Two Men Who Determine Your Future

I would like to turn to two passages: Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15. Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians chapter 15.

This evening we want to consider the two men who determine your future. As you will see in the passages we will read, there will be a reflection upon two specific individuals. One is Adam, and the other is the Lord Jesus, the second Adam from above.

That is why we sang that hymn. That was at least part of the reason why we sang it. I was looking through the hymnal and trying to find something appropriate, and I could not find anything better than Wesley’s.

So, Romans 5. We are going to read from verse 12. Then, if you have also found your place in 1 Corinthians 15, we will turn there afterward.

So, Romans 5, verse 12. Let us hear the Word of the Lord.

“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:

“For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

“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.

“But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more has the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is through one man, Jesus Christ, abounded unto many.

“And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment came from one offense leading to condemnation, but the free gift comes from many offences unto justification.

“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all people to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all people unto justification of life.

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

“Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

“That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

And now please turn to 1 Corinthians 15. I will read from verse 42.

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

“It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

“Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.

“The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.

“As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.

“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

“Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory.

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

“The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

Amen.

We trust the Lord will bless the public reading of His Word. And what you have heard is the Word of the eternal God, which you are to receive, believe, and obey. And the people of God said, Amen.

Let’s pray.

Lord, we thank you again for the peace that you grant to your people. And whatever is going on in life, if we can say that it is well with my soul, what a rest, what a mercy. There may be some here who need the help of the Spirit of God to come in a fresh and new way to rest in what they have in Christ.

And so, Father, we pray, give the grace to do this. To those who have failed to turn to Him, to any here who are still without grace, who have not obeyed the call, who have remained in unbelief and rebellion, we pray that you would illuminate their minds in this hour.

Above all, we pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit. O Spirit of God, fall upon us and save the lost, we pray in our Savior’s name. Amen.

What determines your future? What is the determining factor with regard to your future in an ultimate sense?

You may answer this question in various ways. When you think about your future, it will reveal what truly matters to you. But what the Scripture reveals to us is that your future and mine is tied to a man.

Your identification with another determines your future. Your relationship to another determines your future. It is not for you to think about your future in an ultimate sense in terms of what you have planned. To think that your feelings, your experiences, your efforts, your heritage and lineage, that any of these things play a necessary part in the future you have in an ultimate sense is incorrect. It is tied distinctly, and in a way that you cannot avoid, to your relationship with a man.

In verse 47 of 1 Corinthians 15, we see this contrast or distinction between two men. There is the first man, who is of the earth, and there is the second man, who is the Lord from heaven.

What the apostle is doing is not merely comparing different significant historical figures. He is not simply looking at two men in an arbitrary way. He is bringing them together to show that all of humanity is tied to or identified with one or the other. And there is no avoiding this.

There are two covenant heads. God does not deal with humanity in a scattered way in which each individual determines everything for himself. He does not separate a person from everyone and everything in such a way that it is entirely up to that person how his future will unfold, especially when we think of eternity. We are dealt with based on who represents us.

Which man represents me? Does Adam represent me, or does Christ? Am I tied to one or the other?

Although this is a deep theological truth woven into what we will examine tonight, I will try to avoid delving too deeply into it, because my real purpose is that you hear what is being said.

Our points will be very simple. We will look at one man, and then we will look at the other. We will try to detail one man, and then detail the other. We will examine these details, and then we will come to the end, and you will have a choice to make.

If you want to be identified with Adam, then at the close of this meeting tonight, do nothing. But if you want to be identified with Jesus Christ, the Lord from heaven, then it calls you to repent and believe in Him.

So which man represents you?

The apostle, as I say here in verse 47 particularly, you have a first man and a second man. A second man, not in the sense of second in significance or rank, nor merely second in sequence, but in the sense of God fulfilling a redemptive purpose in which there are two men: there is a first one and a second one. There is no third. There are no other options. There is a first and a second.

The eternal destiny of every single person hinges on their relationship to one or the other. Others have noted that the Apostle Paul speaks both in Romans 5 and in 1 Corinthians 15 as if there are only two men in the world. Not because he believes only two men ever existed, but because he understands that there are only two individuals, and by God’s reckoning, all of humanity has gathered under these two.

