Two Kingdoms

Adam and Christ Contrasted

¹² When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. ¹³ Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. ¹⁴ Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. ¹⁵ But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. ¹⁶ And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. ¹⁷ For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. ¹⁹ Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. ²⁰ God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. ²¹ So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Introduction

I have a lot to share with you this morning and I don’t know where to start: let us pray that I know where to stop.

Let just plunge into verse 12….and I want you to picture in your mind a little parade…first comes Adam, the man of clay, the progenitor of the human race, then following Adam is SIN {also known as transgression and disobedience}.Then right behind SIN is DEATH and he quickly seizes the throne and become a ruthless tyrant who’s reigns in sheer terror.

I. THE FIRST THING I WANT YOU TO SEE TODAY IS THAT WE ARE ALL IN ADAM

Every human being is encapsulated in Adam. As much as you want to see yourself as an individual and independent of your father Adam, it is not happening. As John Donne said,

No man is an island…

No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.

Like it or not, you are in the family of Adam and unless you are perfect {without sin} and immortal {not subject to death}, you cannot deny your ancestral roots.

QUESTION

What did you do to get in Adam’s family? You did absolutely nothing. You were born into this family and you inherited his likeness. Your first sin did not make you a sinner. You sinned because you are by nature a sinner. Adam disobeyed God and in so doing, HE BECAME A SINNER and he became the progenitor of the SINNER FAMILY. In Adam all sin. Only one exception and He was born not of Adam but of the Holy Spirit.

To sum this up and put it in a capsule: We are in Adam and we inherited from him a nature to sin and the consequences of it which are death.

{Capsule of Adam}

II. NEXT: NOTE THAT BOTH ADAM AND CHRIST ARE THE FEDERAL HEADS OF TWO KINGDOMS

[second capsule] If you don’t get this you will not understand anything in Romans 6

Before we get to chapter 6, you need to listen to the words of the song we sang this morning…

Free at last, He has ransomed me, His grace runs deep. While I was a slave to sin, Jesus died for me–Yes He died for me

CHORUS 2
Who the Son sets free, Oh is free indeed
I’m a child of God, Yes I am.
In my Father’s house there’s a place for me
I’m a child of God, Yes I am

BRIDGE
I am chosen, not forsaken…I am who You say I am. You are for me, Not against me, I am who You say I am.

It doesn’t take any faith for us to see ourselves in Adam but a part from faith, you will never see yourself in Christ.

But other than the fact that both are heads of a created order or family and both share human bodies, they have nothing in common.

In ADAM– all sin and all die.

In CHRIST– all are made righteous and live.

What did you do to become a sinner? Nothing. Adam made you a sinner by virtue of his sin.

What did you do to become righteous? Nothing. You are made righteous by the obedience of One man, Jesus Christ. IN CHRIST you are righteous, justified and you have life. Whereas in Adam, you are a sinner, condemnation and death.

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how He could love me a sinner condemned and unclean.

The human family is one in Adam…

The Church is ONE in Christ…If you view yourself as being independent of the body of Christ, you have it all wrong. If you are in Christ, you are in the body: they are encapsulated. This means that all Christians are brothers/sisters–we are in the same family…the NEW CREATION FAMILY.

I’ve never been more proud of a young man that I was Jonathan Issac, the young NBA player who had the courage to stand for the national anthem when the rest of the team was kneeling in protest. When they questioned him, he told them what they didn’t want to hear…BLM is not the answer, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the answer. Go bro! The young man is my brother. Unfortunately Jonathan Issac is in a minority.

III. THE LAST THING I WILL SAY IS CHRIST GIVES US MUCH MORE THAN WE LOST IN THE FALL.

Adam’s sin messed us up…Christ righteousness heals us up. Just as we were cursed by Adam’s sin, we are blessed by the obedience of Christ. One man’s disobedience fowled us up and one man’s obedience fixed us up.

Let face the facts: we are no match for sin. Martin Luther had a friend named Philip who was heard to say many times, “Old Adam, you are too strong for Philip.” Old Adam {sin principle} is too strong for any of us. Sin is an enemy we can’t defeat. If we can’t defeat sin, what chance do we have with death? None! We have zero chance. The wealthiest most powerful person on this planet is a midget in the face of death. Death will roll over him/her like a wave.

Conclusion

Jesus is our champion: He came here and fought our battles for us because He knew we were helpless and hopeless. He lived a perfect life, fulfilling the law’s every demand. He defeated sin and He conquered death.

You didn’t do anything to get in Adam but you do have to do something to get in Christ…You have to repent and trust His righteousness to save you.

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