No comparison

This morning, we come, arguably,
to one of the greatest chapters in the Bible. I’m glad you’re
here. I hope you’re glad you’re here.
And I am, of course, already on record by suggesting to you
that Romans is the greatest treatise ever written. And Paul’s letter
to the Christians here, chapter 8, is, in my opinion, the greatest
chapter ever written. But Romans 5 would have to be
a close second. And I mean close like a photo
finish in a horse race. If Romans chapter 8 captures
a snapshot of the near completion of the Christian being sanctified
by God, Romans 5 captures a snapshot of that same Christian well begun
at the outset of his or her Christian walk. It’s an amazing chapter. In this powerful chapter, we
find ourselves still in the second major section of Paul’s letter. You remember sin, salvation,
sanctification, sovereignty, and service. Those are the five
general categories, and we are in the second of five, salvation. Paul began that subject, as we
saw, in chapter 3, verse 21, and he illustrated it with a
review of Abraham’s life in chapter 4. Here in chapter 5, the Christian
in view is saved from his or her sin. He’s spared from God’s
righteous anger. He or she has been justified
by faith in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross and now enjoys
peace with God. What an incredible thought that
is. God has brought about a reconciliation. He has enacted a peace treaty
between sinners who were at enmity with him and himself, so that
now spiritual enemies have been made friends—friends of God. What remains here in chapter
5 is really for Paul to unfold the magnificent results in the
one who is saved. Because of the grandness of this
chapter, I want to take it in full this morning. Chapter 5,
beginning in verse 1, and we’ll course all the way down through
verse 21. Therefore, having been justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into
this grace in which we stand, and we exult in the hope of the
glory of God. And not only this, but we exalt
in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about
perseverance, and perseverance, proven character, and proven
character, hope. And hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who is given to us. For while we were
still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a
righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone may
dare to die. But God demonstrates his own
love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Much more then, having now been
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God
through him. For if, while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not
only this, but we also exalt in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Therefore, just as through one
man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and so
death spread to all men because all sinned, For until the law,
sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is
no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from
Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness
of the offense of Adam, who is a type of him who was to come. But the free gift is not like
the transgression, for if by the transgression of the one
the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift
by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. And the gift is not like that
which came through the one who sinned, for on the one hand,
the judgment arose from one transgression, resulting in condemnation. But
on the other hand, the free gift arose from many transgressions,
resulting in justification. For if, by the transgression
of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who
receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness
will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. So then, as
through one transgression, there resulted in condemnation to all
men, even so through one act of righteousness, there resulted
justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s
disobedience, the many were made sinners, even so through the
obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous. And the
law came in that the transgression might increase, but where sin
increased, grace abounded all the more. That as sin reigned
in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, It’s an incredible
chapter, and this chapter is evenly divided almost in half,
verses 1 through 11 and verses 12 through 21. And in the first
portion, verses 1 through 11, Paul unfolds the blessings of
salvation. It’s almost like he’s calling
people to worship. Three times he calls us to exalt. These blessings of salvation
are these elements, really, that prompt believers to praise God. In the second portion of the
chapter, verses 12 through 21, he gives what can only be described
as a technical explanation on how it is that God has made this
salvation possible. Please allow me, if you would,
to take us back to the beginning of this chapter when Paul opens
with that classic, therefore. In verse one, he signals here
that he intends to build upon what he has already said. And
that would include at least chapter four. He’s looking back over
his shoulder and drawing a conclusion. But I would suggest to you that
he’s looking all the way back at what he has said about the
subject of salvation, beginning in chapter three, verse 21 forward. He’s taking all of it. And he
now here addresses the blessings of salvation. The first benefit
that a believer enjoys, as Paul mentions in verses 1 and 2, just
glance there, it’s a life of reconciliation with God. We have
peace, Paul says, with God and that through our Lord Jesus Christ
by faith. The person, he points out, who
believes in Jesus Christ for salvation is justified. declared to be righteous. You
glance down at the end of verse two, this leads naturally to
worship. We exalt in the hope of the glory of God. Hope is
not just wishful thinking, it’s an expectation that one day we
will be in God’s glorious presence. What a fantastic call to worship. The second blessing of salvation
is communicated in what I would characterize here in verses three
and following as a life of divine assistance, God’s help. The Christian
is prompted to worship throughout the tribulations of life because
those difficulties produce good things, perseverance, character,
hope. And all of this fruit, perseverance,
character, and fruit, all of this is evidence that all three
members of the Godhead are at work in the believer. It’s an
amazing thought. Look at verse five. In verse
five, we see that God the Father, Paul says, pours out his love
within our hearts. We love him because he first
loved us, right? At the end of that same verse,
he notes that the Holy Spirit is also actively at work. The
Holy Spirit is resident within, having been given to us. And
all of this rests on the foundation, as Paul describes in verses six
through eight, the foundation of the fact that Jesus Christ
died for us while we were helpless, ungodly sinners. He saw nothing
good in us, and yet he died for us. So the entire Trinity entered
into the work of salvation, and that too is cause for worship.
