The Tale of Two Adams

Good morning! How’s everyone doing?

Good? Awesome! It’s good to see your faces. It’s my privilege and pleasure to open up God’s Word with you this morning. If you’re just joining us, welcome to Redemption Park. My name is Mark, and I’m one of the pastors here. We are working our way through the book of Romans, and we’re in Romans chapter 5 this morning, as Paul continues to show us the many, many benefits of our justification. Not just that we are made and declared righteous, which is huge, but there are just a storehouse of benefits for our justification.

As you’re turning there, I was thinking about something that happened to me as a senior in high school. My second semester, I got suspended for a day. I got suspended because I was guilty by association. We were in our cafeteria, and Taco Bell was in our cafeteria. They were running a promotion where if you got enough stamps on your taco card, you got free tacos. So my friend thought, “If I get the stamp puncher, that’s unlimited tacos!” That was the logic going through his head. So he stole the Taco Bell punch and came and sat down with me. Shortly after that, the authorities came and took us in. In that great courtroom of the principal’s office, they determined that he would get a week of suspension, and I would get a day. I was like, “What?!” I knew about it, so I probably deserved the day. But actually, it was the best day — the best day of high school. We went fishing up in the mountains, and it was awesome, so I loved it.

I was thinking about that, being guilty by association. If the stakes were a little higher, like if I was a good student and magna cum laude was on the line, or if it was a real crime — I guess that was a real crime — but if I was an accomplice in something like a murder, there would be much more in me that would say, “No, just because I’m with the guy, I can’t be represented by this guy!” That doesn’t make sense. And that feeling of being guilty by association is hard, especially for those of us coming from a Western, individualistic worldview, where we’re all responsible for ourselves. That’s a tough pill to swallow.

But as we look at this passage today, you’re going to feel the tension. How can another represent me? There are going to be some obstacles that we need to overcome if we’re going to see that the purpose of this passage is Paul’s continuation from last week to show you the amazing treasures and jewels of the Gospel. But, as I’ve already said, there are some obstacles — even cultural ones — that we need to overcome to understand what’s going on here.

Let’s put it this way: If you’re a follower of Jesus, have you ever wondered, “How is it possible that a Jewish man 2,000 years ago would face a trial, execution, and die on a hill outside of Jerusalem — and that death is significant not just then, but for us today?” We sing about it here as the most significant event in human history. How does his death affect me, and how does it affect you? How can his death be in our place? I hope you’ve wrestled with that because, when you wrestle with that, you begin to understand what Paul is getting at here. It doesn’t make much sense in our system. You may have heard illustrations about a righteous judge who sentences his son but then steps down to pay the penalty himself. We might say, “That sounds nice, but it would never happen. How is that possible?” Or imagine a courtroom where someone convicted of murder is on death row, and a really righteous person says, “I’d like to take their place.” You’d say, “No, you can’t take their place.” Yet, that’s what Paul is addressing here.

Paul wants to show us how we are represented by another, whether we like it or not. This passage in Romans 5 is short but theologically dense. So I’m going to ask you to love God with your mind today because there’s a lot here. But remember, the purpose is to encourage you and stir your affections for Christ. If I can cover three theological terms — federal headship, original sin, and active obedience — then I’ve succeeded. We’re going to touch on these briefly, and then you may have more questions than answers, but that’s okay.

Let’s look at Romans 5, starting at verse 12:

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

Paul starts with Adam and points out that through one man, sin and death entered the world, and that spread to everyone. Adam represented all of humanity. This concept, called federal headship, means that Adam acted on behalf of all of us. When Adam sinned, we all sinned. In verse 15, Paul contrasts Adam with Christ, saying that while Adam’s trespass brought death, Jesus’ free gift of grace brings life.

The comparisons continue throughout the passage:

• Adam’s sin brings condemnation; Christ’s grace brings justification.
• Adam’s trespass brings death; Christ’s righteousness brings life.

Paul emphasizes that while Adam’s disobedience brought sin into the world, Jesus’ obedience brings righteousness and life for all who believe. This is where the idea of active obedience comes in. Jesus’ entire life of perfect obedience is credited to us when we are in Christ. We aren’t just forgiven; we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness.

Paul concludes by saying in verse 21:

“Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

The grace of Christ super-abounds over the sin of Adam. Though Adam’s sin had far-reaching effects, Christ’s redemptive work is even more powerful and far-reaching.

So how do we respond to this? We rejoice! Christ has done it all. He is our federal head, our representative, and in Him, we have life. Let’s remember, rejoice, and rest in this truth. Amen?