Rabbi Schneider - Reign with Jesus
We are picking up today, beloved, in chapter number 5. This is one of the most clear theological treaties in the entire Word of God. What Paul is endeavoring to do, beloved, is he's endeavoring to help us understand that true righteousness is found in one alone, Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ. He's trying to help us understand that we shouldn't be looking at ourselves, we shouldn't be judging ourselves, we shouldn't be judging ourselves by the law. He's trying to help us understand, beloved, that the righteousness of God has been revealed from heaven in Jesus, and the only way for us to become righteous is in Jesus. He wants to help us take our eyes off ourself. He wants to help us stop judging ourself. He wants to get us, beloved, to turn our total focus on the Son of God, who knew no sin, yet became sin on our behalf that we could become the righteousness of God.
This is Paul's whole point, and this is what he's been building on as we are now in the midst of the 5th chapter. In the 5th chapter of the book of Romans, what Paul is doing is he's clarifying these issues one more time by talking about the relationship between the first Adam, the Adam that walked in the Garden of Eden, and the second Adam, who is the Lord Jesus. And what he's saying is this, that when the first Adam that walked in the Garden of Eden sinned, the entire human race from that point afterwards became guilty because Adam was the head of the human race. And so by virtue of the fact that God is judging the entire human race through Adam and Adam as its head sinned, Paul is saying the entire human race has become guilty before God. Not only are we guilty before God because the head of our race, Adam, sinned, but beyond that the Bible says that when Adam sinned, death and sin gained entrance into Adam's life.
And so from the time of Adam onward, every man and woman and child on this earth is not only guilty legally before God because of Adam's sin, but they're also guilty before God experientially because we have inherited Adam's sin nature. Adam when he sinned, beloved, began to walk in death, and mankind ever after Adam was born living in sin. So that the first murder, what happens? Adam's son Cain, what does he do? He sins. And from that point forward, from Adam's sin onward, you see violence, murder, eventually the Lord destroyed the Lord with the flood during the times of Noah. The earth became exceedingly wicked and violent. So man is guilty before God because of Adam's sin.
Now, what Paul is going to go on to say, we're going to read the Scriptures in a second, but I'm just kind of explaining where we're going with this. Paul goes on to say even as the whole world became guilty because of Adam's sin, Paul goes on to say whoever receives Jesus, whoever receives Yeshua, he will become righteous. Even as you became guilty by being born of Adam, when you received Jesus, you died with Jesus when he was crucified, you were in him, that's why you get baptized, because you're identifying with the death and the resurrection of Jesus. So your relationship with the first Adam dies, you get buried in that relationship, you're released from that relationship, and now you're joined to another, the second Adam, the Lord Jesus. And even as you were guilty of being a sinner because of your relationship with the first Adam, now those of you that know the Lord by virtue of your relationship with the second Adam, the Lord Jesus, you automatically become righteous because Jesus, hallelujah, your head is righteous, and his righteousness is imputed unto you.
That's why the Bible says he that knew no sin became sin on our behalf, that Jesus absorbed his sin in his own body on the tree, our sin. Not his sin, our sin, that Jesus that knew no sin absorbed our sin in his body on the tree, our sin was imputed to him. He then died in our place, and he gave us his righteousness instead. So now we are righteous before God because of our connection to our head, the Lord Jesus. And beyond that, legal sanctification and righteousness, we are walking experientially in righteousness because we're being renewed, beloved, by the Spirit of Elohim, the Spirit of God that lives within us.
The point of this, listen very carefully, the point of this is to help you understand, those of you, beloved, that know the Lord, that you need to stop looking at yourself, you need to stop judging yourself, you need to stop judging yourself by some works standard of righteousness, whether it's the Mosaic law or whether it's some other law that you're holding over your head or the devil's holding over your head making you always feel like you're a hypocrite, making you always feel condemned, making you always feel like you're falling short. The Bible says now that we're in Jesus, there is no condemnation. We need to stop looking at ourself, we need to look at Jesus. And we say because Jesus is righteous, I am righteous now because I'm in Jesus.
