By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study, we looked
at verses 6-9 of chapter 5.
1.1.1. In these verses, we saw that Paul began to discuss the wonder of Gods
love and how that love has been demonstrated to us.
1.1.2. We saw that these verses present to us perhaps the apostles greatest
statement of personal gratitude and appreciation for the Lord because of the
height, width, depth, and breadth of His love for us as demonstrated in Gods
sending of His only begotten Son to die upon the cross to pay the penalty for
our sins.
1.1.3. Following Pauls reasoning in those verses, we saw that the greatness
of Gods love for us is seen in:
1.1.3.1.
Who it was that died upon
the cross for our sins.
1.1.3.2.
From observing our helpless,
hopeless, and deplorable condition as fallen and sinful mankind.
1.1.3.3.
Considering what Jesus went
through on
1.1.3.4.
In the fact of what it was
that procured for us, namely, it was eternal salvation.
1.1.4. In this study, we are going to look at verses 10-15 of chapter 5
1.1.4.1. We will talk about the saving life of Christ
for believers whereby we are being saved from sin in the present tense through
the indwelling Holy Spirit working in us and through us.
1.1.4.2. Then, we will also talk about how that because of
Adams sin that we all became sinners (this is Original Sin), and likewise
through the death of one man, Jesus Christ, we are able to receive the grace of
God and eternal life.
1.1.4.3. We will see that Jesus is the second Adam because what
He did on Calvarys cross affects all men (providing salvation for us) in the
same way that what Adam did affected all mankind, causing all to become sinners
(inherit a sin nature).
2. VS 5:10 - 10 For if
while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son,
much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. - Paul tells us that if God
redeemed us unto Himself when we were His enemies that now that we have been
reconciled we shall be saved by His life
2.1.
In this book of Romans, Paul
in building the foundation for all of the essential doctrines of the Christian
religion, has taught us about the fact that because of the sin of Adam that we
are all sinners. As sinners, Paul has
carefully and accurately described the depraved characteristics of the sinful
nature that we have inherited from Adam.
Paul has described the fact that our sin has alienated us from God and
caused us to be at enmity with God and deserving of His condemnation of
judgment. Paul has also described for us
how that because of Gods great love for us He in His sovereign will has also
sent His Son Jesus Christ to die upon the cross and provide for our
reconciliation to God through atoning for our sins. Paul has taught us how that through our faith
in Christ and His work upon the cross for us that we are now justified before
God and made perfectly acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Paul has also outlined the incredible results
and blessings of justification for us, including the free gift of eternal
life. Now, Paul begins to describe for
us how that the Lord has provided for us salvation to be experienced in the
timeframe between when we receive Him as our Lord and Savior and His Second
Return (or when we pass away from this life).
It is the life of Christ within us that is intended to save us minute by
minute from the power of indwelling sin.
We must allow the life of Christ to work unhindered in and through our
life in order to be saved from sin.
2.2.
We as a sinful people and
race are in desperate need of the saving life of Christ.
2.3.
The Christian is to die to himself and allow Christ to
live His life through him. It is this
crucified and exchanged life that is to be the norm for the Christian and the
life which saves us from indwelling sin.
Paul wrote about this crucified or exchanged life we are to live in
Galatians 2:20, 20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is
no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
Himself up for me.
2.4.
Before coming to know Christ as ones Lord and Savior,
every person is an enemy of God, or at enmity with God. Being creatures awaiting His wrath, no person
has by nature Gods favor, but rather he is considered by Him to be in reality
an enemy.
2.5.
While in the state of being an enemy of God, all true
Christians have gone through the experience of being reconciled to God. This word translated reconciled in
this verse has the following definition in Strongs Greek Dictionary:
1)
to change, exchange, as coins for others of equivalent value
1a)
to reconcile (those who are at variance)
1b)
return to favour with, be reconciled to one
1c)
to receive one into favour
2.6.
We must realize that what is essential is that the
change of attitude that has occurred for those who come to believe in Jesus for
salvation has been the attitude of God toward them, not their attitude toward
God. God now considers Christians to be
friends, reconciled through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
2.7.
Again to emphasize the means of salvation coming from
Christ and His work for mankind, Paul mentions that men are reconciled
to God through the death of His Son.
2.8.
