Title: Fatal Infection
Text: Romans 5:12-21
Introduction
1. A woman took her husband to the doctor’s office.
After his checkup, the doctor said, "Your husband is suffering from a very serious infection."
The husband, who was hard of hearing said, "What did he say?"
His wife said, "He says your sick".
The doctor went on. "But there is hope.
You just need to reduce his stress.
Each morning, give him a healthy breakfast.
Be pleasant, nice, and kind.
For lunch and dinner make him his favorite meal.
Don’t discuss your problems with him,
it will only make his stress worse.
Don’t yell at him or argue with him.
And most importantly...just cater to your husband’s every whim.
If you can do this for your husband for the next 6 months to a year,
I think your husband will have a complete recovery."
The husband said, "What did he say?"
His wife said, "He says, You’re going to die".
Well, I guess some infections are worse than others!!
2. I remember learning about Adam and Eve from my earliest days in Sunday.
One thing that always bothered me was that they blew it for the rest of us.
I remember thinking that if only they hadn’t sinned...
we wouldn’t have to worry about mosquitoes
or wasps
or other insects that make such a nuisance of themselves.
I suppose if I had lived in Florida as a child,
I would have dreamed of a world without Love Bugs
or Fire Ants
Of course, as a young child, I was unable to appreciate the biggest result...
every since our first parents...Adam & Eve...sinned,
when they chose to do what THEY wanted...
instead of what GOD wanted...
when they disobeyed God.
it has resulted in Sin being passed down to all their future children.
We have received an inheritance from our first parents...and its not a bunch of money.
It is Sin
I was born in sin.
And so were you.
And Now, because of Adam and Eve,
instead of desiring to serve God...
we are born and grow...
desiring to do what WE want (just like Adam & Eve)
and left unchecked...
This is an infection that is fatal.
Read Text: Romans 5:12-21
When you go to the Doctor and he tells you your diagnosis, you are certain to have many questions for him...
Is it serious?
what is the treatment?
If the diagnosis was very serious, you might has, "Doctor, how much longer can I expect to live?"
And now that I have told you that you have a fatal infection...
you might have some questions for Doctor.
We will look to the Great Physician to answer our questions this morning.
Body
1. Who is infected?
We are all infected with the disease called Sin.
we get this infection simply by being born.
I don’t know if Scientists will ever find a gene in our genetic make up that is the "Sin" gene;
but just like your hair color and eye color are inherited...
you also inherit Sin.
And this Sin (singular big S) is what causes us to commit sins (small s)
I tell my membership class that Sin (big S) is that Sin we are born with...
because of what Adam and Eve did
sins (plural small s) are the sins we commit.
because of what we do.
And the bad news is that you can do absolutely nothing to help yourself.
You can’t take peniccilin or Zithromax to get rid of this infection.
You can’t try to live a holy life on your own.
You can’t go to a surgeon and have him cut out the infection.
Our Text says, "Consequently, ...the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men Romans 5:18
2. If God is omniscient, and He knows all things.
He would know about the fall of Satan
He would know that Adam and Eve would fall into sin.
and as a result...all mankind that follows will be born with this infection.
If God really knows all this...why would He create Adam and Eve to begin with?
Let me answer this question with another question.
Those of you who have children...
When you had children...
did you think that they would be perfect?
Or did you realize that there would be times that they would disappoint you?
Did you realize that your children (from time to time)
would bring tears into your life?
Did you realize that they would bring you pain?
Did you realize that they would hurt you?
That they would disobey you?
If you realize all these things...why in the world would you have children?
My guess is...you would hope that the good times would outweigh the bad....
You would hope that the joy would be greater than the pain...
The obedience would be greater than the disobedience.
When my children were born...
and I held them in my arms for the first time...
I remember that overwhelming sense of love....
that sense that I would be willing to do ANYTHING for my children.
I knew that no matter what...I would always love my children.
I knew I would try to spend time with them
I would try to be the absolute best father ever.
As I recall how I felt at the birth of my children...
I wonder how God felt when He created Adam and Eve?
I wonder what hopes and dreams He had for His children?
I wonder what His plans were for His children?
I wonder what promises He made to His children?
I wonder if He was committed, even then, to spending time with His children.
That He would promise to be the best Father ever.
I wonder, as He looked at His Children for the first time, if He was thinking, even then...
that He would be willing to do anything...
no matter how great the sacrifice...
because of His great love for His children!
God knew...just like you know...
our love for our children makes it all worth while.
3. Another important question that we have to ask...
is there a cure for this fatal infection?
Or are we doomed to die?
I’m here to tell you this morning...
you don’t have to die...
there is a cure!
There is a remedy!
Romans 5:17 says, "For if, by the trespass of the one man
Yes, there is a disease called Sin.
Yes, it is fatal
Yes, if this infection is left unchecked...untreated...
it is a terminal illness
But there is hope!
And that hope is found in Jesus Christ!
God can cleanse us from Sin.
He can change us from within!
He can heal us from the infection!
He restores us into a great relationship with Him.
We are forgiven
4. The last question I’d like for us to talk about is, if God’s plan for us is to live a holy life, free from the power of sin...does that make us some kind of "super Christian"?
Sometimes, when we start to talk about "heart purity"...like we did Wednesday Night...
Or we start talking about holiness...
or sanctification...
or being cleansed from our sin...
People start to get nervous.
And they start to look for the exits.
Holiness isn’t some abstract concept...
It isn’t some doctrine to be dissected in lab class...
Holiness is simply a way of living made possible through an
intimate
and personal
relationship with God.
So when we start talking about holiness...
we aren’t talking about something that makes us holier than our friends...
it isn’t something that makes us a "super Christian"...
It doesn’t change us into some little "Christian robot" incapable of doing anything wrong.
We don’t possess holiness under our own power.
Frank Moore, in his book "Breaking Free from Sin’s Grip" says,
"Ours is a reflected holiness, much like moonlight.
The moon has no light source at its core.
It shines with light only as it remains connected to the sun.
No sunlight...no moonlight."
It is only as long as we are connected to the Father...
that the light of His holiness is reflected onto us...
That’s why we constantly talk about a RELATIONSHIP with God.
If we have any hope of living a holy life....
if we have any hope of breaking free from the power of sin...
it is in living in close proximity to the Father.
As the saying goes...."like Father...like children"
Conclusion
When Adam and Eve sinned...it was like a virus that spread.
And it caused a fatal infection
There was an article in an Oregon Newspaper.
Evidently there is an entire national forest in Oregon that has been infected by a
fungus
This fungus started as a single microscopic spore,
but it’s been working its way through this forest for about 2,400 years,
killing tress as it grows.
Today this fungus has infected 2,200 acres of this national forest.
Essentially the fungus is a gigantic mushroom you can’t see from the ground,
but it has killed hundreds of thousands of tress,
all from a single spore.
That’s similar to how Adam’s sin opened the door
and the infection has spread like a fungus through the entire human race.
We are all infected.
But there is hope...
there is a cure.
And that cure is found in Jesus Christ.
If there was a person in the hospital who was deathly sick from an infection...
but then the Doctor came in to her hospital room and told her that a simple treatment would cure her
but then she says, "I’m not interested.
I realize that this treatment would save my life...
but I’m not worth it."
Or she might say, "I’ve never turned to a Doctor for help before...
I’m not going to start now."
Or she might say, "No thank you...I don’t like needles."
Or she might say, "No, I think I am going to wait for a better time".
Or she might say, "No, I think I am going to try to cure myself first...then I’ll come to see you"
We would be pretty amazed at that.
we would probably do our best to talk some sense into her
to encourage her to take the life-giving injection.
But the same thing happens in church nearly every week.
We open the altar...just like we will in just a few moments...
And people know they are lost.
They know they have the fatal infection.
And they know that Jesus is the answer.
But they say things like:
"I’m just not ready"
I’ll wait for a better time
I don’t like to go to the altar...
I might be embarassed."
I’m going to try to clean my life up first...then I’ll come to the altar and pray.
This morning, the altar is open.
There is a cure for your disease.
You don’t have to carry that burden any more.
You can receive that abundant provision of God’s grace.
This sermon was inspired by the book "Breaking Free from Sin’s Grip" by Frank Moore
