Let the Fire Fall

SPEAKER 01 : 0:00

ADRIAN ROGERS WAS A MOTIVATOR, AN ENCOURAGER AND A LEADER OF THE FAITH. HE WAS ALSO PASSIONATE ABOUT PRESENTING SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION TO EVERYDAY LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES. AND YOU'LL HEAR THAT IN TODAY'S MESSAGE. NOW, LET'S JOIN ADRIAN ROGERS.

SPEAKER 03 : 0:16

A FRIEND TOLD ME YEARS AGO ABOUT TRAVELING WITH ANOTHER FRIEND TO CALIFORNIA. The one man had never seen an ocean, not any kind. He had not seen the Atlantic Ocean. He had not seen the Pacific Ocean. He was waiting for that day when he would see that great Pacific Ocean. And so the two of them went together, and my friend was telling me about this, and they came over the brow of a hill, and there was... THE PACIFIC OCEAN. THEY SAT THERE FOR A WHILE AND MY FRIEND SAID, I WAS WAITING FOR THE MAN WHO'D SEEN THE OCEAN FOR THE FIRST TIME TO SAY SOMETHING. AND AFTER A WHILE HE SAID, WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK? HE SAID, WELL, SOMEHOW IT'S NOT AS BIG AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE. well he had a limited view there's only so much he could see but friend there was so much more and that's what i want to talk to you about today is the gospel and i'm afraid that many of us ONLY HAVE A LIMITED VIEW OF THE GOSPEL. I HEARD OF A PREACHER AND HIS SON WHO WERE TRAVELING DOWN A STREET AND THEY SAW A HOUSE THAT WAS ON FIRE AND, UH, THEY REALIZED THAT THERE MAY BE DANGER INSIDE THE HOUSE AND SO THEY WENT AND KNOCKED ON THE DOOR AND NOBODY CAME TO THE DOOR AND THEY WONDERED, UH, WHETHER PEOPLE WERE IN THERE AND, UH, WHAT WAS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY. AND FINALLY, THEY JUST BROKE THE DOOR DOWN. WASN'T THEIR HOUSE, BUT THEY BROKE THE DOOR DOWN, THE PREACHER AND HIS SON. THEY WENT IN, COULDN'T FIND ANYBODY IN THE HOUSE, BUT THEY TOOK ALL THE FURNITURE OUT OF THE HOUSE AND SET THE FURNITURE OUTSIDE THE HOUSE WHILE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS COMING BECAUSE THEY ALSO NOTIFIED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. LATER ON THE PREACHER THOUGHT THAT WAS A GREAT ILLUSTRATION. AND SO HE WAS USING IT IN HIS SERMON. AND SO HE WAS TELLING EVERYBODY ABOUT HOW HE AND HIS SON HAD GONE DOWN THE ROAD, SEEN THIS HOUSE, BROKE DOWN THE DOOR, WENT IN AND CARRIED THE FURNITURE OUT AND SET IT ON THE STREET. AND HE SAID PEOPLE LOOKED AT HIM, UH, IT'S KIND OF STRANGE. WHEN HE GOT HOME, PREACHERS DID, HE DID AS PREACHERS ARE WANT TO DO, HE DISCUSSED THE SERMON WITH HIS WIFE. HE SAID, YOU KNOW, SOMEHOW I THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD ILLUSTRATION, BUT IT JUST FELL FLAT. SHE SAID, I'LL TELL YOU WHY. YOU FORGOT TO TELL THEM THE HOUSE WAS ON FIRE. NOW, IF YOU GO AND BREAK DOWN SOMEBODY'S DOOR AND PUT ALL THEIR FURNITURE OUT IN THE FRONT LAWN AND DON'T TELL THEM THE HOUSE IS ON FIRE, IT KIND OF SOUNDS STRANGE, DOESN'T IT? NOW, FRIEND, IT'S THE BAD NEWS, THE HOUSE ON FIRE, THAT MAKES THE GOOD NEWS GOOD THAT WE SAVED THE FURNITURE. NOW, YOU KNOW THAT THE WORD GOSPEL MEANS GOOD NEWS AND THE WORD GOSPEL IS USED SOME 90 TIMES IN THE BIBLE BECAUSE THE BIBLE IS THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST BUT I REMIND YOU THAT THERE IS NO GOOD NEWS WITHOUT BAD NEWS IT'S THE BAD NEWS THAT MAKES THE GOOD NEWS GOOD. AND SO MANY OF US HAVE FAILED TO TELL THE BAD NEWS SO PEOPLE ARE NOT READY FOR THE GOOD NEWS. AND, UH, PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO HEAR THE WORD, UH, SIN ANYMORE. THAT SIN IS THE BAD NEWS. BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE SOMEBODY STANDING UP IN ONE OF OUR GREAT UNIVERSITIES TODAY AND SAYING, GENTLEMEN, THE PROBLEM IN SOCIETY IS SIN. NOW WE DON'T LIKE THE WORD SIN. IT'S SO OLD-FASHIONED. TODAY WE HAVE SUBSTITUTED, FOUND EUPHEMISMS FOR SIN. WE CALL IT ERROR. WE CALL IT, UH, MISJUDGEMENT. WE