Paul uses this phrase much more again in
order to emphasize a point. It has been
said that what Paul is doing is arguing from the lesser to the greater. If Christ has reconciled to Himself
a sinner, whose sin is heinous to God, then will He not also do the lesser work
of completing the work that He began in us until the day He returns? It is even more true that now having
reconciled and saved us for eternity that He shall give us present salvation
from sin through the life of Christ within us.
Paul wrote in Phil. 1:6 about how God is committed to each and every
Christian that He will complete until eternity the work that He began in their
lives at the point of their salvation, 6 For I am confident of this very
thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of
Christ Jesus.
2.9.
I could first ask a question here, Does God ever begin a work He does not
complete? The obvious answer to
that is no. To think that the
omniscient, omnipotent, eternal God would begin a work and then not complete it
is ludicrous. When Paul writes in Rom.
8:30, 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called,
these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified
(NASB), we have to think about the fact that if God who is all-knowing,
knowing the end of all things from the beginning, predestined someone
to salvation, that they shall inherit eternal salvation. In verse 8:30, Paul writes that if a person
is predestined, He is also called, justified, and glorified. God cannot have predestined someone
to have salvation for awhile. A person is either predestined to
salvation or he is not, and if he is predestined, we he must believe that God
must complete the job which He began in his life in bringing him to
salvation. A person could not come to
faith in Christ and be predestined for awhile, or justified
for awhile and then end up in hell, because God who knows the end from the
beginning called and predestined him to salvation.
2.10.
There will always be spurious believers, those who
believe for awhile and then leave and never come back into the church or to
faith in Christ for salvation. However,
we must realize that such a person was never saved in the first place or he
would not have turned away from Christ.
This kind of spurious faith corresponds to the three types of soil other
than the good soil in the Parable of the Sower which Jesus taught.
2.11.
If a person has come to know Christ as Lord and
Savior, then Christ will continue the work began in them until the day they go
to be with the Lord. Being the
believers great high priest as the book of Hebrews proclaims Him to
be, Jesus will give a new believer the faith and understanding needed to keep
him in salvation. Since Jesus ever
lives to make intercession for the saints, then He will be succoring them
all of the way to heaven through the agency and person of the Holy Spirit.
2.12.
Again, if God through His Son reconciled us
while we were His enemies, then He is committed to us and the Lord Jesus Christ
who is our high priest and lives within us will see us through in our salvation
until the day that we meet the Lord.
2.13.
This phrase by His life should actually be
translated in His life according to many very competent and qualified
translators and expositors. The
difference in interpretation is slight, however the point is that it is as Dr.
Martin Lloyd-Jones writes, the word in means in the sphere of, or in
the realm of, or in connection with His life. The believer has been placed into Christ,
into a whole new realm or sphere of life, a new race, and it is in this context
that everything in His life changes and that He begins to live with the life of
Christ within him a brand new quality of life.
2.14.
On the other hand, we as Christians sometimes have to
also ask ourselves whether or not we have actually received saving faith. If we are trying to live contrary to what the
Lord wants in our lives, and we are not submitted to the Lord, it is possible
that we never really were reconciled with God and therefore never predestined
to salvation. If we truly have received
Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will not be able to continue to live a
life of sin. We will never be able to
remain unrepentant. John wrote about
this in 1 John 3:9-10 , 9 No one who
is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot
sin, because he is born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children
of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of
God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
2.15.
Major Ian Thomas once wrote a book titled, The
Saving Life Of Christ. His main
point in the Bible is that he who does Gods will Gods way will never lack
Gods blessing. In that book,
Thomas chronicles person after person throughout the scriptures demonstrating
how their glorifying God and being used by Him, or failure in this regard, was
based upon this one simple principle of doing Gods will but doing it Gods way
(not trying to do Gods will but doing it our own way).
3.
VS 5:11 - 11
And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have now received the reconciliation. -
Paul tells us here that we also exult in God through Jesus Christ
3.1.
Here in verse 11, Paul states that it is the normal
Christian experience for us to exult in God. Exult is the same word used twice
before in this chapter and which usually means to glory. Paul had said earlier that Christians need to
glory in the glory of God, i.e. in the fact that they are assured that
they shall share in Christs glory and receive glorified bodies. Then, Paul had said that Christians ought to
glory in tribulations knowing what kind of eternal rewards they shall
procure. Now, Paul states that
Christians ought to glory in God.
