His wish was to give his family the greatest thing a man can have. That was to give his family faith in Jesus Christ. The person who has Jesus Christ as His Savior has the greatest wealth a man can process. Nothing is more valuable and without it though a man process the material riches of the world he would be in reality destitute.

           Jesus said, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)

           Yet, most of the world is destitute in that they refuse to accept their Creator’s gift of Salvation. Mankind is striving to gain the world and all its material riches, but they never gain what they seek, and lose what would mean the best to them....their very souls. As satisfying as the world’s riches they only exist for a moment. The quickly lose their glitter, fade, and lose their appeal and are rejected for some new bobble, some new thing.

I. The Riches of Righteousness. 5:1-5

A. I think most Christians do not appreciate what faith in Jesus Christ brings. God inspired Paul to write to teach us what true salvation brings. The Lord tells us it brings Peace, access into God’s grace, joy, hope, love, the Holy Spirit—what riches we have in Christ! And trials work for us, not against us, and develop Christian character. How rich we are!

B. The believer is justified by faith in Jesus Christ....not just any faith, or a blind faith, but a faith that knows its Creator and God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

           In true saving faith, there is no doubt, no question of the validity of the One in whom we have faith. This faith more that a mental exercise, but a trust that puts the believer in the hands, and fate of the Lord Jesus. It is a knowledge that He will never fail us, because Christ is God and cannot fail. He has promised the believer salvation and eternal life through believing and accepting God’s offer of free grace.

1. Note the result of being justified by faith. To be justified as Romans 4 explains is to be forgiven of all sin. John explained "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments." (1 John 2:2-3)

2. Propitiation means "paid in full." As sinners we all stand guilty before God having sinned against Him. He created us...not to sin...but to live righteous lives. Yet, each man willingly disobeys and therefore needs to be forgiven.

3. Justification can bring peace. (V2) First it is a guaranteed peace with God. That is what justification means. To be justified means to stand before God a innocent because He has forgiven the believer.

           Second, it can bring peace in our daily lives if we live as Christ would have us to. That peace often eludes many Christians. Saving faith gives the believer access to God’s grace. Paul declared that those who have and exercise true faith stand rejoicing in the hope of the glory of God.

           What does that mean? It simply refers to our future state after we are resurrected to live in heaven forever with our Savior. It is not a hope in something that is in question, but rather in the reality of what we know will happen. If you have truly believed and by faith accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior...you will be resurrected at the rapture whether you are alive or have died. Note what you have to long for:

           "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

4. The believer who has trusting in Christ can even glory in tribulation....know that your tribulation is being allowed of God and can teach you the wonderful attribute of patience. (V4-5)

           God explains that patience brings experience. This means that in exercising of God’s patience, we experience the blessing of God in our lives. Without patience one missed the experiences that patience brings, and that God gives through our patience. Patience is the act of faith, trusting no matter what the difficult y or situation,

II. Faith in Jesus Christ brings reconciliation. V6-11

A. Reconciliation: To conciliate means to draw together. To reconcile, or bring to a state of friendship, as persons at variance. To conciliate the contending parties. Reconciliations is the means by which sinners are reconciled and brought into a state of favor with God, after being in a state of natural estrangement or enmity; the atonement; expiation.

"For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby." (Ephesians 2:14-16)

B. We are at peace with God and need not be afraid. If He did so much for us when we were enemies, think what He will do for us now that we are His children!

C. Verse 6-8. Being without strength means being weak, being powerless to deliver ourselves, and so headed to condemnation to perish in our sins. Jesus died for the ungodly.

           Some people would give their lives for a good man, but Jesus Christ died for the ungodly the sinner in rebellion against Him.

1. He died for the sinner which much more can save him from the wrath of God. Being justified means we are justified before God and not in jeopardy.

2. "Justified by His blood." The Jew fully understood the phrase and justification by shedding of blood. Think...throughout their existence they had sacrificed animal in the temple as a sign of atonement for their sins. Mentioning Jesus’ shed blood showed them that God’s plan was that shedding of blood, thus the taking of a life and shedding blood brought atonement for sin. There should be no mystery about the New Testament the reason for the shedding of blood.

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission." (Hebrews 9:22)

           In Matthew 26:28 Jesus said, "This is my blood of the covenant which is shed for many for the forgiveness of sins." The blood is the vital principle and is effect an atonement. The blood of Christ sets aside all other ideas or means for a pardon.

D. A believer is reconciled to God by the blood of Jesus Christ and are saved by His life. This means not just that Jesus lived a holy and perfect life, but because He was God incarnate in man. This as the God-man He was resurrected proving He was the only source of eternal life.

III. Faith in Jesus Christ results in our Reigning with Him in eternity. (Verses12–21). Being born into the world with the old or carnal nature, we belonged to the old creation under Adam, and therefore death and sin reigned; now that we are in Christ in the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), grace is reigning in the believers life, and he is reigning in life (v. 17). You can live in joy and peace by the grace of God!

A. The fact is that death and sin came into the world by Adam’s sin. Because we are Adam’s descendants we inherited his carnal rebellious nature. (V12)

           To understand verse 13 we must understand this was written to the Jews who were under the Law. It made it clear that the Jews were responsible for the Law. It made the point that they failed in keeping the Law. It does not mean that those who sinned before the Law their sins were not imputed to them....or they were guilty of their sins before God.

Further, infants and those who are mentally incapable to making intelligent decisions are not responsible and not under the Law. Sin in not imputed to them.

Verse 12 makes that clear that because of Adam’s sin, death and sin passed unto all men because all men sin. The Roman Catholic Church and many Protestant teach that man must pay for Adam’s sin which they call "original sin." The teach that Baptism removes original sin and any personal sin, and cleanses the soul making it new and fresh. In other words baptism is man’s way to atone for the sin of Adam and remove his sin nature. This is why the baptized infants which they say removes the curse of original sin.

           That teaching is heresy. Only saved born again forgiven and justified believers are baptized. No person on earth is responsible for Adam’s or anyone else’s sin, but his own. Ephesians 2:8-9 totally refutes this false teaching of the Roman Church.

B. Adam brought sin into the world and passed on the sin nature to all men. (V14-16)

1. But through Christ the gift of the grace of God is offered to many. The word "many" is polus and refers to all of mankind who are the many. (V15)

2. Note the grace of God is stated as being a free gift made possible by Jesus Christ. (Vs 15-16)

3. God reiterates the true making sure that no one misses the truth that through Jesus Christ, those who believer are thus given the gift of righteous and shall reign in life by the Lord Jesus.

C. Because of Adam all men are under the condemnation and judgment of sin. (V18) Through Christ’s righteousness came the free gift of Justification of life. It means that eternal life is the only true and real life and it comes by Jesus Christ. (Vs 19-12

1. Therefore Christ the believer came become righteous.

2. The law revealed the sin of man and his need of justification. And because sin abounded God’s grace overcame sin and abounded much more.

3. In that sin has reigned unto death, God’s grace reigns unto righteousness and eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

           This makes it clear that the salvation from sin is as extensive and complete as the guilt and contamination of sin; and that death is conquered, the devil’s aims and hell nullified, and sin totally destroyed. It assure us that in God’s time in eternity there will be no sin and no death.

Conclusion: So what is the The Greatest Thing a Man Can Have? The answer is simple. Salvation through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, which brings justification, reconciliation to God, grace, peace, and eternal eternal life. What in the material world came compare with that?!

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