SERMON: THE GREAT INFECTION

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
11 June 2006

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Romans 5

12. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
13. for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
14. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
16. Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
17. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
19. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
21. so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

-- have you ever thought much about sin? -- you know we use this word in the church a lot -- we sing about it and we talk about it and we worry about it -- we know that it is the one thing that we all share -- the Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
-- we know that sin is what separates us from God -- it is our sin that condemns us to hell -- and it is our sin that caused Jesus to come and die on the cross in our place
-- but have you ever really stopped to think about what sin is? -- did you know that the Bible makes a distinction between the words "sin" and "sins" in various places? -- that there is a difference between the two?
-- the word "sin" is the Greek word "harmatia" -- it is an archery term that literally means, "missing the mark" -- it means that we missed following God's command -- we missed God's plan for our life -- and we went off and disobeyed Him -- we sinned
-- but in the Book of Romans, Paul makes a distinction between "sins" and "sin" -- he uses the plural word "sins" to refer to all of our acts of disobedience -- all the things we have done wrong
-- but he uses the singular form of the word "sin" to refer to something else -- our sin nature -- our "old man" -- this internal nature that lives inside of us and that causes us to disobey God -- it is this sin nature inside of us that we refer to as original sin

II. Original Sin
-- the doctrine of original sin is one of the foundational doctrines of our church -- this doctrine teaches that when Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world and, as a result, all of us are born with this sin nature inside of us that causes us to sin
-- it all goes back to Genesis 2:16-17 when God told Adam that he could eat from any tree in the garden, but that he must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because if he ate of it, he would die
-- and here in this passage in Romans, Paul tells us that that is exactly what happened -- throughout this passage, we read that death and sin came because of the trespass of one man -- look back at verse 12

12. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned

-- because of Adam's disobedience, sin and death -- both physical and spiritual death -- came into the world
-- Paul tells us the same thing in verse 15 -- "if the many died by the trespass of the one man" -- verse 16 -- "the result of the one's man sin -- the judgement followed one sin and brought condemnation" -- verse 17 -- by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man" -- and verses 18-19

18. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
19. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

-- when Eve took a bite out of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and gave it to Adam -- somehow, sin and death came into the world and became a part of them -- and became a part of who we are
-- because of their disobedience and their trespass, we all became sinners -- we are all born sinners -- that is the doctrine of original sin
-- now this concept always caused me a problem -- you see, one of the principles that we learned in biology was that physical changes to the body were not inherited -- only genetic changes were inherited
-- there was a biologist many years ago named Heckel who proposed a theory called "hopeful monsters" -- in this theory, he said that the way the different animals came about was that a physical change happened to them and that that change was inherited by their offspring
-- for instance, the evolutionists tell us that whales came from animals who used to live on land and have legs -- Heckel would say that something happened to one of these animals who lived on land -- their legs were injured or were cut off -- and then those physical changes were inherited by their offspring -- so, if an animal or person had an accident and lost a leg, then their babies were born missing a leg -- according to this theory, over time, whales evolved because of these inherited physical changes
-- but, this theory of Heckel's was quickly discounted -- we all know that if a person has an accident -- if you lose a limb or have some other physical problem -- then that physical change is not passed on to our children -- physical changes do not affect our offspring
-- so this left me confused about original sin -- how did the physical act of disobedience by Adam and Eve -- how did eating the apple in the Garden of Eden -- cause sin to be inherited by all people?
-- this bothered me for years and years -- for the life of me, I couldn't figure out how Adam eating from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil caused me to be born a sinner -- how could a physical act done by Adam be transferred to me?
-- the only way for this to work would be if the original sin actually changed Adam and Eve's DNA -- changed their genes -- and then those damaged genes were inherited by all of us -- but, still, that would mean a physical act caused genetic change -- and that had been proven wrong by scientists years ago
-- so how else could this sin nature be inherited by us, Adam and Eve's children?
-- well, as time went on and as I learned more about biology, I learned a curious fact -- our parents can pass on more than their genetic material -- their DNA -- to us
-- it turns out that some diseases -- especially some viruses -- can be passed on to us from our parents -- for instance, we know now that the AIDS virus can be transmitted from infected mothers to their children -- there are many babies born every single day infected with AIDS -- who got the disease because their mother had it
-- we see the same thing with rabies -- rabies can be transmitted from an infected mother to her offspring -- this just happened recently with a litter of kittens in Maryland -- they were not bitten by a rabid animal, but they were all infected with rabies because their mother was infected
-- and this, I think, holds the key to understanding how we have inherited our sin nature from Adam and Eve -- this explains how sin and death came into the world through them and lives on in us

-- when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the fruit, sin came into their bodies like a virus -- it infected them with its poison -- and it was passed on from them to their children and then to their grandchildren and their great grandchildren until it finally passed on to us
-- it was through their infected blood that sin and death entered the world and entered each of us
-- God tells us in Leviticus 17:11 that the life of a creature is in its blood -- and, I think it follows, that the death of a creature is in its blood as well -- we are all sinners because we have within our veins the infected blood of Adam
-- Ted Dekker picked up this theme in his Christian fiction trilogy -- Black, Red, and White -- in these books, the entire world becomes infected with an airborne virus -- everyone on earth is destined to die because a virus has entered the world through the actions of one man -- this is exactly what happened in the Garden of Eden
-- everyone on earth is destined to die because of the actions of one man brought the sin virus into the world -- we are all sinners because we have inherited this great infection -- this sin nature -- from Adam
-- we are sinners -- not because of what we do -- but because of who we are -- as Watchman Nee wrote, "the trouble is in our heredity and not our behavior"

