Please turn with me tonight to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5 as we read verses 12 through 21 of that chapter. And I trust this is a familiar portion of Scripture to you where Paul gives us the parallel between the first Adam and the second Adam. Between the Adam and the Garden of Eden and our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as one, so the other. But in many ways what we need to see is this parallel is obviously not a strict same parallel as it were. But it's very much contrasting. You know, besides really both Adam and Christ representing humanity or a portion of it in some way, One man thus and one man thus. Beyond that, it's all a contrast. The rest is a contrasting parallel, which we hope to see this evening. Before we read that, I ask that you turn in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 9. Actually, page 9 and 10, as in some ways I'm trying to consider together Lord's Day 2 and Lord's Day 3 of the Heidelberg Catechism. page 9 in the back of the Psalter Hymn, 9 and 10, Lord's Days, 2 and 3, as we will give testimony to these six questions and answers together. Question 3 of the Catechism asks, How do you come to know your misery? The law of God tells me. What does God's law require of us? Christ teaches us this in summary in Matthew 22. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the great and first commandment, and a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets. Can you live up to all this perfectly? No. I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor. Did God create man so wicked and perverse? No. God created man good and in his own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might truly know God his Creator, love him with all his heart, and live with him in eternal happiness for his praise and glory. then where does man's corrupt nature come from? From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in paradise. This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners, corrupt from conception on. But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil? Yes, unless we are born again by the Spirit of God. Romans chapter 5, beginning at verse 12, as we now give our attention to the reading of God's holy word. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men because all sinned, for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many? Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin. the judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 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 Jesus Christ? Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For 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. The law was added so that the trespass might increase, but where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, what does God's grace mean to you? Really. I want you to think about that. What does God's grace mean to you? When you think about the grace of God, we hear about the grace of God, we sing about the grace of God, we read about the grace of God. When you consider the grace of God, what is it that you think about? As you think about that grace, does it fill you with a combination of humility and rejoicing? Or is grace simply a kind of a boring theological concept, and therefore you are somewhat indifferent to it? you see we sing amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me oh we sing those words powerfully don't we but do you really understand what that means do you really consider yourself before god as paul considered himself before god do you really truly consider yourself in and of yourself to be a wretch. After all, it's not a very nice thing, is it? But you see, you and I will understand this if we understand what it is that grace presupposes, or to say it another way, what it is that grace is the answer to, the facts that are in place, we might say, for grace to be grace. Four facts in particular. And the first fact is this, that man is morally bankrupt. Man is totally, completely morally bankrupt. He has fallen, he is sinful, he is guilty, he has rebelled against God, he is unclean, he is condemned. Man is morally bankrupt. And the second fact, playing off the first one then, is that God's justice demands, in fact, it even expects man's eternal punishment. It expects it. And the third fact then, is that man is completely powerless, completely unable to make himself right with God, completely unable to do anything to satisfy God even in a little bit. Those are the first three. Man is morally bankrupt. God's justice demands, even expects man's eternal punishment. And man can do nothing then in the third place to do anything to even begin to satisfy God's justice. And the fourth thing, we might say the icing on the cake, is that God is completely free to not save man. He is completely free to not save you and me. He didn't have to. He didn't owe it to us. You see, beloved, when we understand those four facts, only then can we also understand the beauty of God's grace and the meaning of those words that we sing regarding the Christ child, born that man no more may die. Only when we truly understand these things can we also then humbly confess in Adam's fall sinned we all. And that truth, beloved, in Adam's fall sinned we all will humble the believer. It will humble us. But that truth will not devastate the believer. because as we confess, knowing our sin and misery is a part of living and dying in the joy of the comfort of the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a part of that comfort. The world would say, how in the world could that be comforting? But to you and me, it's comforting only because as true believers, we are able to confess this truth that in Adam's fall, sinned, we all, in the light of God's grace. In Romans chapter 5, the portion that we read together, Paul highlights the glory of God's saving grace in Jesus Christ in response to our fall in Adam, that fall which is revealed in the deadly diagnosis. Verse 12 says again, Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men