CALL IT, UH, WEAKNESS. WE CALL IT PSYCHOLOGICAL MALADJUSTMENT. THE EVOLUTIONISTS WOULD CALL IT A STUMBLE UPWARD. WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF, OF NEW LABELS FOR OLD POISON. WE DON'T CALL A WOMAN A HARLOT OR A PROSTITUTE. SHE'S A, A LADY OF THE EVENING OR A CALL GIRL. A MAN IS NOT A THIEF. HE'S AN EMBEZZLER. A, A PERSON IS NOT A DRUNKARD. THEY'RE AN ALCOHOLIC. A PERSON IS NOT A PERVERT, THEY HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE. WE, WE JUST DON'T WANT TO CALL SIN, SIN. WE HAVE A, A BEHAVIORISTIC SCHOOL OF, OF PSYCHOLOGY TODAY THAT, THAT SAYS THAT MAN IS JUST THE SUM TOTAL OF THE CHEMISTRY THAT MAKES UP HIS BODY AND HIS ENVIRONMENT. SO WHATEVER HAPPENS TO HIM, HE, HE MAY BE PITIED, BUT HE'S CERTAINLY NOT TO BE BLAMED. MAYBE HE WAS REARED IN THE WRONG NEIGHBORHOOD. MAYBE HE HAD AN UNHAPPY CHILDHOOD. HE COULDN'T PUSH HIS OATMEAL OFF THE HIGH CHAIR. MAYBE HE HAD A, A DOMINEERING MOTHER. HE'S JUST THE SUM TOTAL OF HIS GENES AND CHROMOSOMES, THE CHEMISTRY INSIDE HIS BODY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH HE WAS LIVING. AND THE EVOLUTIONIST, The evolutionist tells us that man is an accident of nature, that he came out of some primordial soup, some fortuitous confluence of atoms, and out of this prebiotic soup man came. If that's true, he's gone from soup to nuts. And that's the idea, that since man is an accident, since he evolved, then there's no need for God, and if there's no God... THERE'S NO FIXED STANDARD OF RIGHT OR WRONG. AND SINCE THERE CAN BE NO FIXED STANDARD OF RIGHT AND WRONG, IPSO FACTO, THERE CAN BE NO SIN. AND SO, IF THERE'S NO SIN, YOU DON'T NEED THE GOSPEL. THERE'S NO BAD NEWS, SO WHO NEEDS THE GOOD NEWS? AND SO THE HUMANIST WOULD TELL YOU THAT SIN IS THE INVENTION OF THE CHURCH. TO KEEP EVERYBODY IN LINE. AND THAT'S THE REASON THE LIBERAL PREACHERS TODAY DON'T PREACH ON SIN ANYMORE BECAUSE THEY DON'T WANT TO BE BLAMED THAT WAY. AS A MATTER OF FACT, ONE LIBERAL PREACHER SAID THIS, AND I WANT TO QUOTE. HE SAID, AFTER PREACHING FOR FIFTY YEARS, I CANNOT HELP BUT FEELING THAT THE CHURCH HARPS FAR TOO MUCH ON SIN. AND THEN HE WENT ON TO SAY, PAUL'S WORDS, THAT THROUGH ONE MAN SIN ENTERED INTO THE WORLD, AND DEATH BY SIN CAN BE DISMISSED AS NONSENSE. HE SAID, YOU JUST TAKE WHAT PAUL SAID ABOUT SIN ENTERING INTO THE WORLD. HE SAID, JUST CALL IT NONSENSE. HA, HA. FRIEND, THAT MAN MAY CALL HIMSELF A THEOLOGIAN, YOU KNOW, THE WORD, UH, THEOLOGIAN COMES FROM TWO WORDS, THEOS, WHICH MEANS GOD, AND LOGOS, WHICH MEANS THE WORD. THAT MAN DOESN'T BELIEVE THE WORD, HE DOESN'T KNOW GOD, SO WHY SHOULD HE CALL HIMSELF A THEOLOGIAN? HE'S LIKE GRAPE NUTS, NEITHER GRAPES NOR NUTS. I, I'M TELLING YOU, FOLKS, THAT WE HAVE A GENERATION OF PEOPLE WHO, SPURT ON BY BEHAVIORISTIC PSYCHOLOGY, EVOLUTION, Humanistic thinking, which makes man the center of everything, and people don't, they don't understand the bad news, so they're not ready for the good news. Now, it's the bad news that makes the good news good. And what is the good news? For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. FOR SCARCELY FOR A RIGHTEOUS MAN WILL ONE DIE, YET PER ADVENTURE FOR A GOOD MAN SOME WOULD EVEN DARE TO DIE. BUT GOD COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARD US, IN THAT WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US." NOW HERE'S OUR WORD, "'MUCH MORE THAN, BEING NOW JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD, WE SHALL BE SAVED FROM WRATH.' THROUGH HIM. VERSE NINE, MUCH MORE. THE TITLE OF THE MESSAGE, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE. NOW I WANT YOU TO THINK WITH ME FOR THE NEXT FEW MINUTES. IF YOU DON'T THINK FOR THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, YOU'RE GOING TO MISS EVERYTHING I'M TRYING TO SAY. THERE ARE THREE WORDS OR PHRASES THAT ARE KEY IN THE REST OF THIS PASSAGE ON DOWN