"The Certainty of Death" Sermon: Romans 5:12-14

“The Certainty of Death”

[Romans 5:12-14]

March 10, 2013 Second Reformed Church

            Nobody really wants to die, do they? 

            The late, Christian musician, Larry Norman, was asked on occasion if he had any career goals, and he would answer, “Yes.  I want to die.”  He didn’t really want to die – to go through death – he wanted to get to the other side of eternal life.  He was looking towards the day when sickness and disease, sin and evil, would all be thrown into the lake of fire.  Larry died a slow death – that was not what he longed for – what he longed for and hoped in was eternal life with Jesus in His Kingdom.

So, maybe some people want to escape this life or get past this life or have an especial longing to be received into the fullness of the Kingdom promised by Jesus, but does anyone really want to endure dying?

            If you look at the Internet, the answer would seem to be “no.”  I googled “how to avoid death,” and I got 206 million answers.  I googled “how to stay young,” and I got 489 million answers.  And for those who realize we don’t have a way to keep from dying now, I googled “cryogenics,” and I got 230 thousand answers.

            The fact of the matter is, with two exceptions that we know of in Scripture, and unless Jesus returns first, everyone will die.  You will die.  I will die.  Death is a certainty.

            We are wise to take some time to meditate on this.  Where did death come from?  Was it always a necessary event?  Is there a death gene that we might manipulate?  Is it our parents’ fault?

            Our Scripture this morning explains where death came from and why we are all subject to it:

            In the section right before our text, Paul explained that Christians have been reconciled to God through faith alone through Jesus Christ Alone.  We were once enemies of God, but now we are reconciled to God.

            “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man,”

            If you were here a few weeks ago when we looked at the severity of sin, you may remember that when God created everything that is, God said it was good – there was no sin in creation.  At some point, Lucifer and the angels who followed him sinned and they were cast down from Heaven, but there was still no sin on the earth.  And when God created humans, they had not sinned, and God called their creation “good.”

            This text is one of the texts that support there being a real Adam.  Paul said that sin came into the world – into humanity – into the physical creation – through one man, and so, there must have been an original, first man – who we meet in the opening chapters of Genesis – Adam.

            And Adam brought sin into the world:  God had told Adam that he was free to eat of all the trees of the Garden, “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” (Genesis 2:17, ESV).

            But Eve was deceived and Adam gave in to Eve and we know what happened:  “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6, ESV).

The result of which, we know:  “and death through sin,” God promised them death if they sinned, and they sinned, and they died.

And some of you may be thinking, “Wait a minute – when we talked about the severity of sin, you said this meant spiritual death.  What does this have to do with physical death?”

God promised that sin would result in death “that day.”  And so we understand that they experienced spiritual death.  Because our first parents sinned in eating what God had forbidden – they died spiritually – in the sense that their nature – their will – became inclined towards evil – towards sin.  As Paul wrote, “            And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1-3, ESV).

One of the outcomes of bringing sin into the world is that the physical world is that the physical world – including our bodies – is negatively affected.  As Paul writes, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:19-23, ESV).

Our bodies – and all of the created order – has been effected by the sin of Adam – as well as our continued sin – and all of the created order – including our bodies – breaks down and dies.  So, the creation’s hope and our hope is the redemption – the resurrection and perfection –of our bodies – and all of the physical creation.

So, while Adam and Eve immediately experienced spiritual death, after some time – as with all physical things – they experienced physical death as well, as a result of sin.

            “and so death spread to all men”

            The reason death is a certainly is that death spread to all humans.  All humans are born spiritually death – their will inclined towards evil – this is what we call “Original Sin.”  “Original Sin” is not the sin that Adam and/or Eve committed, nor is it any specific sin that is passed on to us from Adam and/or Eve, but it is a corruption of our nature – that every mere human being born after Adam and Eve naturally and compulsively choses to sin.  It is not possible, therefore, for the non-Christian to please God, because all of their actions, in some sense, are sinful – and that is how all mere humans are born – as we saw in Paul’s quote previously.

            And we might wonder if that is fair – why should we suffer spiritual and physical death – and all the physical problems throughout life before death, because of a sin that Adam and Eve committed?  Why should we suffer for what they did?

