I. Introduction

A. Choices, we make them every day. Some are simple. Recently one was going through the drive through at their favorite fried chicken establishment. When they ordered a one leg meal the attendant asked them, “Which side?” Never realizing it mattered they answered, “Left, I guess.” After some silence, and then some laughing the attendant asked, “Mashed potatoes, cole slaw, or beans?”

B. Choices are often much more important than, “What side do you want?” Some affect our finances, families, and our friends. Choices can often change our day and at times may change our lives. In the coming weeks we are going to be looking at individuals and situations from scripture where choices were made or needed to be made and then the challenges we take away from these choices. But, we must realize that some choices affect not only the present, but the future and eternity

C. Today, we will begin by looking at Adam’s choice and the consequences that it carries even for us today. Then, we will be challenged with the remedy to this problem.

II. Adam’s Choice

A. Our study this morning takes us back to the beginning of time as we know it. Back to creation.

1. On the sixth day of the creation week God created man.

a) Genesis 1:26–27 (NKJV) 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

2. At the end of that week of creation God looked back on everything He created, including man, and saw “it was very good.” Genesis 1:31 (NKJV) 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

a) Creation was complete there was no sin, no death. Man was in the garden in complete fellowship with God his creator.

3. In chapter two of Genesis, we see that God placed Adam and Eve in the garden. In doing so he gave them only one restriction.

a) Genesis 2:15–17 (NKJV) 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

b)Adam and Eve had the privilege of direct communication with God. There were no boundaries, nothing inhibiting the relationship between them. They even had the opportunity to walk with God in the garden and fellowship with him.

B. The choice; Genesis 3

1. The tempter, the deceiver, that serpent of old makes his entrance into the garden. Having previously rebelled, he has come to the garden to tempt Adam and Eve.

a) After listening to Satan’s lies about God and his word (vs. 1-5), Eve looked at the tree in a different way. Then she and Adam rebelled against God and ate of the tree.

2. Adam and Eve rebelled. Genesis 3:6 (NKJV) 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

a) Please understand, this is not a mistake. A while back while reading a Bible study they referred to Adam and Eve’s mistake in the context of this passage. A mistake is not putting the lid on the ketchup and spilling it. A mistake is missing a turn and being late for an appointment. If you miss the turn off I-275 to to Tampa airport. You have 10 miles to drive before you can turn around. But we cannot soft-sell sin. We must call sin, “sin”. Adam and Eve rebelled against God!

C. The Immediate consequences of this choice to Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:16-23

1. The woman would have pain in child bearing and she would have conflict with her husband.

a) Genesis 3:16 (NKJV) 16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.”

2. The man would have to work harder to provide food for himself and his family because of the curse on the ground. And his body would die and return to dust.

a) Genesis 3:17–19 (NKJV) 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”

3. They were removed from the garden.

a) Genesis 3:22–24 (NKJV) 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”—23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

III. The Consequence of Adam’s Choice; Romans 5:12-14

A. All Adam’s offspring being sinners is a consequence of Adam’s sin.

1. Romans 5:12–14 (NKJV) 12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—13 (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

2. I Cor. 15:22 “For as in Adam all die” . Every offspring of Adam is a sinner and deserving of death. We are not a sinner because we sin. We sin because we are sinners.

a) Hebrews 7:4 (NKJV) 4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.

b) Hebrews 7:9 (NKJV) 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,

c) Levi who was born two generations after Abraham is said to have paid the tithes to Melchizedek who lives nearly 100 years before him.

d) In the same way, because we were all in the loins of Adam we sinned in Adam. We are all sinners. Because of what we inherited from Adam.

e) “Paul’s argument begins with the assertion that, through Adam, sin entered into the world. He does not speak of sins, plural, but of sin, singular. In this sense, sin does not represent a particular unrighteous act but rather the inherent propensity to unrighteousness. It was not the many other sinful acts that Adam eventually committed, but the indwelling sin nature that he came to possess because of his first disobedience, that he passed on to his posterity. Just as Adam bequeathed his physical nature to his posterity, he also bequeathed to them his spiritual nature, which henceforth was characterized and dominated by sin.”[1]

