I want to ask you please to turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5. If we can speak of the Scriptures in terms of mountain peaks, surely Romans chapter 5 would have to be among the Himalayas perhaps even Mount Everest itself in terms of passages of Scripture. I have no delusional thoughts of exhausting for you Romans chapter 5 tonight. My message this evening is, I trust a very simple word from the Lord for us all. But I trust it is a word from the Lord, as we would consider what is the very soul and substance of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We'll begin our reading in verse number 12, Romans chapter 5, beginning in verse number 12, breaking in here to the middle of this great chapter. 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 offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, Much more, the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift. For the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses unto justification. For if by one man's offense 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. Therefore, as by the offense 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. 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 offense 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. Amen. We'll end our Bible reading there at the end of this chapter, and we trust that the Lord will take up His Word, and even by the reading of His Word would bless it to our hearts. Let's seek the Lord in prayer together. We'll ask His help as we come tonight to consider the Scriptures together. Our Father, as we find ourselves this evening in Your house, we thank You for the promise that You have given to send Your Spirit among Your people. We thank You for that blessed ministry of the Holy Spirit to lift up Christ and to set Christ before those who are His. We thank You also for that ministry of the Holy Spirit in regenerating grace to come and to open the eyes of the blind, to come and to set the captive free. And Lord, we pray tonight as Your Word goes forth, as we consider this great passage of Scripture together, that we would know that help of the Holy Spirit here. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. We are a gospel preaching church. That should go without saying because the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ has to be at the heart and it has to be the center of any ministry that would call itself a church. But we live today in such a climate where the preaching of the gospel is really neglected in many circles. Much of preaching today is simply telling you how you can be a better person than you already are. And that is not the message of the gospel. that is not what the Scriptures would lead a preacher to unfold to a congregation of believers or to sinners. The preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a message that is not only for the unconverted. The preaching of the gospel is the message that Saint and sinner alike must hear. Many come from circles. I grew up in circles where the unspoken attitude is that the gospel is only for those that are outside of Christ, and we that are Christians, we need something far more practical. And so we were preached to on how to handle our finances. We were preached to on how to have a happy home. We were preached to on how to have a better marriage, how to raise children, how to do this, that, and the other thing. And the Bible addresses all of those things. But you'll discover from your study of Scripture that the Bible addresses all of those things only in the context of the gospel. In the context of the person and the work of Jesus Christ. The gospel has to be the message that permeates every aspect of life. And in my early days, in the Free Presbyterian Church. Sitting under the ministry of Dr. Cairns in Greenville, I came to understand the Gospel. I believe I was truly converted at the age of seven. The substance of faith was in my heart. I was trusting Christ to forgive me of my sins. And my hope was in Him for heaven. But it wasn't until I was 18 years old, that I really heard the preaching of the gospel. I'm here to tell you this evening that the preaching of the gospel is the message for saint, and it is the message for sinner alike. I hope you're never tired of hearing the gospel. And I know that this evening I am preaching to a congregation of people who hear the gospel preached all the time. Rejoice, rejoice that you attend a church that preaches the gospel. Rejoice that you're part of a denomination that preaches the gospel, that stands for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And what I want to do this evening, I trust, is a very simple word from the Scriptures. It's preached to you from these verses in Romans chapter 5 on the subject of three imputations. Because, you see, the doctrine of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ is the substance of the gospel. It was for me as an 18 year old, that that set my heart free. That that unburdened me from guilt and bondage. I say I was saved when I was seven. I've often wrestled with whether or not the Lord truly converted me at that time. But I say when I was seven, I believe the substance of faith was present. But I came to understand the truth of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. We began with that hymn, Jesus, thy blood and righteousness, my