            The answer is that Adam was our representative – he was the representative of all of humanity.  His choice to follow God or sin, therefore, affected all merely human born persons.  In a similar way to how we have a representative government in this country where we elect people to function in government on our behalf, and we profit or suffer from their decisions, so humanity had Adam as our representative before God in the Garden.  And his actions affect us.

            Anne Bradstreet, a Puritan poet, became several ill before she turned twenty and wrote this poem, reflecting on the certainty of death:

            “Twice ten years old not fully told since nature gave me breath,

“My race is run, my thread spun, lo, here is fatal death.

“All men must die, and so must I; this cannot be revoked.

“For Adam's sake this word God spake when he so high provoked.

“Yet live I shall, this life's but small, in place of highest bliss,

“Where I shall have all I can crave, no life is like to this.

“For what's this but care and strife since first we came from womb?

“Our strength doth waste, our time doth haste, and then we go to th' tomb.

“O bubble blast, how long can'st last? that always art a breaking,

“No sooner blown, but dead and gone, ev'n as a word that's speaking.

“O whilst I live this grace me give, I doing good may be,

“Then death's arrest I shall count best, because it's Thy decree;

“Bestow much cost there's nothing lost, to make salvation sure,

“O great's the gain, though got with pain, comes by profession pure.

“The race is run, the field is won, the victory's mine I see;

“Forever known, thou envious foe, the foil belongs to thee” [Anne Bradstreet: “Upon a Fit of Sickness” | Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/t/lit/anne-bradstreet/ar13.html#ixzz2MmW75bY9].

Bradstreet recovered, but we see in this poem, among other things, that she understood that the Scripture teaches the certainty of death, and that death proceeds from Adam’s sin to us.

The New England Primer (from the 1700’s) has a rhyme in it to teach children the alphabet which begins, “In Adam’s fall, we sinn’d all.”

And again, we say it’s unfair – we didn’t choose Adam as our representative!  True, God chose him to be our representative.  If the God we know from the Scripture, the God Who gave His Only Begotten Son for our salvation, made Adam our representative in the Garden, ought we not be confident in His choice and His Ways?  Ought we not believe that we would do not better?  Ought we not believe this was all part of God’s Glorious Plan, about which Paul writes, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18, ESV).

Don’t misunderstand, Paul is not saying that our sufferings – and even our death – are not painful – (Paul even suffered from time to time), but that, in the end, they will be nothing compared to the glory into which we shall enter.  Can we hold onto that hope?

Perhaps you are now thinking, “OK, now I understand that death – both spiritual and physical came to us – all mere humans – from Adam, our representative in the Garden, but why does our text continue, ‘because all sinned—‘”

“and so death spread to all men because all sinned” That sounds like Paul is saying that death only spread because people sinned, not because he was our representative.  In other words, if we keep from sinning, we can keep from dying.

That is wrong for two reasons:

First, as we have already said, ever merely human born child is born with “Original Sin” – the inclination, will, and nature to sin, and everything such a child does, prior to conversion is seen as sin in God’s Eyes.  David understood this as he wrote; “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5, ESV).  David was not saying that his mother sinned in conceiving him, but because he was conceived, he was born a sinner.

Second, what Paul is saying is that death spread to all, because, with Adam as our representative, it was as though we committed the sin of Adam, just as much as he did.  We all sinned in Adam, because he acted as our representative.  Death is not certain because we sin in our lifetimes, though we certainly do, but death is certain because we all sinned in Adam with Adam as our representative.

Senators and Congressmen say they are acting on behalf of their constituents – that they are doing what the people they represent want – so the people are held as wanting what the representative says they want.  Similarly, Adam acted on behalf of all humankind by choosing to sin as our representative, giving us what we all wanted – the fruit, then end of which is spiritual and physical death for all people.

Then Paul counters an argument he expects to come:  “How can we be held accountable for sinning before the Law existed?  Didn’t you write, ‘What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet”’” (Romans 7:7, ESV).

In other words, Paul says that he would not know what the sin of coveting (or any sin) was unless the Law existed to say it was sin.  So, how could anyone prior to Moses be guilty of sin?  If there was no Law, how could Adam be guilty and how could we inherit a sin nature, if the Law did not exist?

