Andrew Rappaport’s Rapp Report 0089

Is the Prosperity Gospel Slipping into Your Life?

I.              What is the gospel?

The gospel has been under attack and will always remain under attack. It has been under attack by the redefinition of its meaning. People are always trying to change the gospel.If someone gets everything else right about God, but the gospel wrong, they are damned to hell. God’s enemies do not care about attacking any doctrine more than the gospel. It is the most important thing to get right.

II.            Imputation

Definition:

charging to an accountThe word imputation, according to the Scriptural usage, denotes an attributing of something to a person, or charging of one with anything, or a set of something to one’s account.It is a legal term.This is the Old Testament idea of the blood sacrifice. The sin was imputed to the animal sacrifice.

This is the one area that defines Christianity. If you have everything else right about Christianity and get this one doctrine wrong, you are not Christian.  This doctrine is the one defining doctrine of Christianity that you must not get wrong.  It is literally a matter of eternal life or death!The Christian can be free from sin. Christ came to be the second Adam (Romans 5:12-19).

12Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. 15But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. 16And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) 18Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.  

This passage of Scripture explains how sin entered the world by the act of one man, Adam. This one act caused a sin nature in every man, even before there was a written law to explain the penalties.  The immediate result of that one act of sin was death— physical, spiritual, and ultimately eternal.  This death has been passed on to everyone from generation to generation.  Finally, with all that by one act of sin, there was also one act of righteousness by Christ that remedies the act of Adam.  This contrast is in view in this passage of Scripture.The contrast parallels the sin of Adam and the salvation of Christ. It reveals the similarities and differences between the two events in history.  The sin of Adam was a real event and test in history, not a mythical account.The parallels between Adam and Christ are seen in the “oneness.” The result of Adam’s sin was both physical and spiritual death.  The “oneness” is revealed in the one sinful act of Adam and the one righteous act of Christ.  The sin nature extends to all people— except Christ.  Sin was brought into the world by one sinful act, not multiple acts. Thus, Christ’s death was one act for one act, not one act for many acts.  Therefore, Christ died by one act for sin, not sins.How is God’s grace by the act of Christ different from the one sinful act of Adam?