3.1.1.
Are you giving God the glory He deserves in your life?
3.1.2.
A proud man can be proud and glory over his crumb of
bread, however we Christians must be completely dedicated to giving God the
glory in everything in our lives. If we
are taking Gods glory to ourselves, then the Lord is going to pull the plug on
us and our ministry real quick. He will
not give His glory to another, as Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 42:8, 8 I
am the Lord, that is My name; I
will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.
3.2.
I have always as a Christian believed that man was
created for the glory of God, and that when man is in his proper relation to
God that God is always glorified. Plus,
when we look at all that is involved in establishing and maintaining a
relationship with God through Jesus Christ, one has to come to the conclusion
that God should get the glory for every good thing that gets accomplished in
and through us. In those good deeds we
might perform, our part in being obedient is infinitesimally small compared to
the part played by God.
3.3.
There are many examples in scripture of people who
truly gloried in God. In Luke 1:46-47,
Mary, the mother of Jesus, in what is called her Magnificat gloried in
God and in what He had done, Luke wrote, 46 And Mary said: My soul exalts
the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
3.4.
God is the source of every blessing that we enjoy, and
thus James wrote in James 1:16-17, 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved
brethren. 17 Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or
shifting shadow.
3.5.
Paul wrote in Phil. 4:4 that we are always to rejoice
in the Lord, 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!
3.6.
Christians are to give God glory through the
Lord Jesus Christ. Again Paul
mentions how all mans blessings are received through Jesus
Christ. Everything that Christians
receive from God has come to them through Jesus Christ, for He is the mediator
for them to God, plus He has received all of the good gifts that God wants to
give to men.
3.7.
Paul states in this verse that it is in Jesus Christ through
whom we have now received the reconciliation. Mankind was under the curse of sin,
being children of wrath by nature, as Paul writes. However, in Jesus Christ, believers have
received reconciliation with God.
See my commentary on verse 10 of this chapter for the definition of this
word in the Greek translated reconciled.
3.8.
Through Jesus Christ, believers are brought into a
relationship with God where He has declared a peace treaty, and they are made
to be friends with God. Gods
wrath no longer abides over a believer in Christ, and He no longer is angry
with them because of their sin. Instead,
God treats men and women as beloved children of His, and He desires and acts
only for those things that He knows are in their own best interests.
3.9.
As I stated earlier in this section of scripture
beginning with verse 9 of this chapter, what really matters is the position
which the Lord takes toward man, and that He Himself has declared Himself to be
reconciled to men through their faith in His Son as their Lord and
Savior.
4.
VS 5:12 - 12
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death
through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned - Paul begins an analogy about how that with
Jesus Christ and what He did for us it is similar to how sin and death entered
the world through the one man, Adam, causing death to spread to all men
4.1.
The last few teachings we have been basking in the
love of God for us studying about justification by faith and the results
of justification, however we cannot always remain in one teaching for
Gods Word has many things to say to us on many levels. Having completed the section concerning the
results of justification, Paul now begins a new section in the book in which he
demonstrates Gods wisdom using two striking parallels: Adam and Christ. This section will last through the end of
chapter 5. This section of scripture has
been called the most difficult section to interpret in the book of Romans. It has also been called the key section of
the book of Romans, since to misunderstand this section and the doctrinal
foundation that it presents will cause one to come to many tragic and damning
false conclusions. The cults that are in
existence fail to understand this essential section of scripture and therefore
they fail to understand Christs atonement and what it means for mankind.
4.2.
In this section of the book of Romans we shall look at
the origin of sin and of death. As we
look at the world around us, the one unchanging constant that we see is that of
death. All people will die eventually,
and in this section we will see why that is so.
4.3.
Before we begin looking at the parallels and contrasts
between Adam and Christ, we must first of all realize that as Paul writes these
verses, that he believes in the literal interpretation of the accounts recorded
in the book of Genesis regarding the creation and fall of man. There are many in the church today who have
tried to liberalize scripture and are thus teaching that there was not first
created a man named Adam, but rather they teach that Adam refers to Man
generally. However, we cannot even begin
to understand this last section of chapter 5 unless we first admit what is
glaringly obvious, that Paul believed and taught the accounts in the book of
Genesis as being under divine inspiration in their writing and thus as
completely valid historical events. We should
really not be surprised at this if we are familiar with the New Testament
because Jesus spoke of the events in Genesis as being literal historical
happenings, as in Matt. 19:3-6, it is written, 3 And some Pharisees came to
Him, testing Him, and saying, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for
any cause at all? 4 And He answered and said, Have you not read, that He who
created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, For
this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his
wife; and the two shall become one flesh? 6 Consequently they are no longer
two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.