For example:  if there was no law stating that going through a red light was wrong, how could anyone be found guilty of going through a red light?

Paul answers the objection:  “for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.”

First, we need to remember that God cursed Adam and all of Creation because of Adam’s sin in the Garden.  So all mere humans are born guilty of sin and having a sin nature, an inclination to sin, a desire to will to sin.

Second, even without the Law, everyone had knowledge of God – as Paul explains in Romans 1 – so it was still possible, prior to the giving of the Law, to sin against the knowledge of God that He revealed to all people.

Third, even without the Law to judge us of sin and cause our consciences to be aroused because of sin – such that our sin was counted against the Law, it is obvious that humans had – in their consciences – a sense of right and wrong, which is how there could be judgment of evil-doing among people prior to Moses.  There is an innate understanding of what it means to do wrong – to sin against – another person – even without the Law.

 “Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses,”

In other words, death is certain!  The fact that the people from Adam to Moses sinned without the Law makes no difference.  The fact that they sinned – and before that, were born sinners – means that they are guilty of sin and the wages thereof is death – spiritual and physical.

We may wonder what this has to do with us:  Moses has come.  The Law exists.  Why should we question or care about the sin of the people who did not have the Law?  The reason is this:  there are people on earth – even in the United States – who have never heard the Law – never heard God’s Word – and the question is raised, how can God hold them accountable if they do not have the Law?  Perhaps a more often voiced version is:  how can God hold those accountable who have never heard of Jesus?

One of my college friends came with me to the church I was attending at the time, and we got talking with the minister.  And my friend asked him what would happen to someone – for example – in the most remote part of Africa who never heard the Gospel – would that person go to heaven or hell?

My pastor at the time gave the wrong answer:  “God will judge them based on the light they have.”

No!  All people are born sinners – and with or without the knowledge of the Law – people knowingly sin.  Therefore, they are spiritually dead – and they will physically die – and if they do not believe in Jesus Alone for salvation and repent of their sins, they will go to hell.

And then Paul addresses another possible objection:  “Well, maybe Adam’s sin was worthy of spiritual and physical death, but what if someone only commits lesser sins – is that person still doomed to die?”

“even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam,”

There is one way in which we can say “sin is sin” – sin is against the Infinitely Holy God, therefore it merits infinite punishment.  Period.  Even leaving out the elephant in the room of being born with “Original Sin,” the sins one commits in life are irrelevant to the fact that every sinner is liable to infinite punishment – eternal death.  Unless one believes savingly in Jesus.

 “who was a type of the one who was to come.”  That is, “Adam was a type of the one who was to come” – that is, Jesus.  What does Paul mean?

Adam was one of three people born without”Original Sin.”  Jesus, Who corrects the problem of sin and death for His people that Adam brought into the world, had to be born without “Original Sin” so He could live His Life under the Law of God and do so sinlessly, so He could credit us with His Righteousness and survive the hell of the cross as penalty for our sins.  As Paul wrote, “Thus it is written, ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45, ESV).

The death that Adam brought to us is done away with and life is given through faith in Jesus Alone.  We still die, even as Christians, that we might be like Christ is dying, by our death is not the death of the hopeless.  Our death is a death that knows the resurrection is coming.  All will rise from the dead in their bodies, and those who have believed in Jesus Alone for salvation will rise to life eternal.

One final comment:  some people talk about death as though it is a friend.  It is not.  Death is an enemy.  It is part of the punishment for sin.  Even though we look forward to our hope in Jesus after death, death is not a time to be joyous – which is why we mourn the death of our friends and family.    

Paul wrote, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:20-26, ESV).

Unless the Lord returns first, we shall all die – and death is an enemy – the result of Adam’s sin and compounded by our sin.  But death will meet its end, and all those who believe savingly in Jesus will be raised to life everlasting.

Let us pray:

This is our hope, O Lord, that You will raise us from the dead in our bodies, and we will be perfected and made holy to live with You in Your Glory eternally.  Death is here and death is certain, but death has been defeated and death will be done away with.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.