Series: The Justified
Message: One Man
Preacher: Tom Eickmann
Reflection: Mark Witas
Live Wonder: Jessyka Albert
Live Adventure: Jessyka Albert
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: Romans 5:12-21 in the New Living Translation (NLT). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: I had an eighth grade teacher who would say, “Everything and everybody has an influence. Something as small as a mosquito in a quiet room has an influence. A dead man has an influence—try sleeping overnight next to one all by yourself in a dark room. A newborn baby has an influence. Bring one into a room full of people in a church foyer and you’ll find out!”
He was right. Everything and everybody does have an influence. And nearly everything we do has a ripple effect, for good or for bad.
Sin isn’t a stand-alone event. It has a ripple effect. Rarely does one sinner’s rebellion affect only that sinner.
When I was 14 years old, I was in a big department store with a friend. We were in the music section looking through all the albums we wished we could afford to buy. I got the bright idea that we should steal a couple of albums each, so I found some empty department store bags and convinced my friend to slip a few records into his bag as I did the same with mine. We each had what we wanted and proceeded to the exit. That’s when a store employee stopped us. We were ushered into the manager’s office. The police were called. Our parents were called. It was incredibly humiliating.
My sin affected me, my friend, my parents, my friend’s parents, and the parents in my neighborhood. (My friend’s mom liked to share neighborhood news.)
Abraham did something that serves as another example of how one sin can lead to another . . . and to still another—the ripple effect of sin. He lied to an Egyptian leader, telling him that Sarah wasn’t his wife, but his sister. So Pharaoh took Sarah as his wife, and then found out that Abraham had lied to him and sent him out of the country with a ton of loot and a bunch of male and female slaves.
Abraham later slept with one of those slaves in order to circumvent God’s plans for him and Sarah to have a son. Abraham’s original lie turned into a botched attempt to fulfill God’s promise that led to the heartbreak of Hagar (the slave) and Ishmael (the son) being banished from camp. But it didn’t stop there. To this day Abraham’s sin still stings. Ishmael (the father of the Arabs) and Isaac (the father of the Jews) are still at each other’s throats today. All because of a lack of faith. A lie. A sin. Sin has a ripple effect.
In Romans 5, Paul tells us what we already know—the first Adam’s sin caused a whole world of hurt. Its ripple effect still reverberates thousands of years later. We are children of his rebellion. We suffer because of the choice of one man.
Thank God that Jesus, the last Adam, has reversed the course of history and given us a new life, a new direction, and a future without sin and suffering.
Recalibrate: How have your choices affected those around you for good or for bad?
Respond: Pray for a clear mind to make choices that will bless those around you.
Research: Read the commentaries on today’s verses.
Remember: “As one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men” (Romans 5:18, ESV).
Mark Witas is the lead pastor at Pacific Union College Church in Angwin, CA. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Mark has served as a youth pastor, Bible teacher, college and academy chaplain, and lead pastor in the United States and Canada for the last 33 years. He has also authored four books: Born Chosen, Live Out Loud, Portals, and Just Jesus.
Have your child draw a picture of Adam really big on one side of a piece of paper. Have them draw a bunch of little people inside of Adam. Talk about how just like we were all hurt by sin because we were all connected with Adam, Jesus brought everyone to Him. Get a bigger piece of paper and have your child draw Jesus. Help them cut out Adam on the other piece and glue him and all the people with him onto the paper with Jesus. Pray that we are always thankful that Jesus has more than enough room in His heart to fit us all.
Do you know what a “beautiful oops” is? It’s when you are making a craft and you think it got messed up, but you can make something really beautiful out of it still. The Bible reminds up that Jesus makes all the “oopses” beautiful. Find a beautiful oops craft to make today! Remember that Jesus makes all things new and beautiful again.
Have you ever messed up? When I was a sophomore in college I took a pottery class. One day I was making a beautiful, round, intricate pot. As I went to pick it up, I grabbed it in the wrong place and it cracked in half. I was so upset, yet my teacher came over and helped me put it back together. Today, that piece of pottery sits on the shelf in my living room. There is still a small crack on the side, but each time I see that crack it reminds me how much I loved that class and how patient and helpful my teacher was. When you have problems and make mistakes, don't get discouraged. Come to Jesus—He is the master teacher and will help you put things back together. And as you look back years later, even if the situation did not heal perfectly, you will serve as a reminder of how Jesus helped put that situation back together for something good. Our broken pasts and trials can often become a reminder of His faithfulness.