25th KAREN C. AND MRS. C. TEACH - Rom. 5

Karen showed her calling as she shared from Romans 5 and we were the beneficiaries She wrote several quotes regarding GRACE - the lesson was titled All About Grace! Credited to Adrian Rogers: God's Riches At Christ's Expense!

Grace: a state of God’s favor in which we firmly and safely stand; Unmerited favor; Unearned and Undeserved favor; and Mrs. C. favorite definition: the desire and power to do (obey) what He instructs. When we refuse His grace, bitterness results – “root of bitterness”.
Paul has proved that the whole world is guilty before God and that no one can be saved by religious deeds, such as keeping the Law. He has explained that God’s way of salvation has always been “by grace through faith” Eph 2:8-9. Paul’s great illustration is Abraham. There is more that a sinner needs to know.
JUSTIFICATION: THE ACT OF God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous in Christ on the basis of the finished work of Christ on the cross. An act – not a process. There are no degrees of justification; each believer has the same right standing before God. Justification is something God DOES, not man. No sinner can justify himself before God. Justification does not mean that God MAKES us righteous, but that He DECLARES US RIGHTEOUS. Justification is a legal matter God puts the righteousness of Christ on our record in the place of our own sinfulness. No one can change that record.
1. The Blessings of our Justification v. 1 – 11
Paul is telling us that it is wonderful to be a Christian. Our justification is not simply a guarantee of heaven…it is also the source of tremendous blessings that we enjoy here and now…not just in the “sweet by and by”. He assures us that justification is a lasting thing.
PEACE WITH GOD v.1 The unsaved person is at enmity with God because he cannot obey God’s Law or fulfill His will. Isa. 48:22, 32:17 The Lord declared us SINNERS…condemned and at WAR. Justification mean that God declare us RIGHTEOUS…at PEACE, made possible by His death on the cross. No one condemned by the Law can enjoy peace with God…but when justified by faith, you are declared righteous, and the Law cannot condemn you or be at WAR.
ACCESS TO GOD v.2a Jews were separated from God by a veil which Christ’s death rent in twain from top to bottom. Gentiles were separated (kept out) by a wall in the temple which was broken down Eph.2:14 IN CHRIST believing Jews and Gentiles have access to God Eph 2:18, Heb. 10:19-25 We saints stand in grace and not in Law. Being a child of the King, we can enter His presence no matter what. We have entrance to the King through the favor of ANOTHER!
GLORIOUS HOPE 5:2B Peace with God – takes care of the past; Access to God – takes care of the present; Hope of the glory of God takes care of the future. When we were sinners, we had nothing to boast about to glory in because we fell short of the glory of God. But IN CHRIST, we boast in HIS righteousness and glory!
CHRISTIAN CHARACTER v. 3-4 Because we are saints and because we are JUSTIFIED does not afford us an escape from the trials of life. (John 16:33) For us, trials work FOR us and NOT AGAINST us. Nothing – including suffering can separate us from the Lord. Trials bring us closer to Him and make us more like Him. Experience means character that has been proved. TRIBULATION – PATIENCE – PROVEN CHARACTER – HOPE! Tribulation = tribulum: a heavy piece of timber with spikes in it, used for threshing the grain – drawn over the grain, it separated the wheat and the chaff. In the same way, as we go through tribulations and depend on God’s grace, the trials only purify us and help to get rid of the chaff.
GOD’S LOVE WITHIN v. 5-8
SALVATION FROM FUTURE WRATH v. 9-10 There is a wrath to come but saints will not experience it. In essence Jesus Christ wrote us into His will and He wrote the will with His blood. He died so that the will would be in force; but then He arose from the dead and returned to heaven that He might enforce the will Himself and distribute the inheritance. Thus, we are saved by His life.
RECONCILIATION WITH GOD v.11 Men had declared war on God and because of this deserved to be condemned eternally. But God did not declare war on man – He sent His Son as the Peacemaker that men might be reconciled to God.
From these blessings, we can readily see that purely by grace we have salvation that takes care of the past, the present, and the future. Christ died for us, lives for us and is coming again for us.
2. THE BASIS OF OUR JUSTIFICATION 5:12-21 The little word ONE is used eleven times. The key idea is our identification with Adam and with Christ. 2nd, repetition of the word reign which is used 5 times. Paul speaks of Adam and Christ – each reigning over a kingdom. MUCH MORE repeated 5 times. In other words, we have gained much more than we ever lost.
Contrast of Adam and Christ: [Adam was given dominion over the old creation, he sinned, and he lost his kingdom. Because of his sin, all mankind is under condemnation and death. Christ came as the King over a new creation. By His obedience on the Cross, He brought in righteousness and justification. Christ not only undid all the damage that Adam’s sin effected, but He accomplished MUCH MORE by making us the sons of God.
By condemning the human race through one man – Adam, God was then able to save the human race through ONE Man. WHERE WERE YOU BEFORE YOU WERE BORN? The cause – the disobedience of Adam. “In Adam all men die.” (I Cor. 15:22)]
*Adam’s offense - Christ’s free gift 5:15 Because of Adam’s trespass, many died; because of Christ’ obedience the grace of God abounds to many bringing life. MANY – means the same as ALL men. MUCH MORE – the grace of Christ brings not only physical life, but spiritual and abundant life. Beyond life, He gives eternal life abundantly to al who trust Him.
*The effect of Adam’s sin is contrasted with the effect of Christ’ obedience. V. 16 Adam’s sin brought judgment and condemnation; Christ’s work on the cross brings justification. When Adam sinned, he was declared unrighteous and condemned. When a sinner trust Christ, he is justified – declared righteous in Christ.
*The two “reigns” v. 17 Because of Adam’s disobedience, death reigned. “The wages of sin is death”…because sin was reigning in men’s lives, death was also reigning. IN CHRIST – we are justified by faith, declared righteous, we have peace with God and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God…WE reign! “reign in life through Christ!”
* The two “one acts v. 18-19 one man’s trepass – One Man’s act of righteousness. One act by Adam – sin…Adam crossed over the line that the Lord had set. Christ’s act not only gave us “just as if I’d never sinned” but it results in a certain kind of life. In other words, our justification is the result of a living union with Christ. This union ought to result in a new kind of life…a righteous life of obedience to God. Our union with Adam made us sinners; our union with Christ enables us to “reign in life.”
* Law and grace. 20-21But then Law came in…Grace was not an addition to God’s plan…grace was a part of His plan from the beginning. God dealt with Adam and Eve in grace. He dealt with ALL in grace. He gave the Law through Moses – not to replace His grace, but to reveal man’s need for grace. Law was temporary, but grace is eternal.
Adam was a type or picture of Christ. Adam came from the earth, but Jesus is the Lord from heaven. Adam was tested in a garden, surrounded by beauty and love. Jesus was tempted in a wilderness, and He died on a cruel cross surrounded by hatred and ugliness. Adam was a thief and was cast out of Paradise but Jesus turned to a thief and said, Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise. The O.T. is the book of the generations of Adam and it ends with “a curse”. The N.T.is the book of the generation of Jesus Christ and it ends with “no more curse Rev. 22:3
You cannot help BEING “in Adam” for this came by your first birth over which you had no control. But you can help staying in Adam for you can experience a second birth – a new birth from above – that will put you IN CHRIST. This is why Jesus said, Ye must be born again”.