Did you take the time this year to return the envelope with Ed McMahon’s head on it? If you’re like me you did. I returned it not so much because I was confident that I would win, but thinking that if I didn’t return it that would be the time that my number would be drawn and because my entry was in the trash they couldn’t award me the $11 million. I’m willing to bet that many of you of us pick up that envelope from Publisher’s Clearing House and place all the stickers in their appropriate places and place the entrance certificate into the return envelope and stick it in the mail – just in case. Just in case the winning number is your number.
Have you ever dreamed what it would be like if you would be the winner of that prize? How would you react when the prize patrol came knocking on your door to award that check to you? Would you scream at the top of your voice, “I can’t believe it” over and over again? Maybe you would faint at the announcement of being a millionaire. Would you grab the members of that prize patrol and frantically give them hugs as you dash out the door to tell all of your neighbors that you had won? I’m guessing that most of us would do some rejoicing in the abundance of wealth that would now be ours, right?
I’ve got great news for you this morning. We have an even greater abundance of wealth, an overflowing abundance of wealth to rejoice in this morning. We can Rejoice in the Overflowing Abundance of God’s grace. We rejoice all the more in this overflowing abundance as we consider our natural condition. Our rejoicing increases as we consider Christ’s gift to us.
In order to begin to appreciate how great the grace of God is we need to do a self-evaluation. We need to examine who we are and where we stand in relationship to God. The Apostle Paul reminds us of an important truth in the text for this morning. Each one of us by nature is God’s archenemy. We are in cahoots with the devil himself. We are his slave. Our lives are ones that are filled with the filth of sin. That sin is first and foremost the sin of Adam that he committed in the garden of Eden. We are guilty of Adam’s sin of defying God’s direct command and eating the apple from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We are just as guilty of that sin as Adam was because he is our father – and that sin has been passed onto us, his children. Hard to believe isn’t it? Almost preposterous to think that we could be held responsible for something someone else did! But it’s true. This is the case.
That’s not all we’re guilty of either. The result of our inherited sin is that we commit sins of our own. Paul points our attention back to the time after Adam’s fall into sin. From that time on until Moses received the Law on Mount Sinai Adam’s descendants weren’t given any direct commands from God. Even though the written Law hadn’t been given sin was still in the world. All of Adam’s descendants had the sin of their father passed down to them. Then on top of that they went and committed sins on their own. Even though God’s Law wasn’t there to lay their sins bare before all they were still sinning against God’s law which had been imprinted on their hearts, what we call a conscience. They made matters worse for themselves. It is true that they didn’t sin in the same way Adam did, that is they didn’t defy a direct command from God. But they did sin. They would be held accountable not just for the sin they inherited, but also for the sins they were actually committing.
Paul’s point is that it’s not God’s Law that has created sin. Sin is something that lives inside each one of us by birth. That’s why he points our attention back to the time before the written Law was given. It’s that sin which they inherited from their parents which shows itself in the sinful things that they did. That sin was every bit as bad as their inherited sin.
It wasn’t just the people from Adam until Moses who had this problem. All human beings have this problem. Each and every one of us has been born of sinful people tracing the root of our sin back to our first Father Adam. Not only do we inherit Adam’s sin, but we commit plenty of sins on our own on a daily basis. We too compound the problem. Our sins are made known to us not only by our consciences but also by God’s Law found in the Bible. Our wretched sinful nature wants to sin all the more when it sees God’s Law. That is the human condition.
What are the consequences that this sin holds for our lives? What results can we expect because we too are guilty of both of these kinds of sins? The first is that by nature we are just as disobedient as Adam was. When God looks at us even as tiny little babies he sees us people who treat his commands with contempt. He sees us as people who defy his will and rebel against his wishes. Adam’s disobedience is our disobedience.
Adam’s disobedience has brought death and suffering to God’s perfect creation. Adam’s disobedience has caused creation to slowly crumble. Our lawlessness continues to compound the problem. No longer will things last forever. Things grow old, they get weaker and more frail, until eventually they die. The same is true not just of plants, trees, and animals, but also for us. We weren’t created to see death. We were created to live forever. The consequences of sin are that death is a part of our lives. It’s the one thing that none of us can avoid unless the final judgment should come first. Whether we consciously think about it or not the truth is that we all will die.
Both Adam’s sin and the sins we commit everyday bring a sentence of judgment and condemnation on all of us. We deserve God’s righteous punishment. We deserve to be cast away from his presence. We deserve to suffer the wrath that this disobedience has reserved for us. We deserve to be punished alongside our master the devil forever.
