S219-042008 Ro 5c
Alêtheia Christian Fellowship ~ 042008 ~ Romans 5c
The question naturally follows, “How can Jesus, one man, make all righteous?
Romans 5:12 ~ 12Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—13for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14Nevertheless 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.
In our few verses today, 10 in all, Paul uses the word, “One,” 13 times, “reign,” 5 times & “much more,” 5 times
Death is the result of sin
They did not have sin imputed
They all died
There must be another cause
The point is that although people did not violate a clear and personal directive from God, as Adam did, they still die.
Death was the promised outcome of disobedience – the Second Law of Thermodynamics takes effect.
Clearly everyone dies even when they have not been responsible agents as in the case of small children
Death, decay and disease, not to mention pestilence, famine and war along with all manner of suffering and pain are ours because of one man – Adam.
Adam’s sin spreads to all of his offspring as a curse and as a sin-nature.
We might say, “That’s not fair!” It is not only natural, just like inheriting blue eyes from your dad, but it is fair because God is working something out.
If you can’t get onboard with God’s plan – you must recognize that if God tested you individually you would fare no better than Adam did.
Here is God’s plan…
5:15But 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.
“But,” clearly indicates that while there are similarities between Adam and Jesus, it is not an exact analogy.
The first difference is one of certainty – if death which God was not happy about has spread to all – how much more certain is it that life will spread from God.
Another, a fortiori argument…
The word translated as “many,” in two places in this verse serve to demonstrate that all fall into the respective categories, but not all have yet received the outcome yet.
All will die, but only many have so far, while all are savable, only many will accept and be saved.
God sees 2 men – you are either in Adam or in Christ reaping the resultant effect
Romans 5:16~ 16The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
SLIDE: The second difference is related to entropy and the cascade effect.
1- Entropy shows destruction is easy, but construction is hard – drop a match in the forest – one act.
2- For Adam everything started with one event and grew out of that while in Jesus massive and nearly uncountable threads of sin were brought together and corrected by one event.
Romans 5:17&18 ~ 17For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
Another, a fortiori, since death does reign, the greater event must make life reign and as proof - Jesus is resurrected!
Notice verse 18, says to all…
Romans 5:19-21 ~ 19For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more 21so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The word translated as “many,” in two places in this verse serve to demonstrate that all fall into the respective categories, but not all have yet received the outcome yet.
All will die, but only many have so far, while all are savable, only many will be saved.
Verse 19, disobedience is parakoh~v = aside, i.e. amiss + hearken, so to fail to heed because of not hearing seriously.
Adam’s sin begins with carelessness – not taking God’s Word seriously
Work out your salvation in fear and trembling – Paul makes a play on words – obedience is uJpakoh~v = submission to what you hear.
Verse 20 – The purpose of the Law = the Law came in is the triple-compound word pareish~lqen, i.e. came in alongside.
The parallel between Adam and Jesus is done so Paul answers the obvious question, “Why the Law?”
The Law came in alongside of the sin. Not equal to sin or grace, but rather a feature that demonstrates sin and increases it so that God’s sacrifice will be recognized as necessary and valuable.
ADAM
Made from the earth
King of the old creation
Tested in a perfect garden and disobeyed God
His disobedience brought sin, condemnation, and death upon the human race
Through him death and sin reign in this world
The OT is “the book of the generations of Adam” and ends with the word “curse”
JESUS
Came from heaven
King of the new creation
Tested in a terrible wilderness and obeyed God
His obedience brought righteousness, salvation, and life to all who will believe
Through Him life and righteousness reigns
The NT is “the book of the generation of Jesus” and ends with “no more curse”
(Gen. 5:1–2) (Mal. 4:6) (Matt. 1:1) (Rev. 22:3). The paradise of Genesis that Adam lost is restored in Revelation through the cross of Christ.
Some may say that sounds like easy grace… Yes it is! It’s easy because God has accomplished it through Jesus.
The only acceptable work is that which flows out of peace!
"Ephesians 2:1-10 ~ 1You were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world… 4But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, 6and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus… 8For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
We all know that a man dies if he disobeys God’s law. But there was no law from Adam to Moses, yet men died! Then death must be from another cause, and that cause is Adam’s sin. Because we are born “in Adam,” we inherit his sin and condemnation.
The whole transaction is summarized in the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17, being “in Christ”) sin no longer reigns, grace does! Death does not reign, life does! And we reign in life!
Now, the important question is this: Am I “in Adam” or “in Christ”?
How is it possible for God to save sinners in the person of Jesus Christ? We understand that somehow Christ took our place on the cross, but how was such a substitution possible?
Paul answered the question in this section, and these verses are the very heart of the letter.
Skeptics sometimes ask, “Was it fair for God to condemn the whole world just because of one man’s disobedience?” The answer, of course, is that it was not only fair; but it was also wise and gracious. To begin with, if God had tested each human being individually, the result would have been the same: disobedience. But even more important, by condemning the human race through one man (Adam), God was then able to save the human race through one Man (Jesus Christ)!
Each of us is racially united to Adam, so that his deed affects us. (See Heb. 7:9–10 for an example of this racial headship.) The fallen angels cannot be saved because they are not a race. They sinned individually and were judged individually. There can be no representative to take their judgment for them and save them. But because you and I were lost in Adam, our racial head, we can be saved in Christ, the Head of the new creation. God’s plan was both gracious and wise.
Our final question must be answered: how do we know that we are racially united to Adam? We know that all men die. But death is the result of disobeying the Law. There was no Law from Adam to Moses, but men still died. A general result demands a general cause. What is that cause? It can be only one thing: the disobedience of Adam. When Adam sinned, he ultimately died. All of his descendants died (Gen. 5), yet the Law had not yet been given. Conclusion: they died because of Adam’s sin. “For that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12) means “all have sinned in Adam’s sin.” Men do not die because of their own acts of sin; otherwise, babies would not die (Rom. 9:11). Men die because they are united racially to Adam, and “in Adam all men die” (1 Cor. 15:22).
The word “many” (literally “the many”) means the same as “all men” in Romans 5:12 and 18.
Read the “book of the generations of Adam” in Genesis 5, and note the solemn repetition of the phrase “and he died.”
Law and grace are contrasted (vv. 20–21). “Then Law crept in” (wms); or, “Then the Law came in beside” (literal translation). Grace was not an addition to God’s plan; grace was a part of God’s plan from the very beginning. God dealt with Adam and Eve in grace; He dealt with the patriarchs in grace; and He dealt with the nation of Israel in grace. He gave the Law through Moses, not to replace His grace, but to reveal man’s need for grace. Law was temporary, but grace is eternal.
Adam was a thief