B. All Adam’s offspring facing death is a consequence of his sin.

1. Adam had been warned that death was a consequence if he chose to rebel. (Gen. 2:17) And though Satan denied the truth of God’s Word to Adam, Adam would face death.

a) Death was the consequence of sin even before sin took place. Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death…

2. Death comes to man in multiple ways.

a) Spiritual death is the first – It is separation from God Ephesians 2:1–2 (NKJV) 1 And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

(1) Ephesians 4:18 (NKJV) 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;

b)Physical death – separation from other man or other human beings.

c) The third is Eternal Death – this is everlasting punishment in the lake of fire - Revelation 21:8 (NKJV) 8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

d) It has been said, “The unbeliever has reason to fear all three deaths. Spiritual death prevents his earthly happiness; physical death will bring an end to opportunity for salvation; and eternal death will bring everlasting punishment. But no kind of death should be feared by believers. They are saved permanently by Christ from spiritual and eternal death, and their physical death (or rapture) will usher them into His divine presence. For believers Christ has removed the fear of death (Heb. 2:14, 15).”[2]

3. Death comes to all men because all sinned vs. 12c

a) No one can escape death in and of themselves. We are all born spiritually dead.

b)We will all face physical death provided that the LORD Jesus Christ tarries in his coming.

c) We are all condemned to eternal death in the lake of fire.

IV. The Remedy to Adam’s Choice

A. Read Romans 5:14-21

1. Through Adam’s choice death reigned on all men.

2. Likewise, Jesus Christ came and made a choice to die on the cross that man might have life. 1 Corinthians 15:22 (NKJV) 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

B. Paul is using a literary device using the terms “all” and “many” to communicate and bring together this illustration.

1. All in referring to Adam is all. All referring to Christ is many.

a) Some would try to use this passage to teach a universal salvation. Paul is not teaching that here. That would conflict with too many other passages. He is using this literary device to get our attention.

2. “Many” referring to Adam is “all”. “Many” referring to Christ is “many”.

C. All in Adam are condemned!

1. Every man is born in Adam and sinner and condemned to death. There is no one who can escape sin and sinning and no one escapes death.

D. All in Christ are justified.

1. Romans 5:1 (NKJV) 1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

a) Christ work on the cross made justification by faith available to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ.

b)Romans 5:17 (NKJV) 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

(1) This gift is received through faith. Do you believe that Jesus lived a sinless life, that He died on the cross taking upon himself your sin and that He rose victorious as Lord ?

E. Through Adam judgment and condemnation for all. Through Jesus Christ a gift that results in justification of life. Vs. 18

F. Through Adam many (that is all) were made sinners, through Christ many (that is those who believe) are made righteous. Vs. 19

1. Romans 5:20–21 (NKJV) 20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

V. Application

A. We are hurting ourselves if we take the time to listen to the teaching of God’s Word and strive to understand the meaning and then simply walk away without applying it in our lives.

B. In Adam we all sinned. This makes us all guilty.

1. We stand condemned in our sin ready to face the righteous judgment of God.

2. We stand spiritually dead, awaiting physical and eternal death.

C. We are given the opportunity today to put our faith in Jesus Christ.

1. Putting your faith in Jesus Christ allows you to be free from Spiritual and eternal death.

2. It makes us justified , reconciled, no longer enemies of God , free from condemnation and judgment of God’s wrath.

a) Romans 5:9–11 (NKJV) 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when 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. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

3. Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ? Will you put your faith in Jesus Christ?

a) Acknowledge your sin before God.

b)Confess your faith in Jesus Christ trusting only in Him for salvation.

c) If you are under conviction, I don’t have to give you the words to say. Speak from your heart directly to God.

d) If you have prayed putting your faith in Christ, trusting in him for salvation, let us know. We would love to celebrate with you. And help you grow in this new found faith. If you are not sure you understand. Speak to me or someone you came with let them explain the gospel of Jesus Christ more fully to you but do not delay in making a decision for Christ .

e) Proverbs 27:1 (NKJV) 1 Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth.

4. Those who have put your faith in Christ, Rejoice! Be bold, and share your faith with others!