because all sin. That's the deadly diagnosis. Now we know that in verses 1-11, Paul describes the believer's peace and reconciliation with God. Before that, Paul talks about the fact that we are justified by grace through faith, justified only because of the blood and the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Just before this, he talks about that peace and reconciliation with God that we enjoy in Christ Jesus. And now Paul kind of takes a step back, as it were, and he makes it clear that our sinful need is indeed a fact. And he talks about how we got into that mess in the first place. And then he goes on to compare that with the only way out. And as we consider that deadly diagnosis, we want to notice the nature of Adam's fall. What is the nature of Adam's fall? Now, as we consider the catechism with regard to all this, it's interesting to me how the writers of the catechism organized it, as it were, and asked the questions the way they asked them and in the order that the writers asked them. You see, the catechism reveals, that is in the first section of the catechism here, the catechism reveals the fallen and the sinful attitude of man's heart by asking questions in such a way that these questions break down the pride of man so that eventually the believer sees his sinful condition. And it happens that we're really beginning at Lord's Day 3 and on into Lord's Day 5, the first Lord's Day dealing with gratitude, but questions then meant to break down man's pride. And it begins in question six with that familiar attitude, it's not my fault. It's not fair. And in question six, as we notice, the question asks, is it God's fault? I mean, after all, He's the Creator. Maybe there's a manufacturer's defect. Is it God's fault? And of course, the answer gives a resounding no. Absolutely not. In essence, it says that God made us It's completely opposite of what we have, the way we have become. Well, then in question 7, what's the explanation? Then where does man's corrupt nature come from? From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in paradise. This fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners, corrupt from conception on. But from the fall and disobedience of our first parents. Notice the nature of the fall of Adam was disobedience. Now, boys and girls, I know that you know what disobedience is. It is to simply not obey. It is to not obey your mom or dad, for example. But what we must also understand, the idea included in this word disobedience, is that of an inattentive. When Paul talks about the disobedience of Adam in Romans 5, it has the idea of an inattentive, not paying attention, careless hearing. Of course, that doesn't describe any of us, do we? We always pay attention, right? Wrong. The idea is of a not paying attention, careless hearing. Hearing one thing, but doing another. How many of you boys and girls are guilty of that? That you hear what your parents say or your teachers say, but you turn around and do something else. The opposite. You see, Paul describes Adam's sinful disobedience here as a trespass. That's one of the words in Scripture used for sin. And trespass means stepping over a boundary. And here, it means stepping over the boundary of God's revealed will. Now, we're all familiar with Adam's sin, I trust. In the garden, God said, don't eat of that one tree. Do eat of all the other trees, but don't eat of that one tree. That was the boundary that God had set. Adam heard those instructions, but Adam did not listen to those instructions. Instead, Adam chose to do the opposite. Adam chose to go against what God had said. Adam chose to step over the boundary that God had set. And therefore, Adam's trespass was to challenge God, to challenge God's authority, to challenge God's power, to challenge His holiness, to challenge the very Word of God. And that one sin of disobedience, beloved, is all that it took. Nothing else was needed. It's all that it took to change Adam's relationship with God. It's all it took to change Adam's status before God. And that means, and maybe we've never thought about this before, but that means that if no other sin had ever been committed, if that had been the only sin that had ever been committed, that one trespass was enough to make the entire human race enemies of God. So that as David says in Psalm 51, we are conceived and born in sin, as we confess. Or as Paul says in Romans chapter 3, there is none righteous, no not one. Again, answer 7 says, this fall has so poisoned our nature that we are born sinners, corrupt, from conception on. That one act of disobedience, beloved, caused terrible destruction. It had changed the entire human nature, the entire human heart, beginning with Adam and Eve's hearts, from the way God had created us. Answer 6. God created man good and in his own image, that is, in true righteousness and holiness, so that he might truly know God his Creator, love Him with all his heart, and live with Him in eternal happiness for His praise and glory. That one act of disobedience changed the entire human nature from that, the way God had created man, to wickedness and unholiness and hatred and depravity in thought, in word, in action. So that as we heard this morning, man was banned from God forever. And this was true for Adam himself, but as well for all human beings like him, all those who would be given a heart and a soul, all those who were to come from him. The nature of Adam's fall was disobedience. What then was the judgment against Adam's fall? Well, Paul says condemnation. Condemned. Declared to be evil. Declared to be a sinful. Pronounced guilty. And sentenced to death. That was the very Word of God. And Adam challenged that Word of God. God said, and the day that you eat of it, you will surely die. The judgment was condemnation, the very opposite of life with God, for which man had been created. This was the direct result of sin. And we know that Paul says in another place that the wages of sin is death, separation from the love of God, again banned from God's presence