Why is there evil in the World

And as I said, brothers and sisters, I want us to consider verses 12, 13 and 14. And I want us to ask this question of why did Adam sin? In other words, what is the reason of sin entering into the world? Or what is the reason of evil entering into the world? If God is all-loving, and He knows all things, and He is all-powerful, and He is righteous, why did God allow sin to enter into the world?

He could have created a world in which sin was not going to enter. He could have designed a world. He could have created a man that was not going to disobey, and hence sin will not enter into the world. And if sin did not enter into the world, then hence I suppose that this world will be much better. There will not be so much unrighteousness and sorrow.

And someone can ask, why if God is so mighty and powerful and loving? Why would he allow sin to enter into the world or create a world in which sin was going to enter? This has been a very difficult question that many people have asked themselves throughout church history. And certainly this question or the answer to this question has been perhaps the reason why many people have rejected Christianity. And more importantly than rejecting Christianity as a system or as a religion, this is perhaps one of the reasons why many people reject the Lord Jesus Christ.

But one of the most amazing things about this question and this difficulty of God being loving and all-knowing and all-powerful and yet creating a world in which sin has entered is not so much the amount of people that have seen this difficulty between these two realities and have come to the conclusion that they will reject Christianity or the Lord Jesus Christ, but rather that there is still hundreds and thousands and millions of people throughout history that independently of the difficulty of these two realities have come to the feet of Jesus Christ. And that is not that they are more intellectual or smart or that they have the ability to solve this difficulty, but rather the grace of the Lord when comes upon a person and opens the eyes of that person from their heart, they see that the problem that we have is indeed a problem of evil and unrighteousness, but the grace and the love of God is much more abundant. And that even though we see the darkness of this world and the unrighteousness of sin and the problems that the world has, it is through the blackness of this evil world that we can see the light of the gospel and the mercy of God and the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, this was not the intention of the apostle to address that question in this passage that we have here, but I do believe that even though throughout church history this difficulty of reconciling the fact that God is all loving and all knowing and all powerful with this idea and this reality that sin has entered into the world that we find here in this portion of the scriptures, I think the key for us to understand the reason why sin enter into the world. And everything that I'm going to say from this point is just going to be summarized in this.

My dear brother and my dear sister, the blessings and the greatness and the sweetness of reconciliation is much greater than any relationship that has not been broken, that has not been touched, or a relationship that is righteous and that is perfect. The blessings and the mercies and the exaltation of reconciliation, the sweetness of what it is to be reconciled, something that was broken, and now it is amended and fixed. The sweetness of reconciliation is much greater that a relationship that has not suffered, that a relationship that has been untouched. And the reason why reconciliation is much greater and the sweetness and the blessing of reconciliation is much greater than a relationship that is not broken, it is because in reconciliation we have the victory of love. While in a relationship of peace that has not been broken, we have the harmony of what it is meant to be.

But in reconciliation, brethren, we have love triumphing over that which has been broken. And let me submit to you from the very beginning and the onset of this sermon, that the greatest manifestation of love is found in reconciliation and not a relationship that is already perfect or not a relationship that is already broken. So what I'm saying is that brokenness and unrighteousness and evil is a necessary means for this glorious blessing of reconciliation that God bestows upon his people. And that is the whole point that the apostle has in the first 11 verses. Reconciliation, not a reconciliation that is obtained through terms and negotiations, but a reconciliation that is given from God to broken humanity, as he says in verse 11, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The blessing, the greatness, the sweetness of reconciliation is much greater than a relationship that has not been broken, than a relationship that is in peace, than a relationship that is in imperfection or in harmony. Because in reconciliation, you require a greater manifestation of sacrifice and a greater manifestation of love. That is everything that I'm going to say. I only want to give now depth to this statement that I have just said here. And in order to do this, I want us to understand the glories of Christ and of the gospel in reconciling us to the Father.

I want us to do this first. I want us to see from verses 12 through 13, what are the consequences of sin entering into the world. And today is going to sound like a little bit more teaching because we're going to go through different scriptures, and I want you to see what are going to be the consequences of sin entering into the world. And I submit to you that once we understand from this passage and the scriptures what are the consequences of sin entering into the world, then I hope that time and the Spirit and the Lord would allow us for us now to see the reason of that sin entering into the world. The why or if you want the purpose of that evil or that sin entering into the world through the disobedience of Adam.

