Romans 5:12-21 - Death through Adam, Life through Christ
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12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Introduction
Who is the best leader you have ever known?
We held a funeral service for one of our elders, Ray Dodd, yesterday, and while it’s a time of grief because he is temporarily gone, it’s also a time of great joy because it causes us to reflect on death and more importantly how Jesus has conquered death by his resurrection from the dead.
-“I’m only human” - suggests humans are inherently bad, or at least limited
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-Odd question, but if you could select one person that you know to be the MOST REPRESENTATIVE of what it means to be human, who would it be?
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-This text we’re in today is a little bit heady, but I believe it will help us to recognize the goodness and majesty of Jesus in a better way today, which is really what this is all about
It’s extremely appropriate that we would be in today as Paul explores how our whole world has been subjected to death and how the only hope for us is Jesus.
To start out, let me ask you: how do you view death? Do you fear it? Does it cause you anxiety, stress, worry?
What do you think will happen after you die? These are morbid questions, but here’s the good news; in the deep pit of the most heartbreaking and difficult issue to face humanity we find great hope and joy through Jesus. That’s what is all about.
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Notes: Odd grammar here: Paul starts a sentence that he doesn’t finish
“Just as sin came into the world through one man...” we would expect something like “righteousness came into the world through one man”
There is no question that Paul wants to compare Jesus with the first human being, Adam, whose story is recorded in . But he also wants to make clear that while there are a couple of similarities between Adam and Jesus, they are NOT alike.
I. Death is brought to all humanity through Adam
I. Death is brought to all humanity through Adam
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.
14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
Incomplete sentence - Paul wants to make a comparison between the work of Adam and the work of Jesus
Sin came into the world through Adam
Genesis 2:
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,
17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Referring to - where Adam takes from the one tree in the garden that God told him not to; this was a symbol of Adam choosing independence and disobedience over relationship with God in obedience and dependence.
Adam’s decision was one to reject God’s definition of good and evil and instead supply his own definition of good and evil
So sin came into the world through Adam’s choice
Death came into the world through sin
The result of Adam’s sin was death
Some people try to point to an inconsistency in the Bible because Adam didn’t immediately die
Both
Both
We have a hard time actually defining death
Death is the antithesis of life
Biological and medical
In medieval Europe, people were often prematurely buried because they were believed to be dead, leading the development of safety coffins designed to allow a buried person to signal that they had been buried alive - “saved by the bell”
Until the mid 1900’s, death was defined as the cessation of spontaneous breathing and heartbeat
But the development of technology which made it possible to circulate blood and maintain respiration prompted a new concept of death
In 1968, a new term was proposed - “brain dead”, the complete and irreversible cessation of all activity in the brain, including the brain stem
Aside from that, vital organs can be “alive” even while a patient is considered brain dead
We now understand that death is not so much an event but a process - our physical bodies are destined to ultimate failure, even if we survive every calamity that life can throw at us - the cells in our body are from birth sentenced to stable and long term loss of living capacities, even despite continuing metabolic reactions and viability
In essence, we are all born into a world where we are dying
Entropy - the universe is dying
Universal death
Death is the antithesis of life
It is the stilling of the moving, thriving, breathing life
But we have to d
It is the crushing of hopes and dreams for the future
The universe itself is dying
2. Death came into the world through sin
Our star will eventually burn out and be unable to support life on our little planet
It is the despair that sets in when we realize how small and futile our life really is
The universe itself will die in one of two ways
the heat death of the universe - mass/energy is not created or destroyed, but it becomes less available to do work over time, such that eventually no work will be able to be done
the big crunch - as the universe is expanding, gravity is trying to pull it all back together and eventually will, resulting in everything being compressed down to a single point - we are all ultimately headed for a black hole
Like hell, death is something that can be experienced in every day life
Emotional, relational, social death
Depression, anxiety, loneliness
Sense of despair, futility, hopelessness, isolation, loneliness
- “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”
Example: the walking dead - Rick Grimes saying, “we are the walking dead”
The biblical worldview teaches that all of these kinds of death are really symptoms of one core reality: spiritual death
God is the source of all life
Death has become a pervasive enemy of all humanity that seeps into every aspect of life, dooming all things to eventual failure and extinguishing
To be cut off from God is to be in a state of death
Adam’s sin was a cutting off of relationship with God
The result of Adam’s sin was death not only for him, but for everyone
3. Death spread to all because all sinned
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
“because all sinned” is in a particular greek tense referring to a single past tense action (vs. 12)
Two parts to this
Not habitual - not “because all sin
All sinned in Adam
What Adam did was effective and representative for us all
Federal Headship: The whole group is held responsible for what the leader did
The leader speaks for and is representative of those under his leadership
Example: The president speaks for and represents our country to the rest of the world
Adam, by his actions, brought the entire human race into slavery to sin and a corrupted nature
Everyone sins individually, but we sin individually because we have been born into a race separated from God and corrupted by sin - again, sin is actually not first something we do, but it’s something in our nature that prompts us toward the things we do that are sin
Paul has a sidebar here where he preemptively addresses a potential objection that sin cannot exist in a world where there is no law - remember, his audience is both Jewish and non Jewish Christians.
Paul breaks off his thought here and never finishes his sentence
13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
First, he preemptively addresses an objection that sin would not exist in a world that had not been given the law
Second, he launches into a sustained comparison between the work of Adam and work of Jesus
Sin existed in the world before the Law was given, but was not “counted” without the Law (formally recognized) - but a transgression doesn’t have to be formally recognized for it to be a transgression
Illustration: Every rule exists because someone broke it first - Law is contextual. Example: jumping off the roof of the dorms at HIU into the pool.
Illustration: Every rule exists because someone broke it first - Law is contextual. Example: jumping off the roof of the dorms at HIU into the pool.
Nonetheless, because Adam chose sin and rejected God, death reigned - it had absolute dominion and sovereignty, meaning no one escapes it, and all of Adam’s descendents are destined to fall to this enemy
At this point, some people object and try to point out an inconsistency in the Bible, saying that Adam didn’t actually die when he took the fruit
Death had complete sovereignty and dominion
Death is the one universal enemy of humanity that no one can defeat
We only have two guarantees in life - death and taxes
Death is the most offensive, abhorrent thing in our world
It is the swift and sudden end
This is why the resurrection of Jesus should astound us. Never in the history of humanity has a single person defeated death, except Jesus.
Some people try to point out an inconsistency in the Bible because Adam didn’t “die” when he took from the tree of knowledge of good and evil
What does death mean? Remember, it’s really important that we take an honest, hard look at death, because in the depths of that pit is where we find the hope of eternal life in Jesus - we have to understand just how bad death is to understand just how good Jesus is. So we have to determine, what are we actually talking about when we talk about death?
We have a hard time actually defining death
Biological and medical
In medieval Europe, people were often prematurely buried because they were believed to be dead, leading the development of safety coffins designed to allow a buried person to signal that they had been buried alive - “saved by the bell”
Until the mid 1900’s, death was defined as an unresponsive person with no spontaneous breathing or heartbeat
But the development of technology which made it possible to circulate blood and maintain respiration prompted a new concept of death
In 1968, a new term was proposed - “brain dead”, the complete and irreversible cessation of all activity in the brain, including the brain stem
Aside from that, vital organs can be “alive” even while a patient is considered brain dead
We now understand that death is not so much an event but a process - our physical bodies are destined to ultimate failure, even if we survive every calamity that life can throw at us - the cells in our body are from birth sentenced to stable and long term loss of living capacities, even despite continuing metabolic reactions and viability
In essence, we are all born into a world where we are dying
This is offensive, to think that Gwen is already on this path
Who here has been touched by a death in your family or community?
Cosmological death, which we will get a little bit more into when we get to
The universe itself is dying
Our star will eventually burn out and be unable to support life on our little planet
The universe itself will die in one of two ways
the heat death of the universe - mass/energy is not created or destroyed, but it becomes less available to do work over time, such that eventually no work will be able to be done
the big crunch - as the universe is expanding, gravity is trying to pull it all back together and eventually will, resulting in everything being compressed down to a single point - we are all ultimately headed for a black hole
Emotional, relational, social death
Both
Depression, anxiety, loneliness
Sense of despair, futility, hopelessness, isolation, loneliness
- “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”
The biblical worldview teaches that all of these kinds of death are really symptoms of one core reality: spiritual death
Death is the antithesis of life
God is the source of all life
It is the stilling of the moving, thriving, breathing life
To be cut off from God is to be in a state of death
It is the crushing of hopes and dreams for the future
Adam’s sin was a cutting off of relationship with God
It is the despair that sets in when we realize how small and futile our life really is
Like hell, death is something that can be experienced in every day life
Example: the walking dead - Rick Grimes saying, “we are the walking dead”
Because sin results in condemnation, it cuts us off from a connection to the source of all life - spiritual, physical, emotional, relational life - to be disconnected from God is to die, a reality that will ultimately be displayed most clearly in physical death
Death is the one universal enemy of humanity that no one can defeat
We only have two guarantees in life - death and taxes
Death is the most offensive, abhorrent thing in our world
It is the swift and sudden end
This is why the resurrection of Jesus should astound us. Never in the history of humanity has a single person defeated death, except Jesus.