beauty are, my glorious dress. McShane captured it. when he said in that hymn, when I stand before the throne dressed in beauty, not my own. Not my own. And that set my heart free. And I want to seek to preach to you tonight on this subject of three imputations that we have for us here in this passage of Scripture. In the Gospel, the actions of your federal representative are imputed to you. And you are legally, they are legally considered to be your actions. That can be good or that can be bad. But that is what the gospel speaks to us of imputation. And so again, the subject of three imputations. I want you to see first of all this evening, because of Adam, sin is imputed to us. Because of Adam, sin is imputed to us. Look with me at verse number 12. It says it very clearly. The Bible couldn't be more clear. Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for they all have sinned." That one man that is spoken of in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12 is that first man, Adam. that first man Adam who God created from the dust of the ground, that first man who God spoke to and revealed to him His law, that first man sinned. Now, Eve was there. You know the story of the book of Genesis. Eve was there. The serpent came and the serpent beguiled Eve. And Eve took of that fruit and did eat. And she gave also unto her husband and he did eat. And when Adam ate of that forbidden fruit, he broke all of the law of God at one moment. At that moment, he worshiped another God other than the God of heaven. At that very moment, he made to himself an image of what he desired that was not God. At that moment, the words that God had commanded him, the commandment of God not to eat of that forbidden fruit, he took the Word of God as if it was a vain thing. And in essence, took the name of the Lord as God in vain. That moment, He destroyed the rest that He knew in the presence of His God. It was gone. He dishonored His heavenly Father. He killed not only Himself, but all of His posterity. He committed for Himself a spiritual adultery. He took what did not belong to Him, and in a covetous desire, He ate of that forbidden fruit. And in one bite, broke all the law of God and sin. And you see that was something brand new on the earth. Because before there had been only obedience. When God said, let there be light, light obeyed. When God, in His work of creation, separated the land from the waters, it obeyed. When God set the sun and the moon in their place, they obeyed. And the planets in their place, and they circled and they orbited their stars exactly as God had ordained. And there was only obedience in the universe. God commanded the sea to bring forth fish and swimming things, and immediately it took place. There was only obedience in the earth. There was only perfect conformity to the will of God on the earth. Until Adam sinned. And that sin of Adam brought death to himself and to everyone. born of Him. If you look at verse number 12, we read it again, 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. It reveals to us the consequences of sin. The wages of sin is death. It reveals to us not only the consequences, but the extent of sin. Death has passed upon all men, for all have sinned. Because of Adam, his sin is imputed to all those who are in him. They are guilty of Adam's sin. You were born guilty of Adam's sin, just as sinful as if it had been you yourself to eat the fruit. You're guilty before God. This is a very sad illustration. And please, I would ask your forgiveness if this illustration hits very, very close to home for you in your own house. Consider with me the tiny infant, stillborn. The infant just out of the womb, but born dead. Proves for us the guilt of Adam's sin. Because you see, if a person had to wait until in life they actually committed their own transgression before they were considered to be a sinner, then it would be impossible for a baby to ever be born, stillborn. It would be impossible for a baby to die in the womb. if this weren't true of the imputation of Adam's sin. This is what we call in theology, original sin. Man left to himself stands guilty before a holy God for that original sin of Adam imputed to him. And then he goes, and you know that in time, you commit your own transgressions. And if you're here tonight, and you have never, you have never received a different representative than Adam, then I want you to listen very closely to what the Bible says. The Bible says in Adam, all die. In Adam, all die. And if Adam is the only representative that you have ever known, in Adam, all die. Now if that was all that the Gospel had to say, then there is no way in the world we could call that good news. That is not good news. If we are simply left to Adam's sin imputed to us and that's all we have, then there would be no hope. There would be none. But yet the message of the Gospel is a message of imputation. And I told you earlier there are three imputations. The first one is that because of Christ, I'm sorry, because of Adam, his sin is imputed to us. But I want you to see from this passage a second imputation. And that is because of Christ, our sin is imputed to Him. Because of Christ, our sin, my sin, your sin, if you're a believer in Christ, has been imputed to Him. Well now this is good news. Now this is the good news of the gospel. That for all those who have trusted