TO THE END OF THE CHAPTER. ONE KEYWORD IS THE WORD O-N-E, ONE. IT IS USED ELEVEN TIMES. NOW, I'M GONNA GO IN A HURRY, TAKE YOUR BIBLE, STARE AT IT, LOOK IN VERSE 12, BY ONE MAN. LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSE 15, THE OFFENSE OF ONE. LOOK AT THE LAST PART OF VERSE 15, WHICH IS BY ONE MAN. LOOK IN VERSE 16, IT WAS BY ONE THAT SINNED. THE MIDDLE OF VERSE 16, WAS BY ONE TO CONDEMNATION. LOOK AT THE BEGINNING OF VERSE 17, FORTH BY ONE MAN'S OFFENSE. LOOK AT THE END OF VERSE 17, UH, REIGN IN LIFE BY ONE JESUS CHRIST. LOOK AT VERSE 18, THEREFORE AS BY THE OFFENSE OF ONE, LOOK AT THE LAST PART OF VERSE 18, THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF ONE, LOOK AT THE BEGINNING OF VERSE 19, FOR AS BY ONE MAN'S DISOBEDIENCE, LOOK IN THE LAST PART OF VERSE 19, THE OBEDIENCE OF ONE. WELL, YOU SAY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS. I DON'T WANT YOU TO UNDERSTAND IT RIGHT NOW. I'LL TELL YOU LATER. ALL I WANT YOU TO NOTICE IS ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE, ONE. WHEN HE STARTS REPEATING SOMETHING THAT MUCH, YOU BEGAN TO LISTEN. SO THE KEY WORD IS ONE. NOW WHAT HE'S SAYING IS THAT YOU ARE IDENTIFIED WITH ONE MAN. That one man may be Adam, and you may be lost and on your road to hell. Or that one man may be Jesus, you may be saved and on your road to heaven. But everybody is related, linked to one man. That's what all of this is saying. You are linked to one man. In Adam all die. In Christ all are made alive. Now you are in Adam, that one man, by your first birth. You get into Jesus, one man, by your new birth. Everybody was born into Adam. And then you are born again into the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if you're without Christ today, let me tell you that you are not now in the image of God. You are now in the image of Adam. You are in Adam. Adam was made in the image of God, but then the image of God was marred AND RUINED IN ADAM. AND THEN THE BIBLE SAYS THAT ADAM BROUGHT FORTH A SON AFTER HIS LIKENESS AND IN HIS IMAGE. THAT'S IN GENESIS 5 VERSE 3. WE TALK ABOUT MAN TODAY BEING IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. NO! I MEAN, FOLKS, BE, BE REASONABLE. DO YOU THINK WE'RE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD? WELL, LOOK AROUND. YOU THINK GOD'S IN THIS SHAPE? I MEAN, UH, NO! ADAM WAS IN THE IMAGE OF GOD. AND THAT IMAGE WAS MARRED AND RUINED BY SIN. AND NOW WE'RE IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM. SUPPOSE YOU HAD NEVER SEEN A TRAIN, NOT IN ALL OF YOUR LIFE, NEVER SEEN A RAILROAD TRAIN. AND THEN I TAKE YOU TO SEE A TRAIN WRECK. THE CARS ARE ALL TUMBLED OVER, THE STEAM IS RISING, THERE'S FIRE, THERE'S, UH, BENT METAL, CHAOS. AND I SAY, THERE'S A TRAIN. WELL, HAVE YOU SEEN A TRAIN? HUH, HUH, HUH, WHAT YOU'VE SEEN IS A TRAIN WRECK. NOW OVER HERE, THAT MAN RIGHT THERE, IS THAT A MAN? NO, THAT'S A WRECK. I, I MEAN, THAT, HE'S IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM. So are you and so am I and so are we. You see, look, what God created has been wrecked and ruined. There's been a fall. And everybody that is of Adam's progeny, we are in the image of one man, Adam. We get that by our first birth. But when we are born again, we take on now a new image, the spiritual image of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now somebody says, now wait a minute, that's not fair. THAT'S NOT FAIR. WHY SHOULD I GET IN TROUBLE? BECAUSE OF ADAM. IN THE FIRST PLACE, I HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH ADAM, AND ADAM HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ME. YOU DON'T REALLY BELIEVE THAT. LISTEN, IF ADAM HAD DIED WITHOUT CHILDREN, YOU WOULDN'T BE HERE. HEH, HEH, HEH, ADAM HAD A LOT TO DO WITH YOU. YOU ARE IN THE IMAGE OF ADAM. YOU HAVE THE IDEOSYNCRASIES AND THE PROCLIVITIES AND THE SINFUL DISPOSITION OF ADAM THAT YOU HAVE