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Set free for God (Romans 5-8) Part 2

Chapter 5:12-21

The passage begins with "Therefore". The question now arises as to what this refers to. It could perhaps be formulated like this: Therefore, because the problem of our sins is now solved, we move on to a new thought. Reconciliation and its blessed consequences have been presented. Now, another truth is explained: the solution to the problem of sin. 

Adam - the head of a sinful human race

Unlike the first part of the letter to the Romans, it is no longer about the difference between Jews and Gentiles. Nor is it a question of whether someone has sinned with or without the law. Now, the Holy Spirit says that the principle of sin - regardless of distinctions - can be traced back to one person: Adam. That is why we call it "original sin." Sin (not sins) came into the world through the first man.

This happened through a single human being. First Corinthians says something similar: "For since through one man came death, through one man also came the resurrection of the dead" (1 Cor 15:21). Here, the emphasis is on man, but in our verse, the emphasis is on the word one. Adam alone was the cause of sin entering the world, and now, every human being is a sinner by nature.

I would like to back this up with a few scriptures. In Psalm 51, David says, "... in sin [not: "in sins"] did my mother conceive me" (Ps 51:7), and Job states, "Who can bring a clean man out of the unclean? Not one!" (Job 14:4). Let's also look at something else in Genesis: "On the day God created Adam, he made him in the likeness of God" (Gen 5:1). Adam was therefore created in the likeness and image of God (Gen 1:27). Then we read further: "And Adam lived 130 years, and begat a son in his likeness, after his image." (Gen 5:3). In whose likeness and image did he beget a son? In the likeness and image of a fallen Adam because Adam and Eve only had children after the Fall. Therefore, they were all infected by sin - even before they had sinned. And all people born afterward are reproductions of the first Adam. All those who are yet to be born, including the people in the Millennial Kingdom, are also born as sinners. They were all "conceived in sin," begotten by sinful people. Therefore, they are sinners from birth, even if they have not yet sinned. This is also proven by the words of the Lord Jesus, who spoke about the "little ones" and then said: "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost" (Mt 18:11). So even immature, little children are lost. This is also clear from Matthew 18:14: "Neither is it the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." Although they have not yet sinned, they are lost - and yet saved through the work of the Lord Jesus!

But then another man came. The second man, the man from heaven, the last Adam. This one was not a reproduction of the first Adam, for he was begotten by the Holy Spirit. Mary, his mother, was told: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore also that holy thing which is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). This pure man came to earth and became the head of another human race. We see this later in verses 13 and 14.

So, we see that every human being has a sinful nature. It is a matter of "inherited sin." And because man has this original sin, he must die and perish. Therefore, he cannot enter into the glory of God. He is in a sinful state. Even if he has not yet sinned, he is lost. The first part of the twelfth verse speaks of this.

Original sin and guilt

Someone could say: "It is not my fault that I have inherited the sinful nature. So God must not punish me for it either!" To counter this objection, the second part of verse 12 states that "all have sinned." Therefore, every (mature) person has also brought guilt upon themselves. With (inherited) sin, death has entered the world, this king of terror, and it has "penetrated to all men, because all have sinned." "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). We are guilty because we have sinned, and we sin because we have a sinful nature.

Man is not fit for heaven for two reasons: because he has committed sins and because sin dwells in him. At the great white throne, we find these two aspects. All unbelievers appear there, and then it is said: "And the dead were judged according to what was written in the books, according to their works" (Rev 20,12). So this is about their guilt, about the sins they have committed. This is the standard for their judgment. They are judged because they have sinned. But then there is also talk of the Book of Life (Rev 20, 12.15), and it is stated that none of these unbelievers are in the Book of Life. They are not in the Book of Life because they have rejected the grace offered to them in the Lord Jesus. They have not repented, which would have brought them life. They are still in their sinful nature. 

So we need forgiveness of our sins so as not to be judged, and we also need a new nature so as not to be lost. God has a wonderful answer not only to the first problem but also to the second. Just as death came through a man, "justification of life" also comes through a man (v. 18). 

Sins and transgressions

To explain verse 12, there is now a long interlude (vv. 13-17), which the translators have put in brackets for clarity. It begins with the words: "For sin was in the world until the law.” So, even before there was a law that forbade sin, sin was in the world. 

How can we recognize this? Because people died - and death is the wages of sin. It "reigned from Adam to Moses" (v. 14). But sin that occurred during this period was not imputed because there was no law yet (v. 13). A law changes the character of sin and transforms it into transgression. There is no transgression as long as there is no law. If a child does something bad that has not been expressly forbidden to him, then he may be bad, but he has not transgressed any „law." There is only a transgression if there was a prohibition beforehand. Before the Law of Sinai, God had already given man a conscience that testified against sin, but after the Law was given, a "tally sheet" was kept, so to speak - because that is the meaning of the word „impute." All sins are "listed" and are "entered in a debt register."