There’s the third cause for rejoicing, as presented in verses nine through
11. The Christian is not only reconciled
to God by means of divine assistance, But as such, he lives a life
free from the wrath of God. Paul’s reasoning here is masterful.
Look at this. The Christian is justified by
faith in Jesus’ blood sacrifice. His death on the cross. And in
verse 10, Paul says, for if while we were enemies, we were reconciled
to God through the death of his son, Paul says that God drew
his enemies to himself by his son’s death. But if that’s true,
he says, much more having been reconciled, we’re already standing
at peace with God, we shall be saved by his life. And if God can do that, If we
were reconciled to God through the death of his son, how much
greater work can God do in our lives by a resurrected living
Savior? It’s an amazing thought. And
this too prompts the believer to praise. God has reconciled
us to himself. We enjoy a life of divine assistance,
and we have been taken out from under the formidable wrath of
God. Cause for praise indeed. Well, that’s the first half of
chapter five in a furious overview. But in verse 12, Paul wishes
to impart the deep truths of salvation to his hearers. A more technical description
of what God does in saving us. And we will immediately observe
that there is an interplay in verses 12 through 19 between
Adam and Christ. As we read it, you probably picked
up on that. Paul desires to have us understand
the spiritual impact of both of these figures, Adam and Christ. If you would, go back to verse
12. where Paul begins the second
half of this chapter. And as I suggested to you, this
is a technical explanation about how it is that God has made salvation
possible. We’ll try and keep the cookies
on the lower shelf and make it understandable. But Paul begins
this paragraph as well in verse 12 with, therefore, And again,
just as in verse 1 of this chapter, he’s looking back, not only at
what he has only just now talked about in the first 11 verses,
but I would suggest again that he’s going all the way back to
321, and he’s looking back at all that God has done in his
consideration of salvation. And I want you to notice something
else about this sentence. like a good pastor, Paul doesn’t
finish it. He starts well, but immediately
his thoughts are interrupted, and he takes a rabbit trail in
verse 13. Paul begins his reasoning here
with that little phrase, just as, but he never completes the
thought. When he says, just as, we would
expect that he would finish it off with, so also. But he suddenly breaks off his
thought there at the end of verse 12, and if you’re looking at
your Bible translations, our Bible translators give us a clue
here often about this by adding a dash at the end of verse 12.