INHERITED FROM ADAM, AND ALL OF US ARE IN ADAM. Adam did have something to do with you, but you say, wait a minute, it's not fair that I should go to hell for Adam's sin. Well, don't worry about that. You've sinned enough yourself, haven't you? Don't worry about Adam's sin. You better be grateful that God deals with one man because not only was it fair, it was wise and gracious because if we are condemned by Adam, one man, thank God we can be saved by Jesus, one man. Now you think about it. YOU THINK ABOUT IT. YOU SEE, IT IS WISE AND GRACIOUS THAT GOD ALLOWED ADAM, OUR FEDERAL HEAD, UH, TO STAND FOR US, THAT JESUS, OUR RESURRECTED LORD, MIGHT ALSO STAND FOR US. SO ONE KEY WORD HERE IS THE WORD ONE. NOW LET ME GIVE YOU ANOTHER KEY WORD. ARE YOU STILL FOLLOWING AFTER ME? I WANT YOU TO SEE NOW THERE'S A SECOND KEY WORD, AND THAT SECOND KEY WORD IS THE WORD REIGN, R-E-I-G-N, WHICH MEANS TO RULE. AND THIS WORD IS USED FIVE TIMES. LOOK IN VERSE 14, NEVERTHELESS DEATH LOOK IF YOU WILL IN VERSE 17, FOR IF BY ONE MAN'S OFFENSE DEATH REIGNED. LOOK IF YOU WILL IN THE BOTTOM OF VERSE 17, AND THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL REIGN IN LIFE BY JESUS CHRIST. LOOK IN VERSE 21, THAT AS SIN REIGNED UNTO DEATH, SO MIGHT GRACE REIGN THROUGH RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTO ETERNAL LIFE. NOT ONLY ARE THERE TWO MEN, AND YOU ARE LINKED TO ONE MAN OR THE OTHER MAN, BUT THERE ARE TWO KINGDOMS. THERE'S A KINGDOM OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, AND THERE'S A KINGDOM OF LOVE AND LIGHT AND LIFE. AND YOU ARE IN ONE OF THOSE TWO KINGDOMS TODAY. YOU ARE RULING AND REIGNING. ADAM IS THE HEAD OF THAT OLD KINGDOM. JESUS IS THE HEAD OF THAT NEW KINGDOM. NOW, YOU GET INTO THE NEW KINGDOM BY BEING BORN INTO THAT NEW KINGDOM. NOW, HERE'S THE THIRD WORD, AND NOW WE'RE COMING TO THE TITLE OF THE MESSAGE. REMEMBER, THE TITLE OF THE MESSAGE IS, THERE'S SO MUCH MORE. NOW REMEMBER, YOU'RE IN ONE MAN, EITHER ADAM OR CHRIST. AND BECAUSE YOU'RE IN ADAM OR BECAUSE YOU'RE IN CHRIST, YOU'RE IN THE KINGDOM OF DEATH OR THE KINGDOM OF LIFE. YOU'RE IN THE KINGDOM OF DARKNESS OR THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT. THIRD WORD, AND ACTUALLY IT'S TWO WORDS, IS MUCH MORE. NOW WATCH THIS AND GET READY FOR A BLESSING. THIS IS USED FIVE TIMES. LOOK IN VERSE 9, MUCH MORE THAN. LOOK IN VERSE 10, THE END OF VERSE 10, MUCH MORE BEING RECONCILED. LOOK IN VERSE 15, MUCH MORE, THE MIDDLE OF VERSE 15, MUCH MORE THE GRACE OF GOD. Look, if you will, in verse 17, first sentence, much more they which receive the abundance of grace. Look in the end of verse 20, much more abound. Much more, much more, much more, much more, much more. That fellow said, I was expecting more when I saw the Pacific Ocean. Friend, there is much more, much more. Now, I want you to see this. Listen, here's the point. Don't miss it. You were in Adam. You got saved and you came into Christ. Not that one man, but this one man. You came from the kingdom and the reign of death into the kingdom and the reign of life. And when you came out of Adam and you came into Jesus, here's the point and don't miss it. YOU GAINED MUCH MORE IN JESUS THAN YOU EVER LOST IN ADAM. DON'T MISS IT. YOU GAINED MUCH MORE IN JESUS THAN YOU EVER LOST IN ADAM. THAT'S THE REASON, THAT'S THE REASON I HAD RATHER LIVE IN ROMANS 5 THAN IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. I HAD RATHER BE A SAVED SINNER THAN AN INNOCENT ANGEL. FRIEND, WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THAN ADAM EVER LOST. THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. NOW, LET'S LOOK AT IT. FIRST OF ALL, WE'RE GOING TO SEE, NUMBER ONE, WHAT WE LOST IN ADAM. NUMBER TWO, WE'RE GOING TO SEE WHAT WE GAINED IN JESUS. HAVE YOU GOT THAT? NUMBER ONE, WHAT DID WE LOSE IN ADAM? NUMBER TWO, WHAT DID WE GAIN IN JESUS? AND YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THAT WE GAINED SO MUCH MORE IN JESUS THAN WE EVER LOST IN ADAM. ALL RIGHT, NOW WHAT DID WE LOSE IN ADAM? WELL, LOOK IN VERSE SIX, FOR WHEN WE WERE YET WITHOUT STRENGTH, IN DUE TIME CHRIST DIED FOR THE UNGODLY. IN ADAM, WE LOST STRENGTH, AND NOW WE DISPLAY WEAKNESS. IN ADAM WE LOST STRENGTH. NOW, YOU SEE, TODAY THE SINNER IS WITHOUT STRENGTH. NOW, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT PHYSICAL STRENGTH. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT FINANCIAL STRENGTH. WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT INTELLECTUAL STRENGTH. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MORAL AND SPIRITUAL STRENGTH. YOU SEE, YOU DO NOT HAVE IN ADAM WHAT IT TAKES TO BE WHAT GOD MADE YOU TO BE. WE ARE JUST SIMPLY WITHOUT STRENGTH. I MEAN, DON'T TELL AN UNSAVED MAN, DO RIGHT, LIVE RIGHT, BE GOOD.

SPEAKER 02 : 18:56

FOLKS, HE CAN'T. HE CAN'T. HE IS WITHOUT STRENGTH.

SPEAKER 03 : 19:06

WE LOST STRENGTH AND WE DISPLAY WEAKNESS. YOU ARE COMPLETELY, TOTALLY WITHOUT POWER. to live the Christian life in Adam. Now here's the second thing you lost in Adam. We lost strength and display weakness. We lost godliness and display wickedness. Look again in this same scripture, beginning in verse 6. For when we were yet without strength, Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You see, we lost godliness. Amen. And now we display wickedness. And the Bible says we're sinners. The word for sin, the Greek word, harmatia, means to miss the mark. Like if you are an archer and you're aiming at the bullseye. I took a course in archery one time. And I had irritated the instructor ahead of time. THIS WAS IN COLLEGE. I THOUGHT IT WAS GOING TO BE WHAT WE CALL A CRIP COURSE. HE KNEW WHAT I WAS UP TO. THEY GAVE ME A BOW THAT SAMPSON COULDN'T PULL. AND I'D, I'D NEVER TRIED BEFORE. I WANT TO TELL YOU, I WAS ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM. I THOUGHT I WAS TOUGH. I GOT THAT BOW AND I COULDN'T PULL IT. AND WHEN I FINALLY GOT IT BACK, IT WAS GOING ALL OVER LIKE THIS. AND THEN THE ARROW WENT, I MADE A FOOL OF MYSELF. YOU SEE, I DIDN'T HAVE THE STRENGTH TO PULL THE BOW, AND I NEVER HIT THE BULL'S EYE." NOW THE BIBLE SAYS, THIS WORD SIN MEANS, IT LITERALLY MEANS MISSING THE MARK. LET ME JUST TELL YOU WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT SIN. YOU KNOW THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE SITTING HERE TODAY THINKING YOU'RE GOOD FOLKS. HA HA. I MEAN, YOU THINK IF YOU CAME AND GAVE YOUR HEART TO JESUS, YOU'D BE DOING GOD A WILD FAVOR. YOU THINK THAT YOU ARE GOOD. MOST OF THE PEOPLE IN AMERICA ARE EGO MANIACS STRUTTING TO HELL THINKING THEY'RE TOO GOOD TO BE DAMNED. DID YOU KNOW THAT? Now let me tell you what the Bible has to say about our sin and what we lost in Adam. We lost godliness and now we devise wickedness. Let me tell you what sin is. Let me give you some definition. Number one, sin is the transgression of the law. 1 John 3, verse 4, Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law. For sin, sin is the transgression of the law. Now, if you have broken one of God's commandments, you are a sinner. If you get stopped for running a red light, you don't tell the policeman, look, let me tell you all the stop signs I did stop at and all the times that I obeyed the speed limit. No, doesn't matter how much good you've done, you have transgressed the law. And if a man is hanging over a cliff by a chain of ten links, HOW MANY LINKS IN THAT CHAIN HAVE TO BREAK BEFORE HE FALLS? ALL TEN? NO, JUST ONE. WHOSOEVER SHALL KEEP THE WHOLE LAW AND YET OFFEND IN ONE POINT IS GUILTY OF ALL. IS THERE ANYBODY HERE WHO WOULD SAY, I HAVE NEVER, EVER BROKEN GOD'S LAW? SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF LAW. NUMBER TWO, SIN IS FAILURE TO DO GOOD. James 4, verse 17, Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. Is