III. The Origins of a Sinner
-- this is a Christian concept that always gave me pause -- how can someone say that a precious little baby who has just been born is a sinner? -- that little baby has done nothing wrong -- they haven't disobeyed God -- they haven't sinned -- they haven't gone out and broken any of the ten commandments
-- the answer lies in the great infection that we just talked about -- you are not a sinner because you sin -- you are a sinner because you are born with this infection in your blood -- you are a sinner because you have inherited this sin nature as a virus from your parents
-- its just like a baby born with AIDS -- that baby has done nothing wrong -- it hasn't had unprotected sex -- it hasn't shared needles when it did drugs -- it was just born infected with a virus because its parents were infected before it
-- Paul tells us here in this passage that sin and death entered the world -- it entered all of us and infected all of us -- because of one man's trespass -- because of Adam's disobedience, we are born infected with a sin nature that causes us to want to sin -- that causes us to want to do things that God does not want us to do

-- now this is an important concept to grasp -- you are a sinner because of who you are -- not because of what you do -- you are a sinner because you are a child of Adam -- you trace your heritage back to him -- and, as a result, you are infected with this great infection -- with this sin nature inside of you

-- this explains Romans 3:23 where Paul writes that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God -- this explains how that little baby who just took its first breath is a sinner -- this explains how that good ole boy you know -- the one who really doesn't do much wrong and tries to live a good moral life -- is still a sinner
-- it's not about what you do -- it's about who you are -- and you are a sinner because you are infected with sin

-- think about an alcoholic -- based on scientific studies, it appears that alcoholics are born that way -- they are not alcoholics because they drink and can't quit -- they are alcoholics because that is who they are -- it is part of their nature -- I am sure today that there are many alcoholics walking around who have never taken a drink in their life -- but if they ever do, then their disease kicks in and turns them into someone who drinks to excess most of the time
-- it's not about what you do -- it's about who you are

-- that's why you can't get to heaven on your own -- that's why you can't work your way to heaven -- that's why you can't be good enough to earn your way to heaven -- even if you never go out and disobey one of God's commandments, you are a sinner because you are born in sin -- as David wrote in Psalm 51:5, "I was sinful at birth -- sinful from the time my mother conceived me"
-- we have a disease -- this sin nature in our hearts -- and it is this sin nature that is keeping us from heaven

IV. The Answer to Sin
-- so, what can we do about it? -- what is the answer to this raging infection in our souls? -- this sin nature that has become such a part of us that we are born sinners?
-- well, what would you do if you were sick and infected with a virus? -- you'd go to a doctor and get a shot -- you'd go get an antivirus -- something that would kill the virus within you and make you clean again

-- and that's exactly what we have to do with this sin infection in our life -- we have to receive an antivirus and make ourselves clean and whole again
-- we call this antivirus "grace" and it comes about through the blood of Jesus -- the blood of Jesus is our antivirus -- it is the only thing that can remove our sin -- our sin nature -- our great infection -- and offer forgiveness of our sins
-- in other words, this antivirus -- the blood of Christ -- not only forgives us of all of our wrongdoings -- of all of our disobedience -- but it also overcomes and destroys our sin nature -- that inherent part of us that causes us to be born sinners and give in to temptation
-- look at verse 15

15. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
16. Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
17. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

-- Paul tells us here that God is offering us the gift of righteousness and life through Jesus Christ -- now that's an important thought
-- God's offer is not like the trespass of Adam -- when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden and was infected with this sin nature, we all became infected, whether we wanted to or not -- we had no choice -- it became part of who we were -- and, as a result, we were born sinners
-- but the blood of Christ that washes away our sins is a gift -- it is something that we have to accept -- it is something that we have to choose in order to receive it
-- if I am sick and go to the doctor and he offers me a shot with an antivirus in it and I say, "No thanks," then I don't get the healing and protection that that shot offers -- the only way for me to get healed is to accept his offer and receive the shot
-- in the same way, if God offers us an antivirus through the blood of Jesus, the only way to be healed is to receive the treatment -- to accept God's gift and to be covered with the blood of Christ
-- there is nothing else we can do -- there is nothing else we can take -- home remedies won't work -- being extra good won't work -- living a perfect and moral life from now on won't work -- the only thing that will work to remove this infection from our lives is to receive this free gift of grace from God -- to accept the death of Jesus on the cross on our behalf

V. Closing
-- Paul tells us here that God's gift is all sufficient and that it can lead all of us from death into life
-- God's grace is greater than all our sins -- through the obedience of Christ -- through His sinless, perfect life, God's grace has overflowed to all of us and made it possible for all of us to be made righteous and clean and whole
-- Maybe you've never received Jesus as your Lord and Savior -- maybe you're still sitting there in your sins -- with your great infection -- with your sin nature intact -- the good news for you this morning is that there is healing in the blood of Jesus -- all you have to do is come to Him in faith -- confess and repent of your sins -- and ask Him to forgive your sins and come into your life as your Lord and Savior -- and you will be healed
-- maybe you have accepted cleansing from God, but you've found yourself falling back lately -- giving in to sin more and more -- there's also such a thing as booster shots -- and maybe that's what you need this morning -- to rededicate your life to God -- to ask Jesus to cleanse you from your sins and to claim the promise of 1 John 1:9, "If you confess your sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness"
-- whatever your need is today, the altar is open for all who wish to respond to God's word
-- let us pray