It’s an incomplete thought. The apostle embarks on a lengthy
explanation in verses 13 through 17, and it ends up functioning
like a giant parentheses, everything in verse 13 through 17. But let’s
start, let’s start with 12, verse 12. Look back there again, if
you would. Therefore, just as through one
man sin entered into the world and death through sin, so death
spread to all men because all sinned.” It’s a very simple,
logical sentence, but it’s only halfway complete. And it’s a
vitally important verse that informs the reader of the origin
and the effect of sin. Where did it come from and what
does it do? The apostle here introduces a
very interesting point. He identifies the origin of sin
by telling us that it came through one man. We don’t have to wonder
about who it is that Paul is referring to here. It’s none
other than Adam. It was through Adam that sin
entered into the world. Adam was the gateway. As chronicled
by Moses in Genesis 3, Adam sinned, as you may well know, by eating
of the forbidden fruit in direct violation of God’s command. Genesis
3 recounts not merely the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, but
the fall of all mankind with them in that sin. This, of course,
you probably know well, is the doctrine of original sin. Adam
and Eve’s fall was our fall. Adam didn’t invent sin, but he
was the gateway through which sin entered into the world, and
that part of it is very bad. But it only gets worse. Paul
says that death also entered into the world through sin. And that death spread to all
men. Death was not in the original
plans. And in that sense, death is unnatural. Whenever I read an obituary that
says that so-and-so died of natural causes, no, he didn’t. Death was not in the original
plans. Adam introduced death into this
world by his sin. And so Paul, not so delicately,
points here to the effects of original sin. And I’ve suggested
this to you so many times, it won’t surprise me if I hear an
echo of some people parroting this back. There are four effects
of the fall on humanity. Four effects because of Adam
and Eve’s sin. Because of Adam’s fall into sin,
humanity is now inherently sinful. They have a sin nature. They
walk out of the garden, Adam and Eve, and all of their progeny
is inherently sinful. Not only inherently sinful, but
temporally vexed. As long as they’re on the earth,
they are cursed. This is where we get the pain
in childbirth and the sweat of the brow. All of life bears the
brunt of Adam and Eve’s sin, inherently sinful, temporally
vexed, physically dying. But we could say that that’s
what Paul is alluding to here, but I’ll make the case different
in a moment. From the day we’re born, We begin
a certain march towards death. That’s just part of life. We’re
physically dying. But I said there were four effects
of the fall. Inherently sinful, temporally
vexed, physically dying, and spiritually dead. We’re separated
from God. We have no relationship with
a holy God. We can’t remanufacture it. We can’t enact some kind of reconciliation. Now look at this closely. Paul says at the end of verse
12 that death spread to all men because all sinned. And before
he can even go on to complete his thought, he has to first
explain that final line of verse 12. It’s that little phrase to
all men. that must give us pause. Why
is it or how is it that death for us has now become so intertwined
with sin? We weren’t in the garden with Adam and Eve. And someone
might be inclined to argue that it’s just downright unfair that
we should be condemned to death because of Adam and Eve’s sin. How is it that we are joined
to them in death, this dreadful consequence of sin? And Paul
gives the answer to that vexing question at the end of verse
12. Because all sinned. And we might think that Paul
there is talking about actual sin, and there isn’t anybody
that would argue that they’ve never sinned. But it isn’t that simple. What
Paul implies there is that Adam’s sin was our sin. And his consequence is naturally
our consequence. And he proceeds to explain in
verses 13 through 17, Sin brings death. All have sinned, therefore
death spreads to all because all sinned. All humanity sinned when Adam
and Eve sinned. Now listen to this. Here’s Paul’s
explanation for this difficulty. It’s in verse 13. For until the
law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed where there
is no law. That sounds as if a person, if
a person were to sin prior to God giving the law to Moses,
they couldn’t be indicted for it. Sorry, I didn’t know. No law, no punishment, right? That’s the argument. And yet
Paul says that even during this period, this very lengthy period
of more than 2,000 years, during which God’s law had not been
communicated to humanity, yet there was this little problem.
People kept dying. How can that be? Death invaded
the world when sin entered into the world, and that means that
all people, those people who died prior to the giving of the
law, were proof that Adam’s sin had indeed impacted the entire
human race, even though their sin was not against a clear and
direct command like the one Adam disregarded. They were still
dying. Death, as Paul characterizes
it, was still reigning. And at the end of verse 14, Paul
says something really jarring. Would you just glance at it?
He tells us that Adam was a type of him who was to come. He’s
talking about Jesus Christ, the one who was to come, and he means
by this that there is a likeness a similarity between Adam and
Jesus, something similar in form and function. And the bottom
line explanation here is that both Adam and Jesus were men
who represented and greatly influenced, impacted, if you will, the human
race. And in that sense, they’re similar,
but not identical. Paul doesn’t back away from his
statement that Adam was a type of Christ, that they were greatly
similar, but Paul immediately moves not to highlight their
similarities, but their differences. Three distinct differences between
Adam and Christ, three contrasts, The same subject described under
three different particulars. And this is where we want to
focus this morning. We’re looking at the spiritual
impact of Adam and Christ and that contrast. And the first
that we see, the first comparison is the ultimate results that
each of these men bring. Look at verse 15, if you would.
