LESSON 1 ... (OCTOBER
4, 2004) ... VERSE 12:
In our day of "post-modernism" (the word more
and more being used to describe the current philosophy of this
lost world in which we live) ... nothing seems stable!
Mankind is even questioning the existence of
absolute Truth!
As that agnostic trend continues, the
fundamental facts taught in the Word of God will be more and
more questioned and then more and more ignored.
Among those great precepts is that of
"original sin."
Man is a sinner!
Man is born a sinner!
We are endowed (from our forefathers) with an
old sin nature!
Here's how the Bible words it:
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into
the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men,
for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12
The opening word (both in the King James
Version and the Greek Textus Receptus) is a preposition ("dia"
in Greek) and means "by" or "through" as well as "therefore" or
"wherefore." In other words, this is how it happened ... how
man became a sinner!
Who is that "one man" by whom sin entered the
world?
That man is Adam, the first created human on
earth.
He is mentioned by name in this paragraph of
Romans 5 (verses 5-19) twice! (Verse 14 ---
"Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to
Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude
of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to
come.")
The noun for "sin" is "hamartia" and means
"that which causes one to miss out on his or her share in
something!" Sin robs one of God's blessings in life! It also
has a verbal background which means "to err" or "to do wrong."
"Entered" ("eiserchomai") means to come in
(or to go in). It is an aorist verb telling us that this
"entered" action has already occurred (at the "fall" of man when
Adam originally sinned)!
But then notice that along with sin ...
entered death!
"For the wages of sin
is death." Romans 6:23 tells us that very
clearly.
Death came "by" ("dia" again) sin. Death
resulted through the means of sin. Sin is the "channel" out of
which death flowed onto mankind!
We DIE because of Adam's sin. Of course as
soon as we have sinned personally (an event that doesn't take
too long to accomplish) we die also for our own sins!
Then ... death "passed upon" all men! This
verb is "dierchomai" and means to come through (to travel
throughout)! Death saturated mankind! It has universally
stained humanity! (This is another "aorist" verb. The action
is completed. It stems from Adam's failure long ago.)
"All" men translates the little adjective
"pas" which means every single one!
As the verse ends ... we are again reminded
"for all have sinned." That is not talking about some wrong you
committed yesterday. It is talking about our "original" sin we
have inherited because we are members of Adam's race, of the
human family!
It is plainly saying that we are sinners
because of Adam's wicked deed years ago in the Garden of Eden!
All have sinned ... in Adam.
It is my understanding that if a man lived a
full life here on earth, having never once personally sinned
(but neither having received Jesus Christ as His Saviour), he
STILL would have to stand before God as a sinner ... simply due
to his state as a member of Adam's human family! And that man,
again ... having never been saved, would die and go to hell.
That's how deadly sin is!
And that's how it entered the timeline of
human history!
It was by one man, Adam!
Ladies and gentlemen, that is called the
Bible doctrine of IMPUTATION.
The word has a Latin background and means to
consider ("putare") something to be on ("in, im") someone.
Adam's sin "on" us because we are his children! We share his
bloodline! We inherited his sin!
(Do not ever let anyone tell you that a
Daddy's sins do not impact his children! They do! They
certainly do! And we have just studied the classic Bible
example of such.)
The only Good News concerning this comes
later in the Romans 5 paragraph!
As by ONE MAN (Adam) sin came!
So by ONE MAN (JESUS) righteousness and
salvation can come as well!
Glory to God!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 2 ... VERSE 13:
Paul teaches us that we are sinners not only
because we practice sin ("For all have
sinned!" Romans 3:23) ... but also because we "inherited"
an old sin nature from father Adam!
We are sinners through our blood line! From
Adam to his sons to their children to theirs and so on
perpetually until this very hour!
He goes about proving that fact in Romans
5:13-14.
We shall today notice just the first of those
verses:
"For until the law sin was in the world:
but sin is not imputed when there is no law."
Romans 5:13
By "law" (in Greek = "nomos") Paul means the
commandments God gave through Moses. Once Israel had the "law"
of God ... they knew what to do and what not to do! (God's
Mosaic Law had some "Thou shalts" and some "Thou shalt nots!")
And until the "Law" came ... no wrongdoing
was considered a violation of any current statute ... for none
existed!
Look at John's definition of sin:
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth
also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."
(1 John 3:4) John just said that sin was a violation of God's
Law!
Well, does that mean that if there was no law
... there was no sin?
No!
Sin has reigned on earth since Adam. See
Romans 5:21.
BUT it does mean that God did not look at sin
as "imputed" legal wrongdoing. This verb (in Greek = ellogeo)
is a courtroom term. It means "to count toward" someone's list
of transgressions.
So ... though there was no Mosaic LAW to
violate ... YET sin was still "in the world!" (In Greek = "en
kosmos")
Let's reason through this.
IF there is no law ... and if sin is
transgression of the law ... then logic says there is no sin!
But God says otherwise.
"Until the law sin WAS
IN THE WORLD!"