4.3.1.
If we believe that Gods Word is inaccurate on some
points, then how can we be sure it is accurate on any points? If we deny the accuracy of the Genesis 3
account of the fall of man, how can we then trust that it is correct concerning
our sin being atoned for by Christ?
4.4.
Jesus did not teach that God created a big formless
mass that evolved, or anything of the like, rather He taught that God created a
man and a woman, following the Genesis account literally, and that the woman
was brought to the man to be his helpmeet.
Therefore, the God who created and instituted marriage in the first
place is not in favor of divorce.
Likewise, all of the New Testament writers who wrote under inspiration
of God believed and wrote about the accounts of the book of Genesis, including
its creation accounts, as being literal historical events.
4.5.
Adam and Christ represent in scripture two different
races of people. Adam and Christ are
their respective representative heads.
Christ is called in 1 Corinthians 15, the Last Adam, because of
the race that is begun through Him, and because there will be no further race
created.
4.6.
In this last section of chapter 5 of Romans, Paul
refers to the act of one person 12 times. There is a parallel which Paul derives from
comparing what was accomplished through the act of one man Adam verses
what was accomplished through the act of one man, Jesus Christ. Primarily the comparisons are contrasts
between the two, however the parallel consists in the fact of what was
accomplished by one man, whether Adam or Christ.
4.7.
Paul begins this section with the word, Therefore,
and this word is significant since in his using of this word, he is referring
to everything that he had written and taught previously in the book. This last section of chapter 5 is not an
incidental parenthetical statement randomly thrown in, Paul never wrote in this
way. Every clause which he wrote is
connected to everything else before and after.
Having declared that all men are under sin, having taught that salvation
is through faith in Christ, which produces His righteousness imputed to the
believer, having taught of the believer entering into the state of
justification through faith in Christ, having taught the results of
justification, and having taught about the saving life of Christ, Paul now
takes a step backwards and looks at the origin of sin, how the consequences of
Adams sin spread to mankind, and then how that in Christ not only are the
consequences of Adams sin reversed, but God does much more in the
believers life by justifying Him, causing His grace to abound in their lives
and bringing them to reign in life through Christ.
4.8.
As we look around at the world of people around us, it
should be very apparent to us that there is something that has gone very wrong
with mankind. There is so much in the
world of misery and unhappiness, moral breakdown, drug usage, robbery, murder,
divorce, families being separated, and children committing heinous crimes, not
to mention terrorism and wars. The
secular answer for the cause of these modern evils for those who do not believe
in the Bible and in a personal God is that man is still in the process of
evolving, and not having evolved to a high enough of a plane, he is still
making mistakes and doing things that are detrimental to himself and
others. However, we must understand that
the Bible teaches clearly, as this last section of chapter 5 of Romans reveals,
that the problem with the world of people around us is that they have a sin
nature and that they have sinned. It is
mans sin that has created all of the problems in which he and the society in
which he has created, is in.
4.9.
When Paul writes here just as through one man sin
entered into the world, he is referring to the fact that it was through
the one act of disobedience in the garden of Eden by Adam that brought sin into
the world. Sin did not exist in the
world before, however the verbiage used here indicates that sin really invaded
the world from the outside. Actually sin
existed outside the world before the sin of Adam because Lucifer (known also as
Satan) and 1/3 of the angels fell into sin before the events of chapter 3 of
Genesis, and it was Satan, the Devil, who tempted man in the garden.
4.10.
Actually it was Eve who was tempted first by the
Devil, and sinned. Then, Adam sinned at
her request, not having been deceived himself directly by the Devil. However, in Gods mind Adam was created first
and placed as head over the woman, and therefore it is written that it was Adam
who first sinned and brought the consequences of sin upon the human race.
4.11.
Adam was told that he could eat of all of the trees in
the garden, with the exception of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil. God told Adam that on the day that
he ate of it, he would die. It was
breaking the one solitary law that God had given to him, that Adam sinned and
brought the consequences of sin upon the world.
Paul writes in Rom. 6:23, 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the
free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
4.12.
There are some insects and animals which have a stinger
such that if one is stung by it, death will ensue, likewise Paul also wrote
about sin in a similar way, and about how it produces death in 1 Cor. 15:56 ,
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
4.13.
The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 51:5 , 5 Behold, I was
brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
4.14.
The death inherited from Adam because of his sin is
not only physical death, but is also spiritual death, and after
this life it shall be eternal death (eternal damnation in hell).
4.15.
Paul writes and so death spread to all men,
which teaches us that the reason that people die is because of the sin which
Adam sinned. What Paul is beginning to
unfold to us here in the book of Romans is called the doctrine of Original
Sin. Because of the sin of the one
man Adam, all men descended from Adam are sinners and thus will die.
4.16.
When we see the death of an innocent infant who has
never made a conscious choice to disobey God, it does make sense to us that
death would be caused not because of an individuals sin, but because of the
sin of Adam.
4.17.
Adam is looked at as the Federal representative of all
of us who have descended from him. And
thus the consequences of what he did are inherited by all of those who physically
descend from him, namely, all of mankind.
4.18.
Paul now writes because all sinned, and this
word sinned is in the aorist tense as it indicates action completed at
one finite point of time. When did man
sin, you might ask? [I just mentioned
that babies die who have not consciously had the chance to obey or disobey God,
therefore they have not sinned.]
4.18.1.
John Calvin misinterpreted this section of scripture
to teach that the reason why man sins and that death reigns over all is because
man inherited a sin nature from Adam, the first sinner.
4.18.1.1. This view is
not quite correct.
4.18.2.
The Jehovah Witnesses wrongly believe that every
person dies for the sin that they have committed themselves (therefore they
must believe that the infant who dies has sinned).
4.18.2.1. If we
believe that we will die because we have sinned, then we must also believe that
it is theoretically possible for a person to always choose not to sin and
therefore live a perfect life and be justified before God based upon their
works.
4.18.3.
However, what Paul is saying in this verse is that
when Adam sinned, at that moment, all of mankind sinned. We were in Adam, and therefore we sinned and
also inherited the consequences of his sin.
4.19.
As an illustration of how this works, in the book of
Hebrews Paul (most likely the author of that book) argues the superiority of
the priesthood of Christ which was prophesied to be according to the order of
Melchisidek, to whom Abraham recognized as a priest and paid a tithe, by saying
in Heb. 7:9-10, 9 And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received
tithes, paid tithes, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when
Melchizedek met him. The author of
Hebrews is saying that Levi was in the loins of Abraham, being his
descendant, and therefore the consequences of what Abraham did were transferred
to Levi.
4.20.
Therefore, Adam acting as all of our representative,
and with us being in his loins, when he sinned, we all sinned
ourselves, and therefore the consequences of his sin is inherited by all
mankind subsequent to him.
4.21.
When people teach that man evolved from a lower life
form, we must realize that if we hold to that as being true, then it will
undermine our very faith since we will misinterpret much of scripture that is
vital to our understanding of mans condition before God as well as the
redemption that God has provided for man.
If we believe that man did not sin in the garden as the book of Genesis
records, then we will not understand that we inherit the consequences of Adams
sin as well as a sin nature ourselves, and thus we may not see our need of a
savior to do for us what we cannot do ourselves.
4.22.
We also see in our world some peoples lives
dramatically changed and restored due to their relationship with Jesus Christ
as Lord and Savior. What makes the
difference is whether or not someone is living in Adam or whether they are
living in Jesus Christ, the last Adam.
Jesus Christ has introduced a new Age, a new Kingdom, and a new Order
altogether. If a person is in Adam he is
in the realm of sin, death, wrath, and condemnation. If he is in Christ he is living in a
realm characterized by righteousness, joy, peace, and life.
4.23.
As we look at this last section of Romans which
describes the two Adams and the two races they represent, we have to realize
that there is life in being in Christ, the last Adam, and likewise
there is death if we instead identify with Adam and his race.
4.24.
Paul wrote about this in Romans 8:2-6, 2 For the
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin
and of death. 3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the
flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an
offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the
requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to
the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who are according to the
flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according
to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is
death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace 7 because the mind set
on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law
of God, for it is not even able to do so; 8 and those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.
4.25.
People are either in Adam or they are in Christ, and
once a person has been placed into Christ, he will remain there, however, we
Christians must realize that we are either walking in the flesh (after the
first Adam) or we are walking in the Spirit (the eternal life given by the Last
Adam), for there is no in between or neutral state. This is a moment by moment experience for us
in our life. If we are walking in the
Spirit, our life will have the fruit of the Spirit in full display in it. Likewise, if we are walking in the flesh, our
lives will not be characterized by the fruits of the Spirit, but rather by the
deeds of the flesh, and by death, as Paul wrote.
4.26.
If you call yourself a Christian, they my question to
you today is as to whether or not you are walking in Christ, in all of
the blessings and benefits of being in Him?
4.27.
If you think that it is not fair that we should suffer
for the consequences of what someone else did, namely Adam, then you should
realize that it was actually in mercy that God did this. If God were to test each one of us the way
that He tested Adam in the garden, then we would each of us fall and inherit
the terrible consequences of our own sin.
However, we must realize that God caused the consequences of Adams sin
to pass to all of mankind so that He could also send His only-begotten Son into
the world to suffer the penalty of all of the sins of mankind, and thus through
His act of righteousness, we could all be saved and have His righteousness imputed
to us. We must see that if we did not
inherit the consequences of Adams sin, that we could not also inherit the
consequences of the obedience of Christ for us.
5.
VS 5:13 - 13
for until the Law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no
law. - Paul tells us that though sin
existed in the world before the Law, sin is not imputed when there is no law
5.1.
In verse 13, Paul actually begins a parenthetical
statement which continues through verse 17, with a parenthetical statement
inside of it in verses 15-17.
5.2.
The Jews have always related completely to the purpose
of the Law of Moses. They knew for
instance that sin was actually the transgression of the Law, as John wrote in 1
John. Therefore, since the Jews would
have wondered how that Paul could say that all men sinned or were
under sin, without introducing the Law of Moses as the primary means of
revealing sin to man, Paul speaks of the Law in this verse. Paul actually downplays the overall
importance of the Law when looked at from the biggest perspective.
5.3.
Paul says that until the Law sin was in the world,
indicating that sin was not created by the giving of the Law. Sin abounded before the Law since mankind
were sinners by nature. If we ask the question, Is man a sinner
because he sins, or does he sin because he is a sinner? The answer is that man sins because he first
is a sinner.
5.4.
Death reigned before God gave the Law to Moses, and
sin also reigned. This can be seen by
the fact that God destroyed all of the world except for those who were in the
arc with Moses. Before the giving of the
Law, God also destroyed the cities of
5.5.
What difference then was made in man by God giving the
Law of Moses to him? The answer is that
the Law pointed out mans sin, revealed it, and thus mans conscience was made
more acute to his sin. Paul talked about
the Law causing sin to become utterly sinful in Rom. 7:13, 13 Therefore did
that which is good become a cause of death for me? May it never be! Rather it
was sin, in order that it might be shown to be sin by effecting my death
through that which is good, that through the commandment sin might become
utterly sinful.
5.6.
The Law of Moses pointed out to man very clearly that
by his own righteousness he could not be made righteous in Gods sight. This is what the Law did, however sin was in
the world before that and the consequences of Adams sin were being experienced
by all of his descendants.
5.7.
Paul then writes but sin is not imputed when there
is no law. This means that even
though sin was present in the world, because there was not a written
prohibition against sins that had been given by God, that the sins were not written
in the ledger of Gods book. That
is literally what the Greek word means, written in the ledger, and it
is not the word used previously in the book and translated as imputed. They were not accounted for. However, sin was still sin, and sin still
reigned, death still reigned, and the consequences of sin were in full force
during this period, however God did not keep a record of those transgressions
until the giving of the Law of Moses.
6.
VS 5:14 - 14
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not
sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to
come. - Paul tells us that regardless
of whether the Law was in the world that death reigned from Adam until Moses
because of sin
6.1.
Even though the Law of Moses had not been given, death
reigned from Adam until Moses. Men,
women, yes and sometimes children died during that time period between Adam and
Moses since the consequences (or wages) of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
6.2.
