The bottom line of this verse is that there’s bad news and good news for us. Let me ask. Which would you like first? The bad news? Or, the good news? Of course if you’re looking at your Sermon Notes you’ll realize it doesn’t really matter. We’re going to look at the bad news first. It just seems to work that way.

First, THE BAD NEWS - Paul writes, through the “transgression of the one” - the one meaning Adam - through the sin of Adam - we live in sin and death reigns over us. Say that with me, “We live in sin and death reigns over us.”

The account of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is familiar to us. Man was created to enjoy an intimate relationship with God - an abundant life of opportunity - a deep communion with others - and the freedom to glorify God with our lives. Adam was placed in a beautiful garden that supplied all of his physical needs.

In that garden God gave one restriction that Adam was to obey - not eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam rebelled against God with his eyes wide open - knowing exactly what he was doing - a deliberate act of disobedience. The result is that sin has entered our experience and so death reigns.

In our bathroom we have a mirror that’s directly across from the mirrors on the closet door. So as I look in one mirror I can see myself in the other mirror behind me. Have you ever done this? Looking at your image in one mirror and out of the corner of your eye - looking at the other mirror - you can see a progression of images that stretches into eternity. Adam was the first mirror - but each one of us - and every man, woman, and child, that has ever lived is in that progression - participating with Adam in sin.

Paul writes about us in Romans 3, “There is none righteous, not even one. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:10,23)

Anyone ever take a class called Beginning Sin 101? Along the way there might have been experiences or people that have helped us develop and refine our ability to sin. But, if we’re honest with ourselves we have to agree with Paul. No one teaches us how to sin. We’re born with sin. There’s a universality of sin. Because sin is universal - death is universal.

Years ago there was train wreck up by Dunsmuir - off I5 - near Mount Shasta. Do you remember this? Toxic chemicals spilled into the Sacramento River. They tried everything to stop the flow of the chemicals. But it was too late. The chemicals were already in the river. The river was polluted - wildlife died - the chemicals flowed down stream - all the way to Lake Shasta - killing everything along the river.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, “The sting of death is sin.” (1 Corinthians 15:56) Once sin - like a bee - once sin puts its stinger into us the result will be death - physical death and eternal separation from God. Death is the punishment for breaking God’s command. We all live with this death sentence hanging over our heads. Sin and death flow in our race - in us.

Please understand - there’s a very practical side to all this. How many of you have ever been to a funeral service? We’ve all been there. When someone talks about death that’s usually what we think about. But Paul is not just talking about a funeral service at the end of our lives - what happens when we physically die. Life is joy - vitality - love - excitement - peace - fulfillment - living to the fullest possibility of who we are. The reign of death is the absence of life - emptiness - loneliness - depression - restlessness - never finding fulfillment.

These are the core issues of our hearts today - what drives men to suicide - to children killing children - to wars - to all of the horrible things we think about ourselves and the terrible things we do to each other. Death drives us to fear and uncertainty. Death tempts us to think of our lives as futile and meaningless. Death leads the wealthiest and greatest of mankind to look upon their lives with despair.

The account of Adam and Eve in Genesis holds our attention because every day we relive it in our lives - the failure - the casting out - the longing to return to paradise. We despair because there’s nothing we can do to return.

I once read about Charles Spurgeon - the great preacher - who shared in one of his sermons - about spending some time down in a hut in Italy. When he went into the hut he noticed that the floor was very dirty - dirtier than any floor he’d ever seen in his life. After he had lived there a day or two he couldn’t stand it any longer so he hired a cleaning lady to clean the floor. This woman scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. But, the more she scrubbed the floor the dirtier it got. Finally Spurgeon got down and investigated what was going on. He discovered that there wasn’t any floor. There was nothing but dirt. (1)

With all of our philosophies and peace treaties and self-help programs and religious ideals and politically correct intentions and laws and everything else man - and each one of us has tried - we cannot get past sin and death. The bad news is that we live in sin - death reigns. There’s nothing you or I or anyone else can do about it.