First, I want us to consider then what are the consequences of sin entering into the world through the disobedience of Adam. If you pay attention there to verse 12, the Apostle is going to rather just to assume something that he's not going to prove here, but that he proves somewhere else. And that is that the disobedience of Adam is the reason why Death has entered into the world. Not only the reason why death has entered into the world, but the reason why we all sin is because of the disobedience of Adam. And I don't know if you have asked yourself this question, but I have certainly asked myself this question in my early years working with the Lord.

Why? Why am I responsible, or why do I receive the consequences of something that I men did thousands of years ago? Why do I sin, and why do I receive the consequences and the effects of the sin, of the disobedience of one man that happened thousands of years ago? Why? I haven't even met this man.

I haven't even seen this man. I don't have anything to do with this man. Why? The decision that these men made in the garden impacts me thousands of years later, and you. And the answer that the Scriptures are going to give us, not only here in Romans chapter 5, but in all the Scriptures, it is because Adam was first responsible for all the creation, and second, because Adam also represented all humanity.

Adam had this very particular role in which he was going to represent all humanity, and also he was going to be responsible for the future of all humanity. And the best way in the Scriptures in which we can see this relationship of responsibility and representation of Adam for the whole humanity is in the relationship of Adam and Eve. Because I don't know if you know, but you will see from the scriptures I'm going to show you, that Adam was not actually the person that transgressed or disobeyed initially. The person who transgressed initially was the woman, and it was Eve. However, when you go through the scriptures, you will realize that the responsibility of the sin that took place in the garden is given to Adam.

Why? Because Adam was responsible And also because he was in representation of all humanity. Come with me to 1 Timothy chapter 2. There the apostle is going to show us of that important relationship of the men with the women. And there we can see representation and responsibility.

1 Corinthians chapter 2. The passage is going to tell us about how sin actually entered into the world. 1 Timothy chapter 2. What did I say? Sorry, 1 Timothy.

1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. So let us go to 1 Timothy chapter 2. As the Apostle is teaching about the authority and how the structure of the Church is supposed to be when it comes to the authority of the Word of God be dispensed or administered in the context of the Church, the Apostle is going to tell us in 1 Timothy 2, verse 11.

Pay attention to this. 1 Timothy 2, verse 11. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain quiet."

Now, the Apostle is speaking here about the authority in the context of the church. But what is more important for us now is going to be the reason of what the Apostle is going to say, who is going to base his argument for the structure of authority in the congregation. He says, verse 13, "...for Adam was formed first, then Eve." And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

The woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet when you go through Romans chapter 5, and then you go into 1 Corinthians, what I had in my mind, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, then you will realize that the responsibility of the sin that happened in the garden is always given and attributed to Adam is the one that is responsible for the scene that happened in the garden. Why? Because Adam was responsible and he represented all humanity. And the role of this mission that was to keep and to protect the garden, Genesis chapter 2 from verse 14 and onwards, The mission to keep and to protect the garden and also the commandment of the Word of the Lord given to Adam was given even before the woman was created and taken out of his sight.

Adam was responsible now to keep and to protect the garden through the Word of God that had been given to him, and then the woman was going to be a helper to help him into that mission now. The role were different. They had different roles, but they could not do that in separation or apart. Why? Because if there was no woman, there was no humanity.

And if there was no woman and men, there was no mission. They were one. They were humans. They were created by God in his image and in his likeness. And this is the organization of how God set all things to function in this world with the headship and the responsibility and the representation of Adam.

He was responsible and he represented humanity. So through what he was going to do the rest of the future or the future of the rest of humanity was going to be defined. We know by Genesis chapter 3 that not only the woman but the woman in the man ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and on that day they spiritually died and sin came and entered into the world. But someone might ask the question, why? Why did God set the world in this structure in which one man is responsible for the future of all?

Why would God define that? Wouldn't it be more just and more fair? that everyone will be responsible for their own decisions, and that everyone will be created in the same way? Wouldn't it be more fair, more just, that everyone will be just given the opportunity to be created not in sin, not in union with Adam, and everyone will just simply start? Why would God set the world in that, or structure the world in that way in which one man is responsible?