Paul writes that death reigned over this time
period, even though the people living from the time of Adam until Moses did not
sin in the same manner as Adams sin, i.e. by violating a specific commandment
communicated directly by God to them.
6.3.
People sinned during this time period by making the
choices they made to not seek the Lord and do what their consciences were telling
them they ought to do. They sinned by
not seeking the Lord and by not being willing to listen to His voice in their
lives. Had they sought the Lord and
lived by faith before Him, the righteousness of Christ would have been imputed
to them and they would have come to have their sins forgiven and covered
through the work of Christ upon the cross future for them.
6.4.
Paul writes that Adam is is a type of Him who was
to come, that is of Christ. The
reason Adam is a type of Christ, as I already stated earlier, is that both
acted as federal representatives of a race, and the action of both effected all
those whom they represented. Adam
sinned, and thus all of mankind has inherited the consequences of his sin. Likewise, because Christ died on the cross for
mans sins, whenever a person places his or her faith in Christ as Lord and
Savior, he is justified before God with the righteousness of Christ imputed to
him.
7.
VS 5:15 - 15
But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of
the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace
of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. -
Paul outlines the difference between what Adam did in making us sinners
and what Christ did by making the way so that we could be saved, in others the
comparison is one of death vs grace
7.1.
In verse 15 Paul begins a parenthesis within the
parenthesis that he began in verse 13.
7.2.
In this verse, Paul begins to show the contrasts
between Adam and Christ.
7.3.
Every gift by definition is free,
however to emphasize that one cannot and must not work to earn the gift of
eternal life, Paul calls what Christ offers as salvation to all men the free
gift. Paul says that the free
gift is not like the transgression.
7.4.
Strongs Greek Dictionary has the following entry for
this word translated as transgression :
1)
to fall beside or near something
2)
a lapse or deviation from truth and uprightness
2a)
a sin, misdeed
7.5.
Paul writes in this verse that one contrast between
Adam and Christ is that what Christ did was much greater and more grand. Paul writes that through Adams sin, the
many died, which actually is to say that all die through that act
of sin. However, referring to what the
Last Adam, Jesus Christ, accomplished, he says it was a much greater effect
produced for man by Christ upon the cross, because the grace of God and the
gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. This term the many refers in the case
of the act of Adam, all mankind for this is the group referred to, however, in
regards to Christ the many refers to all those who place their faith
in Christ as their Lord and Savior.
7.6.
When people come to faith in Christ, God simply does
not reverse what Adam did, which would be to cause men not to have to die
physically. Rather, when people come to
faith in Christ, they are blessed with the grace of God, and the gift
of eternal life that comes through Jesus Christ abounds to them. Men and women are raised up with Christ,
called to be His children, children of the King, which makes them a
prince. We become equal heirs with
Christ of all that He has. The gift of
eternal life through the grace of God overflows and abounds in the life of a
child of God who has been placed into Christ. God demonstrates His unbelievable graciousness
in doing this. Also, in chapter 8 of
Romans we will see that Paul will tells us that each and every one of us as
Christians have as part of our inheritance in Christ the fact that through
Christ we are overwhelming conquerors in everything. Nothing can have victory over us when we are
taking our proper place in Christ and enjoying all of the privileges and
blessings associated with being in Christ.
7.7.
Are you experiencing the abounding grace of God
in your life today? Is His grace
overflowing with blessing, joy, and peace in your heart today? If not, you need to come to God and be placed
into Christ. If you are abiding
in Him, from your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water!
7.8.
If you are saved, but you arent experiencing that abounding
grace in your life, you need to let your mind dwell upon the blessings of
God in your life. Think upon what Gods
grace has brought into your life. Think
upon what God has promised concerning you being in Christ. Let Him fill you with His Spirit as you
surrender your life to His control and use.
Ask Him in faith, and He will not deny to you the Holy Spirit, that is
what He promises.
8.
CONCLUSIONS:
8.1.
Are you living the crucified or exchanged life? Are you experiencing every single day the
saving life of Christ living in and through you, making you more than a
conqueror no matter what it is that you may face?
8.2.
Christian, dont let
yourself be a bottom feeder and live in the power of the flesh, set your mind
on the things above where you are seated with Christ. You were meant for great things and to have
great victory through Christ, so dont short circuit yourself from Gods
blessings.