Everyone, in a way that cannot be avoided, no matter where you are from in the world.

So as I say, just two main points. The things we will look at under both of those points are the same in terms of subject matter. The sermon is truly about contrast. It is about distinguishing the unique differences. What the Bible reveals about the first man and what the Bible reveals about the second man. Or, as he is also referred to, the last Adam.

Two men who determine your future.

You would imagine, then, that I do not need to convince you, since this relates to your future, that you ought to sit up and listen attentively. This is for you. It pertains to you. It is relevant to you.

You might say, I am not sure I am really interested in looking at the contrast between Adam and Christ. That may be the case, but I am hoping that you understand the significance of it. Because this is how God looks at the world. And if this is how God looks at the world, then you need to be standing in a position in which you want to see things as God sees them.

For God will not make judgment based on how you see them. He has His own way of viewing the world and those who are in it. And Paul reveals here, in Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15, that there are two representative men—two men who determine your future.

Let us then first consider the first man. The first man.

We will note his origin. His origin is described in verse 47 as being of the earth—earthy. He is of the earth.

Adam, as many of you know, is described in Genesis as being formed from the dust of the ground. He belongs to the created order. He identifies with it, and he is the first man made.

Paul does not question the historicity of this account, as some do. I was just thinking—should I name names? Another well-known individual in broad evangelicalism today, not American, has recently promoted ideas that Adam was merely a proto-human, among others who lived at the same time. This view, which misunderstands the full impact it has on the gospel, undermines the foundation of Christian belief.

Without going too far off track, if the historicity of Adam is diminished, and if Adam is seen as just one among many, then the uniqueness of his role as the one from whom all humanity descends, the guilt that is transferred through him, and the full theological significance of his actions all collapse.

Adam was the first man. This is what God’s Word reveals. Believe it. And do not believe it merely because Genesis states it, though that is sufficient. Believe it because if you undermine this truth, you undermine the very foundation of the gospel itself.

Even in what we are examining here, two representative men are presented, under whom all of humanity is related. All people are naturally born, as we will see, under Adam. Therefore, to bring about redemption, there must be one who can come and address the shortcomings of the first man.

If you multiply the human race at the time of Adam, you will encounter logical difficulties in believing in the significance of Christ representing those who have died in Adam.

So he is of the earth. This Adam is tied to the earth. He is not denying the fact that he has a physical body. It is not as though he is like a Gnostic, criticizing the fact that he is of the earth or of the material world. The Scripture does not despise the physical body, but he is simply recognizing and pointing out that he belongs to the original created order.

He is creaturely, changeable, and has the potential for death. Even when Adam was created, though he was innocent, he had not yet been glorified. He did not have a glorified body. He is of the earth. That is his origin.

What of his nature?

Verse 45, if you go back a little, “The first man Adam was made a living soul.” He was made a living soul. He had no preexistence. He did not exist before this time. He was made from dust, and that is when his existence began.

Then God breathed into the nostrils of Adam, and he became a living soul. He received life from God—life that enables him to live in this world, to do what God has called him to do, to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it, and take dominion over the creatures, and so on.

Thus, Adam is positioned in this nature as belonging to this world. God gave him life so that he might exist in this world. And after him, of course, there is the spiritual. We will get to that in just a moment.

But the idea is that his nature is connected to this present age. He belongs to this world. He is not glorified. He is not prepared for another world. He is prepared for this world. He was made for this world. He exists in this world, and he is formed in such a way that he can live and work in this world. He is not prepared for the world to come.

Again, you must keep this in context, and this is not my main focus, but this entire passage deals with the issue of resurrection—the resurrection of believers. The question arises: shall we rise? Is there a resurrection?

And Paul affirms that there must be a resurrection. Our hope is in vain if there is no resurrection. He is arguing this point: there will be a resurrection of those who have died in Christ, and we will all be raised. Our bodies will be changed, transformed, and we will be judged in these very bodies.

These bodies, though glorified, will be judged, which is, of course, the motivation at the end of the chapter to labor and to live in this world with purpose for God. The labor is not in vain, because you yourself will not simply cease to exist someday. You will continue to exist. And your works will follow you, as Revelation says. They will have a future.

But Adam was not created for that future. His nature was connected to this world.

Consider his position.

Adam is not merely the first man created, but a representative man. He stands in the place of others. His actions have a collective impact upon everyone, as we will see in just a moment. He is not viewed merely as a man in and of himself, but as a man representing all who will be his descendants.

He stands in this position, to use the language here, as the first man. This man occupies a particular representative role, the head of humanity, a public figure. Some of the old theologians referred to a common man—not in the sense of being ordinary, but in the sense that his actions affect all. It is the shared identity we have with him, through which we cannot avoid being affected by what he does. He holds this position.

Now, you may look at this and say, well, that is an unusual idea, but it is not that unusual. We see this every day. When the world watches the activity, actions, decisions, and words of the President of the United States, the King of England, the Prime Minister of Canada, or any national leader, they understand that these individuals represent the entire nation.

You may not agree with or like what your president, king, or prime minister says or does. But they are public figures. They represent more than themselves. Theologically, this is also true of Adam.

He is the first man. He represents all of humanity. He stands in this position.

This is not something taught in schools. It is not commonly considered in our world. We tend to think of ourselves as individuals, capable of making our own destiny, and judged solely by who we are in and of ourselves. We do not like the idea that anyone else has influence over who we are, or even over our destiny.

But that is what Scripture says. By the disobedience of one, many were made sinners. We read of this in Romans 5. One man disobeyed, and all others became sinners.

This is his position. Under God, this is his position. This public person, this common human nature in which we all share, is represented by him, so that his actions are not private or isolated to himself. They have a widespread and significant effect on everyone else.

Consider his action.

What did Adam do? We read about it in Romans 5, verse 19: “By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” That was his action. He disobeyed. God gave him a command. Adam did not uphold the command. He disobeyed the command.

You know the scene in the Garden of Eden. You may have all the fruit and access to everything I have provided, but there is one tree, one fruit, and the day you eat from it, you will die. Do not eat from that fruit.

It was clear. Adam was not confused. He communicated the message to his wife, and she understood it as well. Satan came and deceived her. Her deception then led her husband, who is the representative head, into disobedience. Through his disobedience, the consequences of rebellion against God were passed on to all.

We become guilty because of him. We are not merely looking back and saying, that is a bad pattern for humanity. We are looking at this and saying that it is more than a pattern. It has real consequences.

This leads us, in the fifth place, to consider his effect.

What is the effect of being represented by Adam and of what he did? What is the result of his position and his action?

Well, the Bible is very clear: guilt is imputed. All the world is guilty before God, as Romans 3 states. There is no way to avoid this guilt. There is no way to escape it. Everyone is guilty.

Guilt is imputed. Adam acted, and we are guilty. He is not only guilty; we are guilty. Born from his line and represented by him, we are all guilty before God.

Not only is guilt imputed, but corruption is inherited. The judgment of death has passed upon all, as we are told. This includes not only death itself but also the corruption of our nature. The corruption of our nature means that our nature no longer naturally upholds righteousness.

You will not find a more difficult theological question than asking how Adam, who had a natural inclination to obey God, rebelled against God. There is no harder question than that. How did a man with a natural inclination to obey disobey? All we know is that he did.

And this brings corruption upon us. Immediately he was corrupted. You see everything corrupted. We are not told how the body responded immediately. But you do not read far into Genesis before you see a pattern: this one lived for a long time and then died. That one lived for a long time and then died. You see the corruption.

But the corruption goes deeper than just affecting the body. It affected the spirit.

Adam, who had perfect access to the presence of God, had no sense of fear when standing before Him. Adam did not feel the way Moses felt, as we considered this morning, when he hid his face, lest he look upon God. Moses felt this because of the corruption of his nature, because he understood the great difference between himself and the holiness that allows no one to approach God’s holy presence. But Adam did not feel this.

Being without sin, he could feel at ease in the presence of God. And so the corruption became evident immediately when he ran from God.

Hiding from God is a sign of spiritual corruption. Running from God is a sign of spiritual corruption. When a sinner runs from God, avoids God, or tries to escape from God, it reflects rebellion against the very Creator. This is spiritual corruption made visible.

Of course, death is experienced. Guilt is imputed, corruption is inherited, and death is experienced. As I said, in Genesis 5, “and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died.” This shows that what God said would happen came to pass. Adam did not avoid it. None of his descendants were able to avoid it.

There is an exception in Enoch, who walked with God and was taken up. This exception is meant to highlight the rule and point to a future hope. God is aware of this problem. He has an answer. His Son, who will walk not only with God but in this world as God, will defeat death.

So the first man is of the earth. He reproduces after his own kind.

All of us here understand, you know, it is remarkable to see someone try to argue against the weight of evidence all around us. You know, to claim that the basic inclination of all people is good. Man is basically good.

But if you lower the standard enough, perhaps, if you bring it very low, yet if good is defined by the character and nature of God, then there is a serious problem. We often try to redefine terms.

Look again—man does have a serious problem. There is an inherent issue in humanity. He does not merely need guidance. No, death. How will he conquer death?

So that is the first man: his origin, nature, position, action, and effect.

We now come to the second man.

Verse 47: “The second man is the Lord from heaven.”

You see the contrast here. Something distinct is taking place. Although we will examine the same subheadings, the details are very different.

If you consider his origin, he is the second man, the Lord from heaven. The Lord from heaven. This identifies the quality and order of Christ. It is not merely that he came from heaven, but that this is his nature and order.

Adam is of the earth. This is where he belongs. Christ belongs in heaven because he is the Lord in heaven. This does not deny the real humanity that Christ assumed. He took on a real human nature, born of a virgin, as we sang. There is a real human nature, as real as yours.

But again, this emphasizes the order, because the entire subject the apostle is addressing is resurrection. Will we live again? And in what form? What will the future be like for those who believe in Christ?

It cannot be that we participate only through a relationship with Adam, because that prepares us only for this world. True preparation for the world to come requires a relationship with the second man. Therefore, the man of dust is contrasted with the One who is the Lord from heaven. He is distinct from Adam.

You can see this logic clearly: if the problem has so deeply penetrated and spread through all humanity, and if there is an inherent flaw in Adam and all his descendants, how can salvation or deliverance arise from Adam or his descendants? The solution cannot be found within them. It must be found outside them.

This opens the way for the Lord from heaven to come and address the problem.

Think of His nature.

Verse 45, “The first man Adam was made a living soul.” “The last Adam was made a quickening spirit.”

I think this is sometimes read and misunderstood. It is not that He is made to be a spirit alone, that He is disembodied or that He ceased to be embodied in our nature, but rather that this emphasizes the contrast. Adam was given life to live in this world, but Christ is given the power to give life, the living Spirit.

His body is therefore glorious in this way. The Holy Spirit has worked to produce something distinct from merely this earthly frame that has life to function here. By the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit, the very nature of Christ becomes a living Spirit. There is something prepared for the life to come, making Him distinct and contrasting Him in terms of His preparedness for the world to come.

His position is also distinct.

“The second man is the Lord from heaven.”

Again, He is public, like Adam. He stands in a representative place. Yes, by the disobedience of one, many are made sinners. By the obedience of one, many are made righteous. There is this representative aspect.

It is interesting, because when you consider, as we were saying earlier, leaders such as presidents, prime ministers, or kings representing us, their words and their actions affect us all. You may not feel that way personally, but that is how the world views it. If a leader of a nation goes to war against another nation, the consequences impact all of us. We cannot avoid the results.

Now, you understand that in the world in which we live, and when you look at it in the Scriptures, you may say, it is not fair. It is not fair that Adam should do something, and I feel the impact of that. That because Adam sinned, I become guilty.

The natural response, one I have heard before, is that this does not seem fair. The only problem with that is that if you apply this rule consistently, it must also be applied to Christ. If it is not fair that the disobedience of Adam be imputed to you and me, then it is also not fair that the obedience of Christ be imputed to you and me.

That too would be unjust. If you have a problem with Adam and God communicating guilt to you because of Adam, then you ought, logically, to have a problem with Christ. God sending His Son, who represents us, who stands in our place, who lives in obedience, who dies a vicarious death, who rises from the dead, and who enables us to enjoy the fruit of all His labor.

It is not fair.

Instead, we should come and be wonderfully encouraged. This is what the Lord has so planned in this world: Adam falling in him, and Christ being raised to life in Him.

Yes, Adam makes us guilty, but Christ makes us righteous. The same representative structure that explains the certainty of our fall also explains the certainty of our salvation. If Adam could ruin by representing, then Christ can save by representing.

The first man is of the earth, earthy. The second man is the Lord from heaven.

Note also His action.

What was Adam’s action? Disobedience. He definitively rebelled against God.

And what does Christ do? He obeys. He obeys perfectly.

Consider the favorable position in which Adam was. He was in a garden, which was perfect. And Christ is born into a world that, from every angle, is pushing against Him, opposing Him. Nothing was conducive to obedience.

Nothing in this world is conducive to human obedience, and yet Christ comes here, takes our nature, is born of the Virgin, and lives in our behalf, obeying fully.

As we read in Romans 5, it is through His obedience. By the obedience of one, many will be made righteous. Is there a more precious truth than this? By the obedience of one—there is only one. And by His action of obedience, many will be made righteous.

He can multiply this position of favor upon all those who are represented by Him. Our representative head taking action for us.

It is like we read this morning, is it not? We are looking at that passage, and you see it. Let me return to it for my own benefit. In Exodus 3, some of the language spoken there was considered this morning, where, as we were closing, it says: I have seen the affliction of My people, heard their cry, know their sorrows, and I am come down to deliver them.

You see God taking action to bring deliverance, and it is looking forward to when not only will God show Himself in a burning bush, with a mixture of glory and humility, but the same is true whenever the Son of God, in His glory, takes on the humility of our nature.

I am come down to deliver them.

Why has He come down? Because I have seen the affliction, heard their cry, and know their sorrows. He takes action. And this is what the Lord Jesus Christ did. He took action. He came to take action.

By the obedience of one, many are made righteous. That is God’s verdict. God is saying, yes, He has obeyed.

And again, the whole context of 1 Corinthians 15 is arguing for the certainty of resurrection. Therefore, those who are represented by the last Adam, by the second man, those who are represented by Him, are certain that, because of their union with the ever-living One, they too will live forever.

But it all comes about because He obeyed.

And so what is His effect? What is His effect?

Well, He represents, and there are lasting consequences for those He represents. This is truly the central question: who represents me tonight—Adam or Christ? And what is the effect when Christ represents?

Righteousness is imputed, not guilt.

Righteousness—an alien righteousness. I did not earn it. I did nothing to deserve it. It comes by faith. The righteousness of God is revealed by faith alone, resting in Christ, in which it is credited.

As it is written: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”

He is regarded as righteous before God because he believed. And he is now represented by the One who lived for him, died for him, and rose again from the dead. Righteousness is imputed.

You look at your life, look at your life, and ask yourself: what do I need? You have these years—thirty, fifty, seventy years. You look back and scan your mind over them. What are the sins? What are the things of shame? What are the things of embarrassment? What are the things you wish you could take back, undo, reverse, delete, or erase?

You have all these things. And in a moment, you can begin to see the list grow. If you were to sit down and reflect on them for any length of time, there would be no end to the discovery of sin.

And so what do you need? You need them wiped away. You need them forgiven, dealt with. This is the cross. This is Christ dying in our place. He obeyed the Father, becoming vicariously the One to whom our guilt was imputed, our sins laid upon Him.

He was made sin for us. He stands in the place of the sinner. The guilt is imputed. The shame is imputed. All of it is given to Him.

And by taking away that guilt, by wiping away that sin, we are left with this necessary demand: how can I demonstrate before God my obedience through the representation of another who has demonstrated His obedience? And that righteousness, which is not pure to me by faith alone, is instead gifted to you.

Go back and read Romans 5. It presents this free offer, this free gift, this grace of righteousness given through Jesus Christ.

Righteousness is imputed instead of guilt.

Renewal is imparted instead of corruption. There is an amazing reality that begins now and will be perfected in a future day, when renewal is complete. And if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

A renewal has begun. All things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. A principle of life exists, and a battle begins, in which you, now renewed, are at war, in a sense, with yourself. You are at war with yourself. The remnants of Adam’s nature now become a battleground for the life you have received from Christ.

Therefore, the Bible speaks of mortifying the members, that is, putting to death the expressions of sin. This is an ongoing renovation—dying to sin and living to righteousness—fought daily, battled daily.