And the answer to that is given to us in Romans chapter 5. The reason why the world has been a structure in which one man is responsible for the rest is because Adam is not the first thought. Christ Jesus is the purpose for which the world was created. And just as the sin has entered into the world, also righteousness and eternal life is going to be given through the accomplishments of one man. If we are going to complain about the fact that we are guilty or that we have received sin through the disobedience of a man that lived thousands of years ago, then we have no grounds to be recipients of the accomplishments of Jesus Christ, who lived 2,000 years ago.

Because the one who lived a perfect life was Jesus, not you or me. The one who completed everything that the Father required of him was Jesus, not you, not me. The one who conquered everything that the Father had established was Jesus, not you, not me. So if I'm going to receive the righteousness of God through the Lord Jesus Christ, so also I'm to understand that Adam was the first man from whom all the creation depends. All the system of creation, all humans were under Adam.

Why? Because there was going to be a second or the last Adam that was going to come. And in him we were going to be recipients of a grace that we have not obtained. The question is not if we are guilty. We are not because of Adam only, but because of the sins that we have committed.

There is sufficient evidence within ourselves, our minds and our hearts that points us to the fact that we are guilty. There are enough passions within our hearts, within our minds, within our souls that points us to the fact that we willingly choose those things that are not of God. And while it is true that we have received because of the responsibility and the representation of Adam, we sin because we choose to do so. And if we are guilty because of the sin of Adam, then we can be saved through the grace of Jesus Christ that is given to us in the gospel. The first Adam came and condemnation was given to the world.

Then Jesus Christ, the last Adam, come to give salvation to the world. The question is not, where are you? The question is, are you in Christ? Because we are all in Adam. We are all sons and daughters of Adam.

You don't know your forefathers? Let me tell you at least the last one. The last one of your forefathers, his name is Adam. And your mother there in the old days is Eve. We come, all of us come from the same parents.

And they were representing us and they were responsible for that. That's why the world receives the consequences of the decisions that were made there in the garden. But now let us return there to Romans chapter 12. I want to show you the consequences of that. The consequences of the sin that was committed in the garden by Adam and Eve.

The fall of Adam and Eve is going to bring to us consequences that now we justly deserve. Why? Because we are in Adam, because we are one with him. We justly deserve the consequences of the sin entering into the world. I'm going to give you these three that I have already mentioned in the past many times, and I'm going to remind you of these three consequences.

The first is going to be what I call the cosmic presence of sin, the cosmic presence of sin. And that is basically where sin is. Second, I'm going to show you there from verse 12, is going to be the dominating power of sin. So the sin that Adam committed in the garden brings first consequence in the world, that is that sin is going to be present in the cosmos. Second consequence is that sin is going to have a dominating power in the world.

And third is that sin is going to have a deathly penalty. That is the presence, that is the power, and that is the penalty of sin. Those are the consequences of what happens because of the disobedience of Adam. This is the result of what happened in the garden. Let me point you to the first one there in our text.

Pay attention to verse 12. It says, Just as sin, pay attention, came into the world through the one man and death through sin, so death is spread to all men because of sin. The first clause of verse 12 tells us just as sin came into the world through the one man and that is Adam. Adam was the doors that were opened for sin to enter into the world, into the cosmos. This is what I call the cosmic presence of sin.

Adam was responsible for all the creation and when he disobeyed, he opened the door so that sin will enter into all the creation. Every single aspect of creation has been permeated by the presence of sin. Sin is not only present in the heart of those who are the sons and daughters of Adam, but sin is present in absolutely everything that has been created. The word that we have there, world, is referring to the cosmos. Everything that has been created now is permeated by the presence of sin.

The trees, the creation, the oceans, the animals, everything that was given to Adam for him to administered and to work, all of it has been permeated by the presence of sin. And the only thing that is going to solve the problem of the cosmic presence of sin is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ when He comes and He takes the bondage of creation and He brings the revelation of the sons of God and there's new heavens and new creation. This is what the Apostle says in Romans chapter 8. If you come with me there, we can see the only solution for the cosmic process of sin given to us in Romans chapter 8. Pay attention to Romans chapter 8 in verse 19.

Romans 8, 19. It says, For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation, pay attention to this expression in verse 20, 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, will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Who is the one that subjected the creation in futility for this hope? It was God because of the disobedience of Adam.

The disobedience of Adam is what made the whole creation to be corrupted. And it's now in bondage to this corruption. Why? Because God created everything very good. You remember Genesis chapter one, verse 30.