Not a pretty picture is it? It isn’t pretty but it’s accurate. It’s a good reminder for all of us. Sometimes as Christians we might have a tendency to look down on others because of their heinous crimes or immoral lifestyle. We look down on them because they can’t live “righteous” and “upright” lives like we do. What kind of terrible person could do such things? Isn’t it easy to think that there can be no hope for the serial killer, or the child rapist, or the murderer? It’s easy to think that the man who sits on death row is worse than we are, isn’t it? Sometimes don’t we look with disdain on those who rob banks and embezzle millions of dollars? These crimes are heinous. The sinful nature is an ugly beast. But isn’t it also true that we all struggle with the same sinful nature? As we stand before God whether we’re an ax murderer, a pick-pocket, or a pastor don’t we all deserve the same sentence by nature? As we consider our natural condition it should strike us that we really are no better than anyone else in God’s eyes. We all have the same problem. We all deserve the same sentence.
Despite the awful picture of our natural condition we have reason to rejoice as we consider Christ’s gift. This gift is evidence of the overflowing abundance of God’s grace.
Christ’s gift was his perfect life that he sacrificed on the cross – in our place. Christ’s gift is just that, a gift – not something that we have earned, but something that he gives us out of his love for us. Christ’s gift is the best gift we could ever ask for because it has some wonderful benefits.
As a result of Christ’s gift to us we are assured that the price for all of our sins has been paid. In fact the price for all sin, not just ours, has been paid, even the sins of the serial killer, or the rapist, or the robber, or the embezzler. That’s the way it has to be. If Christ didn’t pay for all sin we could never be sure that he paid for our sin. Thanks be to God that the price for sin has been paid – in full.
Because of his payment and because of his obedience, his righteousness, holiness, and perfection, we have been declared righteous before God. His righteousness is given to us. That is the wonderful truth about Christ’s gift. Did you feel like it was unfair that the guilt of Adam’s sin is charged against you? If you felt that was unfair then it must really trouble you that you have been declared righteous because of Christ’s righteousness which is credited to your account! It is incredibly unfair! It is wonderfully unfair! Because of his obedience, God sees us as he sees Christ – holy and righteous people.
Since Christ’s righteousness covers our sin we are guaranteed entrance into heaven. As Paul tells us in the text, “But the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.” Through Christ we have been justified – we have been declared not guilty of all of our sins. God the righteous judge has acquitted each one of us.
That “not guilty” verdict brings us life in abundance. Our inheritance in heaven is guaranteed where we live in abundance for eternity. We don’t have to wait to get to heaven to start living life in abundance. We can do that right now while we are here on this earth. How is that possible if we don’t have our retirement fully funded, the kids’ college expenses paid for, and all the toys and gadgets available to us? The world says that without these things you can’t, and you won’t enjoy life to its fullest. If you haven’t achieved financial freedom, if you don’t have the finest clothes, if you haven’t eliminated all your worries, and if you haven’t acquired all that this world has to offer than you aren’t living life in abundance.
God has a different idea about what true abundance is. He has given true abundance to each one of us. Isn’t our true abundance seen in God’s love for us displayed on the cross? Our real abundance is God’s love for us. The maker of this universe is our gracious father. He watches over us and protects us. Our fears have been comforted and removed. Our eternal fears are removed by the promise our God has given us of spending eternity with him in heaven. Our earthly fears are comforted because our Creator has promised us that he will be with us always. That kind of love has set us free from the power of guilt and fear. That kind of love has set us free to live our lives filled with joy and appreciation for our God. That kind of love allows us to truly enjoy the life with which our God has blessed us. That kind of love has been given to us as a free gift.
This gift has been offered to all of us. How does this gift become our own? God in his mercy has given it to us through faith. In his love God has not destroyed us for our sin. In his love he has given all of us a time of grace. A time that we can come to know him and love him. We’ve come to know him through his Word. Through that Word the Spirit has called us to faith. By means of the Word the Spirit has enabled us to put our trust, our hope, and our confidence in our Savior.
That message has had an effect on our lives. How can’t it? Your entire mode of operation, your outlook on life has been changed. That saving message changes the way we think, speak, and act. We are no longer motivated by fear of punishment or attempting to live up to a perfect standard. That standard has been met. Now our greatest challenge is to see how many ways we can show our Savior just how much we appreciate what he has done for us. Now our greatest challenge is to let his love shine in our lives. His love motivates us to live righteous and upright lives because we are his representatives. As Christians it’s not that we’re better than other people – we’re just forgiven. What a wonderful truth that is – what a wonderful truth we have to share with others!
Our hope, our confidence, and our rejoicing are based on Christ alone. As we consider what we deserve we realize that we need God’s grace in overflowing abundance. As we consider the gift that Christ has offered to us and made our own through faith we see just how overflowing the abundance of God’s grace really is. We can rejoice every day of our lives because the overflowing abundance of God’s grace is ours. That grace is ours to share as well. The well of God’s grace will never dry up, there is plenty to go around. So why not share this life-giving message with someone who doesn’t yet know about their Savior? Give them a reason to rejoice that God’s grace is poured out in overflowing abundance in their lives as well. Amen.