Here's our verse for today again ---
"For until the law sin was in the world:
but sin is not imputed when there is no law." Romans
5:13
Even before Moses and the Law ... sin
existed. It's just that sin was not yet calculated against
one's violation of the (not yet existent) Law of God.
You can't charge a man with the violation of
a statute that has not yet been written ... even though his
action was clearly morally wrong!
BUT here's the problem. (And I'm looking a
bit into the next verse here!)
Though there was no law ... men still died!
There was death everywhere.
And
death is the result of sin!
"The wages of sin is
death" (both physically and spiritually)!
Then ... if there's no law to violate ... yet
the results of sin are everywhere ... we must look elsewhere for
some "source" of that sin!
And here it is:
Man is a sinner not just
because He violates God's Law! Man is a sinner because he has
Adam's blood flowing through his veins! Man is a sinner via
Adam's headship of the human race. His sin nature has been born
into us!
Here's the absolute PROOF that man ... even
before the giving of the Law ... is a sinner ...
he died!
We are born sinners!
David said: "Behold, I
was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."
Psalm 51:5
That verse alone is proof enough!
Yet Psalm 58:3 adds:
"The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon
as they be born, speaking lies."
What iniquity Adam brought upon us all!
(But there's good news coming! Another man
... the God Man ... the Lord Jesus Christ ... will make
available to us everything Adam lost! By Adam comes death for
every man! By Jesus ... if one believes and is saved ... comes
Life, eternal Life!)
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 3 ...
OCTOBER 6, 2004 ... VERSE 14:
"Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to
Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude
of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to
come." Romans 5:14
Our verse is telling us that even though
there was no Law (no Ten Commandments and supporting Mosaic
legislation) in the early days ... still the wages of sin (death
...) fell upon all men! All died. This is proof that
all had been tainted by sin! But not by sin as violation
of Moses' Law. That did not exist in the days between Adam
and Moses!
Then, what sin brought death upon all men?
They had not (yet) transgressed God's
specific laws of Exodus or Leviticus!
Answer: The sin mankind inherited
from father Adam has so polluted us that we are all sinners
regardless of our behavior toward the Commandments!
(We sin because we are sinners! We are
not sinners just because we sin!)
Look how Paul words it.
"Death reigned!"
The verb is "basileuo" and means to sit as
king! To exercise royal power!
The noun "similitude" comes from a Greek root
("homo") which means "the same." We did not commit the same sin
Adam did! We did not enter a garden and eat of a forbidden
tree. Yet we are sinners because of Adam none the less!
How do we know?
First, the Bible says so!
Secondly, we all die ... and such death is
proof of our sin! (It's the "wages" of sin! Romans 6:23)
That noun "transgression" is also very
interesting! It is in Greek "parabasis" and means a
stepping ("basis") across ("para") the line, God's line!
That's exactly what Adam did ... and exactly what has been
passed down to us from our forefathers! We were born with
a proclivity to sin! We were conceived with an old sin
nature!
Then Paul ends this great verse with a simple
statement.
He says that Adam is a "figure" of Jesus
Christ! That Greek noun is "tupos" and is our English word
TYPE. Adam is a Type of Christ Jesus! (It literally
means an "impression" that has been pounded onto something by
the fierce imprint of the real thing!)
How is Adam a Type of Christ?
Adam sinned, Jesus did not!
Adam was created, Jesus is eternal!
Adam made excuses, Jesus never!
Again, how is Adam a picture of Christ?
It this way for sure: By Adam sin came
upon all men! By Jesus (His death on Calvary) sin is
removed from (repenting) man and he is declared righteous before
God!
By Adam death came ... By Jesus eternal life
came!
By Adam came sorrow ... By Jesus comes joy!
Glory to God ... for Jesus!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 4 ... OCTOBER 7,
2004, VERSE 15:
Forty times the Bible has the phrase "much
more."
From the good news of Exodus 36:5 where the
people of God brought "much more" than enough to build the
Tabernacle ... to the encouraging words of 1 Peter 1:7 where the
trial of our faith is worth "much more" than gold!
I've just given you the first and the last
references for these astounding "much more" descriptions of
Scripture.
Today's verse also has one!
Romans 5:15 declares:
"But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if
through the offence of one many be dead,
much more the
grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man,
Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many."
Look at that! "Much more ... the Grace of
God!"
But, what is this "offence?"
The Greek word is "paraptoma" and means a
"falling" beside something. (To fall down!) "Pipto" means to
fall and "para" means alongside. It's called a "side slip" by
one dictionary. (A "lapse" into sin!)
The "offence" here is referring to Adam's
original sin in the Garden of Eden, the "Fall" of mankind!
The verse is saying that UNLIKE the sin Adam
committed (bringing death) ... is the gift Jesus brought
(bringing Life)!
The term "free gift" translates the Greek
noun "charisma!" It comes from a verb that means to grant as a
favor!
Sin kills!
But God's gift of salvation brings Life ...
and so much more!