forever, being bound to His anger. And that status or that condemnation included a status of being guilty of sin and treason and mutiny against God. And again, it's for all, Paul says, Adam to be sure. But Paul says, death came to all men because all sinned. When Adam sinned, all sinned. And Paul also says the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men. When Adam sinned, we were all condemned at that very moment. And now here's where many would jump up and protest and say, it's not fair. It's not my fault. I didn't have a chance. It was Adam who ate the fruit. I never touched it. It's simply not fair. How can God hold me responsible for what He did? Yeah, you see, the same would not complain if they were to think about the fact that if Adam had passed that probationary test, if he had stayed, if he had obeyed God and earned eternal life, that we would have passed too. Many don't think about the fact of the unfair treatment that was rendered out against our Lord Jesus Christ, from which we benefit. Those things happen to skip their minds. But here they cry out, unfair. Boys and girls, Adam was what we call the federal head of the entire human race, the representative for every single human being. And when he sinned, as Paul says, all sinned. From the moment of conception, we were guilty of sin just by being humans. And we must confess that we constantly give proof that we deserve this condemnation. The nature of Adam's fall was disobedience. The judgment against Adam's fall is condemnation. And the result of Adam's fall, as we pointed to already, was death. Sin entered the world and the human heart as an enemy to kill and destroy. It entered as a thief to steal, to disrupt and corrupt. And death included not just what we know at the end of life when one takes their last breath. But this death that Paul is talking about includes all of the misery that we suffer in this life. This death includes all of the misery which is the due reward of sin, whether spiritual as Adam experienced immediately or temporal and physical, even eternal. And this death, beloved, passed through all men as an infectious disease passes through a place and no one escapes it. And Paul says this death reigned. In particular, he says, from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, before God had written down His law, even though that law had not yet been given in its written form, in its spoken form by God, death reigned because man was indeed sinful. It reigned spiritually. It reigned physically. It reigned eternally. And the fact that death reigned, beloved, and still reigns in some ways, is proven by graveyards. It's proven by cemeteries. And the reign of death has been seen throughout history. The history of the Bible, for example, and history beyond Scripture and in daily life. It's seen in catastrophes and disasters and sinful decisions and actions of men. The misery, the corruption, the hatred, the fighting that we all experience is a part of this death. And I believe we might see this most vividly when we think about infants. Even infants who have not yet sinned, actually, as far as we can tell, we know are subjected to disease and death. And it's not just bad luck. It's because they, along with all of mankind, are infected, infested with sin, body, and soul. The result of Adam's fall is death, and as well, as Paul says, we have been made sinners. When Adam sinned, condemnation came, and all of mankind were made sinners. That means, beloved, that we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. We are condemned because of Adam's one sin, that which we call original sin, which so poisoned our nature. But then we must also confess that each one of us has proven that we are guilty in and of ourselves because of the actual sins that we commit. In verse 19, Paul says, the many were made sinners. And then in verse 16, the gift followed many trespasses. The many trespasses that came forth from those many sinners. We must confess, beloved, that we are condemned ourselves because we ourselves are sinners. Not only because Adam was a sinner, but because in him we ourselves are sinners. And we are convicted of our sin by the law of God, as Lord's Day 2 says. The law calls for love for God above all and our neighbor as ourself. But we must confess as we are brought face to face with the law of God that it is more natural for us, as the catechism says, to hate God and our neighbor. Beloved, this is the harsh reality for each and every one of us. That because of the fall and disobedience of our first parents by which we too are guilty before God and we give evidence of our own sin, we deserve to be condemned by Him. We are morally bankrupt. We deserve eternal punishment. We can do nothing to even begin to satisfy God's justice against us. And God doesn't have to save us. That's the truth for each and every one of us. But the beauty here is that Paul does not leave us to wallow in that bad news, but he gives us good news as Paul speaks of another representative for the human race, the one we call the second Adam. The disobedience of the first Adam ruined us, but the obedience of the second Adam saves us, even as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, Verse 15, 22, For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. And beloved, our deadly diagnosis is answered then in the second place with a life-giving remedy. And I don't have to tell you that that life-giving remedy is Jesus Christ Himself. And again, in this parallel of Jesus Christ with Adam, this parallel of Christ goes abundantly beyond the guilt and the wrath and the death that has been communicated by Adam. Paul says in verse 15, But the gift is not like the trespass, for if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many? And then in verse 18, Paul says, Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. One act of righteousness. You see, beloved, that life-giving remedy flows from one act of righteousness. And what is the nature of Christ's act of righteousness? Well, the very opposite, the