Paul declares Death in Adam but Life in Christ
Romans
5:12-14 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death
through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned --- (For
until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no
law. Nevertheless 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. NKJV
Paul now begins to lay out the sharp contrast
between the first man Adam (who disobeyed) and our Lord Jesus Christ (who was
obedient (John 8:29)). Paul has
declared how Christ has now reconciled us back to the Father through His
obedient sinless life, His sacrificial death for our sins, and His triumphant
resurrection from the dead to justify us and now explains or expounds on the
greatness of what our Lord did that trumps all of the misery brought to man by
Adam’s failure. When Adam failed, his failure opened a portal (a grand and
imposing entrance) for death to enter into the life of humanity. God the Father
did not create man to die because man was to have complete and continuous union
or fellowship with Him (who’s very Nature is Life). This enemy of death came to
man first as spiritual death (separation from God while on earth), then
physical death (when the body dies and goes back to the dust of the earth it
was made from), and finally eternal death (separation from God after death
forever in hell as the result of sin). Here is an excerpt from my Book entitled
“Silent Assassins of the Soul”, “God
designed the first man Adam to be a completely spiritual being (who lives in a
physical body) connected to Him for all eternity. When Adam sinned against God
by disobeying God’s instruction, God removed Himself from Adam, and thus Adam’s
nature instantly became corrupted. His corrupt nature was passed down to all of
us who have come after him.”
Even though Adam was the man who transgressed God’s
Command and not any one of us because we were not yet born, God sees you and me
in Adam and we stand guilty with him because he represented all humanity. Adam’s
nature was passed down to every other human being that came from him and this
is what Paul means by saying, “Thus death
spread to all men, because all sinned.” Can any person reading this say
that they have never sinned? I’ll answer the question for you; of course you or
I cannot say such a thing. This is the reality that the sin disease was spread
to every human heart and the wages of sin is death for all humanity (Romans 6:23). It did not matter for
those people who lived before Moses received the Ten Commandments from God the
Father on those tablets of stone, because their hearts were equally sinful and
corrupt as every other generation of humanity, therefore, death was the end
result of their sin even though they had no written law to look upon. What they
did have was the witness of the Creation around them and the witness of their
Conscience within them that testified to God and His Righteous Standards. Sin
brought in death to humanity and it (sin) is the cause of all of the woe, misery,
natural disasters, murder, cancer, terrorist, sexual transmitted diseases, all
illnesses and disease, racism, hate, stealing, volcanoes erupting, global
warming, and all evil acts of human beings plus natural acts that are in our
world today.
Romans
5:15 But 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. NKJV
Paul is here exalting or lifting up the grace of God
far far above sin and its power to keep men and women bound, enslaved, and
headed for eternal death. This is what Paul means here in the first sentence
that the free gift of grace is not like Adam’s sin/trespass because although it
made many people sinners, yet it cannot conquer or be triumphant over grace
that the same sinners receive from our Lord Jesus Christ. Let me say with
complete honesty and all sincerity that I studied and prayed over this section
of Scripture many times and in particular this one verse and Paul (by
inspiration of God the Holy Spirit) has said much with so few words, but it does
appear to me to mean that Paul is crediting Christ death, burial, and
resurrection to be to the benefit of every person. However, as we have declared
in previous studies that God’s Sovereign Election has to and must work simultaneously
with human responsibility or free will or else God through Christ by the Power
of the Holy Spirit would be exerting His control over man’s will or
responsibility. This is not the worship or love He created man for (John 4:23).
This statement here by Paul by no means has anything
to do with the number of human beings who will receive this free gift, but
simply that the free gift of salvation through Christ is available to all
humanity. Let us never forget these words from our Lord Jesus when He said, Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter
by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way
that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is
the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few
who find it.” NKJV Our Lord’s grace is available to all, but
unfortunately according to the words of our Lord many don’t come through the narrow
gate because it is hard in contrast to the wide gate which is easy. You draw
your own conclusion, I draw all of mine from the lips of my Lord, Master, and
Savior Jesus Christ.
Romans
5:16 And 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. NKJV
Paul now continuous with his comparison and contrast
between Adam’s disobedience and Christ obedience for as Adam’s one sin resulted
in the condemnation of all humanity, our Lord Jesus Christ gift of salvation by
grace through faith is for all of humanities sins. One sin judged all men to
death and hell, but Christ Blood purchases pardon for all mankind’s sins with
not one left out. Any sinner no matter the severity or longevity or cruelty of
his sin can receive the free gift of salvation by what our Lord Jesus Christ
has already done for all humanity.
Romans
5:17-21 For 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. Therefore, 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. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made
sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover
the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace
abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign
through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. NKJV
Here the Apostle Paul states how spiritual death
ruled over the hearts of mankind through Adam’s transgression (Genesis 6:5) because the pull,
pleasure, and power of sin as the result of spiritual death works greatly in
the heart of every human being of every generation. As the Lord stated through
the Prophet Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is
deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
NKJV Adam’s one sin dealt a death blow to man’s nature and so crippled it
and corrupted it that it became the most deceitful, desperate, and depraved
thing in all of creation. It would take a source of supernatural power that is
much greater than sin to fix or heal man’s nature and here Paul says that the
abundant grace or the gift of righteousness received from, by, and through our
Lord Jesus Christ applied to the heart of every sinful nature of sinful human
beings that receive His gift suddenly and surely are enabled to reign and rule
in Christ in this life over sin triumphantly (John 10:10).
Adam’s one sin served to condemn all of humanity (James 2:10) and this is why our Lord
Jesus had to come to live a perfect sinless life satisfying all the righteous
requirements of God’s Moral Law and thereby being an acceptable sacrifice and substitute
for every other human being who is guilty of breaking all the law. Therefore,
through our Lord Jesus the gift of justification of life is available for all
humanity, but it is not given to anyone apart from repentance and faith. This
does not mean that we can work up repentance or faith and bring it to God and
ask for our free gift of salvation, then that makes the free gift no longer a
gift, but what it does mean is only those poor of spirit, broken and contrite
(feeling or expressing pain or sorrow for sins or offenses) spirit will receive
said gift (Psalms 34:18 & Psalms
51:17).
1
Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man came death, by Man also came
the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all
shall be made alive. NKJV
“If God put Adam out of this earthly Eden on account of one sin, do you
think He will let us into the Paradise above with our tens of thousands sins
upon us.” D. L. Moody
“An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost
abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam’s descendents.” A. W. Pink
“God wants us
to worship Him. He doesn’t need us, for He couldn’t be a self-sufficient God
and need anything or anybody, but He wants us. When Adam sinned it was not He who
cried, ‘God, where art Thou?’ It was God who cried, ‘Adam, where art thou?’” A. W. Tozer
“Christ is much more powerful to save, than Adam was to destroy.” John Calvin
“Being in Christ, it is safe to forget the past; it is possible to be sure
of the future; it is possible to be diligent in the present.” Alexander
MacLaren
“For those who have not yet turned to the Lord for
His salvation, their condition of suffering often creates compelling
opportunities for them to cry out to God for His help. To those who do so in
truth, He shows His mercy for their temporal plight and provides grace for
their new life in Christ and their eternal destiny.”
T. A. McMahon
“Original sin means that people by nature are
hostile to God, utterly unable to obey God out of pure motives or from a pure
heart, and therefore unable to do anything that truly pleases God. All Adam’s offspring are born naturally
depraved and with a bent toward sin and rebellion.” John MacArthur
If you do not
know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your
heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus,
I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You
shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead
proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my
sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my
life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely
in Christ,
Author
of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and
Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into
Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s
Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod,
Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners,
Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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