Christ to the saving of their soul, your sins have been forgiven. Your sins have been washed away. If you look at verse number 15. You'll see how the apostle Paul outlines for us and teaches us this truth in verse number 15, but not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one, many be dead, much more the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many. Notice that Paul refers to this gift by grace. Salvation is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. And he calls it a gift by grace. And he says here that it is bounded unto many. This gift by grace is abounded unto many. And we learn of Adam when we considered Adam. We saw that his sin affected all of mankind. And we see in verse 12, for that all have sinned. But now we see in verse 15 this word many, we don't see this word all, we see this word many. This gift by grace is abounded unto many. And to say that Christ bears the sins of only those who are his does not make Jesus Christ any less of a representative than it makes Adam. Because you see, all those who are in Adam, Adam represents those who are in him, those who are born of him. And Jesus Christ represents all those who are born again in him. I quoted the verse of Scripture earlier, in Adam all die. But that verse doesn't stop there. In Adam all die. in Christ shall all be made alive. And this is the truth of the gospel. This is the truth of our sinfulness being taken away and our sinfulness being imputed to Jesus Christ. All those who are in Adam will die, but yet all those who are in Christ shall be made alive. I love what one old German theologian said about those two little words that Paul writes so often in him. He refers to it as the very thesis of Paul's epistles. He says, in essence, that if you take everything Paul ever wrote, if you take all the epistles of Paul, and if you boil everything down, what the apostle Paul was communicating was what it is to be in Christ. what it is to be in Him. Those two little words form the very sum and substance of all that Paul was seeking to communicate. To be in Christ. To be found in Him. I want you to turn with me please, if you would, to the book of Leviticus chapter 16. Leviticus chapter 16. I want you to see how the Old Testament teaches us what it is to be in Christ and what it is to have Christ as the representative for his people. and how Christ represents those who are his. Look with me in Leviticus chapter 16. We'll look at verse number 21 to begin the Bible reading there. Where we are in Leviticus chapter 16 is that passage dealing with the day of atonement. And there were many different events that took place on that very special day. But in verses 21 and 22, we read of two goats that were selected. Look with me please, Leviticus 16 verse 21. And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions and all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited. and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness." If you look at verse number 22, you'll see it says that Aaron is to confess the iniquities of the children of Israel. What we have here, this particular goat was known as the scapegoat. There were two goats selected. One goat was to have this happen to it. Aaron was to put his hand on the head of that goat and was to pray and was to confess the sins of the children of Israel. And that goat was to symbolically in the object lesson of the Old Testament sacrifices, bear the sins of Israel and take them away outside the camp of Israel. But I ask you, whose sins did it bear? It didn't bear Jericho's sins. That goat didn't bear Ai's sins. It didn't bear Moab's sins. It didn't bear the sins of the Jebusites or the Hivites or the Ammonites or the Philistines. It bore the sins of those that it represented. It bore the sins in symbolism of that Old Testament sacrificial system. That goat bore the sins of all those who in faith were looking to the One that that goat represented in the object lesson and in the symbolism and in the picture. The book of Hebrews makes it so clear for us that it's not by the shedding of blood or the ashes of an heifer that a person is redeemed. It's only by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the one who was the fulfillment of this very thing, the one who fulfilled all of those object lessons and types and shadows of the Old Testament, as Christ himself would bear the sins of his people. And now Christ becomes the federal representative. Christ becomes the head of all those who are His. And Paul puts it this way, for He that is God has made Him that is Christ. For God has made Christ to be sin for us. And so in the first imputation, we see the sin of Adam The sin of Adam imputed to all those that he represented. And because of Adam, we are made guilty of his sin. We are born sinners outside of Christ, alienated from God. But yet because of the work of Christ, Christ has born the sins of all those who are in him. Tonight, You can walk out of this building and be absolutely positive that you are a child of God if you simply trust the work of Jesus Christ. John says, these things have I written unto you that ye may know. There is a way for you to have a firm, sure, and biblical gospel understanding that Jesus Christ has taken away your sins. And the way for you to know that is simply if you are trusting in Christ. You might say, well, preacher, I don't know