very contrast with Adam's disobedience, it's Christ's obedience. The very opposite of Adam's inattentive, careless hearing is the fact that Jesus Christ willingly and obediently listened to the voice of His Father. And He did what His Father said. And therefore, He provided perfect righteousness through His obedience. Now, boys and girls, when we talk about the obedience of Jesus Christ, we talk about that obedience in two ways. We speak of His active obedience. And we speak of His passive obedience. And the active obedience of Jesus Christ means very simply that he actively kept all the commands of his Father perfectly. Again, he listened to the voice of his Father. He actively did what his Father said, and he actively kept from doing what his Father said not to do. All the days that Jesus Christ lived on this earth, from the moment he was born to the time that he left this earth in his ascension, he perfectly kept all of God's commandments actively. It was his desire. He willed to do that. He never sinned. Not in thought, not in word, not in action. And then when we talk about the passive obedience of Christ, that's talking about the fact that Christ willingly gave himself to suffer. It's talking about his suffering. And in particular, the fact that he willingly gave himself, as Pastor Donovan beautifully reminded us this morning, whereas the animals of the Old Testament weren't exactly willing, Jesus Christ was the perfect and willing sacrifice who gave Himself to the punishment of God for sin all the way to death. He was the one final and only offering and sacrifice for sin. And beloved, when you think about that, that is a demonstration of God's grace. The Father sending His Son, He didn't have to do that. And the Son willingly taking the place of those, He didn't have to do that. taking the place of those who did not deserve it, of those who didn't ask for it, of those who really didn't even want it. What a demonstration of God's grace, and that grace is indeed amazing. As we think about Adam again, Adam's sin destroyed himself and all others, but Christ brought His gracious gift only for others because He didn't need it for Himself. He was completely selfless. Adam pulled us down in sin with himself. But Jesus Christ raises us up to himself. And what then does Paul say is the judgment on Christ's act of righteousness? Well, again, as he says in verse 16, the verdict against sin was condemnation. But the verdict on Christ's perfect righteousness is justification. And we know what justification is full well, and that is to be a beautiful truth to you and me. It means a changed status before God. Our status was condemnation, but as Paul says in Romans 8, verse 1, there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. There is therefore now no verdict of guilty. There is therefore now no curse hanging over your head. There is therefore now no eternal punishment waiting for you and me. Instead, there is justification. God considers us and has declared us to be righteous. He has made that declaration Himself for the sake of Christ Jesus, for the sake of His blood and righteousness. In justification, God declares that our sin and its curse is gone. And this is true for all of our sin. Not just Adam's one sin, not just his first sin, but for all of the sin that makes us guilty day by day for the millions of sins committed by the millions of His people throughout history. And for all of that, Jesus Christ suffered an eternity's worth of hell. And again, as Paul says, He did this for all. He did this for all. But now, what is he talking about? You see, Adam's sin, we know, resulted in universal guilt and ruin. When Paul talks about all and many in reference to Adam, he refers to every single human being, all those who share the human nature, every single person who has lived, does live, or will live. was ruined in Adam's fall. But Paul's all and many, when he's making parallel claims about Jesus Christ, is not universal. He's not talking about every single person in this life. Christ's work, as verse 17 says, is for those who received God's abundant provision of grace. For those who received it, not all have received it. It's only for those who have received it. Oh, we know that it's sufficient for all, as we confess. It's sufficient to satisfy all of God's justice, but as well, it's sufficient for every single person. If God had chosen to save every single person who would ever live, then Christ would not have had to have shed one more drop of blood. And in the same way, if God had chosen to save only one person, Christ would not have shed one less drop of blood. His work is sufficient for all. But it's efficient, it's effective only for the elect. For those whom God gave to the Son, as Jesus says. For the sheep, not the goats, as Jesus says. For His people, as the angel said, You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. It is for those, as John says in John 3, verse 16, for whosoever believes on him, but only for those who believe, only for those who are made new creatures in Christ. Beloved, someone has said, in order to partake of the miserable inheritance of sin, it is enough for you to be man. That's all it takes. As the quote goes on, for it dwells in flesh and blood. But in order to enjoy the righteousness of Christ, it is necessary for you to be a believer. A participation attained only by faith, by the grace of God. Beloved believers are judged, declared by God to be righteous because of the all-surpassing work of Jesus Christ. And what then is the result of Christ's act of righteousness? Again in verse 18, Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. See, the result of Christ's act of righteousness is life. Life forever. That's the overflowing abundance of Christ's work. And verse 17 again, 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, Jesus Christ. How much more? That life is the how much more in Christ. That evil that was secured by Adam is more than cancelled out, beloved. It's not simply cancelled out, but it's turned into