How it Happens w/ Colin Cook

SPEAKER 01 : 0:05

You can tell that Paul is struggling to get his idea across in Romans chapter 5. Remember, this is the mountaintop, the Himalayan top of Paul's arguments and Paul's message in the book of Romans, that as... Adam brought death and sin, sin and death to the whole of humanity, not excluding anyone. So also Christ brought righteousness and life to the whole of humanity, not excluding anyone. I doubt, in fact, I'm almost sure that there is no other passage in Scripture where somebody, where a writer is trying to convey his thought and repeats it six times in different wording in order to get his point across. I can imagine Paul walking up and down his room with his hands behind his back, perhaps his face looking to the floor, while he's walking up and down and his secretary is dictating what he says. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if Paul were not saying occasionally, no, no, strike that, not exactly like that, write it like this, and on and on. You can read this for yourself if you are at all sensitive to the fact that The writers of the Bible are not simply empty vessels through whom the Holy Spirit is dictating. They are moved on by the Holy Spirit unquestionably, but they're still human beings, and they're still going through their thought processes, but they think that their thought processes are theirs when in fact they happen to be the Holy Spirit's. And so here is Paul struggling to get this message across, that the extent of Adam's sin, is equal to the extent of Christ's righteousness, that the effect of Adam's fall, bringing death to all, is comparable to the extent and effect of Christ's righteousness and resurrection. I said the other day, and I'll say it again, that these verses that we're looking at are a comparison, of similarities and a comparison of opposites. The similarity is that Adam's action had an equal effect to Christ's action. That's the similarity, which is universal. That is that his work, Adam's life and sin, brought death to all, had an effect upon everybody. So also Christ's life and resurrection and death and resurrection has an effect upon everybody. That's the comparison of similarities. But the comparison of opposites is that Adam brought in death to everyone and Christ brings in life to everyone. And so you come to this high point now in verse 18, chapter 5, Romans chapter 5, verse 18. Therefore, as through one man's offense, and remember he says therefore, which means that verse 18 is a gathering up of the one, two, three ways of saying it in verses 15 through 17. Therefore, as through one man's offense, That is the sin of Adam. Remember, by the way, let's have a break here, that that sin is not minor. It was not a simple, silly little thing about eating an apple and, oops, what a mess he's made of things. What Adam was doing was wrenching his mind out of its socket because his mind was an innocent mind. It was not like our mind, which has a natural inclination towards evil. Adam did not have a natural inclination towards evil before he fell. He had a natural inclination towards good. And so when he sinned, when he turned away from God and suppressed God in order to take that fruit which was forbidden to him, he was doing something which caused his mind probably to scream out loud, don't do it. And yet he did it. And so it was a monumental sin to turn away from God like that and to suppress God. You and I, we find it quite comfortable, quite easy to suppress God. We've been doing it all the time. What's new? But for Adam, the light was switched off. The warmth of his soul turned into a shivering cold. Poor man. Thanks be to God, we know that he's a forgiven man and he is redeemed. How do we know that? Well, Jesus, as you recall, rather in the book of Genesis, as you recall, God provided skins for Adam when he sensed the nakedness of his soul. Well, what does that imply? That a sacrifice was made, a sacrifice typifying Jesus Christ's coming sacrifice. And so Adam was clothed with skins. So, therefore, it says, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men. Now, you see, you understand that human beings after Adam, they did not sin Adam's sin. That's what Paul makes a point of in verse 14. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned, according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam. In other words, the human race suffered the effects of Adam's sin and the judgment of Adam's sin, which was death, even though they did not sin as Adam had sinned. And why is Paul stating that? Because of the parallel with Jesus Christ. The world will receive the effects of Christ's righteousness, even though they did not have any part in Christ's righteousness. Therefore, it says, as through one man's offense, judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, not just effects. We don't just suffer the effects of Adam's sin. We suffer the judgment, the condemnation of it, because we are part of the human race. We come from his body. And so, you see, if you want to understand or explain the cry of the soul, the sorrow that people feel when there's no one around and there's total silence and we don't know what we're sorry for, and we look at a beautiful sunset standing on the beach, looking at the sun dip into the horizon, and we feel sorrow as well as beauty, why is that? because we are carrying about Adam's burden as well as our own. We are not only sinners in our own right, we are sinners under the judgment of Adam's sin. Accept that, whether you like it or not, because then you can understand and accept that we are recipients of Christ's righteousness even when we had no part in it. So look at verse 18 then again, completing it now. Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation... Even so, notice even so, because that's where he's making the comparison, even so, through one man's righteous act, that's Christ's sacrifice on the cross, the free gift came to all men, all men, women, and children, resulting in justification of life. That is the verdict of not guilty. It is astonishing what is being said here. Most Christians, and I say most without any hesitation, do not believe it. They cannot accept it. Why? Well, there are many reasons, but I'll tell you the main one. Because Christianity is corrupt. and not the gospel, but Christianity. Why? What is it corrupt over? It has placed man in the place of God. It has placed humans in the place of God, so that unconsciously, Without our realizing it, we are putting man at the controls of his own salvation. So when he decides, and when he chooses to have faith, whether he chooses to accept Christ or not, he is the arbiter of his own salvation. Well, that is not biblical, and it is not the gospel. The gospel is that God so loved the world that he gave. The gospel is that God is the one that justifies even when we are sinners and that he reconciles us to the Father, that is Jesus, while we are still enemies, while we don't have anything to do with it. That is the wonder of the gospel, and you will find it hard to believe that salvation comes to all people unless you recognize that God is in the pilot seat, that God is in control, that he is able to maneuver human beings to a place of helplessness and to a place of... undone-ness so that they call out to him for mercy. It is not that God is, what shall I say, fainting everybody to salvation. It's that he will bring us all to a place where we cannot resist his mercy anymore. To hold out against God is a psychological and a spiritual impossibility, ultimately. It will break us down. And instead of wanting to be totally destroyed, we will go before God and say, Oh, Father, have mercy upon me. And this is exactly what the book of Romans says in chapter 11, verse 32. God has imprisoned all under sin that he might have mercy on all. Can you think of that? We don't just sin, you understand, do we? We're prisoners of it, and we need to be released. God is the governor of the prison, and he unlocks the doors, and he lets the prisoners free. And he will only let those prisoners free when he has brought them to a place where they long for his mercy. And that is where the whole issue of judgments and the story of our lives is going. Where do you think you are in the story of your life, for instance? I mean, if you're still strutting around as if you owned the world, if you are still in that attitude of mind where you don't give a thought to who gave you life, and who gave you birth, and who is going to bring you to death and resurrection, if you're not in that place, don't be there. You're in danger. Every breath we have is from the Lord. Every heartbeat is from Him. Look at the wonder of nature. I've recently been looking at a documentary on hummingbirds and the utter miracle of those little teeny weeny birds. How amazing. God's glory is all over the world, all over the earth. You only have to look. But are you looking? And when you do look, you see the glory of God. You can see the salvation of God in nature. It is an amazing thing. And so we need to recognize that there's something going on outside of us, and that is God maneuvering people to his arms, to his grace, to his mercy. Now, you may be listening to this program because you've reached the level of despair. Maybe you can't go to church anymore but you desperately want to get to find help somewhere. Let me tell you, your ultimate destiny is eternal life, and it is your call, that is God's call upon you, to say, Lord God, please maneuver my life to the place where I long for your mercy. Thanks for listening today, everyone. Colin Cook here and How It Happens. You can hear this program on the radio at 10 o'clock in the evening, repeated at 4 in the morning in the Denver and Colorado and surrounding states areas on KLTT AM 670. But you can also hear it any time of the day or night on your smartphone. Simply download a free app, soundcloud.com or pudbean.com and key in How It Happens with Colin Cook. And if you would like to make a donation to this program or donations in the new year, you're most welcome to do so. It's listener-supported radio. Send your donations to FaithQuest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. Or you can make your donation online at faithquestradio.com. Thanks for all your support in the previous year. Thank you for your notes that you send, which are so encouraging. I'll see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.