about faith. I don't have faith. Or my faith is very, very small. Surely it's not big enough. Surely, I need more faith than I have. Surely, I don't have as much faith as the other guy. I don't have as much faith as my mom and dad. I don't have as much faith as this, that, or the other person. Well, God has nowhere told us how much faith to have. But He simply told us to have faith in Christ. Believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. and thou shalt be saved. You can know without a shadow of doubt that Christ has borne your sins. And that because of the work of Christ, your sins have been taken away. Your sins have been removed. If I can speak personally for just a moment. For many, many years of my life, this sermon would have been preached. And at this point in the sermon, the preacher would have closed in prayer. And there would have been a gospel appeal. And the service would be over. And we would all go home. But yet the sermon's not finished. The sermon's not over. For so many years of my life, I heard the truth that Jesus Christ took away my sins. And I knew that Jesus Christ had forgiven me of my sins. And it was never put in these words. It was never communicated this way. But in essence, there was a pat on the back and encouragement to go out and do your best. And you know, for years, I tried and I tried to do my best. And it's a vicious cycle of trying to get acceptance. It's a vicious cycle of knowing that yes, Jesus takes away sin. but also a vicious cycle of knowing I'm full of sin. And I keep sinning over and over. And does God really accept me? And that's why I said this message has three imputations. Because you see, if we close now and went home, the message is not over. Because the third imputation is that because of Christ, not only is our sin imputed to Him, but the third imputation is that because of Christ, His righteousness is imputed to us. The perfect obedience of Jesus Christ is considered to be yours. If you're a child of God, if you've been born again, you are as accepted in heaven as Jesus Christ himself is accepted in heaven. The very instant that God rejects Christ will be the same instant that God rejects you if you are in Christ. If you're a believer, you have a perfect righteousness. It's not yours. The best we can do. All of our righteousnesses are filthy rags. They're absolutely worthless. And maybe you, though having heard the message of the imputed righteousness of Christ a hundred times from this pulpit, have never had it sink into the depth of your soul. The standing that you have before the God of heaven, that you are clothed with the perfect righteousness, of Jesus Christ. We talk very often and we talk very rightly of the vicarious atonement, the vicarious death of Jesus Christ. And rightly so. We have to preach the vicarious atonement, the vicarious death of Jesus Christ. We have to preach that. But we also have to preach the vicarious life of Jesus Christ. Do you children know that Jesus Christ never disobeyed his mommy and daddy? Do you know that Jesus Christ never tried to hide his toys under his bed, hoping his mommy and daddy would never know that he really hadn't obeyed when he was told to go and clean his room? I don't mean to speak this flippantly, but Jesus Christ as a child in his home, Jesus perfectly obeyed every commandment of God the Father. He honored his father and mother perfectly. You teenage boys, do you know that Jesus Christ never had a lustful thought for a girl at his school? Do you know that Jesus Christ, though tempted and in all points like as we are, is perfect without sin? Tempted in all points like as we are, in the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, every category of sin that exists, He was tempted in those ways. but yet nothing in Him that gravitated to sin. Nothing in Him that pulled Him toward any desire after the lust of the flesh or the lust of the eyes or the pride of life. And that perfect obedience of Christ in His 33 or so, 33 1�2 years on this earth, Obeying every law of God, He did that for you and He did it for me. Because where Adam broke that law, and that sin was imputed to me, and then I, in a corrupt heart, full, total depravity, sought sin in my own life, and you sought sin, Christ is obeyed. Because you see, if we only preach the first two imputations, that I'm born in sin, and then Jesus, by his atonement, takes away my sin, well, all that does for me is my slate is wiped clean. And I'm at the point, if I can use this language, and I think you'll understand what I mean by this, at that point, I'm simply at a place of moral neutrality. My sins are gone, my slate is wiped clean, but yet my slate is empty. But yet God, the God of heaven does not accept us into heaven in a state of moral neutrality. But instead God demands perfect obedience to his law. And you've not done that. And I've not done that. But Christ did that. Christ perfectly obeyed the law. And His perfect obedience is imputed to those who trust in Him and the gospel. I didn't finish the verse I quoted earlier. God made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Every time I quote that verse, I'm not adding to Scripture, but I like in my own mind to think of it in this way. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us. That we who knew no righteousness might be made the righteousness of God in him. And so if you're a believer in Christ tonight, you stand clothed in the garments of salvation. You stand clothed in the robes of Christ's righteousness. And that's why McShane could say, when I stand before the throne dressed in beauty not my own, And for so many years, for so many years, I thought it was all about my performance. I was trying to do better. And though this message I've preached tonight, please don't get me wrong, I do recommend trying to do better. There is such a thing as a personal pursuit of vital godliness and holiness. You see, the Apostle Paul understood this tension that exists in the corrupt sinful mind. Because if you take what I've preached today to its logical end in the corrupt human mind, then you would be tempted to come to this conclusion Well, if what this preacher says is true, if it's true that God has taken away all my sins, and I have all the righteousness of Christ, and I stand before Christ perfectly righteous, and nothing can undo that, well then, from that logic, it doesn't matter how I live, and I can do whatever I want, because my sins are taken away, and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to me, and everything's okay, because I'm sealed in that, and it can never be undone. And Paul anticipated that. And so we ask that rhetorical question, verse six, I'm sorry, chapter six, verse one, what shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? And if I can, again, please, without being flippant, give you my translation of the beginning of verse two, Paul says, don't be crazy. That is a crazy idea. He says, God forbid that a true believer should think that way. You're clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ. And so what's the response to that? How shall we then live? in light of this glorious truth that we're clothed in the righteousness of Christ. And as Paul develops this book of Romans, eventually he comes to the place, he says, therefore, I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. What he says there is the only logical response to the grace of God shown to you in the gospel is to present your body a living sacrifice and to live for God with reckless abandon, pursuing His will and obeying Him, keeping His law. not as a means to earn life, but pursuing His law and keeping His law because you have life, because you've been born again, and because a gratitude of your heart overflows in such a way that it is the desire of your soul. This was David's attitude when he says, I meditate in God's law day and night. And David's attitude when he says, I love thy law. If you're born again, you love God's law. Obeying God's law is not grievous to you. His commandments are not grievous. But it's a joy, there is joy in serving Jesus. Why? Because we've been born again. Because our sins have been taken away. Because we stand clothed in this perfect righteousness. We're no longer under the wrath of God. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. And if you understand this message of imputation correctly, then you understand the gospel. If you understand what it is to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ, then self-righteousness has to go. If you understand what it is to be clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ, selfishness, and greed. They have to go. Because you understand the reality of the truth that you deserve nothing. But instead, you have been bought with a price. And you are not your own. You understand that you're a child of the King, adopted into the very family of God, made to be a joint heir with Christ. And this evening we have every reason to rejoice in the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you're outside of Christ, the Bible says in very direct words, today is the day of salvation. You know not what a day may bring forth. The Bible tells us to number our days and to apply our hearts unto wisdom. And if you don't know anything about this righteousness, or if you are on the treadmill of seeking personal righteousness, I plead with you to get off that treadmill. and to seek Christ, the one who has made unto us righteousness, the one who has perfectly lived for us, the one who has died for us. And may the Lord help us as we seek to live for him. Amen. Let's close our meeting in prayer together. Let's pray. Our Father, tonight, as we would quiet our hearts at the end of this service, we thank you for the truth of the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank you that tonight what we've heard from the Scriptures is not a new thing. There's nothing novel. But we thank You tonight for the message that Jesus Christ has died. He shed His blood to forgive us of our sins. And we stand clothed, dressed in that perfect righteousness of Christ. We pray that tonight, as this meeting comes to a close, that You would write Your Word on our heart. We pray that for each one gathered in, You would take them to their homes in safety. And we pray that as tomorrow, a new day in the workplace, that for these, you would give them great help as they seek to live for Christ, as they would face the temptation of the enemy day by day. I pray that you would undertake that you would lead each one into your will. And we pray that we would ever be mindful that we live in your presence. In you we live and move and we have our being. We ask all these things tonight in Jesus' name. Amen.