But the free gift is not like the transgression, for if by
the transgression of the one the many died, much more did
the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man,
Jesus Christ, abound to the many. There’s a lot there. But first of all, Adam and Christ
are different in the ultimate results that they impart. And
Paul initiates the difference immediately. Christ imparted
a free gift. If you’re here this morning,
God has a free gift for you. The gift of salvation by means
of his redemption. He’s done it all. Adam, on the
other hand, imparted sin by his transgression and its effects
to all mankind. By the transgression of the one,
many died. That’s Adam’s legacy. That’s
how he impacted humanity by his representation. Christ, however,
imparted something very different. At the latter portion of verse
15, Paul points out that the grace of God and the gift, the
gift of salvation, abounded to the many. Not every person ever
born. But it reached a grand portion
of humanity and the means of imparting such gift was by the
grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. God’s gift of salvation was undeserved
completely. It was completely unmerited.
There’s no way that we could ever earn it. It included the
atonement, Christ’s atonement offered up by his sacrifice on
the cross. It included the redemption that
that sacrifice secured, and it included the righteousness that
it provided through that process of, rather, that declaration
of justification. One man brought transgression
and death. The other brought grace and salvation. Adam and Jesus Christ provided
two very different influences upon humanity. There’s another
difference between Adam and Jesus and we see it in verse 16. We’re considering that there is really,
at the end of the day, there’s no comparison between Adam and
Christ. They are compared and they should
be. And Paul does that. But in looking at the spiritual
impact of Adam and Christ, the first we see are the difference
in the ultimate results. But secondly, in the overall
impact. The overall impact. Look at verse
16. And the gift is not like that
which came through the one who sinned. For on the one hand,
the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation. But
on the other hand, the free gift arose from many transgressions,
resulting in justification. Not only are the ultimate results
of Adam and Christ’s influence different, but so are the general
causes of their impact. It almost goes without saying,
verse 16, that the gift is not like that which came through
the one who sinned. I mean, that is a grand understatement. That point seems to be well established,
but Paul proceeds to point out that Adam’s contribution was
to bring about God’s judgment and condemnation because of Adam’s
one transgression. Christ, on the other hand, imparted
the free gift of redemption, which results in justification. And that while that is a massive
difference, Paul presses the point that in Adam’s case, it
was one transgression that imparted the results, one transgression
that brought about judgment and condemnation, With Christ, however,
it was an infinite measure of transgressions. It was all of
our sin, collectively, that Jesus overcame. God’s grace, operating
through Christ the Redeemer, was more than adequate to conquer
the effects of sin in the world. And so, in this contrast, Paul
is laying out not only that there is a drastic difference in the
ultimate results, but there is also an equally drastic difference
in the general cause of Adam and Christ’s impact on humanity. One brought condemnation, the
other brought justification. There’s a third contrast, and
we find that in verse 17. The spiritual impact of Christ,
contrasted, gives us not only a contrast in the ultimate results,
the curse of death versus the gift of grace, the general impact,
condemnation as opposed to justification, but thirdly, the immediate cause,
transgression versus righteousness. Look at verse 17. For if, By the transgression of the one,
death reigned through the one. Much more, those who receive
the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign
in life through the one, Jesus Christ. As I said, each of these
sentences is so full and complete, we could get lost easily. Let’s
try and keep it simple. The third contrasting element
here in verse 17 is that these two personages, Adam and Jesus,
greatly impacted humanity, but in very different ways. And Paul
places the responsibility for each of these outcomes on their
respective influence. Adam is fully responsible. Christ
is fully responsible. First, Adam. Of Adam, he says
that by the transgression of the one, one man, death reigned. And he says that Paul has only
just spoken in verse 16 of the general cause of either condemnation
or justification, though Adam is only mentioned by name once
in this entire chapter. We know that Paul has him in
mind. He’s the one man through whom sin entered the world, verse
12. Adam is the one by whose transgression
the many died. Death spread to all men, verse
15. And he is the one who sinned, incurring judgment from God and
condemnation at the end of verse 16. So also here, even though
he doesn’t mention Adam by name, When Paul says that by the transgression
of the one, death reigned through the one. Transgression and death
were Adam’s responsibility. And predictably, by now, grace
and the gift of righteousness, which leads to life, comes exclusively
through the one, Jesus Christ. Paul says that Jesus Christ imparted the abundance
of grace to humanity. What a beautiful sentiment. The
word that Paul uses indicates not only was this grace, which
is unmerited favor, God’s gift to us completely undeserved,
but that it was beyond adequate. It was excessively adequate. It was overflowing. There was
an abundance to it. We know this of God’s grace.