Adam's offence has caused many to "be dead."
That verb uses the aorist form, telling us that they are dead
once and for all! Their deaths are finished events. (No second
chances after death!)
The comes our great "much more" ... in Greek
"polus mallon" which here means many more ... all the more ...
better by far ... more than that ... or even more than ever!
While adverbs have no "degree" as do adjectives, "mallon" is
built upon an adjectival root which is comparative which in
turn itself is built upon another adjective that is
superlative! It is as if this word's history goes: more ... a
little more ... more than that ... much more ... the most!
What's the source of all this goodness?
"The Grace of God!"
Who and What God is!
In fact 1 Peter 5:10 calls Him
"the God of all Grace!"
Titus 2:11 tells us that it is the
"Grace of God that bringeth salvation!"
And here's more good news yet! 2 Corinthians
9:8 --- "And God is able to make
all grace abound toward you."
But we are quickly told that it's not just
Grace alone (as a static cold dead) commodity! No! It is
living dynamic powerful Grace!
It is "giving" Grace!
There is a "gift" that accompanies this
Grace!
We know from other Scripture that this Gift
is Eternal Life! See Romans 6:23.
The noun for "gift" is "dorea" in Greek and
means a gratuity. It literally suggests a "sacrifice!" It is a
present from God to us! What Mercy this reveals!
"By" Grace translates "en" (Greek) Grace!
This Gift is embedded within the very Grace of God! (It's Grace
in the Gift and the Gift in Grace too!)
One man's sin condemned us all! So ... One
Man's Gift (via the Cross) saved all who believe!
Who is that "One Man?"
Jesus Christ!
We have just had the Christ (Messiah)
identified! He is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God!
And the verb "hath abounded" which attaches
action to this gift and this Grace ... is in Greek "perisseuo"
and means to go all around something ... then to go in it ...
then to go all the way through it! (To totally saturate!)
If you have been "graced" by God ... you are
completely involved, completely saved!
Glory be to God!
How many enjoy this gift of Grace?
It just says "many!" That's our little
adjective again "polus." In English it becomes "poly" as in
polygamy (many wives) polychrome (many colors) or polymorphous
(many forms)!
That "many" so far covers millions and
millions of saved sinners!
And they are still coming!
What a statement of the Grace of God Paul has
given us this Thursday in November!
Hallelujah!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 5 ... VERSE 16:
Jesus' gift to us of eternal life cannot be
compared to much of anything on this old sin-cursed earth!
It is incomparable indeed!
And that is partly what Paul is saying in
Romans 5:16.
"And not as it was by one that
sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to
condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto
justification."
Remember that this noun "gift" translates "dorema"
and means a gratuity, a bounty, a benefaction ... but is based
upon a word that means a present ... or a sacrifice!
Our gift of eternal life sure IS based on a Sacrifice!
"One that sinned" ... with the verb being an
"aorist" ... views Adam's initial original sin as a thing that
he committed in the long distant past.
So also is Jesus' Death on Calvary something
He will never have to repeat! It's power and influence and
impact will last forever!
I think our verse today is saying this:
Adam committed
one great sin! He rebelled against and disobeyed
God, thus plunging mankind into the abyss of iniquity! BUT
Jesus, in His great Act of Sacrifice (the Cross and His death
and Bloodshed there) has provided forgiveness for MANY
MANY MANY sins!
Also notice that Adam's act led to
condemnation ("katakrima" = intense judgment), being declared
legally wrong in God's court of eternity! BUT Jesus' act
(the Cross again) leads to justification ("dikaioma"), with the
result of repentant sinners being declared right legally in that
court of heaven!
At the opening chapter of this "history" of
iniquity and righteousness ... there is one sin committed
(Adam's)! At the end of it there are many sins (billions
and billions of them) forgiven through Jesus' precious death on
Calvary!
The word here for "offences" is again "paraptoma"
and means to fall down beside the pathway! (This pictures
sin as a failure, a falling into a pit! Hence the term ...
the FALL of man!)
What logic Paul here uses!
He is right now deeper than many of us can
fathom!
But I know this ... he is magnifying the good
Grace of God!
Praise the Lord!
What Jesus gives is BETTER than what Adam
lost!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 6 ... VERSE 17:
Today's Verse is absolutely beautiful!
It basically says this: By Adam's sin death
has reigned for nearly all of human history! Likewise by Jesus'
sinless Death on the Cross (shedding His precious Blood for
sinners) Life now reigns through Grace and Righteousness!
Summary: Adam brought death. Jesus brings
Life!
This is some wonderfully good news!
The exact verse is found in Romans 5:17.
"For if by one man's
offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign
in life by one, Jesus Christ."
The "one man" is Adam.
To "reign" means to sit as king! To occupy
the throne!
But here's the lovely thing. That verb
"reign" (in Greek = "basileuo") is expressed as an aorist,
meaning that the "action" it represents is past action, finished
action, completed action!
Death DID reign.
That is ... until Jesus came and died and was
buried and raised! He conquered death! He defeated death! He
usurped the throne of death! Since Calvary there is victory
over death!
Life ... Eternal Life ... is available
through Jesus!
Actually our verse in Romans 5 expresses it
this way: "They which receive abundance
of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by
One."
This qualifies those who reign in life!
This Life is only possible for those who have
"received" something (or Someone)!
This verb is a present participle (active
voice) of "lambano" and means to take hold of! To choose! To
obtain! To collect! To seize or trap!
This is aggressive salvation!
(This verse reminds me of Matthew 11:12 where
Jesus said: "And from the days of John
the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence,
and the violent take it
by force.")
But WHAT does one have to receive to reign in
Life?
"Abundance of Grace and
of the Gift of Righteousness!"
That word "abundance" is in Greek "perisseia"
and means all around and all within and everywhere! (Saturating
and overflowing Grace!)
"Grace" is "charis" and means God's free
gift! (Romans 6:23b --- "But the gift of
God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.")
Gift is "dorea" and means a gratuity, a free
bestowal of goodness! (The word is based on this thought: a
gift made possible by sacrifice!)
"Righteousness" is the state of being correct
(forensically unblemished) in the eyes of God! God (through
Jesus' Death and Blood on the Cross) sees no sin in me!
And the noun life (speaking of both physical
and eternal life I believe) translates the Greek word "zoe." It
is their word for life on the highest plane! (Not just
biological life!) Meaningful and vibrant life!
If the first "one" in this verse (the death
bringer) is Adam ... Who is the Second "One?" Paul clearly
identifies Him!
He is Jesus! He is Jesus the Christ! (Jesus
is The Life Bringer!)
The Saviour of the world!
There is doctrine (meaning "teaching") built
into our verse today! And the Gospel is embedded within it
too! And a bit of a warning also! Adam's Way equals death!
Jesus' Way equals life ... real life ... Eternal Life ...
Abundant Eternal Life!
Wow!
Let us never loose the WONDER of it all!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 7 ... VERSE 18:
In Romans 5:12-19 Paul seems to be repeating
the same thought over and over again!
But in reality he is doing some Holy Spirit
directed "logical" thinking!
The little English word "therefore" actually
translates two Greek words! They are spelled "ara oun."
The conjunction "oun" means "thus" ... or "so" ... or
"accordingly." Paul is still developing his inspired thought!
He is stating his conclusion thus far!
And "ara" means (from its verbal root) to
"lift up" and Paul is likely elevating one main thought from all
he has previously said! It is as if he declared ... "most
importantly" ...!
When both these words are combined ... which
is done in Greek for emphasis ... the sentence is heavily
weighted with a conclusion! (A critically important one at
that!)
"Therefore as by the
offence of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free
gift came upon all men unto justification of life."
Romans 5:18
This verse also is definitely describing a court
scene!
The word "condemnation" here (in Greek = "katakrima")
means to judge down on someone! This
is a "guilty" verdict! And it is a "capital" crime
too! It carries an automatic death sentence!
(Eternal death in hell!) One of my computer lexicons
defines this word as "a damnatory sentence!"
Likewise the noun "justification" is one
often heard in both the Judge's chambers and from his lips as he
sits on the Bench itself! This term means "found not
guilty!" To be declared straight (not crooked) in the eyes
of God!
(But what happened to our sin? Jesus
paid for them on the old rugged Cross! Then he saved our
old lost wretched souls!)
Through Adam's sin came death upon all men.
Through Jesus' obedience (on Calvary) came LIFE for all who will
believe!
This is called the doctrine of "imputation."
It is from a Latin background and means to
give a person credit (or blame) for something done by the Head
of his class or group or people.
Often it is used in a "family" context.
Adam is the head of the human family ...
being the first man created by God. As such his sin has
impacted us all. By Adam's transgression we are all made
sinners! We are all born into sin!
Adam's sin is "imputed" to our account!
Technically speaking, if a man was born and
lived his whole life and never did one thing wrong (AN
IMPOSSIBILITY I REMIND YOU) ... that man would still be a sinner
and have guilt all over himself when he faced God! Why?
Because of the taint of Adam's sin upon all the children of men!
Again, that is the Bible doctrine of
imputation!
Now some of the liberals of today are calling
God's plan here "unfair!"
Of course Bible haters call many Scriptural
doctrines untrue or illogical or impertinent in this day of
apostasy!
But ... here is what I'm thinking this Lord's Day.
If "imputation" is an viable principle of
God's dealings with man ... we should be able to find it
throughout Scripture. In one form or another ...
"imputation" should be readily visible.
And so it is!
And, Lord willing, tomorrow I will begin to
show you some of those many places!
Our search will reveal some astounding
examples of "imputation."
See you Monday morning!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 8 ... VERSE 19:
(Monday, October 11, 2004)
Bible believing Christians have accepted this fact for all
their saved lives!
It is perhaps most clearly taught in Romans 5:12-19.
In brief here is the Bible Truth concerning "imputation:"
Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden.
As a result of his sin ... death came upon him and Eve.
BUT Adam's sin also passed upon his children ... who also
died!
In reality ... it has passed upon all mankind since Adam!
(Since he is our federal father, being the first created human
on earth)!
Hence, we are all sinners ... primarily because of Adam's
"fall" so long ago!
There is also some "good News" in Romans 5 too!
Another single Man, the Man Christ Jesus ... the Son of God,
obeyed His Father perfectly (never once sinning) and died a
sacrificial substitutionary Death on the Cross! And by the power
of That Man's Sinless Life and Blood-stained Death ... His
Righteousness can be passed upon all men (who believe in His
Name in saving faith)!
In other words: In Adam because of his sin, death has come!
(Both physical and spiritual!)
And in Jesus, Life has come ... Eternal Life (again to all
who will be saved)!
"Imputation"
Adam's sin nature born within me!
Yet ... Jesus' very Righteousness can be credited to my
account!
That IS good news to a repenting sinner!
But many rebel against this doctrine!
They call it "unfair!"
A bit of advice: I would not call Almighty God unfair! Or
illogical! Or untruthful!
I thought about all this "imputation" teaching ... and
decided that the whole principle (if indeed of God) must be
taught and observed elsewhere in Scripture too!
Well, it is!
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to
them (idols), nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate
me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and
keep my commandments." Exodus 20:5-6 (See here how
the sins of the fathers are "visited" upon the sons! That is
"imputation!")
"Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means
clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the
third and to the fourth generation." Exodus 34:7
"The LORD is
longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and
transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation." Numbers 14:18
"Thou shalt not bow
down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God
am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers
upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of
them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that
love me and keep my commandments." Deuteronomy 5:9-10
"Know therefore that
the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which
keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his
commandments to a thousand generations." Deuteronomy 7:9
"Thou shewest
lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of
the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the
Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name."
Jeremiah 32:18
These verses certainly illustrate the fact
that God considers a father's acts to be influential on their
children in years to come!
Notice that this works both as a detriment
(if the father is sinful) and as a blessing (if the father is
godly)!
God IS fair!
And if someone wants to study this further
... all he has to do is start looking for examples of this
principle in Scripture. They are everywhere!
Adam plunged us into the sea of sin!
Jesus provides us with the opportunity of
escape ... the "life-line" of Eternal Life by faith in His
Blood!
And the moment I believe ... Jesus'
Righteousness is "imputed" to me by God's Grace!
2 Corinthians 5:21 teaches us that upon
salvation "we
are made the
Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!"
Again ... that is "imputation!"
Some say it is a complicated doctrine!
I say it is a glorious one!
Thank God for Jesus!
In Adam all die!
In Jesus ... all live!
("Therefore if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2
Corinthians 5:17)
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 9 ... VERSE 19:
How can it be?
That God would allow a Adam's sin to be
"imputed" to his children? And then to their children ... and
on down the line until every man and every woman is indeed born
with an old "sin" nature?
This "doctrine" is so questioned today that
many no longer believe it!
Maybe I had best prove it again Scripturally.
Romans 5:19 declares ...
"For as by one man's disobedience many
were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made
righteous."
That "one man" whose disobedience made many
sinners is ... Adam!
What a noun that word "disobedience" is! In
Greek it is spelled "parakoe" and combines "para" and "akouo."
The definition: to hear ("akouo") + aside ("para")! It means
to mis-hear something! To be inattentive ... then to disobey!
And we must co-relate the pronoun "many"
here with Paul's other statement in the passage. For example,
verse 12 clearly states: "Wherefore, as
by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
death passed upon all
men, for that all
have sinned." Notice his use of the word "all" (twice)!
The verb "kathistimi" is translated "were
made" and means "to stand down" or "to be declared" or "to be
constituted" or "to be designated!"
By means of Adam's sin ... we are all
declared sinners by an Almighty God!
But today let me show you this Bible
principle at work in a couple of other places.
In the days of Moses ... Pharaoh sinned
against God repeatedly. His hardened heart just would not obey
the Lord! With the arrival of that tenth plague ... death come
to Pharaoh's House! And it was not Pharaoh who immediately died
... but his firstborn son! This is a form of judicial
imputation from the Hand of God! In fact Pharaoh's sin not only
caused the death of HIS firstborn son ... but that of every
firstborn son in the whole land of Egypt! (Those who did NOT
have the blood applied to their homes!)
Also in Joshua 7 a man named Achan sinned.
He "stole" from the Lord. And his sin (by means of a form of
"imputation") fell upon his whole family! It appears to me that
they were all stoned!
Numerous other Old Testament examples exist
to illustrate this truth. (Like Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16
and a situation in 2 Samuel 21 concerning one of the sins of
King Saul!)
Now hear me today.
This is a sobering thought!
BUT HERE IS THE POSITIVE SIDE OF OUR VERSE!
Romans 5:19 again says:
"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners,
so by the obedience of
one shall many be made righteous."
I have accented the "Grace" side of the verse
with capital letters!
Adam's "disobedience" made us sinners!
Yet God uses the same principle
("imputation") to make sinners righteous by means of the
Holiness and Blood Sacrifice of His only begotten Son!
"so by the obedience of
one shall many be made righteous."
That ONE is Jesus!
The noun "obedience" translates "hupakoe" ("hupo"
meaning under ... and "akouo" meaning to hear)! To sit down and
hear and learn under the teaching of another! Jesus submitted
Himself to the death of the Cross as a fulfillment of His
Father's Plan for saving sinners!
Remember ... "Jesus
became obedient to death, even the death of the Cross!"
Philippians 2:8
By imputation ... Adam's sin made us all
sinners!
But, glory to God! Also by imputation ...
Jesus' Perfect Life and Sacrificial Death (shedding His precious
Blood) make us (who believe) righteous!
I say to you that Romans 5:19 is a beautiful
and concise way of stating the Gospel! One more time ... here it
is: "For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be
made righteous."
Thank you, Lord!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 10:
I know that this doctrine of "original sin"
is no longer believed by many.
But it is still taught in the Bible.
Let me quickly state the essence of this
great truth.
God created Adam.
Adam was prefect when created (sinless).
Satan tempted Adam (and Eve).
They sinned.
As a result of Adam's sin ... his children
have been impacted and influenced! His iniquity has
infiltrated the human race!
Since Adam is ultimately the father of all
who live yet today ... we have all been tainted by Adam's sin.
We are all born with an "old sin nature"
inherited from father Adam.
WE ARE SINNERS BECAUSE ADAM POLLUTED US WITH
HIS REBELLION!
Romans 5:18 says all this rather concisely:
"Therefore as by the offence of one (Adam)
judgment came upon all men to condemnation!" One
man (Adam) brought upon us all judgment and condemnation
(because of sin)!
Listen to David lament his very birth:
"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;
and in sin did my mother conceive me." He is
speaking here in Psalm 51:5 of the Adamic nature we all acquired
at birth ... really before birth! We were born as sinners!
So when Scripture teaches us the practical
side of God's view of Adamic sin ... we simply must accept it as
fact! "Thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am
a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and
shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments." Exodus 20:5-6
God here just taught us that when fathers yet
sin today ... their children can be visited with punishment!
This is an outworking of God's principle called "imputation."
And it is here that all the liberals and
Bible haters cry "unfair!"
BUT today I want
to show you something!
There is not only a negative side to
practical imputation!
There is a positive side ... a
GRACE side too!
Look at the last part of Exodus 20:5-6 again!
God not only visits iniquity on the children to the 3rd or 4th
generation ... HE ALSO SHOWS MERCY TO THE CHILDREN OF THE GODLY
BY THE THOUSANDS! ( "...
and shewing mercy unto thousands of them
that love me, and keep my commandments.")
Let's see if we can find this GRACE side to
imputation elsewhere in Scripture!
"And the LORD passed by
before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and
gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the
children's children, unto the third and to the fourth
generation." Exodus 34:6-7 (Here is mercy
comes first!)
Here it is again: Numbers 14:18 ---
"The LORD is longsuffering, and of
great mercy,
forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing
the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children unto the third and fourth generation."
And again: "Thou
shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the
LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of
the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
generation of them that hate me,
and shewing mercy unto
thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments."
Deuterononomy 5:9-10
But here is my favorite one:
"Know therefore that the LORD thy
God, he is God, the faithful God,
which keepeth covenant
and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a
thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate
him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him
that hateth him, he will repay him to his face." (Deuteronomy
7:9) Note here that God says He will impute good to a
thousand generations! That sure beats to the "3rd and 4th
generations" of the wicked! God's marvelous GRACE again
prevails!
Leaving Moses behind, even the Prophets teach
it! "Thou (Lord God)
shewest lovingkindness
unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the
fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great,
the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name." Jeremiah
32:18
What I am trying to say this Wednesday is
simply that God is a God of Grace ... even in His judgments!
Iniquity imputed ... to the 3rd and 4th
generations!
Godliness rewarded ... to 1,000 generations!
Wow!
Let's not let that liberal crowd accuse our
God of not loving people!
Now THAT helps me better understand God's
dealings regarding "imputation!"
We have a perfect and a balanced and an
Almighty God in Heaven!
Praise His dear Name!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 11 ... VERSE 20:
Man, since Adam’s "Fall" in the Garden of Eden, has been a
sinner!
But until the Law came (the Law of Moses,
being perhaps in our minds condensed into the Ten Commandments
... although the old rabbis tell us it contained a total of 613
commands or prohibitions), man did not know just how bad a
sinner he really was!
The Law helps measure our rotten sinfulness!
Paul says that when the Law came ... it
helped make sin "exceeding sinful"
in our eyes! (Romans 7:13) Without the Law, sin just does not
look as bad!
It (sin) was still there! There were
approximately 2,500 years between Adam and Moses! Centuries in
which sin still resided within every man and woman ... killed
them and sent them to hell (if they died without faith in the
Messiah/Saviour) ... yet without any way of man knowing just how
very "wicked" he really was! That "way of knowing" how vile we
are ... is the Law of God!
Here’s how Paul put it in Romans 5:20.
"Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But
where sin abounded, grace did much more abound."
What a beautiful verse!
The verb "entered" is great! It is a
combination of 3 words in Greek! "Para" plus "eis" plus "erchomai"
means "to come into something ... deep within it ... and remain
nearby it!" Paul told the Jews that in their early history the
Law was their "schoolmaster" to
bring them to Christ! See Galatians 5:24.
The noun "offense" has been used in our study
earlier. It means a falling into a pit or hole! (Literally ...
to fall down beside your pathway!) When theologians speak of the
FALL of Man ... they use Biblical language.
The verb "abound" is "pleonazo" and means "to
do, make, or be more!" (More in quantity, portion or quality)!
Wow! It is a subjunctive aorist! It was God’s desire that the
Law make sin appear so huge! So overwhelming! And the "aorist"
tells us that the Law came only once ... sin has been made to
abound only once (in history) ... and (Thank the Lord) Calvary
had to occur but once!
But here’s the good news!
They worse sin looked ... the better Grace
looked!
The more sin grew ... the bigger Grace grew!
The further down sin led ... the further up
Grace led!
Hallelujah!
The final verb, used of Grace, is "much more
abound" and in Greek is spelled "huperperisseuo." This is
another compound word! It means ("peri") that which is through
or around someone! In front of "peri" is the little word
"hyper!" It means above or beyond all expectation! We here have
a case of "hyper-Grace" on our hands! Glory to God! (Have you
ever heard of "hyper-active" children? Or hyper-whatever? Well,
here’s hyper-Grace! And it is good!) It means "to superabound"
(in quantity or quality again too)!
I am thanking God for His Grace today!
It has outranked and outclassed and outrun
sin again and again since the days of old!
Let us pray, thanking God for this manifold
Grace!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 12 ... VERSE 21:
Today briefly I would like to discuss with
you these words from the pen of Paul the Apostle:
"That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our
Lord." Romans 5:21
Adam sinned.
Then Adam died (spiritually the very second
he sinned ... physically hundreds of years later).
In Adam we (us humans) all became sinners.
Thus we too (in Adam) died spiritually and
will some day die physically.
Jesus came and lived sinlessly, dying
vicariously on the old Cross of Golgotha.
Now in Him we can be saved and "born again"
from our deadness in trespasses and sins!
Or ... to put it as our verse today does:
Because of Adam ... sin has reigned and reigned until death has
fallen upon all men! But because of Jesus ... through His Shed
Blood ... GRACE can reign and reign forever by means of God’s
great Righteousness!
Get these 2 word pictures!
Sin (as a king) reigns!
But its invariable end is a kingdom of death!
(The wages of sin is death.)
Romans 6:23a
Yet in Jesus it is possible for Grace (as a
King) to reign! And its invariable end is the Kingdom of Heaven!
(But the Gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord.) Romans 6:23b
Glory to God!
Picture both sin and Grace as monarchs upon
their thrones!
A reigning king must have some power behind
himself! (Both sin and Grace do!)
A reigning king must have a throne! (Both sin
and Grace do!)
A reigning king must have some attendants!
(Both sin and Grace do!)
A reigning king must have some wealth! (Both
sin and Grace do!)
A reigning king must have authority to
enforce his edicts! (Both sin and Grace do!)
A reigning king must have some model to
follow! (Both sin and Grace do!)
Then it dawned upon me ... these two cannot
indefinitely reign at the same place and at the same time! They
are antagonistic to each other. There will be constant war! And
so it is.
The construction of these two verbs in verse
21 ("reigneth" and "reign" ... in Greek "basileuo") suggests
that while one reigns ... the other longs to reign! (In a
life where sin is reigning right now ... the Grace of God longs
to move in and take over and give life instead of death!
That’s the Gospel for you!)
Yes, when one gets "saved," technically sin
is dethroned ... and Grace is instated as the monarch (king) of
that life!
And dear converted friend, if Grace reigns in
your heart ... everything will be different!
Stop just a second Christian brother or
sister.
See if you cannot "sense" in your heart right
now the presence of the very Grace of God!
I suggest that you can!
And if Grace is reigning there ... then it
should impact every single area of our lives!
If Grace is reigning in me ... every word I
speak, every act I commit, everywhere I go, every thought I have
... should be vastly different than before!
The "reign" of Grace in a Believer's life is
just another way of describing the controlling Power of the Holy
Spirit! ("The fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
Galatians 5:22-23)
Reign, Grace, reign!
Amen!
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 13 ...
OCTOBER 16, 2004:
It sure looks like a contradiction!
In Exodus 20:4-5 the Bible tells us:
"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of any thing that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that
is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down
thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am
a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments."
Yet on the other hand Scripture tells us:
"The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither
shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man
shall be put to death for his own sin."
Deuteronomy 24:16
Look!
The Exodus text says that God visits the
iniquity of the fathers upon their children for several
generations! (That is called "imputation.")
The Deuteronomy text seems to say the very
opposite!
How does one resolve this?
Let me first of all say that I believe the
Bible is a perfect Book!
I nowhere accept the fact of any real
contradiction ... even between these two verses!
Here, I believe, is the answer.
When God judges ... He visits sins father to
son any time He pleases! After all, He knows everything and can
apply His laws to perfection ... never making a mistake!
But the Deuteronomy passage is giving human
legal procedure ... to be followed in the Israelites' courts of
law. There no imputation is to be applied ... because man does
NOT know all things. He should NOT punish a son for his
father's wickedness!
Exodus 20 ... describes Divine Punishment for
Sin!
Deuteronomy 24 describes Human Administration
of Justice!
There, it all falls into place beautifully!
But whether I understand it or not ... God's
Word is right!
Hear me:
"Let God be true, but every man a liar." Romans
3:4
(Just to prove that Deuteronomy 24:16 is not
trying to disprove the Doctrine of Imputation ... read
Deuteronomy 5:9-10!
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto
them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my
commandments."
Therefore ... the doctrine of "imputation"
stands!
But NOT in man's judicial system!
So ... the Bible is right when it tells us
that our father Adam sinned!
And that his sin has been "imputed" to us
all!
We are all guilty before God as sinners!
Yet ... Jesus, God's sinless Son came and
died for us!
And, by means of His shed Blood from the
Cross of Calvary, there can be "imputed" to me the very
Righteousness of God (derived from Jesus' Character and
Sacrifice)!
In Adam ... all born humans die!
In Christ Jesus ... all born-again humans
live!
Remember that word: imputation.
Of yes! One more verse:
"And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed
God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was
called the Friend of God." James 2:23
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 14:
It's in the Bible!
"Because sentence
against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the
heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil."
That's found in Ecclesiastes 8:11.
That noun for "sentence" is only used twice
in the whole Bible. In Esther 1:20 it is translated "the king's
DECREE." It refers to a judicial decision. It is an
edict (by a judge or jury).
The verb "executed" is just the common Hebrew
word for "doing" or "making" something.
And the adverb "speedily" translates a word
that means quickly or hurriedly ... the idea behind it being
that of water quickly flowing downhill!
The words "fully set" translate another
Hebrew verb, "male." (Pronounced ma-lay') It means
overflowing! (An over abundance!)
Also both times the word "evil" is used in
this verse, it is the Hebrew noun "ra" and means active vicious
spreading iniquity!
What's the verse saying?
It's just again illustrating the stupidity of
mankind!
He is again mocking God!
God has said again and again that man will
reap what he has sown. That his sins will find him out! That
they will come back to visit him (and his family)!
Listen to Paul here:
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap." Galatians 6:7
But ... lost reprobate man reasons like
this: I sinned! No judgment fell! I'm all right! I will go
sin more!
But according to the Bible ... judgment is
coming!
It may take a few generations to get here ...
but it's coming! Again I am reminded of Exodus 34:7 which says
of our great God: "Keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and
that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the
children's children, unto the third and to the fourth
generation."
We can either believe God ... or our own
suspiciously gathered "empirical" evidence. And remember that
such "findings" are also coupled with our sinful rationale. ("There
is a way which seemeth right unto man ...." both
Proverbs 14:12 and 16:25 declare. Then they quickly add:
"... But the end thereof are the ways of
death.")
For me ... I'm taking God at His Word!
By the way ... we are living in an age when
God's Grace is especially abundant!
But when God's longsuffering is exhausted ...
and He's ready to move in His great wrath ... pity this old
world!
If you don't believe me ... sometime today
read the Book of Revelation.
And let's not ignore this truth. What
happened to Sodom ... could happen again! Someone tell me where
the great city of Nebuchadnezzar (Babylon) is today. (Gone ...
by the judging Hand of God!) Take your world map and show me
these nations: Philistia, Moab or Ammon. They are non-existent
... the result of God's judgment! Seen any Amalekites lately?
BUT YOU HAVE SEEN SOME JEWS! God decimated one group ... but
preserved the other!
My point is this: God can do it again!
And mark my word: America will
not escape!
Psalm 9:17 --- "The
wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations
that forget God."
Let our nation laugh. Let her scoff at God!
True ... her "judgment" has seemingly been
delayed ... "not executed speedily."
And true ... she has "fully set" herself to
do more and more evil!
But also true ... God is going to ultimately
judge iniquity!
Dear friend, let the Law of God (the Word of
God) help restrain you from sin!
Promised judgments are on the way!
Live accordingly.
--- Dr. Mike Bagwell
LESSON 15,
OCTOBER 18, 2004:
