There is a popular recording artist and musician named Ed Sheeran who has been following a theme with his album covers over the last decade. In 2011 he released a CD with his face on the cover plus a small addition symbol in the corner. The album is simply known by that symbol and is often referred to as ‘plus’. In 2014 he released another album with an X on the cover which is known as ‘multiply’. Three years later, his next studio album had the mathematical symbol for division on the front and was called ‘divide.’ His most recent CD in 2021 had an equals symbol on the cover and is referred to as, not surprisingly, ‘equals’.
Some people wonder what his next release might be called if Ed Sheeran continues to follow this theme of mathematical symbols. He might use a subtraction symbol and call it ‘take’. Or maybe the Greek letter pi, the mathematical symbol used to calculate the circumference and diameter of circles. Or else, if he releases a greatest hits package, he might use the ‘greater than’ symbol.
We could possibly use the symbol for ‘greater than’ for the heading of this week’s New Testament reading, Romans 5:12-19. In this passage, the Apostle Paul compares and contrasts the actions of two key biblical people and their consequences for humanity. On the one hand is Adam, the first person created according to the creation accounts in the opening chapters of Genesis. Paul explains that because Adam disobeyed God by going against God’s command and eating the fruit that was forbidden to him and his wife in the Garden of Eden, sin entered the world. This sin brought with it judgment and condemnation, so from that point on, death ruled over people.
However, Paul explains, Adam was a symbol or representation of another person who was to come: Jesus, God’s eternal son, sometimes called ‘the second Adam’. Paul describes the ‘great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift’ through Jesus in verse 15 (New Living Translation). Adam’s sin ‘brought death to many’ but God gives the gift of overflowing grace and forgiveness through Jesus. Where the consequence of Adam’s sin was judgement and condemnation, the result of what Jesus did for us was to justify guilty people by making us right again through faith in him. In verse 17 Paul writes that where Adam’s trespass ‘caused death to rule over many’, God’s grace and gift of righteousness to us through faith in Jesus means that we ‘live in triumph over sin and death’. All the wrong that came into the world through Adam’s sin has been undone and overcome through what Jesus has done for us in his sinless life, his innocent suffering and death, and in his victorious resurrection to eternal life.
If we were to summarize this passage of Scripture, we could follow the example of Ed Sheeran’s CD covers and simply use a ‘greater than’ symbol. Paul shows us that the free gift of grace which God gives to us in Jesus is so much greater than the consequences of Adam’s sin in our lives. The overflowing grace and forgiveness we receive through Jesus is much greater than the death which came into the world through Adam’s sin. The justification we receive through Jesus is much greater than the judgment and condemnation we suffer, because God has made us right again in every way and restored us to a right relationship with himself and the people around us through Jesus. While death might have ruled over us because of Adam’s transgression, God has overthrown death’s power and established a new life-giving kingdom through the grace he has for us and his gift of righteousness which is ours through Jesus. Paul explains that the reign of King Jesus is so much greater than the rule of sin and death because it gives life which begins now and last forever, something sin can never do. All of these gifts from God – overflowing forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life – are so much greater than Adam’s sin and its consequences because they are more powerful and longer-lasting than what came into the world through Adam’s sin.
It’s important for us to hear this because at times, from our perspective, it can appear that sin and its consequences are the biggest things in our life. They can seem overwhelming when we face the wrongs we do or that others do to us, when we struggle with judgment or condemnation from others or even from ourselves, or when we face the death of loved ones or maybe our own death. Paul points us to a greater reality: the overflowing grace and forgiveness of God in Jesus which justifies and makes us right, and which gifts us with a life that is stronger than death. When we struggle with sin, God’s grace and forgiveness are so great that they overflow from Jesus into our lives. When we feel judged and condemned, by others or by ourselves, God’s justifying love is far greater. When we face death, we can live in the confident hope that Jesus shares his most triumphant victory over death through his resurrection with us, and we share in his victory now. In these and in all situations of life, in so many different ways, God’s, gracious gifts to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus are far greater than the consequences of Adam’s sin.
God’s greater grace in Jesus isn’t just good news for us. It’s also good news for the people around us as it shapes our relationships and gives us good news to share with them. When we know people who are struggling with the consequences of sin in their lives, God’s overflowing grace and forgiveness busts the banks of our lives and flows into theirs This happens we show kindness, patience and love to others, especially people whom we might not think deserve it, and when we forgive others, especially those who might have wronged us in some way. When others are feeling judged or condemned for any reason, or when we are tempted to judge, condemn, or look down on others, God’s greater grace overflows from us to them as we see them as people for whom Jesus died and who are also justified before God by Christ. When others are mourning the death of someone close to them, or maybe facing their own death, we can bring the hope and comfort of Jesus’ victory over sin and death by sitting with them, mourning with them, and being the presence of our living Saviour in their lives.
In every aspect of our lives, God’s grace to us in Jesus is greater than the results of Adam’s sin. An important part of being in Christian community is reminding ourselves and encouraging others that this is true and can be trusted, so it shapes our lives, our relationships and our communities.
God fill us with his Holy Spirit so we can live in his greater grace and share his grace with others.
And the peace of God which passes all human understanding keep is in Christ Jesus and his greater grace. Amen.
More to think about or discuss:
- How might you be experiencing the consequences of Adam’s sin in your life?
- How is God’s grace and his gifts to us through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection greater?
- What difference might it make to our lives and the lives of the people around us when we live like God’s grace is greater than the effects of sin we encounter?
Pastor Eugene Online 
Leave a comment