Paul will refer to it in verse 20 as abounding grace. Super
abundant. And Paul speaks of it in 2 Corinthians
9.8 when he says that God is able to make all grace abound
to you. God will always give us far more
than we could ever put to use. 2 Corinthians 9.14, he refers
to it as surpassing grace. 2 Corinthians 12.9, he refers
to it as sufficient grace. John 1.16, John refers to it
as grace upon grace. Far more than we could ever utilize. It is that limitless, divine
enablement that Paul is speaking of here. And this grace, Paul
says, attends a very special gift. It’s a gift of righteousness. Righteousness, we saw two weeks
ago, is what humanity lacks most, what humanity needs most of all. It’s the righteousness of God. Paul says here that it comes
as a free gift by means of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul makes
clear the significance of this righteousness. It isn’t an end
in itself. It’s not like we would ever say,
okay, I’m righteous now. It isn’t an end in itself. Rather,
this righteousness is the very means of access to everlasting
life. The one who receives the gift
of righteousness will reign in life, Paul says. Not this life
only, but eternal life. And all of this, this abundance
of grace, this gift of righteousness, this reigning in life, comes
through and only through the one, Jesus Christ. That’s what Paul says. And remember
that fascinating statement in verse 12. where Paul broke off
in mid-sentence in order to issue this lengthy parenthetical explanation,
verses 13 through 17. Well, here in verse 18, Paul
picks back up and he finishes his thought now in verse 18 and
19. If you would glance there again,
As we consider the spiritual impact of Adam and Christ, Paul
issues a series of contrasts, the ultimate results, the general
cause, general impact rather, the immediate cause. But here
in verses 18 through 19, he just gives us a gentle summary of
the entire thing. A summary of the whole context.
Transgression and condemnation. Righteousness and justification. Look, if you would, at verse
18. So then, through one transgression there resulted in condemnation
to all men, even so through one act of righteousness. that resulted
in justification of life to all men. For as through the one man’s
disobedience, the many were made sinners, even so through the
obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous. There
in verse 12, Paul said that, justice through one man, sin
entered into the world and death through sin. It’s that phrase,
just as, that had us kind of sitting on the edge of our seat,
right? Waiting for Paul to finish. And he does so here in verse
18. But to do so, he reiterates that statement of verse 12. So
then, verse 18, as through one transgression there resulted
in condemnation to all men. That’s a reiteration of verse
12. Paul employs slightly different
terminology here, but the thought is the same. Adam’s sin brought
the curse of death, and he brought it upon all humanity. One transgression,
condemnation to all men. The one transgression of which
he speaks is the mournful refrain throughout this whole section.
Look at verse 12. Through one man sin entered into
the world. Verse 15, the transgression of
the one, Adam. Verse 16, the one who sinned. One transgression, Adam. Verse
17, transgression of the one. So here he says, just as through
one man, transgression and death. Paul reiterates here a dismal
feature of this truth, that it affects all men, all people.
