With Whom Will You Identify

In one paragraph

Pastor Jonathan worked through Romans 5:12 through 6:4, using the baptism of Elisa Walk Up as a living illustration of the passage's central question: with whom will you identify, Adam or Christ? The sermon laid out the contrast between the death that comes to every person through Adam and the life made available through Jesus, and pressed toward a direct choice. Paul's statement in Romans 5:12...

Read together

1. Psalm 105:1 opening verse shared before worship, give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness
2. Romans 5:12 death entered the world through one man Adam, death came to all because all sinned
3. Romans 5:13 sin was in the world before the law but sin is not charged where there is no law
4. Romans 5:14 death reigned from Adam to Moses even over those who did not sin by breaking a direct command, Adam as a type of the one to come
5. Romans 5:15 the gift of grace is not like the trespass, grace overflows to the many through Jesus Christ
6. Romans 5:16 judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification
7. Romans 5:17 those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through Jesus Christ
8. Romans 5:18 one trespass brought condemnation for all, one righteous act brought justification for all
9. Romans 5:19 through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous
10. Romans 5:20 the law was brought in so that trespass might increase, but where sin increased grace increased all the more
11. Romans 5:21 sin reigned in death, grace reigns through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ
12. Romans 6:1 shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase
13. Romans 6:2 may it never be, how shall we who died to sin still live in it
14. Romans 6:3 all who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death
15. Romans 6:4 buried with Christ through baptism so that we too might walk in newness of life
16. 1 Corinthians 15:22 as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive
17. Ephesians 1:18-23 read as the benediction, the eyes of your heart enlightened to know the hope of his calling and the surpassing greatness of his power toward believers

Talk about it

1. The pastor described original sin using an old Hungarian proverb: 'Adam ate the apple and our teeth still ache.' What does it mean to you personally that you inherited a condition you had no say in, and how does that shape the way you think about your own tendencies toward sin?
2. The pastor pointed out that Adam had a direct command from God while everyone after him received that knowledge secondhand, and he said our responsibility increases when we know the rules. How has knowing God's word increased your own sense of accountability, and where do you find that hardest to sit with?
3. Paul writes that where sin increased, grace increased all the more. The pastor said grace, not rules, is what moves a person into justification. What is the difference in practice between trying to live by the rules and living out of grace, and where do you see yourself defaulting to one over the other?
4. The pastor addressed the question Paul raises in chapter six: should we keep sinning so that grace can increase? He said that if you truly understand the depth of undeserved favor, that question answers itself. Do you find that understanding grace more deeply actually changes your behavior, or does it sometimes feel more like a concept than a lived reality?
5. Elisa's baptism was a central moment in the service, and the pastor said baptism is a public declaration of who you identify with, Adam or Christ. Whether you have been baptized or not, how clearly do you feel that identification with Christ shapes your daily sense of who you are?