But when Adam disobeyed, then sin is now present in the cosmos and the whole creation. Now it is corrupted, not only corrupted, but it's in bondage to that slavery, to that corruption. And the only way that the whole creation is going to be liberated from the corruption in which it is, is when the Lord Jesus Christ comes. But remember that the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is only possible because of His victory in His first coming. The victory of the cross is what redeems not only the church, but it's also what brings redemption to the fallen world that is now where we are.

The creation is in bondage and Jesus Christ, when He fulfills at the other mosque, His work of salvation will bring redemption not only to His people, but also to this fallen world and the cosmic presence of sin will be removed. If you come with me to Revelation, chapter 21, where we have this picture we have read this many times. But in Revelation chapter 21, we have that picture in which we see the new heavens and the new earth. And one of the characteristics there is the sin or death will be no more. Let us read together Revelation chapter 21.

Revelation chapter 21. It says in Revelation 21, verse 1, And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, And as their God, you remember in the garden, there was separation. God was with Adam and Eve. And because of their sin, there was separation. They came out of the garden.

They were rejected from the garden. And now God is no longer with his people. But when we see the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven, now we see God dwelling with his people. And we're told there in verse four, he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more. Death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

In Romans chapter 5, verse 12, we have that through the disobedience of Adam, sin entered into the world, and through that sin, death, and death spread to all people, because all people sin. The cosmic presence of sin has permeated every aspect of creation. But when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to consummate, finalize his work of redemption. Now he is going to be with us and death will be no more. The last enemy will be removed.

Death is no longer present because now the creation has been made anew. The first creation that was created will have to be put through fire, no longer through water. But now that is through this fire, we have new heavens and new earth where the cosmic presence of sin will be completely removed. Consequence number one, it is that through the disobedience of Adam, sin is present in the cosmos. And the only solution for that is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, where the presence of sin is going to be removed.

Second, we return to our text. It is the the power or the dominating power of sin. The second consequence of the disobedience of Adam is that now sin is not only present among us and in us, but this sin has a power and this power is the power to dominate, to dominate men, their passions, their will, and their interests. Now, they are dominated by the presence of the sin inside of me. Pay attention to verse 12.

It says, Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death is spread to all men, pay attention to that last statement of verse 12, because all Sin. Pay attention to the quantifying word there. All sinned. Not some of them sinned. Not just only the daughters or the sons of Adam or the close relatives to Adam and Eve sinned.

Or not only those who are going to live close to Adam and Eve, but all humans sinned. And that is because one sin has entered into the world and is now present in the heart of all humans. Now this sin has a dominating power and makes all people sin. It's not that sin is something separated from me and that is something that has come into this righteous house and now is making me sin. No, it is that sin now is part of who I am.

I have been conceived in sin and there's nothing that I can do to separate that from me other than the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because now sin is present in me, has permeated every aspect of who I am, my mind, my will, my desires, my affections. Now it is by nature that I am children of wrath, Ephesians chapter two. It is by nature that I'm a child of disobedience. It is by nature, Ephesians chapter two, verse one through four, that I have the spirit of the prince of the power of the year working inside of me.

It is now by nature that I'm a son of the devil. First John chapter three, verse nine and 10. It is by nature now that I I belong to the system of this world and I have no hope. I have no hope. I have no power in and of myself to remove, to escape, to divide, to discern.

I have no hope of righteousness. I have no hope of peace. I have no hope of pleasing God. I have no hope to escape the darkness of what sin has done in me other than the victory of Christ Jesus. Because the victory of Christ Jesus in His first coming is not only going to give us the promise that the presence of sin is going to be removed from the world, but also the victory of Christ over sin is what gives me victory over sin, brethren.

Because it's the life of Christ that is given to the Christian by grace through faith. And when we have the life of Christ in us, then it's no longer I who lives. but Christ who lives in me. And now I no longer am dominated by the power of sin, not because I'm strong or powerful, but because there's someone else who dwells in me, whose name is Christ Jesus, who has already been victorious over sin. That is what the apostle is going to illustrate in Romans chapter 6, if you pay attention there to verse 9 of the 6th chapter of the book of Romans.

Romans chapter 6, verse 9, it says, we know We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. Remember, Jesus died once. Death had power over Jesus once. The Lord Jesus died, verse 9. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again.

Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life He leaves, He lives to God. Now verse 11. So you also, must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Verse 12, let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. And then we have the promise. Just as there's going to be the redemption of creation, the presence of sin is going to be fully removed with the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the promise that now the Christian has when it comes to the power of sin. It says, verse 14, for sin will have no dominion over you.

Why? Since you are not under the law, but under grace. What is the consequence of the sin of Adam? The consequence of the sin of Adam is that now sin is present in the cosmos, and this is going to be solved with the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Second is also now that this sin that has entered into me has dominating power.

I'm like Israel when I'm in Egypt. Pharaoh is now making me do all the things that he wants, but when Jesus Christ comes, and rescued me out of Egypt, and takes me into the wilderness to bring me closer to His presence, and gives me what I need, opens my eyes. I'm in the presence of Jesus. Now I'm no longer a slave to Pharaoh, but now I'm a slave to a better master, and that is my Lord Jesus Christ. So I'm free when it comes to Pharaoh, but now I'm a slave to this one that is righteous, that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

I have been liberated. from the dominating power of Pharaoh in Egypt and have been rescued now to be in heavenly Jerusalem with Christ. That is the perfect master. That is the perfect Lord that leads me to pastures of rest and that gives me what my soul needs. Dominating power is solved and is overcome by the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ, who died upon the cross.

Those who, by grace through faith, receive the life of Christ are receiving a life that has been victorious over sin. And just as sin will no longer have dominion over Jesus Christ, he will not die. So the Christian who receives the life of Jesus will not die. And sin will have no dominion over the Christian. Why?

Because the Christian is no longer in the flesh under the law, but now the Christian is in the spirit under the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that does not mean that we're going to be perfect, but what it means is this. that the work that God has begun in each one of his children will be brought to completion. And on the day in which we are taken up to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ to be with them, that work that he has started will come to the point that he has decreed and he has ordained. And we can have certainty and assurance that the reason why sin will have no dominion over the Christian, it is not because of the strength or power of the Christian to overcome sin, but rather because Christ has already defeated sin upon the cross, and the victory of Christ becomes the victory of the Christian, and we can praise Him because we are His work and we are in His hands.

Third, and finally, we return there to verse 12. The other consequence of the entrance of sin or the disobedience of Adam is not only the cosmic presence and is not only the dominating power, but is the deathly penalty of the penalty of death. Pay attention there to verse 12 once again. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and sin through death, and so death spread to all men because all sin. It's not only that sin spread to all men, but it's also that death spread to all men.

Because the Apostle is going to tell us in Romans chapter 6 verse 23 that the wages of sin is death. So death is going to be the natural consequences of those who have sinned and those who have sinned in themselves. So then that means that the natural outcome and the wages that we should receive is death. Not only physical death, but eternal death. And with the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ when he comes to defeat sin upon the cross, then the Christian purely by grace can have the certainty and the assurance that the penalty of sin, which is death, has been Fully paid, the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the means by which these three consequences of sin are dealt with.

The presence of sin is going to be removed from the world because of the victory of Jesus Christ. Sin will not have dominion over his people because of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. And the reason why the death that we deserve will not take us to hell, which we deserve, it is because Jesus Christ has come down to have victory over sin, and he will give us life, life that is eternal. The first Adam came and brought death into the world. The second Adam has come into this world and has given us life.

And do not think that just simply the way that sin entered into the world and that is spread to all people is just simply by the giving of the law. It is not that, because we know that, for instance, the Bible says that sin is a transgression of the law. So then someone may say, well, if I do not have the law, then I'm not going to sin and God cannot count anything for me. The apostle says very clearly there, verse 13 and 14, that sinners are not those who have the law, but sinners are all of them. Pay attention to verse 13 and 14 of our passage that we have before us.

It says in verse 13, for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given. But sin is not counted when there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not in the likeness or not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. The point of the Apostle is this, and it's very simple, that all of us will die by virtue of sin. And it's not only those who have the commandment and who break the commandment openly, the ones who sin.

We don't need something that tells us, you shall not lie, for us to be liars. We don't need something that tells us you shall not kill for us to be murderers. We don't need something that tells us you shall not covet for us to be covetous in our hearts. That is within given to us. That is that all have seen with or without the law.