there anybody here who would say, I have always, without exception, done what I should have done and never left any good undone? Who can say he's always done good on every occasion? BUT THE BIBLE SAYS, TO HIM THAT KNOWETH TO DO GOOD AND DOETH IT NOT, TO HIM IT IS SIN. AND THEN IN ROMANS CHAPTER 14, IN VERSE 23, THE BIBLE SAYS THAT WHATSOEVER IS NOT OF FAITH IS SIN. FOR WHATSOEVER IS NOT OF FAITH IS SIN. THAT IS, IF YOU DO ANYTHING, ANY COURSE OF ACTION, AND YOU'RE NOT CERTAIN THAT IT IS THE RIGHT COURSE OF ACTION, YOU DID NOT DO IT BY FAITH, FOR YOU IT WAS SIN. YOU SAY, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT. WELL, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE TIME WHEN THERE'S SOMETHING WE SAY, IS THIS RIGHT OR WRONG? YOU SAY, WELL, I'M NOT SURE. SO SINCE I'M NOT SURE, I'LL DO IT. ONE MAN WAS IN THE BACK BEDROOM. HIS WIFE WAS OUT FRONT TALKING TO A FRIEND. AND THE MAN WAS GETTING DRESSED. THEY WERE GOING OUT TO DINNER. HE HOLLERED OUT TO HIS WIFE. HE SAID, UH, DARLING, IS THIS SHIRT CLEAN ENOUGH FOR ME TO WEAR? SHE'S TALKING TO A FRIEND. WITHOUT HESITATION, SHE SAID NO. AND SO HE CAME OUT IN ANOTHER SHIRT. He said, how did you know it wasn't clean enough to wear? You didn't even come back and look. She said, if you had to ask, it wasn't. NOW, FRIEND, IF IT'S DOUBTFUL, IT'S DIRTY. BUT THE BIBLE SAYS, WHATSOEVER IS NOT OF FAITH IS SIN. AND MOST OF US DON'T GIVE, UH, GOD THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. UH, WE JUST GO AHEAD AND DO IT. NOW, HERE'S SOMETHING THAT MANY OF US DON'T REALIZE IS SIN. HUMAN GOODNESS IS SIN. HUMAN GOODNESS IS SIN. LET ME GIVE YOU TWO SCRIPTURES TO, TO SHOW YOU THAT. PROVERBS 21 VERSE 4, THE BIBLE SAYS, A HIGH LOOK AND A PROUD HEART, AND THE PLOWING OF THE WICKED IS SIN." THAT IS WHEN A FARMER CULTIVATES HIS FIELD, AND HE DOESN'T KNOW JESUS, EVEN THE CULTIVATION OF THAT FIELD IS SIN. WHY? BECAUSE HE'S ASKING GOD TO SEND THE RAIN TO GERMINATE THE SEED. HE IS ASKING GOD TO GIVE LIFE AND HE DOESN'T GIVE GOD THE GLORY. THE PLOWING OF THE WICKED IS SIN. LET ME GIVE YOU ANOTHER VERSE, ISAIAH 64 VERSE 6, BUT WE ARE ALL AS AN UNCLEAN THING, AND ALL OUR RIGHTEOUSNESSES ARE AS FILTHY RAGS. NOT OUR BAD THINGS, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. I MEAN THE GOOD DEEDS THAT YOU DO, THE NICE THINGS YOU DO, THE CHARITY, THE LOVE, THE KINDNESS. I MEAN IN THE SIGHT OF A RIGHTEOUS AND A HOLY GOD, HUMAN GOODNESS IS SIN. I'VE SAID THIS MANY TIMES, THE WORST FORM OF BADNESS IS HUMAN GOODNESS WHEN HUMAN GOODNESS BECOMES A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE NEW BIRTH. You see, we just don't understand what sin is. And so, think about it. Sin is the transgression of the law. Sin is the failure to do good. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Human goodness without God is sin. Why, the Bible even says the thought of foolishness is sin. So, what are we saying? What are we saying? What did we lose in Adam? We lost our strength and display weakness. We lost our godliness. AND DISPLAY WICKEDNESS. AND THEN WHAT ELSE WE LOST IN ADAM? WE LOST OUR PEACE AND WE DESERVE WRATH. LOOK IN VERSES 9 AND 10, MUCH MORE THAN BEING NOW JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD, WE SHALL BE SAVED FROM WRATH THROUGH HIM. DID YOU KNOW THAT THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT WE DESERVE THE WRATH OF GOD? LOOK IN VERSE 10, FOR IF WHEN WE WERE ENEMIES, WE WERE RECONCILED TO GOD BY THE DEATH OF HIS SON. YOU SEE, WHAT DID WE LOSE IN ADAM? WE LOST PEACE WITH GOD. WE BECAME ENEMIES OF GOD. AND BECAUSE WE'RE ENEMIES OF GOD, WE DESERVE THE WRATH OF GOD. DO YOU KNOW WHAT SIN IS? SIN IS HIGH TREASON AGAINST HEAVEN'S KING. SIN IS A CLENCHED FIST IN THE FACE OF GOD. WHAT DID WE LOSE IN ADAM? WE LOST STRENGTH. WE LOST GODLINESS. WE LOST PEACE. NOW WHAT DO WE HAVE? WE HAVE WEAKNESS AND WICKEDNESS