Sin is, therefore, not imputed if there is no law. Of course, this does not mean that it is excused or that it is not evil: "For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned under law will be judged by law" (Romans 2:12). People sinned before the law and are therefore lost, but they only became transgressors afterward: "For the law causes wrath, but where there is no law, there is no transgression" (Romans 4:15). Sin is, therefore, a broader concept than transgression. Transgression only exists when there are laws, but sin is everything evil in the eyes of God.

The transgression of Adam

"Death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression" (v. 14). From Adam to the law, all had sinned and therefore also died, but they had not sinned "in the likeness of Adam's transgression." We learn what this means from the prophet Hosea, who says of the Jews (i.e., those who had a law): "But they have transgressed the covenant like Adam" (Hos 6:7). 

Why? Because he transgressed the only commandment God had given him: he ate of the fruit of the tree. The Jews who were under the law had now sinned "in the likeness of Adam's transgression." They, too, had commandments and violated them a thousand times over. The descendants of Adam, who lived before the law, were also sinners - but they had not received a clear commandment from God like Adam. Therefore, they did not sin "in the likeness of Adam's transgression."

Verse 14 says Adam "is an example of the one to come." Who is this future One? It is clearly Christ. And why is Adam, who transgressed a commandment, a foreshadowing of Christ?

Two heads - two families

To understand this, we need to note that verse 14 onwards is about two families. Each family has a „producer," a head. The first head is Adam; he is the head of his family. The other head is Christ; He is the head of another family. 

Adam performed a sinful act and thereby became the head of a fallen human race. Correspondingly, Christ performed a work to abolish sin and thereby became the head of a redeemed human race. After He was resurrected and ascended to heaven, He became the head of all who belong to Him. Now we understand why Adam is called the "model of what is to come."

The extent of what happened

As enormous and momentous as Adam's transgression was, the gift of grace of Christ, the second head, is much greater. We are told that it is "overflowing" (v. 15), that it was given in "abundance" (v. 17), and that it has become "more abundant" (v. 20). That must make us happy! As serious as sin and its consequences are, grace overflows everything. The transgression of the one brought death to the „many." That is all people without exception. From the first son of Adam to the last person to be born - Adam is the head of them all! These many have died or will die because of the transgression of this one. But "much more the grace of God and the gift of grace, which is through the one man, Jesus Christ, has overflowed to the many" (v. 15). The term "many" here, of course, no longer refers to all people. It relates only to those who belong to Christ. We have already seen how the Lord Jesus became the head of this new human race. It happened based on his cross, his resurrection, and his ascension. That is why God can act in grace towards the people who now belong to this headship. 

This is irrefutable evidence. What Adam was in doing evil to all men, Christ was in doing good to his descendants. 

So what does the expression "the gift of grace" mean? Since the gift of grace is contrasted with Adam's transgression and death, the thought suggests that this expression - although general - refers to eternal life, which has overflowed to the many through Jesus Christ. This is confirmed in Romans 6:23: "The gift of God's grace is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." But since Christ himself is "eternal life" (1 John 5:20), could we not say that the gift of grace is the Lord Jesus? The well-known verse in 2 Corinthians 9:5 also speaks of this: "Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!" Adam brought us death, but Christ brought us "abundant life" (John 10:10).

So, in verse 15, we have an agreement between the two heads, in that the actions of the one affect the many, and a juxtaposition, namely death on the side of Adam and the gift of grace on the side of Christ.

The effect of what has happened

Further results of the actions of these two heads are now contrasted. "And is not the gift as through one who has sinned?" (V. 16). The one who sinned is Adam. And just as the effects of his deed are immense, so are the effects of God's gift. "For the judgment was from one [i.e., from one thing or action] to condemnation." The one act of Adam brought condemnation to all men without exception. But the gift of grace was from "many transgressions unto righteousness." Through the gift of grace, those who have committed many transgressions but now belong to Christ were brought to righteousness or justification. Justification means the existing state of righteousness before God, which will never be changed. This is what the gift of grace has brought us through the work of Christ.

In summary, in verse 16, we again have an agreement between the two heads, in that the result of their deed is immense in each case, and a juxtaposition: condemnation on the side of Adam and righteousness on the side of Christ.

The state that has occurred

In verse 17, the consequences of the actions of both heads are explained further: "For if by the transgression of the one death reigned through the one, much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ." We have already seen the first of these in verse 14: Through the transgression of Adam, death reigned, and still reigns, and will reign until the end of the Millennial Kingdom. But now another came and brought the abundance of grace to all who belong to Him. He brought the gift of righteousness. He did that for us; He brought it to you and me. This gift of righteousness here is something that God wanted to give me: a righteousness based on what I have become in Christ. A brother once said: "Through the transgression of Adam, the garment of innocence was torn, and through the sacrifice of Christ, we were clothed with the garment of divine righteousness." 

The epilogue says that those who have received the gift of righteousness - we believers - reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. This sounds illogical at first because, at the beginning of the verse, it was said that death reigned, and therefore, we now expect life to reign. But that is not what it says. No, God gives us more. We ourselves reign in life because we have been transferred to the other side of death, to a new world, the world of resurrection. This is also what the apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:10: He wanted to know the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, the power of resurrection life. He knew this power is already unfolding in our lives now, not just in the resurrection at the coming of the Lord. We live in the atmosphere of the one who brought us this life. We are absorbed in this life; it is a new way of living. We walk "in newness of life" (Rom 6:4) and lead a victorious Christian life. 