its very opposite. As Paul says in Philippians 1, verse 21, death became gain, for to me to live is Christ and to die is gain. We need to understand, again, the amazing grace of all this, that God's grace not only freed us from death, not simply freed us from death, and it didn't simply return us to that former state of innocence that Adam enjoyed before the fall. But it went beyond that. Christ's work accomplished the goal that Adam failed to earn for himself and us. Jesus Christ earned and secured for you and me eternal life, something Adam had not done. And because of that, beloved, we will reign with Him forever and ever. As Paul says to Timothy, there is a crown laid up for him and for all those who have loved the Lord's appearing. But we need to understand that this result of life is not only eschatological, it's not only for the end times, it's also not only simply for when we leave this life and our soul goes to be with God in heaven, But that life that Paul is talking about is for today too. In Christ Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we enjoy that new life today. We are born again with a new heart that is turned toward God. And we are at peace with God. And that is evidenced, beloved, by righteousness. In verse 19, Paul says, For 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. And he says in verse 17 again, he speaks of the gift of righteousness reigning in life. And that's not just for after this life. That gift of righteousness reigns in this life, in the child of God as well. And that means that God does not simply declare us righteous and say that about us and leave it at that. But he is also working in us by the sanctifying power of His Holy Spirit so that we are being renewed in true knowledge and true righteousness and true holiness so that we are able to do good in the sight of God. Again, question 8. But are we so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and inclined toward all evil? Yes. That's the fact about us in and of ourselves unless we are born again by the Spirit of God. And those who are born again, beloved, given new life in Him, are given that gift of righteousness. And indeed, that righteousness is lived out in a life of faith and obedience to God. So that God's people desire and strive to live righteously before Him, not in order to get saved, but because by the grace of God we are saved. You see, boys and girls, God's people, those who truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, not only hear God's Word. And that's why we have to hear it over and over and over again, and it's our delight to hear it over and over again. But God's people not only hear God's Word, but also listen to it. They also do it. Oh, people of God, the fall was so great, in the sense it was so terrible, so devastating for you and me. It was so great that it is amazing that there is deliverance at all. But when we compare what Adam earned versus what Jesus Christ secured, there is no comparison at all. And thus, again, God's grace is so amazing. It's beyond our comprehension. God didn't have to do it, but He did. And Jesus Christ is the one and only life-giving remedy because He surpasses Adam. And that is true comfort for all those, yet only those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Those, as the preparatory form for the Lord's Supper says, look not to themselves, but look outside themselves for their salvation. We found in another, even Jesus Christ is one of whom we sing at Christmastime, born that man no more may die. I trust that you see implied in that phrase is the fact that death was the only future for man. But for those who are in Christ Jesus, for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by grace through faith, death has been swallowed up by victory in Christ Jesus. That death has been replaced forever with life eternal. Oh, indeed, we exalt the Lord Jesus Christ at Christmastime. We exalt Him as He humbled Himself, even as a helpless newborn baby laid in a manger. But may our exaltation of the Christ child not end there, but may it lift our eyes to the cross of Jesus, his blood and righteousness, by which we have life and have it forevermore. You see, beloved, Adam's death could not touch him. Praise God for that. And Adam, we know, could lose what he had, and he did for himself and for you and me. But for those who are restored by Christ, we cannot and we will not lose the gracious gift of God, life and peace with Him forevermore. That's God's amazing grace in Jesus Christ. Now let me ask you once again, what does God's grace mean to you? Let's pray together. Father, as we bow before You in this evening hour, indeed we do celebrate in this season of the year the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Something, Father, that we remember every day of our lives, to be sure. But a blessed reminder in a particular way every year that You give to us. We might celebrate salvation coming to this world. And Father, once again this year, may we stand amazed as we consider that Jesus Christ would leave His throne in glory. to give up the glory that He enjoyed with the Father for a season, to have that glory veiled in flesh, and to come into the sinful world to live among men, to give His life a ransom for many. Father, may we be utterly amazed that Jesus Christ would do this, not because He needed it for Himself, but because we so desperately needed Him to do this for us. We praise Your name, O Lord, for that undeserved gift of salvation. And may that truth be something that spurs us on day by day to more faithful service to the Most High God. That we too would be willing to give ourselves in selfless service to those around us, especially to those in need, that we might give to them as You have blessed us. And in so doing, that they might see the love of the Lord Jesus Christ in us and through us. The love for all those, whoever would believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we praise You for Your precious gift. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.