AND WRATH. THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE IN ADAM. AND I'M TELLING YOU, IF YOU'RE IN ADAM, YOU'RE GOING TO FACE THE WRATH OF GOD. AND I'M NOT YOUR ENEMY BECAUSE I TELL YOU THE TRUTH. AND DON'T YOU LET ANYBODY TELL YOU THAT GOD IS TOO GOOD TO PUNISH SIN. God is too good not to punish sin. God is a holy God. And there is in Adam the weakness we display, the wickedness we devise, and the wrath, the wrath we deserve. Now that's what we lost in Adam. NOW I WANT TO SHOW YOU WHAT WE GAINED IN JESUS. I WANT TO SHOW YOU THE MUCH MORE, HA, A FRIEND, THE MUCH MORE. I WANT TO SHOW YOU THAT WE GAINED MUCH, VERY MUCH MORE IN JESUS THAN WE EVER LOST IN ADAM. AND NOW WE'RE JUST TURNING OVER AND WE'RE GOING TO LOOK AT THESE FIVE MUCH MORES. FIVE MUCH MORES. WHAT DID WE GAIN IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? WE SAW WHAT WE LOST IN ADAM. NOW, WHAT DID WE GAIN IN THE LORD JESUS? FIRST OF ALL, THERE IS THE MUCH MORE OF HIS REDEEMING BLOOD. LOOK IN VERSES EIGHT AND NINE. BUT GOD COMMENDETH HIS LOVE TOWARD US, IN THAT WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US. much more than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. Now let me tell you, there are three words that come together at Calvary. These three words deal with God's character. One is the word justice, the other is the word mercy, and the other is the word grace. Now I want you to think about these as we think of the much more of His redeeming blood. The word justice, the word mercy, and the word grace. Now justice is God giving us what we deserve. A person says, well, I hope I get justice. Well, if you get justice, you're going to hell because God is a just God and we've all sinned and the wages of sin is death and the soul that sinneth it shall surely die. But justice is God giving us what we deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. He just has mercy on us. BUT GRACE IS GOD GIVING US WHAT WE DON'T DESERVE. IT'S WHERE GOD MAKES US RIGHTEOUS. THREE WORDS. YOU GOT THEM? THERE IT IS AGAIN. LISTEN. JUSTICE, MERCY, AND GRACE. NOW ALL OF THESE COME TOGETHER IN THE BLOOD OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. LISTEN, BECAUSE JESUS TOOK OUR SINS, WHEN OUR SINS WERE LAID UPON JESUS, GOD'S JUSTICE WAS SATISFIED. SIN WAS PAID FOR, AND THAT WONDERFUL. BUT NOW WAIT A MINUTE. WHEN MY SINS WERE LAID UPON JESUS, NOT ONLY WAS GOD'S JUSTICE SATISFIED, BUT GOD'S MERCY WAS SHOWN. BECAUSE I DESERVED IT, BUT GOD HAD MERCY UPON ME. BUT NOT ONLY WAS GOD'S JUSTICE SATISFIED AND GOD'S MERCY SHOWN, WHEN MY SIN WAS LAID UPON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, GOD'S GRACE WAS GIVEN, AND I NOW HAVE BECOME A CHILD OF GOD. I AM MADE RIGHTEOUS IN HIS SIGHT. I AM JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD. LOOK AT IT IN VERSE 9, MUCH MORE THAN BEING NOW JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD. FRIEND, WE'VE GAINED SO MUCH MORE THAN ADAM EVER LOST. NOW HERE'S THE SECOND MUCH MORE. FIRST MUCH MORE, THERE'S THE MUCH MORE OF HIS REDEEMING BLOOD. NUMBER TWO, THERE IS THE MUCH MORE OF HIS RECONCILING DEATH. Verses 9 and 10 again. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, here's the second much more, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. There's the much more of His reconciling death. Now here's the wonderful part. Jesus gave Himself for us that he might give himself to us. We are now reconciled. Now, what's the difference? Well, Adam was an enemy. And so when God came in the midst of the garden, Adam beat it to the bushes to hide. He tried to cover himself later on with fig leaves. He could not stand the gaze of a holy God. And he separated from God. By the way, it was Adam running from God. God never needs to be reconciled. We're the ones that are reconciled. And so we have become enemies of God. Now remember, in the Garden