Because when you understand from a biblical perspective, the obedience that is required from God, you realize that that which is required of men is not by following the letter only but is meant to be from the heart. That's why the same apostle will say then in Romans chapter 14 verse 23 that that which does not proceed from faith is sin because that which is required for perfect obedience is not only the keeping of the law but a heart that is filled with faith. Or James will also say in James chapter 4 verse 17 that he who knows that which is right to do and does not do it for him it is Sin, because sin or disobedience is more comprehensive than not having the law. It is a matter of the heart. So for the person who knows what to do and does not do it, for that person is sinful.

For the person who does something for his own glory and not for the glory of God by faith in Jesus Christ, for that person that is sinful. And for the person who clearly breaks a commandment that God has given, that is sin also for that person. That's why all of us have sin. The Apostle is not telling us that we need the law to be guilty. The Apostle is telling us that all of us have died and have sinned.

Even before Moses, when there was no law, everyone died. Because even though they were not breaking a clear commandment given to Moses, they were breaking the conscience that God had given them and their knowledge of sin. They were breaking the commandments that God had put into their minds of following Him and honoring Him. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only one that can come and solve all the problems of sin. 40 minutes there.

Let me finish with this. But why? Why has sin entered into the world? Now, I have shown you here from the text the responsibility of Adam, or the headship of Adam over all creation, and the consequences of his sin in all creation. And I have tried to show you the connection that exists between humanity and Adam, and the responsibility that we have, and the clear consequences, not only in the presence and the power and the penalty of sin, but how this is only solved through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

But why? Why did God allow all of these things to happen? Could He have not created a world in which it was already glorified without the presence of sin? You know, like the world that we read in Romans chapter 8, that is already glorified, and that there's already everything in place, and that the children of God now are enjoying the presence of the Lord? Could He have not created a world in which there was not sin at all, so there was no power or dominion, and all of our affections were perfect, and all of our affections were inclined always to Him?

Perhaps He could have given us a heart and a will and the intentions of everything inside of us that will always lead us to obedience. Why didn't He do that? The answer, I think, is found in the context of what we have here. And it's going to be once again this word, reconciliation, brethren. As I said in the very beginning, and I said it once again here, the sweetness, the blessing, the glory of reconciliation is much greater than a relationship that has not been broken, or a relationship that has not faced difficulties, or a relationship that has not faced unrighteousness or sin.

the blessing and the sweetness of what it is to be reconciled requires that there will be a greater manifestation of love. And let me submit to you that it was the intention of God from the very beginning before the foundation of the world to reveal the greatness of his love to his people. And the greatness of the love of God requires that it is very highly manifested and given to his people so that there will be a purely divine manifestation of his love. It is much easier, brother and sister, to love the person that is lovable and deserves to be loved. It is much easier to love the person who has kept commandments and who has been perfect.

It is much easier to love the person who deserves to be loved than what it is to love the person that does not deserve to be loved. the person who has broken commandments, the person that is unrighteous and by nature is unlovable. God in his character has manifested to us the greatness of his love, and the greatness of his love is redemptive love. And for that redemptive love to be manifested in this high, We had to be the objects of sin and wrath, and we should be sinners and broken so God could come down to rescue that which does not deserve to be loved, and then he would have manifested the greatness of his love. This is what the apostle says in his context.

Pay attention very carefully to verse 6. Everything that he said before, verse 12. Pay attention to verse 6. It says in verse 6, For while we were still weak, Romans chapter five or six, for while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. Brethren, these verses, seven, eight, are just incredible truths.

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die. But pay attention to the first word of 8. But. But God is not like the person described in verse 7. God is not the one who loves the righteous.

God is not the one who loves the one who deserves to be loved. God is not like the one who gives thou in retribution to the one who has merited it. But it says in verse 8. But God shows or demonstrates his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. For the greatest redemptive love of God to be demonstrated and revealed and bestowed upon us, it was necessary that sin will enter into this world, so that humanity will be in the lowest places, So then the manifestation of God's mercy and condescension will be so great that He will manifest the depths of His love towards people that do not deserve to be loved.

So what I'm saying is that sin and evil were necessary in this redemptive purpose of God that was going to manifest the ultimate and greatest love to people. And it's not only, maybe your brother and sister, that God redeems the unrighteous, but it's that God redeems a humanity that has rejected the object of God's, the Father, love. Because it is one thing to love a person that is unrighteous, and it is one thing to come and say to a person that is bad and is evil, I said, I forgive you and I love you. But it's another thing to take the person who has broken or who has killed or who has done something against the person whom you love the most, and then to exchange the places of this person that you love the most with this person that is evil and unrighteous and say to that person, I love you and now you're a part of my family and everything that my son had, I'm going to give it to you. This is what God has done.

God has manifested the greatest love possible because God is love and God the Father loves His Son. And we humans have now violated the commandments of the Lord. And more than that, when He sent His Son, we killed Him. We killed the Son, we killed the Son of God. It is not that you were not there, you would have done exactly the same that people did there.

We would have delivered the Lord Jesus Christ to die upon the cross. Yet the love of God is manifested in that He sent His Son to die upon the cross for sinners like us. The greatest evil is not that sin entered into the garden, brethren. The greatest evil is that when the Son of God, who is sinless, perfect, loving, and is God himself, was killed upon the cross, and God, who had ordained and already had a purpose, did it so that the one who is exalted and in heaven will come down to the lowest places where we are to manifest to us the greatest of love. And for that, brothers and sisters, sin and evil were necessary.

The entrance of sin by what Adam did in the garden was a necessity in this process of redemption. So that as the Apostle says in Ephesians, and we can read it together, I don't want to say it with my Colombian accent, I want you to see it there with your words. See it please there in Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1. And you were dead, Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1, and you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked.

Of course you know this is speaking to us, brethren. 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 earth, 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. But God being rich in mercy, because of the great love, because of the great love, with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved.

and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Why? So that in the coming ages he may show or he may demonstrate the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. Had seeing not entered into the world, had brokenness and unrighteousness not entered into the world, then the greatest manifestation of God's love would have not been possible. The greatest manifestation of His love is that when we were broken, when we were sinners, when we were unrighteous, He did not only made a way for us to be saved, but He came down to be like one of us.

The Son of God came from heaven to be like one of us and to remain like one of us forever. And in the coming of the Son, He humbled Himself to such a point, even death and death of the cross. Upon the cross He died, so that the love of the Father will be greatly manifested towards us. This is the substance and the heart of verses such as, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. This is the meaning of it.

That is, that God has loved us in such a way that we did not deserve. But you know what the problem is? That we think that we deserve to be loved. that we think that we are okay, that we're not too bad, that we are not so deep into the hole, that we think that we have something in us that makes us lovable brethren. The greatness of the gospel is that we're in the lowest places of what it should be, and God has sent His Son to die upon the cross for us.

So God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The problem of sin in us, it is only solved by the Lord Jesus Christ. Are we broken and contrite for the presence of sin in this world and for the presence of sin in us? He's going to be with us until we are with the Lord, brethren. There's going to be one day in which He's going to come and He's going to make all things new.

Are we broken and we are concerned for the power of sin within us? Christ has already defeated sin, and the way that we defeat that sin and we're victorious is by coming and abiding in Christ. Because when we are in Christ, we have the life in Christ in us. And are we concerned for the penalty of sin, which is death? If you believe in the name of the Son, Jesus Christ, you shall be saved.

If you come to Him in repentance and faith, you shall be saved. And in Christ Jesus, we will find the freedom that we have and that we are going to have when we see with our broken and fallen eyes everything that the Lord will make anew. He is the reason why Jesus Christ is the reason of the love of the Father in sending and coming down to die upon the cross to demonstrate that love is not doing that which is right for the person who deserves it. But the demonstration of divine love is doing that for the person who does not deserve, and actually deserves the opposite than love. Because we are vessels of wrath, yet he has given us love.

May the grace and mercy of God the Father be manifested to the hearts of his people in the gospel of Jesus Christ as he has come down to have victory over the cross. And I see it at the right hand of the Father triumphant as he's building up his people, taking his bride out of this wilderness, working through his Holy Spirit, putting his word in our minds and in our hearts. And when we're tempted to despair, we look back to the cross and see what he has accomplished and the promise that what is to come. And as we leave our futile days in the midst of this corruption and the brokenness of our bodies that are going to age and are going to get weaker and are going to perish and are going to be broken, and the strength of your days is not going to last very long, there's going to be one day in which we are futile and broken as we leave the weakness and the feebleness of these bodies, that our hope is not put in the things of this world, brethren. but that our hope is put in the things that Christ has already accomplished.

