did not believe the story, and did not believe it should be printed. Someone said, "I give it a year and he'll go back to the world."
And I guess this raises the question, "Why do we believe more in the power of man's sin than we do in the power of God's grace?" How is it that a Christian be surprised at God's grace?
There are thousands of testimonies from people whose lives have been transformed in incredible ways. Some of these people’s activities in their pre-Christian days are far worse than Alice Coopers. The fact is that there is nothing that God's grace can't erase. When I look at my own life, and consider all that God has done in me, I am even more convinced that there is nothing that God's grace can't erase.
This is the message of Romans 5:12-21. Paul is saying, in this wonderful passage, that though our lives have been ruined by sin, we have been rescued by grace.
So today we will have a look at three aspects of how God's grace works in our lives. First of all:
Anyone who makes an effort to live a clean life quickly comes to this conclusion: sin is a problem. It's a nuisance. It will not go away. Even the apostle Paul wrote "I do what I should not do and don’t do what I should do". It is true that we always sin by choice, but it is equally true that sin sinks deep into our character, and becomes our master. On our own, we are helpless. Sin utterly destroys lives through its presence, through its power, and through the penalty we ultimately pay. In this passage, however, Paul proclaims that God's grace eliminates sin.
First of all, we see that...
a. Grace eliminates the penalty of sin
. (v. 16) Sin has consequences; it ultimately leads to eternal separation from God. However, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the penalty has been paid.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
b. Grace eliminates the power of sin. Think about the misery that exists in our world, and see how much of it is the result of sin.
The Ethiopian famine in the ‘80’s is an example. Millions of people suffered and died-it was not the sin of the victims, it was those in leadership who showed blatant disregard for the well-being of their own countrymen. A couple of months ago I read a book called "Cry Ethiopia" which was written by a missionary who spent time in Ethiopia from the ‘70’s and into the ‘80’s. What happened was that the government kept for its own resources the donations - both financial and material - from other countries for itself.
Virtually all human suffering is the result of someone's sin. Death came into the world through Adam's sin. It is the addictive power of sin that keeps many people from living happy productive lives. Paul says those who receive God's abundant provision of grace also receive the gift of righteousness, and that gift enables them to have real life. God promises, through the writings of Paul that sin will not have dominion over you, it has lost its power.
Next, God's grace eliminates…
c. Grace eliminates the presence of sin.
I don’t know if you have been to any Rugby League or Rugby Union Test Matches. Or for that matter any State of Origin games. What happens is that if the opposing teams supporters start cheering for their team, then the home sides crowd cheers louder to drown out the opposing sides support.
Well that is what God's grace does--it drowns out the presence of sin. I have actually heard people say, "If you preach too much forgiveness people will feel free to sin more." Those people simply do not understand grace. When you experience God's grace, it overpowers the presence of sin in your life, and eliminates it.
When we walk in God’s grace and allow Him to be in charge of our lives, in other words, allowing Him to be truly Lord of our lives, then this is what is called walking in the Spirit. God’s grace is able to cover a multitude of sins, but this does not give us a license to live it up in the worldly sense doing what we please. True belief in God equals true obedience to His direction and nurture.
So how abundant is God’s grace?
(v. 17) For if by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Christ Jesus.
God's grace is available to us in an endless supply. First, it is an endless supply of...
How many times have you talked to someone about their relationship with God and they say words to this effect: "I'm not a bad person-I mean, I've never killed anybody."
Killing tops the list of bad things that people can do; it carries the greatest punishment in this country. Our culture believes that murder is the worst sin that a person can commit. With this in mind, it is surprising to consider the fact that the three most significant men in Scripture (other than Jesus) were guilty of murder. Moses killed an Egyptian, David killed Uriah, and Paul was instrumental in the death of a number of Christians before he himself became a Christian. If you steal money, of course that is wrong, but it can be paid back. If you were to fight someone and break their arm, that would be wrong, but the injury would heal. Murder is permanent. It is something you have to live with every day. It cannot be undone. But it can be forgiven; God's grace is powerful enough to forgive any sin.
Paul is serious when he says that there is nothing that God's grace can't erase. Verse 17 tells us that we have all the forgiveness available to us that we will ever need - God has given us an abundant provision. There is no amount of sin that can overpower God's grace. In chapter 8 (of Romans) Paul says that he is convinced that nothing can separate us from God's presence. As much as we need, God offers forgiveness to us. It is available in an endless supply.
He also, he offers us an endless supply of…
Verse 17 refers to the fact the we receive "the gift of righteousness," which means we have, by His mercy, been put on His "good side." That's what righteousness is - the state of being right with someone. We received this rightness with God as a gift - it is not something we can ever earn or deserve. (Romans 3:22)
He also, he offers us an endless supply of..
When you read the writings of Paul, it is clear that his impression of the Christian life is one of victory, and joy, and fulfillment. He uses phrases like "reign in life" (v. 17) and "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37). Paul promises us the power to live victoriously in this life. It is not God's plan that we should be defeated by sin, or that we should remain victims of its power. Paul says, "Sin shall not be your master." (Romans 6:14) We cannot achieve all that God intends for us to achieve on a limited supply of resources, so He freely and generously gives us all the strength we could ever possibly need.
Paul speaks with assurance...
I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
There is no limit to God's grace and mercy in our lives. Forgiveness, righteousness, and strength are available to us in an endless supply.
Lastly...
(v. 21)...so grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Because we are united in birth with Adam, we experienced the corruption of sin and spiritual death. But there is nothing that God's grace cannot erase, and we now have the opportunity to be united with Christ and experience life. We didn't have a choice regarding our physical nature, but we do have a choice regarding our spiritual nature. We can choose to receive God's abundant provision of grace and his gift of righteousness.
We've looked how God's grace covers the many sins we commit, but what about those who seem to be basically good people?
No matter how good a person may be, that person still needs to experience God's grace; without it he or she will never experience salvation.
When it comes to living a Godly life, few could compete with John Wesley. He was strict and purposeful in his pursuit of righteousness. In spite of this, as he examined his life, and the lives of other Christians, he realised there was something he was missing.
On May 24, 1738, just before 10:00 p.m., as he was listening to someone read Luther's Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, John Wesley's search for salvation ended. He later wrote in his journal, "I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, in Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine."
Reports indicate that Moslems are coming to the Christian faith by the thousands. One reason for this is that the idea of grace and salvation is completely foreign to Moslem teaching -- and salvation is always beyond the grasp of these sincere and devout people. When Moslems hear the gospel, it really is good news to them! Bill Bright, who is head of Campus Crusade for Christ, says that when they go into Moslem countries and show the evangelistic film "Jesus", the crowds are moved beyond description. He said, "They are stunned after they view the film. They are drawn to Jesus. They are greatly moved by His forgiveness, that He willingly carried His cross for them, and then died on it. "
You know, if it were not for Christ and the cross, we would not be able to experience salvation. God's grace makes it possible. We may have been ruined by sin, but the good news is that we have been rescued by Christ. There is nothing that God's grace can't erase!
By Scott Douglas, Burdekin Baptist Church, 28th December 1997