of Eden, Adam walked with God. But when you get saved, you don't walk with God. God walks in you. I mean you are saved by His life. He comes into you. Listen to it. Look at it again in this passage of Scripture. Verse 10, For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. He lives in us. That's the reason I said I'd rather live in Romans 5 THAN IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN. HERE'S THE THIRD MUCH MORE. ISN'T THIS GOOD? ISN'T THIS GOOD? LISTEN, HERE'S THE THIRD MUCH MORE. AH, THERE'S THE MUCH MORE OF HIS NOT ONLY REDEEMING BLOOD AND RECONCILING DEATH, BUT HIS RENEWING GIFT. LOOK, IF YOU WILL, IN VERSE 15, BUT NOT AS THE OFFENSE. so also is the free gift. That is, the free gift is in contrast to the offense. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Now watch this. For through the offense of one, that is Adam, many be dead, much more the grace of God Now watch this. And the gift of grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. One man sinned and got us into trouble. One man died on the cross and got us all out and forgave every sin. And it is an absolute, sheer gift. Now, Adam lost and collected wages. Jesus died and gave a gift. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the much more of God's grace. God doesn't tell us to earn salvation, buy salvation, deserve salvation. We cannot. It is the grace of God. I may have told you about a little boy who came in a church down an aisle to give his heart to Jesus Christ, and they wanted to make sure the little guy understood. And they said, son, tell us how you got saved. He said, well, I did my part and God did His. Well, they said, uh-oh. He said, well, tell us about it. He said, I did the sinning and He did the saving. I did the sinning and He did the saving. That is the much more, the much more of His renewing gift. Verse 15. Now here's verse 17. Here's the much more of His reigning power. Look, if you will, in verse 17 of this same chapter. For if by one man's offense... DEATH REIGNED BY ONE, MUCH MORE. THEY WHICH RECEIVE THE ABUNDANCE OF GRACE AND THE GIFT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, WE JUST TALKED ABOUT THAT, SHALL REIGN IN LIFE BY ONE JESUS CHRIST. ADAM REIGNED OVER AN EARTHLY DOMINION BEFORE HE FELL. BUT FRIEND, WE HAVE A HEAVENLY KINGDOM. ADAM SIMPLY RULED THE ANIMALS. Friend, we're going to judge angels. I mean, we have a kingdom. We reign with the Lord Jesus Christ. And we don't have to wait until we get to heaven to do it. The Bible says we reign in life right now, not in the sweet by and by. But now we have moved into His kingdom. We are seated with Jesus in the heavenlies. Adam was never seated in the heavenlies. Adam had a dominion here on earth, and he blew it. And Jesus died. And we got much more when Jesus died. Now here's the last of these five much mores. And that's the much more of His restoring grace. Look, if you will, in verse 20. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounded... Grace did much more abound. Oh, the much more, the much more of His restoring grace. You see, when Adam sinned, a monster was let loose in the land. A monster. That monster was sin. And that sin abounds and abounds and abounds and abounds until grace came along. And grace says, hold it right there.

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where sin did abound, grace did much more abound. God's amazing grace.

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And if we fall, if we fail, if we stumble, if we fail to call upon the grace of God and fall into sin, He never lets us go. He will cleanse us, forgive us, and restore us. Those are five much mores. One man, Adam, or Jesus. Two kingdoms, death and life. A great loss in Adam. And oh, my sweet friend, so much more in Jesus.

SPEAKER 01 : 37:11

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