Romans 5:1-21
Now, in verse 19 Paul says that it only took ONE man to make many sinners.
Now, how many is many? In verse 12 it says that sin came upon ALL men.
The usage of the term many refers to ALL. Friends, it took the disobedience
of ONE man to make us all sinners. There is no such thing as one being
a better sinner than another. I once asked a well known Pastor: "How
did you become a sinner?" Would you believe that the Pastor answered
me with: "The moment I learned that smoking, drinking, cursing, chewing,
watching dirty movies and doing bad things were a sin."
Friends, I got this ridiculous answer from a man who has been pasturing
a church for 27 years. I once thought the same thing and I also preached
it. My church testimony, and preaching testimony was: 'I used to get
high on drugs, but now I get high on Jesus'. 'I used to sin, but now
I abstain from all appearance of sin and evil.' 'I used to do bad things,
but now I do what is good and pleasing to God.' However, it was all
a two face front of a testimony because I was still doing things that
people did not know about. I just wanted recognition, and for people
to think that my righteousness would eventually lead them to repent.
But all I was doing is justifying myself and pointing out other people's
faults and sins. The same type of testimonials are going on today. You
hear it from prison inmates to pulpit self-righteous, holier than thou
preachers. I just couldn't stand the stench of such legalistic hypocrisy
anymore, so now my testimony is one of: 'I am saved not because I gave
up doing bad, but because Jesus died for all the bad that the whole
world and the church still continues to do.' "For there is none righteous,
no not one." Friends, how often do you hear a 'Begging Hinn' or any
television, radio preacher, teacher, evangelist and what have you teach
on Romans chapter 5?
The fact is that less than 1% are teaching the Gospel of God's grace
at all. Everything is about pointing out your sins and trying to convince
you that it is your morals that are keeping you right with God. The
fact is that men like 'Hague' are the ones that should be seen as reprobates
for denying and not accepting that just as sin entered the world through
the disobedience of ONE man, so righteousness entered the world at the
cross of ONE man, Jesus Christ. There are only sinners in the minds
and eyes of self-righteous legalistic men and their religious doctrines
of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1-2.
If anyone is denying Jesus it would have to be those who believe that
salvation is for some and not for all. That only those who do it right
and have confessed their sins are going to heaven. Friends, you and
I were made sinners through the disobedience of ONE man, Adam. Since
the cross of Christ there is no such thing as a sinner anymore. Now,
I have gotten a lot of flack about being an 'Universalistic.' But if
anyone is a 'Universalist' it would have to be God. Romans 11:32. I
rather be called an 'Universalist" who like Paul believes that He redeemed
all, than an 'Exclusionist' who believes that Jesus only died for some.
To say that He died only for those who believe is to deny the finished
work of the cross and insult the Spirit of Grace as I have mentioned
many times in many of my articles. If anyone needs to be marked for
causing divisions, offenses to the doctrine of the grace of God, it
would have to be none other than Evangelical's and every other religion,
cult and occult who believe that salvation is only for some and not
for all. Verses 17 and 18 of Romans chapter 16 is describing the Evangelical
Christian Church, just as it described the Jews of Paul's days. These
verses is talking to religious Jews.
They are also sending the same message to today's mixture of Christian
and Jewish doctrines. How many were made righteous according to verse
19 of Romans? By who's righteousness was the entire world made righteous
before God? By who's shedding of blood? By who's work of total and perfect
obedience? For how many sinners did Jesus died for? Were we made righteous
when we first believed or were we made righteous before God when Jesus
said: "It is finished?" The letter of Paul here to the Romans, and his
testimony concerning all redeemed, forgiven and accepted of God apart
from the law of Moses or any of man's works is dry, cut and clear.
ONE man made all sinners. Another ONE man came and restored to life,
holiness, without spot, blemish or wrinkle all that had been made filthy
by the ONE man's disobedience. Sin my friends is a dead issue. When
we continue to confess our sins to a man or in a church at a so called
church altar, without an animal sacrifice as the law requires, and without
a high priest, we are actually saying that what Jesus suffered on the
cross was not good enough nor finished. Think about it.
Every time you hear a preacher, evangelist or what have you calling
people to repent of their sins, they are actually denying the perfect
and holy work of the cross, and putting themselves above God. I will
discuss in my next article where sin gets its strength from, what sin
is and how sin abounded that much more and what it was that caused it
to abound.
To be continued at verse 20...
Grace N Peace
Eddie Narvaez