Because there's going to be one day in which we are going to be given new bodies, and we're going to be given a new self. And that new self is not to be prideful in the strength of our ways, but is rather to be to worship the Lord with the fullness of heart, with a fullness of mind that is not taken or distracted by the things of this world, but is rather focused on the completed and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the Lord. that we serve. That is the Christ of the Scriptures.

That is the lover of our souls. And that is the one that empowers us, brethren, to live for Him as we count the days that we have in this world and as they pass away. Because we will die, brethren. the Adamic dispensation, the Adamic world will have to pass away. And these bodies, they belong to Adam and they will have to pass away.

But when we die, the most important thing is not what we have or what we've done, it's if our names are found in the book of life of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, because to Him is all the glory. Amen? Amen. Let us, let us pray. Father, Lord, once again, we come before you, Lord, and I give you thanks for the glories of the gospel of Christ.

Lord, I pray that you will teach us to wait and to hope in the glorious, the blessed hope that you have promised us and given us in Christ Jesus. When we look around, Lord, and we see the presence of sin in us and the presence of sin in this world and the corruption and the brokenness and the unrighteousness of this world, Lord, and that we will know that your redemptive love is much greater and more powerful and victorious over the chaos and over the brokenness of this world. Lord, please help us and teach us by your hand and by your Holy Spirit to know that to be reconciled with God is the greatest blessing that a person can have. So help us, Lord, to be joyful and to rejoice in the fact that we have received abundant grace that comes from above, and that indeed that all glory is for the Lord Jesus Christ alone. I pray, Lord, that if there is anyone among us who just by the reading of the word, just the things that we have said, Lord, I pray that if they are not in Christ, Lord, that you will use the words that we have read and the prayers that we have prayed and the words that we have preached to bring them to Christ.

to remove them from Adam and the consequences of Adam's disobedience, Lord, and to bring them to Christ and the consequences of the accomplishments of Christ. A glorious promise that one day sin will be no more. A glorious promise that we are not longer under the law, but under the grace of the gospel. A glorious promise, Lord, that even though the wages of sin is death, the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ, our Lord. I pray, Lord, that if there is anyone among us that is following religion instead of following Christ, I pray, O Lord, that you will grant of your spirit to come to the feet of Christ honestly.

I'm from the leading of your Holy Spirit. I pray, Lord, that you will forgive us for the many times in which we have been tempted to despair and we have been distracted by the things of this world and the things within us, Lord, and we don't see the fullness of the manifestation of your love. Forgive us, Lord, for the times in which we have questioned the love that the Father has had for us. Teach us, Lord, to look to the cross, and teach us, Lord, to look ahead as we see the history of redemption being revealed. We praise you, Lord, with feeble words and simple thoughts.

We pray, Lord, that you will strengthen each one of these brothers and sisters to have faith in Christ, Lord, I pray that you will bless each one of these marriages and these families. Lord, I pray that you will bless even those brothers and sisters who are not here among us. Bless them, protect them, and keep them. Lord, teach us to be people that just remember the simple facts of the gospel. Help us, Lord, to be people that have present in our hearts and in our souls the victory of Christ, the victory of the cross, the love of the Father, the work of the Spirit.

Help us, O Lord, not to despair with the temptations and distractions of this world, but just always to be focused on you. I pray your blessing upon each one of the families, and I pray for the salvation of our children. I pray, Lord, that you will protect them, you will keep them, you will teach us to love them, to guide them, to point them to Christ. Teach us, Lord, to love one another as you have loved us, because this is love, not that we loved you, but that you loved us first, and send your Son to be the propitiation for our sins. So if God so loved us, let us also love one another.

I pray, Lord, that you will teach us that and that you will lead us and guide us. And now as we come to the table and as we're going to take these elements in our hands, these oneness that we have with you, they might be seen through the lenses of the oneness that we had with Adam. And that oneness that we had with Adam is what we deserved. And as we proclaim and as we consider the oneness now that we have with Christ by your grace, and as we have these elements in our hands, that we may rejoice in the fact that we are one with Christ. And we are no longer in Adam, but we are in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Bless us, Lord, as we partake of this table. And lead us with hearts of rejoicing and peace and thankfulness for what you've done for us. I pray that you will do this in Jesus' name. Amen.