Now, with those words, let's look Paul says, Therefore just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, so death spread to all men. So what is he saying here? That through Adam sin entered the world. When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. And with sin, death. Because remember the Lord said to Adam, Adam, the day that you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall surely die. Once Adam sinned, beloved, sin entered the human race and death entered the human race. And it all happened how? One man. You were born into the world, the Bible says, by nature children of wrath, even as the rest, the book of Ephesians.
Now as we continue on, Paul's going to make the analogy that even as through Adam death and sin entered the world and all became guilty and all became subject to death, now he's going to say but through Jesus you can be saved, and you'll become righteous and become a recipient of life. Hear the Word of God. In verse number 14, Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses all the way up until the time of Jesus, he goes on to say. In verse 15, But the free gift is not like the transgression, for if by the transgression of the one, meaning Adam, the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ abound to the many. Verse number 17, For if by the transgression of one, once again, Adam, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness, get this now, will reign in life through one, Jesus Christ.
So what is he saying? Once again, just as through Adam all men became sinners and died, he said those that received Jesus, they're going to receive the abundance of God's grace through the Holy Spirit. They're righteous now, they've been made righteous. And I love this next phrase. Listen to what he said. And they will reign in life. That section of Scripture has always captivated me. I'm going to read it again. I want you to see the words for yourself. Hear the Word of God. Verse 17, For if by the transgression of the one death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will, get this now, reign in life through one, Jesus Christ. Beloved, that should be the aim that we have our sights set on, that we can reign in life. He's not talking about just in heaven. He's talking about right here, right now, that through Jesus you can reign in life. First of all, beloved, you can have your conscience clear. You can have your conscience clean.
In John chapter 14, Yeshua said that he was going to send the Holy Spirit into the world and he was going to convict the world of righteousness. What did he mean by that? When you receive Jesus, beloved, the Holy Spirit is convicting you that you are righteous. You have become the righteousness of God in Jesus. And beloved, when you are convinced that you are righteous because of your relationship with Jesus, when you're convinced that his righteousness has become your righteousness, when you're convinced that God is not convicting you of sin, but rather that he is convicting you of being righteous, you're going to begin to reign in life. You're going to begin to hold your head up high. You're going to begin to walk on water in the Spirit. You're going to begin to walk on victory.
When you get convinced that God loves you, when you get convinced that God's got a hope and a future for you, when you get convinced that you've got power in the Holy Spirit, when you get convinced that God is going to bless you in the future, when you get convinced that because of the Holy Spirit in you, you can manifest the kingdom of God wherever you go, when you begin to take authority over the darkness by the light, beloved, you are going to begin to reign in life, and indeed this is what Christ Jesus, beloved, has promised and purchased for us. So we give you the glory today, Lord Jesus, and we commit to reign in life in order to bring you glory.
Remember, the Lord doesn't want to take light and hide it under a bushel somewhere. He wants to make us lights, beloved, that the whole world can see and look up and know that there's a God. God, beloved, wants you and I to reign in life. But we need to make Jesus first for this to happen. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and everything else shall be added unto you.
When we make Jesus first, beloved, we will ascend in the Spirit. We'll be gripped by God's power, and we'll begin to reign in life. People will begin to notice. Whether you have a lot of money or a little money, it doesn't make a difference. They'll notice there's something about you, there's some type of divine synchronicity in you. There's some kind of divine coordination of the Spirit in you. There's something in you that's sealed and self-contained from the Holy Spirit. They're going to recognize that you're superior. And it's not a superiority that produces pride. It's the superiority, beloved, of the Son of God that will be living and reigning through you, hallelujah and amen. And so the Lord says here that when we receive Jesus, the old Adam that died will no longer be our head, but Jesus will be our head, hallelujah, and we will reign in life.
Let's continue on there in verse number 18. So that as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all, even so through one act of righteousness, Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sin, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. And to all men, he's not speaking of everybody that's ever been born. He's speaking to all men that believe, beloved, Jesus. To as many as believed him, to them he gave the right to be the children of God. Verse number 19, For as through the One man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one there will be many made righteous.
So once again, what are we doing here? We're taking our eyes off of ourself. We're not judging ourself by our works. The whole principle, beloved, that Paul got done going over in the first four chapters of the book of Romans was the principle that no man will be justified by the works of the law. And whether it's the Mosaic law or whether it's some other law of righteousness that you set up over your life that you can never fulfill, the point here is you take your eyes off the law, no man can ever fulfill the law, whether it's a man-made law, a demonic law, a law that your parents set upon you, a law that the school set upon you, a law the society set upon you, a law your religion set upon you, or the Mosaic law, the point is no man will be justified by the works of the law.
We take our eyes off the law, we take our eyes off ourself, and we look at Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach the righteous, who became righteousness to us, and because of our relationship and unification with him, we now have ascended, beloved, out of death, out of condemnation, and we are in victory walking in the righteousness of God, because Jesus, beloved, has made us righteous. He's imputed it to you us, even as Adam imputed death and sin to those, beloved, that were united to him. This is the point that Paul's making. Stop looking at yourself in the mirror. Recognize that you are a child of God and you are the righteousness of God. Hallelujah and amen and amen.
I'm going to go now to the book of John chapter number 14. I'm going to the Gospel of John for a moment to fully illustrate this. John chapter number 14, beloved. Hear the Word of the Lord. The grass withers and the flowers fade, hallelujah, but the Word of the Lord abides, hallelujah, forever. In this section of Scripture, the apostle here is talking. Yeshua is promising the coming of his Spirit. And he's talking about when the Holy Spirit comes.
When the Holy Spirit comes, he said, he is going to come, and he is going to convict, beloved, listen. I'm going to John 16, not John 14, but John 16. Hear the Word of God. Verse 7, But I tell you the truth, he said. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper, he's speaking of the Holy Spirit here, will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. Now get this now, beginning in verse number 8. And he, referring to the Holy Spirit, when he comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. So Yeshua says I'm going to send you my Spirit. And when he comes, he's going to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Sin, righteousness, and judgment.
Let's continue on. Verse number 9. Concerning sin, because they do not believe in me. So what is the Holy Spirit, according to Jesus, what is the sin that the Holy Spirit is convicting people of? Not their individual sins in this portion of Scripture, but the Holy Spirit is convicting people of one sin, and that is the sin, beloved, of not believing in Jesus. Because Jesus is the answer. When we believe in Jesus, the Lord does not count our sins against us. David said how blessed is the man whose impunities, whose sin the Lord does not count against him. There's only one sin that will disqualify us from the grace of God, and that is the sin of not believing in Jesus.
So Yeshua says when the Holy Spirit comes, he'll convict the world of the sin, he said, of not believing in me, verse number 9. Verse number 10, And concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer behold me. What is he saying? That when you believe in me, the Holy Spirit's going to come to you. He's not going to condemn you. In Romans 8 verse 1 Paul said, There is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Messiah Yeshua. But rather Yeshua said when the Holy Spirit comes, he's going to convict you of righteousness because you belong to me and no longer behold me. Because I was raised from the dead for your justification, you can be assured now that my death on the cross for you truly did forgive you of your sins, and now because of your faith in me, you have been made righteous.
So you see, beloved, the Holy Spirit isn't here to condemn you and beat you up. Rather, he is here, beloved, to convict you that you've become the righteousness of God. So as we close today, I want you to understand, Yedidim, that the Lord, the Father loves you. He chose you before the foundation of the world to be his. That through Messiah Jesus, those of you that know him have become, get this now, the righteousness of God. We no longer look on ourself, we look at Jesus. Even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, and all those that had been bitten by the serpents were healed, so Jesus said, Even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so too will the Son of man be lifted up. And whosoever looks upon him will be saved. Look at Jesus, beloved. As he is, the Bible says, so also are you now in this world. There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus. You have become, Yedidim, beloved ones, the righteousness of God.
Father, we love you this morning. We thank you, Father, that we're your children. We thank you, Father, that you've told us to lift up holy hands. We thank you, Father God, that in Jesus we've become the righteousness of God. Father, we thank you that we are lights in this world. Father, we thank you that you chose us out of this world to be yours. Father, we declare that we're going to stop allowing the devil, Ha-Satan the accuser, to beat us up. We're going to stop allowing you, Satan, to condemn us. Satan, we crush you and every one of your lies of accusation under our feet, and we do declare this day, Lord Jesus, that you are who you said you are, that you're the Savior of the world, and that you love us and that you have made us, Lord Jesus, the righteousness of God in you. Amen.