They Will Reign in Life Through Jesus Christ

This passage deals with the miserable condition of humanity, over which death came to reign because of Adam's sin. Through the disobedience of one man, Adam, all his descendants came to be sinners under the power of death, but it proclaims the contrasting truth that through the obedience of Jesus Christ, the last Adam, many receive the blessing of being made righteous and of eternal life.

The sermon points out the foolishness of people who try to gain salvation by relying on the Law, and stresses that the Law is nothing but a rotten rope that actually exposes sin. It makes clear that true salvation comes not by human effort or righteousness, but by having our sins covered and being declared righteous through God's grace, completed on the cross. It also warns that believers who have received this grace must see their lives change through inner transformation and obedience, and that false faith means a state of never truly being changed.

The sermon reminds us that the true way of salvation is for believers to leave behind the wall of the Law and come under the grace of Jesus Christ, enjoying peace and rest. We must admit our sinful nature and live as those covered only by the blood of Christ, set apart from the world and holding a heavenly hope. Confident that God will lead believers when they hold on to the truth without doubting, the sermon asks why, when it is time to come to God, we must come boldly without hesitating.