Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Free Grace Media

Of Princeton, New Jersey

 

AuthorClay Curtis
TitleGrace Much More Abounds
Bible TextRomans 5:15-21
Synopsis Our text declares that though we lost all in Adam, God’s elect gained much more in Christ. Listen
Date11-Nov-2018
Series Romans 2018
Article Type Sermon Notes
PDF Format pdf
Word Format doc
Audio HI-FI Listen: Grace Much More Abounds (32 kbps)
Audio CD Quality Listen: Grace Much More Abounds (128 kbps)
Length 37 min.
 

Series: Romans

Title: Grace Much More Abounds

Text: Romans 5: 15-21

Date: November 11, 2018

Place: SGBC, NJ

 

Last time we saw that Adam was a figure of Christ by headship.  As all Adam’s family was in Adam, so all Christ’s family was in Christ.  As Adam made all his family sin by his disobedience and therefore God imputed sin to us, so Christ made all his family righteous by his obedience and therefore God imputes righteousness to us when he brings us to believe on Christ.

 

But in Romans 5, there is a parenthesis which shows us differences between Adam and Christ.  It is true that in Adam we fell a terrible fall.  In Adam, all died—becoming guilty of sin under the curse and condemnation of the law.  In Adam, all died—being born with a corrupt nature the natural heart is enmity against God.  God placed Adam in a green garden.  But Adam turned that garden into a wild, wasted, desert wilderness where even the ground is cursed.

 

Genesis 3: 16: Unto the woman [God] said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17: And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18: Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

 

Yet, though, Adam is a type of Christ in headship, there is a great difference between what Adam did to his people and what Christ did for his.

 

Romans 5: 15: But not as the offence, so also is the free gift.  For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.  

 

Proposition: Our text declares that though we lost all in Adam, God’s elect gained much more in Christ.

 

Title: Grace Much More Abounds

 

BY THE GRACE OF GOD

 

Romans 5: 15:…For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

 

Amazing grace

How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

 

Scriptures everywhere declare that salvation is by God’s unmerited favor upon whosoever God is please to bestow it. 


Ephesians 1: 6: [God’s election, blessing, predestination, adoption and acceptance it all ] To the praise of the glory of his grace.

 

Ephesians 1: 7: In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

 

Ephesians 2: [we were spiritually dead sinners unable to do one thing] 4: But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5: Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (By grace ye are saved)

 

Ephesians 2: 8: For by grace ye are saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9: Not of works, lest any man should boast

 

I heard a preacher say, “God’s grace is free, not based on any merit in us.  But God only gives his grace to those who accept Jesus.”  No, no!  It is by God’s grace that God quickens the dead sinner and gives us faith so we can believe on Christ and all who believe on him God accepts. I only quoted from two chapters from one book and we see God’s grace over and over.  To deny salvation by grace is to betray one’s own ignorance because its on every page of God’s word.

 

Grace means all blessings—including righteousness/justification unto eternal life—is the gift of God through Christ his Son.  When is the last time you bought a gift for no one?  When is the last time you bought a gift, set on a shelf and said, “I hope someone will let me give this to them?”  Why do men attribute something so foolish to God that even ignorant sinners are smart enough not to do?  Scripture says God ordered everything in the salvation of his people.

2 Samuel 23: 5: [God] hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure:…all my salvation…


It means God chose who he would purchase this gift for and gave them to Christ, God sent his Son who paid the purchase price to redeem that people from the curse, the price of his precious blood.  God sends the Holy Spirit who gives life and faith and repentance to make his elect hear the good news of the gospel and receive his gift.  God sees to it that each and everyone of his children shall have his gift.  God left nothing to the sinner but trusted the entire work into the hand of Christ his Son and “all the promises of God are in him yes and in Amen to the praise of God’s grace.”

 

Salvation is God’s free gift to the believer.

 

Hosea 14:4  I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely

 

Romans 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

 

Romans 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

 

1Corinthians 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

 

Revelation 21:6  And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

 

That means it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us.

 

Brethren, seeing that our justification and eternal life is free, let us freely declare what Christ has done for us to anyone who appears interested; or invite them to come and hear the gospel; let us use every avenue God makes available to send it forth into the whole world—Christ said, “Freely ye have received, freely give.” 

 

Still, remember, just because salvation is free to us, never think it came without a heavy, heavy price which our Redeemer had to pay.

 

OUR OFFENSES


Romans 5: 16: And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one [offense] to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.

 

Grace has abounded much more because of what Christ did concerning our offenses and the result he accomplished.  The judgement—the sin/guilt imputed to all men who Adam represented—was imputed because Adam committed one offense—Adam broke one law—and the result was imputation of sin unto condemnation.

 

But the free gift is not like that: “the free gift is of many offences unto justification.” Christ did not bear the sin of one offence of Adam only; Christ bore the sins of all the offences of all God’s elect—not only Adam’s sin but also the offences we commit in our life time.

 

Try to think of how many offences you have committed, only in thought, only in the time we have been here.  Scripture says man “drinketh iniquity like water.” “Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually” (Job 15: 16; Gen 6: 5)  Now imagine an elect people more than the stars of heaven or the sands of the sea.  Then think on this—Isaiah 53: 6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  Our Substitute was made to bear every sin of every elect child of God and the condemnation due to them all.

 

Lamentation 1: 12: Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger.

 

The result is not condemnation of his people; but free justification of his people.  Christ paid for every sin of every child of God and put away our sins from the God’s record book

 

Hebrews 8: 12: For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

 

Isaiah 43:25: I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.

Jeremiah 33:8  And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

Jeremiah 50:20  In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found:…

Micah 7:19…thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.

 

Therefore, when he brings his child to believe on Christ there is no condemnation, only free justification.  Do you believe on Christ today?  Is Christ your only hope of acceptance with God?  Listen:

 

Romans 8: 1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

 

GUARANTEED TO REIGN


Romans 17: For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)…20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might [SHALL] grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Christ’s work is greater because by him we are guaranteed to reign in eternal life both now and forever.

 

Be sure to get this: Adam’s sin did not put us in a condemnable state, so that you had to do something to condemn yourself—Adam’s disobedience made us sin and we died and we could not do one thing to make death stop reigning.  Much more, Christ’s obedience did not put us in a savable state, so that you have to do something to make yourself righteous—Christ obedience made his people righteous and by his grace he makes each of his redeemed live and believe on him and we cannot do one thing to make eternal life stop reigning.

 

The grace of God reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord: He shall regenerate to life all who he redeemed.  He shall keep alive all who he redeemed.  He shall bring all who he redeemed to reign with him in heaven’s glory for all eternity

 

Brethren, if you are not able to be here, please watch the broadcast on Thursday nights.  In John’s day many were departing from Christ for lies.  And the apostle John gives us assurance that, all those Christ redeemed and made righteous shall be given the Spirit of adoption to cry out in life, Abba Father.  And all those God brings to believe on Christ cannot commit the sin of apostacy because Christ’s seed remains in us and we cannot cease believing on Christ because we are born of him.

 

Do you believe on Christ?  Is Christ your only Righteousness, your only hope of eternal life.  Then listen: 


Romans 5: 8: God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9: Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 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.

 

Adam was a living soul, Christ a quickening spirit.  Adam was of the earth, Christ is the Lord of heaven.  Adam made all his people sinners in him, Christ made all his people righteous in him.  By Adam through sin death reigned.  But Christ Jesus shall not lose one because “as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might [SHALL] grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”   If we had never fallen in Adam there would always be the chance we would.  But in Christ we cannot fall away.  He will not allow it!

 

Amen!