Except God. And that’s THE GOOD NEWS. Paul writes, through “the abundance of Jesus’ grace and the gift His righteousness” - His life can reign in us. Say that with me, “His life can reign in us.”

God comes to the prophet Hosea and commands Hosea to marry a harlot and have children by her. Hosea goes and marries Gomer - has 3 children by her - and then she abandons him and the family for another man.

Few pains in life go deeper than being on the wrong side of adultery. Gomer must have broken Hosea’s heart. She humiliated him. She shamed him. The one that he’s trusted with the deepest intimacies of his heart has made him the public joke of the town. And yet, he loves her.

In the midst of all this - God - shockingly - tells Hosea - Hosea 3:1 - “Go again, love her again, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods.” And so, Hosea goes and pays money - 15 shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley - to buy back his wife who’s now working as a prostitute. Husbands - can you imagine doing this? (Hosea 3:1,2)

Such is God’s love for the people of Israel that have prostituted themselves with other gods. Such is God’s grace towards us who are dead in our sins. We who have lived in disobedience. We who have been unfaithful - even living in spiritual adultery.

That’s God’s grace - the expression of His love. We deserve death. But God gives to us what we do not deserve - what we could never earn - His love - His grace - His Son who dies on a cross in our place - paying our penalty for our sins - taking our death sentence upon Himself - to offer us life - a restored relationship with God.

There’s a hymn - familiar words - we’re going to sing them together in moment - words which ask the question:

And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God shouldst die for me?

Paul writes in Romans 5:20, Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

Regardless of the greatness of our sin - the frequency of our sin - the depth of the disaster that we have made of our lives - or the arrogance we feel in our own righteousness - God offers us His abundant grace and loving acceptance - now - and again and again and again - to live in the greatness of life in the resurrected Jesus Christ.

“For if by the transgression of the one - Adam - death reigned - how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”

This morning each of us has a choice. Bad news or good news? Death or life? Which will represent your life? Paul writes that it is those who “receive” God’s provision - His gracious gift - those who “receive” are those who have life in Jesus Christ.

What good is all this celebration of resurrection - coming to an Resurrection Sunday Service - what good is it unless it makes a difference in our lives on Monday morning? What good is resurrection if it doesn’t lead to life?

I have with me this morning a glove. It’s a good glove - well made - durable - useful - slightly used. Now, suppose I say to this glove, “Glove, I want you to go over and shake hands with John who’s sitting over there.” How many of you think the glove can do that? Wouldn’t that pretty much freak us out if did? The glove can try to do it. But, it can’t. Obviously - a glove, by itself, can’t do anything.

Its not a matter of education - training the glove - forming its shape it and trying to get it to do what we want it to do. We can talk to this glove and give it instructions and encouragement all we want and its still not going to move an inch on its own towards John.

The glove is like us living in our sinful Adam condemned selves. We cannot do what God commands. We cannot be obedient. We cannot love and live and experience life as God desires for us to live. No amount of education or Bible study or reading books or going to conferences or seminars or even Bible college - or coming to church or going to Sunday School or youth group - even for years and years - or being around God’s people - no acts of righteousness and great piety - will ever wipe away the debt of our sins and enable us to live as God wants us to live.

The glove can only move and do what its suppose to do when I put my hand inside - my life in it. That’s what Paul is writing about. Opening ourselves up to God by admitting that on our own we can never save ourselves - never be free of the sin which brings death. Opening ourselves up to God by inviting Jesus to live in us - to receive the life He offers us on the cross and through His resurrection.

The bottom line is this: Jesus offers us life - abundant - empowered - resurrected life. Sin and death lose their hold on us when we give our lives to Jesus Christ. If you’ve never repented of your sin and trusted Him with your life - you need to. You can never live the joyful overcoming life God intends unless He is living in you.

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1.  Stedman, Ray, “To Reign in Life” - sermon on Romans 5:12-21