We find a law in our members, that when we wish to do good, evil is present with us. We experience this tension, this war, this struggle, as, for the first time perhaps, a real understanding of renewal and of life.

I want life to be produced, not death. Obedience, not corruption. So you fight every day. You wage war.

“Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” says the apostle.

And so you look to Jesus, and you seek grace and strength from Him every day. Oh, please, oh, that I might be changed, as stated in 2 Corinthians 3, from glory into glory by the Spirit of God.

Immerse yourself in the Word, come to His truth, and hear the prayer of Jesus as you read the Word. Father, sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. He is seeking change. The renewal is imparted.

You never really knew, for many of us, that there was a devil until we were converted. I can say that. I did not know there was a devil until God saved me. I never thought about it. He was a cartoon character, a fictional image shaped by various forms of media.

And this renewal, this sense of fighting against corruption, this life that has begun in the soul of man, which you long for and pray for, to be more like Christ—resurrection unto eternal life is secured.

Righteousness is not impure; renewal is imparted, and resurrection unto eternal life is secured. Not death, but resurrection unto eternal life.

Again, as stated in 1 Corinthians 15, this is the hope of it. There will be a resurrection. And again, I said this last week, when discussing Matthew and the resurrection of the body, we tend to diminish the value of the body. That is wrong. It is wrong.

You will live on. The body matters to God.

The second man is the Lord from heaven. What a work He has brought about.

We will say in Philippians 3:21, of Jesus Christ, “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body.” That is the true meaning of 1 Corinthians 15. It is looking for that change and understanding from whence it will come.

So here is the thing. You were born in Adam. We all were. By nature, you are represented by Adam. Without an act of faith and repentance, you will remain in Adam, and you will be condemned, because death follows that identification with Adam. This must be so.

Life follows identification with the second man, the Lord from heaven, the last Adam. He brings about life. He is the fountainhead of life. He represents a new humanity.

You are either in Adam or in Christ.

If you wish to identify with Adam and perish, do nothing. Say, I am content with my natural condition. Born in Adam, die in Adam. In this way, you will perish.

Or you can do what Adam had to do. Adam had to turn from his sin and believe. God confronted him, met with him, and performed a sacrifice to show that this was necessary. One must die in order to bring about your life. God killed an animal, showing that sacrificial death, took the skin, and clothed Adam with it, demonstrating that something impure must be used, something that does not belong to him by nature.

Adam had to receive something credited to him that was not his own. This is a type, pointing to what Jesus Christ, the second man, the Lord from heaven, would do.

And Adam, in an act to publicly declare to the world forever that he believed God, responded. God had told him that the seed of the woman would come as the Deliverer. In the midst of this threat of death, the life-giving One would come from the woman.

He turned to his wife and named her Eve, the mother of the living. The mother of the living. He was declaring, this is what God has said. God has said that the seed of the woman will be the Deliverer. And he then, in faith, trusts and believes.

That is what you must do.

By nature, you may remain in Adam, if you so choose, and perish, go to hell, and suffer for your sins justly. Or you can say, no, there is this One who came. And what does He say? He says, “Look unto me.” Do not look to Adam. Do not look to the first man. Look to the second man.

“Look unto me, and be ye saved.”

All the ends of the earth are relevant to all the world because they are all under Adam. The whole world is equally guilty in this sense. Descending from Adam, guilt covers the globe. Therefore, the gospel calls to the ends of the earth: look unto me, look unto me, and be ye saved.

“All the ends of the earth: for I am God,” the Lord from heaven.

“I am God, and there is none else.”

Two men determine your future. You remain naturally in Adam, and you go to hell. You turn to Christ, and you go to heaven. The future is secured through the obedience of One who says simply this: “Look unto me, and be saved.”

Let us bow together in prayer.

It is decision time. It is a time in which you have an opportunity, for God, through His Word, confronts you, speaks to you, and a response is necessary.

Are you in Adam, or are you in Christ? Are you closed with your own standing before God, bearing the guilt of Adam’s transgression? Or have you turned to Christ to receive the free gift of eternal life?

I encourage you. I appeal to you. Do not neglect the gift of eternal life that God reaches out to you tonight.