Sermon Tone Analysis

rom 5:18

Justification is by Faith.

This has been Paul’s theses from the outset of Romans.

Rom 1:

What is meant by “faith”?

Faith is substance, faith is evidence, it is rational, not blind, based on solid evidence.

For example, in my life I have substantial evidence that God is good.

That He is my Father and He loves me and gives me only what is good for me.

But there is the not seen and the hope for.

That is there are times in my life when from my our rational perspective I can’t see God’s goodness or I feel like God is indifferent to me.

But in those time faith becomes my substance and evidence.

I know from God’s word and from passed experience that God is and He is good.

So by faith I hold on in hope that soon I will see how He has loved me and is good to me through my struggles.

Because..

Heb 11:

So faith is believing that He is and that He rewards those who seek Him even when I don’t immediately see the reward.

Why am I speaking about faith in Hebrews when we are in Romans?

In this passage, which we have been wrestling with for a few weeks now, we have very deep and important truths about the gospel.

We may struggle to see how these things can be.

Some of these things may rub us the wrong way.

They certainly, are in opposition to our western independent sensibilities.

But this is the Word of God and it is truth whether we can bear in in our rational minds or not.

Just because we can’t comprehend the logic does not mean that it is illogical.

So we work and we dig and we try to understand the depth of this truth, and where our minds and comprehension cease, our faith carries on in hope that one day God will make all known to us.

Review of verses 12-17

Romans 12:

But now pick up Paul’s thought from verse 12 with the “just as” Adam so Christ.

Judgement in Adam Justification in Christ

Rom

One man’s offense brought judgement to all men.

The verdict of the judgement was condemnation and as we have already seen that condemnation was death.

Not just physical death but spiritual death for all mankind

Now this is what doesn’t appeal to our individualistic ideas.

We all have a keen awareness of injustice, none of us like to be blamed for something that we didn’t do.

However, we know that God is just and loves justice, we know that God is good, and God is holy.

So even if our minds can’t grasp the idea of our guilt in Adam we must except by faith that by God’s righteous judgement this is in fact true.

But why is Paul telling us about original sin here?

The reason is so that we can hear and hopefully receive the most blessed and gracious and wonderful thing that anyone could ever hear.

Even so through Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

So in order to prepare our ears to hear this gospel Paul tells us of original sin and draws the parallel between how we are condemned and how we are justified.

If believing that we are all judge and righteously condemned for one man’s sins is difficult, how must more difficult is it to believe that by one Man’s righteous act the free gift of justification has been offered to a sinner like me.

We must believe by faith.

Not believing either one of these will leave you in Adam condemned to death.

Some can’t believe that they are a sinner, others can’t accept that they can be forgiven both remain in Adam.

Made Sinners in Adam Made Righteous in Christ

He follows the same pattern here.

In verse 18 it was one man and all men but here in verse 19 he says one man and many.

This is the primary similarity here that Paul is making between Adam and Christ.

This also links back to our discussion around verse 12

Adam as the head of the human race through one act of disobedience made many sinners.

We became a sinner first in Adam.

Before we ever committed an act of disobedience we were already sinners, made such in Adam when he sinned.

Just as we became sinners without committing any sins through Adam so through Christ and His obedience we are made righteous without doing any righteousness.

Who is the all in verse 18 and the many in verse 19.

By faith we receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness.