Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 34 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; Rom 5:12- 6:13.

Title: Joshua and Judges: The doctrine of leadership part 34 - Essential qualities of leadership: The filling of the Spirit; ROM 5:12- 6:13.

 

Announcements / opening prayer:  

 

 

ROM 5:19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

 

disobedience - parakoh, [parakoe; para = alongside and akouo = to hear] = a refusal to hear, not willing to listen to authority.

 

Adam refused to hear. This refusal to hear is a source of disobedience in the OT.

 

JER 11:10

"They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers."

 

JER 35:17

"Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.'"

 

DEU 5:1

Then Moses summoned all Israel, and said to them, "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the ordinances which I am speaking today in your hearing, that you may learn them and observe them carefully.

 

DEU 6:4

"Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!

 

The opposite was found in TLJC:

 

HEB 10:7

"Then I said, 'Behold, I have come

 (In the roll of the book it is written of Me)

To do Thy will, O God.'"

 

By the one act of Adam in disobeying God, the human race was constituted sinful, and this by the judicial act of God.

 

Likewise, by the one act of obedience of the Lord Jesus, all who believe are constituted righteous, and this by the judicial act of God.

 

ROM 5:19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.

 

This is more than being righteous in position, yet includes it. It is the step towards practical Christian living in the life that is Christ given to us by the grace of God.

 

This is brought out by the verb translated "made." There are several Greek verbs that can be translated "made" in English.

 

"made" - kaqi,sthmi [kathistemi] = to appoint a person to a position. In several places in the NT it is used of appointing someone to a position of authority.

 

Many Christians are living defeated lives. They are defeated by those who have actually been dethroned because they don't understand verses like this. They may know of the verse but do they understand it? The Greek verb used here gives us some insight into a nuance that the English word "made" overlooks. The believer has been appointed to the position of righteous, not human righteousness, but that which is Christ. This is the biggest promotion anyone has ever received in all history, and you're fully qualified for it.

 

The Eighteenth Amendment brought prohibition to America, but what was the real truth? Did everyone stop drinking alcohol? No, it just went underground. So on paper we were a dry country but under the surface we were in reality something else. I just use this as an illustration. It was a stupid amendment, but it shows well the situation where on paper a person is one thing, but in his heart he is another. Many Christian lives have been defeated due to a lack of understanding and unfortunately, because of that, the word holiness has gotten a bad rap. People are scared of the word and others have gone to extremes in trying to define it in other terms that are not Biblical. What seems to be popular is to either deny its existence in Christians or to go all the way to the other side and claim sinless perfection. There has to be a middle ground between denial and fanaticism.

 

One of Satan's favorite tactics is to either get people to deny truth or to get them to believe a warped version of the truth and be fanatical about it. He separates men from God's truth and gets them to stand far away on either extreme. For instance, Satan likes to get people on the side of asceticism or licentiousness. Pick any extreme, just not the truth.

 

In our verse, compared with the entire section we come to a great culmination that has incredible implications.

 

The believer is a justified new creature appointed by abounding grace as rulers in a justified life of righteousness.

 

If the reality of this soaks in through the thick skull of the believer than his desire, more than anything, will be such a life in time.

 

It may take years of growth before we actually hunger and thirst for righteousness, but when we do, the Lord promises that we will be made full.

 

MAT 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

 

Man is addicted to the idea that his own goodness is sufficient. He is addicted to human righteousness. He does not comprehend that God hates human righteousness.

 

ISA 64:6

 For all of us have become like one who is unclean,

And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;

And all of us wither like a leaf,

And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

 

This is also another way of death to the Mosaic Law. The Law has dominion over a man as long as he lives (ROM 7:1) but in Christ the believer's nature in Adam dies. Crucified, dead, and buried is how God describes what He did to your old nature at the cross and so you can no longer be under the Law.

 

Paul closes the parallel between Adam and Christ and now enters into the question of the Law which came in alongside the induction of sin.

 

ROM 5:20 And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

 

In relation to Adam the Law would seem to be final. Sin existed in the absence of the Law from Adam to Moses but when the Law came in there was more violations and so transgression increased. So then the Law proved the conclusion concerning man which was condemnation, but that wasn't the final conclusion.

 

The Law stands between Adam and Christ. It condemns the children of Adam but Christ satisfied its righteous demands that we all broke. He didn't fulfill it by living under it, but by His blood (spiritual death) at Calvary.

 

The opposite of Law is not lawlessness but holiness in grace without reference to the Law.

 

The Law had an exit as well as an entrance.

 

Grace super abounded in Christ and through Him all are delivered from condemnation through faith.

 

The Law not only added commands that could be broken but it also fostered an antagonism from man against God which stimulates him to more disobedience. Arrogant fallen man takes offense at being told what he should do by his Creator. He longs for independence, which he believes to be freedom.

 

Yet, though God was faced with more disobedience, His grace through the humanity of Christ super abounded and more even on top of that.

 

You can't extend yourself beyond the grace of God since it is unfathomable, but you can come short of it.

 

ROM 5:20 And the Law came in that the transgression might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,

ROM 5:21 that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

The king of the unbeliever's life is the sin nature, yet in Christ this old monarch is dethroned and replaced by grace, righteousness, and eternal life.

 

Having such freedom the constraints upon us are no longer the Law or the fears of pain and punishment but the very love of Christ.

 

2CO 5:14-15

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.

 

If the monarch of your life is forever grace, righteousness, and eternal life by your position in Christ, then what should be your character?

 

Paul now turns from justification to sanctification.

 

Every believer has the power to choose such a character but he doesn't have the power to execute it. He must choose to strive for it by means of the Holy Spirit.

 

ROM 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?