What a dreadful statement that is. The origin and effect of
sin upon humanity in verse 19 provides the emphasis or really
the support of Paul’s statement there in verse 18. Glancet verse
19, for as through the one man’s disobedient, the many were made
sinners. Underscoring what he said there
in verse 12. Once again, through the one man’s
disobedience, Adam’s original sin, as in verse 14, his transgression,
as he says there, as in 15 through 17, his trespass, humanity’s
nature was now changed, inherently sinful. We were made sinners. now under the influence and the
condemnation of sin. But Paul continues with the other
half of that statement. Even so, finally, there’s relief
there at these words. Here at long last, even so, the
good news to balance out the bad. One act of righteousness
which resulted in justification of life. We already know from
the contrast that Paul establishes there in 13 through 17 that this
portion of Paul’s summary refers to the impact of Jesus Christ
on humanity. And in contrast with the one
transgression, Paul says that Jesus Christ impacts the world
through one act of righteousness. What is that act? Is it some
good deed that Jesus performed, some miracle? Is it his entire
righteous life that Jesus was perfect? Paul gives us a massive clue
to what it is he refers to in verse 19. There, in parallel
with this act of righteousness, he refers to it as obedience. The obedience of the one. Jesus
Christ. Now, the fact that Jesus Christ
is characterized as obedient here ought not alarm us. Jesus
is referred to as God the Father’s servant, his slave, Isaiah 42.1. Jesus Christ came down from heaven
not to do his own will, but the will of him who sent him, his
father.” John 6, verse 38. Jesus Christ came not to serve,
not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom
for many. Mark 10, 45. Jesus Christ humbled
himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death
on a cross, Philippians chapter 2 verse 8. Christ’s obedience
points then to the totality of all that Jesus was and all that
he accomplished as Redeemer. He’s the sinless Savior who atoned
for sinners, thereby securing their salvation. That could not
have happened. That could not have happened
if Christ had not willingly taken on human flesh, born as a little
baby. Had he not lived a sinless life,
it could not have happened. Had he not willingly gone to
the cross for sinners, could not have happened. The one act
was his obedience to his Father as Redeemer. And this Paul concludes
in verse 18 is what enabled Christ to impact the world. Paul says,
even so there resulted in justification of life to all men. And Paul
includes support for that statement in verse 19, even so through
the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.
The parallel thought. As we’ve already observed again
and again from 321 onward, justification means that the
sinner who believes on Jesus for salvation is declared righteous
by God. And just as condemnation means
death, Paul says it here, justification means life, eternal life. These verses, verses 18 and 19,
really add nothing new to the contrast that Paul sets forth
in 13 through 17. We still see here in this passage
the ultimate results of the impact of these two, Adam and Christ.
The death that Adam imparted or the gift of grace that Jesus
brings. We still see the general impact,
condemnation, or justification, and we still see the immediate
cause. Transgression on Adam’s part. Righteousness. Righteous act on the part of
Christ. So that verse 18 functions like
a summary of this entire section. Beautiful as it is. Would you humble yourself before
the Lord Jesus Christ in prayer? Our merciful God, we pause and
we bow before you, and Lord, we humble ourselves in your glorious
presence. It came to us so naturally, this
idea of death. As soon as we were born as young
children, we saw grandparents pass away. In time, we saw friends,
loved ones die. We know that death is very much
a part of life, but Lord, we see that it was not your design. Adam introduced this by sin. Adam impacted our world by his
sin, and he brought on the curse of death. Lord, we know that
that condemnation was just, that God cannot abide with sin. He cannot ignore sin. We know
that you had to punish sin and you did so by the curse there
in the garden. Lord, we thank you for opening
our eyes to the nature and the cause of Adam’s effect on humanity,
that Adam’s sin was our sin. And because of that, death is now ours as well. And
Lord, what a horrible thought that without Christ we face an
eternity of death. Lord, we thank you that you have
provided the Lord Jesus Christ, who brought grace and a gift
to us, the gift of salvation. And that by placing our faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, you declare us to be righteous, you
justify us. Not because of who we are, not
because of any inherent goodness, not because of any deed, purely
by our faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ
and by nothing else. Father, we thank you for this
incredible chapter. We thank you for its depth and
its richness. But Lord, we thank you for the
truth that it imparts. Sinners have hope. Sinners can
be saved. Sinners can live eternally. because of what Jesus Christ
accomplished and our faith in it. Lord, we pray for those of
us who have already come to know this truth. There was a time
where we were oblivious to our sin, but we thank you that in
your goodness and grace, you awakened us and revealed to us
the depth of our putrid sinfulness before you. You brought us to
knees of repentance and we saw the Lord Jesus who had already
paid for our sin. Lord, we thank you for saving
us. Father, if there are any in our
midst and we know just by nature of humanity, There are some that
have professed Christ. There are some that are only
hearing of these things for the first time. We know that there are unbelievers
in our midst, and so we pray that you would so work in their
heart, convict them of their sin, let them know that sin brings
death, and that there’s only one way to avoid not just physical
death, but spiritual death, perpetual death, eternal death. There’s only one way to avoid
that, and that is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and his
righteousness. Lord, we thank you for your work
of grace in our lives. We pray that you would have your
way with every person in the room. We pray these things in
Jesus’ name, amen.