Second, he launches into a sustained comparison between the work of Adam and the work of Jesus
II. Where Adam brought death, Jesus brings life
II. Where Adam brought death, Jesus brings life
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
The main comparison Paul makes it to show that humanity in Adam is destined for death, while redeemed humanity in Jesus is destined for life
Between Adam’s disobedience and Jesus’ life of perfect obedience which culminated in his death on a cross
Jesus inaugurates a whole new kind of humanity - redeemed humanity, comprised of people justified by faith and reconciled to God
Nowhere is this most clearly seen than in the Garden of Gethsemene - where Adam failed the test in his garden, Jesus passed it in his
Paul is saying that Jesus inaugurates a whole new kind of humanity - redeemed humanity, comprised of people justified by faith and reconciled to God who are destined for eternal life in Christ
To make this point, Paul draws two major comparisons between Adam and Jesus
The effect of their actions
Adam’s sin brought judgment, condemnation, and death
Jesus’ righteousness brought grace, justification, righteousness and life
Grace means undeserved favor
Justification means the declaration of “not guilty” the opposite of condemnation
Interestingly, Paul had said that because of Adam’s sin, “death reigned” - one would expect the comparison to read that because of Jesus’ work, “life reigned.”
Righteousness means right standing with God, reconnection with the source of life
Eternal life
Interestingly, Paul had said that because of Adam’s sin, “death reigned” - one would expect the comparison to read that because of Jesus’ work, “life reigned.”
But instead, Paul says that because of Jesus work, his redeemed people will reign in life
But instead, Paul says that because of Jesus work, his redeemed people will reign in life
This gets back to what it means to be human - humans were created to reign over God’s creation in relationship with him. Adam’s sin made us slaves to sin and death, but Jesus’ act of righteousness frees us to reign in life as we were intended to
This gets back to what it means to be human - humans were created to reign over God’s creation in relationship with him. Adam’s sin made us slaves to sin and death, but Jesus’ act of righteousness frees us to reign in life as we were intended to
Jesus is creating in himself a new humanity that is restored to the original purpose of humanity
Jesus is creating in himself a new humanity that is restored to the original purpose of humanity
Application: When you sin and then say, “I’m only human,” you are mistaking what it means to be human. When we sin, we are actually acting in ways that are not at all in line with what it means to be human
What it means to be human is to be creatures made in the image of God who exist in loving relationship with him and reign over his creation according to his wisdom, goodness, and justice
The power of their actions
Adam’s actions were sufficiently powerful to condemn the entire world to sin and death
Three times in this text Paul sets up a “how much more” comparison
15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
Verse 17: For if, because of one man
17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It is a certain kind of power to bring death - it is far more power required to grant life
Humans are great at killing each other, but not once have we ever managed to bring someone back from the dead
The point is that as powerful as Adam’s actions were, they were nowhere near powerful enough to overcome Jesus
God is not stumped by human sin and death - he has done everything necessary to destroy them
There is no power in all of creation that is sufficient to
20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It means that you cannot out-sin God’s grace and death cannot overpower Jesus’ life, because its not about what you have done; it’s about what has been done for you.
Paul finally finishes his thought with a summary in
18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
When Paul says “one act of righteousness,” he’s talking about the overall life of obedience that Jesus lived, which culminated on his obedience to God even to death on a cross
Conclusion: Here’s what all of this means
What we actually need is not to conform ourselves to a new set of rules and expectations; what we need is to be transformed into a new kind of person, a redeemed human
This is why your rule following isn’t the goal in God’s sight - your transformation into looking like Jesus is
This is also why the Christian faith is not primarily about what you do - it’s about what has been done for you and who you belong to
Here’s what Adam has done for you - he has subjected you to slavery to sin and destined you for death
Here’s what Jesus has done for you - offered his life as a sacrifice for yours to free you from sin and death, restore you to relationship with God, to grant you life, and transform you into his own image so that you will truly know what it means to be human
The question is, who do you belong to? Who do you want to belong to?
What does it look like to be in Christ?
Faith
It means an objective reality, where your status has been changed from being identified with Adam and his sin/death to being identified with Jesus and his righteousness and life
But it also means living your life in Christ - a practical, tangible, ongoing reality. This means that you actually spend time with Jesus in prayer, scripture, communion, fellowship with other believers, and worship. Living a life in Christ actually means walking in a manner that is consistent with your identity.
Communion
For those who are in Christ by faith in him, communion is a time when we actually commune with Jesus by remembering his sacrifice for us. We invite those of you who are Christians to take the emblems as they are passed, pray and reflect on what you have heard today, and then take them with us together once we all have them.
For those who are not in Christ, there is no shame or judgment in this place for refraining from communion out of respect for what it means. We would just ask that instead you spend this time reflecting on whether you would rather be in Adam or in Jesus; you need only receive Jesus by faith in him to be identified in him.