Title: 13
Author: Joe Griffin
Last saved by: PaulD
Company: GDC

The Church of the Living God

		09-03-22-B.FBC08-96 /

All Sinned when Adam Sinned; the Blessings of Grace; Abraham’s Use of the Faith-Rest Technique: God Was Vetting Abraham, Not Sacrificing Isaac

Romans 5:12 -	Just as through one man [ Adam ] sin [ the sin nature ] entered into the world, and so death [ spiritual ] through the sin nature, consequently, spiritual death spread to all men because all [ p©j, pas: the entire human race ] sinned [ aorist active indicative of ¡mart£nw, hamartanō ] when Adam sinned.
12.	The verb “have sinned” at the end of the verse is important to our understanding of the imputation Adam’s sin.  It means that every person in human history sinned when Adam sinned.
	aorist:	Constative: contemplates the action of the verb in its entirety and the pronominal adjective pas: “all,” gathers into a single entity the entire human race.
	active:	The human race was seminally in Adam when he sinned consequently the human race, beginning with Adam, produces the action of the original sin.
	indicative:	Declarative: denotes the action of the verb from the standpoint of reality.  When Adam sinned he made a decision that spread the sin nature to the entire human race.
13.	This verse makes it clear why we were condemned at physical birth: had we been in the same situation as Adam we would have done exactly as he did.
14.	It is instructive to realize that our condemnation is not based on our own volitional sins but rather on the imputation of Adam’s.  This is a blessing of grace.  Because our condemnation is the result of imputed sin, the justice of God is free to judge our personal sins on the cross.
15.	Principle: Imputations cannot be revoked.  Therefore, our personal sins were not imputed to us but instead transferred to Jesus Christ where they were judged on the cross.
16.	Keep in mind that Christ was judged for the sins of the entire human race and this includes Adam’s original sin.  So Adam’s sin was judged on the cross and it was atoned for by his faith in Messiah, confirmed in Genesis 3:21.
17.	Consequently, since all sins were judged on the cross the issue that faces each person regarding his eternal future has nothing to do with sin, either imputed or personal.
18.	The only question that human free will must resolve regarding salvation is, “What think ye of Christ?”
19.	These are the blessings of grace that result from our condemnation at physical birth: through faith alone in Christ alone we are saved, imputed His righteousness, and justified and vindicated.  In 1978, these principles were expressed musically by Carla Cameron Barrows to the tune of the traditional Irish folk song “The Wearin’ o’ the Green.”  Here is her lyric under the title:
The Blessings of Grace
(© 1978 by Carla Cameron Barrows.  All rights reserved.)
The paradise of perfect man is sought by one and all.
Yet matchless grace provides much more than love before the fall.
From Eden’s tree to Calvary the plunder can’t compare!
One day His gain the world to reign, but heavens we shall heir.
Greater blessings than the garden now in time is God’s decree,
And His justice has secured them throughout all eternity.
One man, one sin and love no longer blessed the human race.
One Christ, one cross exchanged the loss for glories of His grace!
From one man’s sin, the human trend enslaves each one at birth.
Yet Christ who died has justified His royalty on earth.
Though Cherub swords guard Eden’s doors from evil, good, and sin,
Those who are wise find paradise from truth they guard within.
Greater blessings than the garden now in time is God’s decree,
And His justice has secured them throughout all eternity.
God, who’s glorified by blessing those who daily seek His face,
Protects His own from world and flesh by wonders of His grace!
20.	Whereas our original parents prior to the fall enjoyed the perfection of Eden they did not possess eternal life.  But following the fall their faith in Messiah provided them eternal life and they presently enjoy a far greater paradise in heaven.
21.	These are among the blessings of grace which so many in mainline churches do not possess because of an unbiblical belief that their own works will result in their justification.  No so, writes Paul in:
Galatians 2:16 -	Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no person will be justified.
Galatians 3:24 -	The Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
22.	From these principles we conclude that justification on the part of man is a nonmeritorious function of believing in Christ.
23.	Christ did the work on the cross that makes justification possible.  Our faith in His substitutionary sacrifice results in the imputation of divine righteousness.
24.	Recognizing His own righteousness in us enables the justice of God to justify us before the Supreme Court of Heaven which declares us vindicated: not guilty.
25.	Following salvation, the believer’s duty before God is to “Grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18a).
26.	Consequently, there is a justification by works that is attained by the believer who advances to the sophisticated spiritual life.
27.	We have examined the experiential justification performed by Abraham through his willingness to carry out the sacrifice of Isaac.  He did not hesitate to follow through on the precise execution of God’s directive.
28.	But it was not God’s intent that Abraham should actually do it, but rather that he would use doctrine in his soul to arrive at doctrinal rationales that would justify it in his own mind.
29.	Abraham believed that God knew what he was doing and as a result he applied the three stages of the faith-rest technique:
1)	Claim promises.  Abraham believed that God’s integrity demanded that He fulfill the Abrahamic and Palestinian Covenants which promised an innumerable progeny in its own national entity (Genesis 13:14-16).
2)	Doctrinal Rationale: These things were to be accomplished through Isaac.  “I will follow through with the commandment.  God’s righteousness must fulfill the covenants and justice must therefore protect Isaac.”
3)	Doctrinal Conclusion: “God must either preserve Isaac or, if I am to follow through with the mandate, God must resurrect Isaac in order to fulfill the covenants.  Therefore, I will go to the mountains of Moriah” (Hebrews 11:17-19).
30.	James confirms Abraham’s justification by works in James 2:21-26 where his uses the offering of Isaac as an illustration.  When a person has doctrine he is able to apply it under pressure.
31.	A person without doctrine functions from myopic human viewpoint and makes decisions based on emotion and self-interest.
32.	The test given to Abraham from the human perspective is offensive, but the person who has enough doctrine and is able to orient to the Integrity of God is able to orient to the postulate of Habakkuk, “The justified will live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4) which is repeated in the New Testament by Paul in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38.
Romans 4:3 -	For what does the Scripture say?  [ Genesis 15:6 ] “Abraham had believed [ pisteÚw, pisteuō: faith alone in Christ alone ] God, and it [ salvation ] was credited to his account [ log…zomai, logizomai ] for righteousness [ dikaiosÚnh, dikaiosunē: justification and vindication ].
33.	In this Roman 4 passage Paul is presenting his case for salvation by grace and justification by faith.  He opens the chapter using a rhetorical question as a debater’s technique to argue against the Judaizers who contend that justification is by works.
Romans 4:1 -	What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?  (nasb)

© 2009 by Joe Griffin Media Ministries.  All rights reserved.	www.joegriffin.org