You cannot out-sin the grace of God. Think about Adam in Genesis 3. When he stood there with Eve and watched her take that fruit, and he’s with her. The verse says, “She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her."
He had a choice right there. They had been clothed in a garment of light. Ezekiel talks about how that garment of light isn’t just white light; it’s light that’s refracted light. That is, the original coat of many colors is the light that surrounds the throne of God, explains Richard Jordan in his Sunday morning study yesterday.
When Jehovah walked "in the cool of the day" with Adam and
talked to him, He had that coat of many colors. He put that garment on Adam and
they were clothed in that garment of light. They had the original coat of many
colors.
Adam watched his wife sin and he watched that covering go
away. He had a choice. He could have said, “Uh-oh, let me go get the Lord and
see if we can’t fix this,” but he didn’t do that.
He said, “I don’t want to lose her; I’d rather lose fellowship
with God.” Imagine, he walked in the cool of the day. I’ve often wondered
about that. When is the cool of the day?
Some people say, “Well, that’s the morning.” Some people say
it’s the evening. Ralph Balog used to say, “Sunrises look like sunsets and
sunset comes at a better time of the day.” Brother Mel used to say, “Oh, got to
get on the road early; got to watch the sun come up.”
Whatever the cool of the day is for you, but Adam and the
Lord had a quiet time together, a fellowship, where you get to know one another,
and Adam said, “I prefer her over Him.” He didn’t understand the Lord. If he’d
have understood the Lord’s heart he would have gone to the Lord and said, “Can
we fix this?”
But what did Adam do? He hid among the bushes. The first
thing he did was Operation Fig Leaf: he tried to make his own covering. But
what did God do? God pursued him in his hiding place: “Where art thou, Adam?”
Then God makes him a promise: “I’m going to send a Deliverer
and fix this for you.” And then He made a provision. Slew an animal, shed some
blood, and made a coat, a covering for Adam’s nakedness.
And then He kept him on the job. He didn’t throw him out of
the Garden and say, “You got nothing.” He said, “You can’t be in the Garden
anymore, but you can go out there and till the ground.” Well, that was the
original job He gave Adam, but now he just had to do it outside with the briars
and thorns, the result of sin.
Listen, Adam just didn’t understand the Lord. God’s grace
right there pursuing Adam at every step of the way and Adam is blind as a bat
flying backward in a dark cave.
Colossians 1: [21] And you, that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
[22] In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
Adam didn’t understand the grace of God. We don’t understand
the grace of God when we’re in Adam.
You can’t out-sin God’s grace. Romans 5: [18]
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation;
even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto
justification of life.
God’s free gift is to give you His righteousness, and when
He gives you His righteousness, He gives you His life.
Romans 5:17: [17] For if by one man's offence death
reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift
of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
You see that “much more”? It just keeps on giving.
Preachers make a big deal out of this verse: “We got two
monarchs. One king is death and one king is life.”
When it says “death reigned,” death is a despot. It’s a
dictator; it’s a tyrant. Death doesn’t ask your permission for you to accept
its rule. Noboby has death come and ask, “May I take you now?” The Grim Reaper
doesn’t knock on the door and ask, “Can I come in?”
“Much more,” here’s the contrast, “they which receive
abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one,
Jesus Christ.”
That’s resurrection life, by the way. Eternal life doesn’t
begin when you die; doesn’t begin when you’re resurrected. It begins the moment
you trust Jesus Christ. That everlasting life that lasts forever gives you a
resurrection body. That’s going to be a good day.