Again, we have both a correspondence, in that in each case, the act of the one head has brought all his offspring into the same state, and a juxtaposition, namely domination by death on the side of Adam and reigning in life on the side of Christ.

Scope and results

Verses 18 and 19 now continue the thought begun in verse 12. They give a wonderful answer to the problem raised there. This was that through one man, sin entered the world, and as a result, death passed through to all men. And now we learn that through the righteousness of the one man Jesus Christ, those who accept the offer of grace come to the justification of life.

But let us examine these two verses more closely. They contain two important principles. In verse 18, we have the scope of Adam's act and the work of the Lord Jesus, and in verse 19, we have the actual results of these two acts. We can also say that in verse 18, we have the atonement, and in verse 19, the substitution is before us.

Towards all - condemnation and justification 

Verse 18 says that through one transgression - Adam's transgression - "against all men there was condemnation." We must emphasize the words "against all" here. They show the scope of the deed. It is not a question of whether someone is actually lost or whether they escape condemnation by believing in the work of the Lord Jesus. Overall, the consequence of Adam's transgression is directed against all people. 

The same applies to justification. The second part of verse 18 says, "Through one righteousness against all men that justification of life is obtained." This is the idea of atonement, which already appears in Romans 3: "But God's righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ against all" (v. 22). This means that the Lord has done a work that is sufficient for the justification of all people. That is how great and mighty this work is! This corresponds to what is written in Titus 2:11: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people." No one is exempt. The Lord Jesus gave himself "as a ransom for all" (1 Timothy 2:6). That is a mighty work! No one has to perish because the Lord's work of atonement is sufficient for the salvation of all people, i.e., "against all"! - But just as you can escape condemnation, you can also "escape" justification. You will not attain it if you "forfeit" it through unbelief. Thus, verse 18 speaks of condemnation and justification "against all" and not "upon all."

To understand the expression "justification of life," we must first realize what justification means. We already find the expression in chapter 3:20 and especially in chapter 4:25, but without adding the word "of life." First, I would like to use an example to show that justification and forgiveness are two different things: The son of a believing Christian often transgressed his father's commandments. When his son sinned, the father had the habit of hammering a nail into a board hanging on the wall. When the son confessed the offense, the father forgave him and pulled the nail out again. That is forgiveness! - At certain intervals, however, Grandpa came to visit. The first thing he did was look at the board to count the nails. Sometimes, no nail was left, but then he counted the fresh holes, "Six! Then he said, "So, you've been disobedient six times again!" The father realized that things couldn't go on like this. So he carefully filled in all the holes and painted them white. He did the same with every new hole. When Grandpa returned, he was delighted to see that no single hole was visible. That is justification! - Justification means standing before God as if you had never done anything wrong.

But the term "justification of life" goes even further. It means to be in a new position before God—to be on the side of life and no longer on the side of death. This justification is characterized by the Lord Jesus' resurrection life. This goes further than what we read about justification in chapters 3 and 4.

Here, too, we must pay attention to the juxtapositions. The justification of life is contrasted with condemnation, just as the reign of life was contrasted with the reign of death in verse 17. These contrasts make us grateful. They always show that grace brings more than what was lost through Adam.

Position of the righteous

In verse 19, we find the actual results of what Adam or Christ did. "For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam] the many were put in the position of sinners" - that is now again those who belong to the family of Adam, i.e., all people - "so also through the obedience of the one many will be made righteous" - that is again the family of Christ. Let us note the two juxtapositions: First, the disobedience of Adam versus the obedience of Christ; second, the position of sinners versus the position of the righteous.

It is then shown how this became true for the individual. Only those who accept the work of the Lord Jesus are placed in the position of the righteous. Only for them did He die as a substitute. Although the work was done "against all men for the justification of life," the individual must accept it personally. Only of such individuals can it be said that the Lord Jesus took their place on the cross and that they can enjoy the blessing of His work. The Lord Jesus referred to substitution when he spoke of the Son of Man coming to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28; see also Isaiah 53:12). In 1 Timothy 2:6, however, he says He gave His life as a ransom for all. This is about atonement. We must understand these two sides of the work of the Lord Jesus well. The offer of grace is "toward all," but it only comes "to all who believe" (Romans 3:22).

Have you believed? Once again, the offer of grace stands before you. The atoning work of the Lord Jesus on Calvary is available to all. The holy God is completely satisfied with the work of the Lord Jesus. His demands have been met. Atonement has been made for Him, and now He can offer grace to all people. Have you accepted it for the justification of life? Have you been placed in the position of the righteous - or still need to? Accept it today! If you do not claim it personally, if you do not repent and convert, then you remain in the position of a sinner. But if you accept it, you come into the position of the righteous.

What does it mean to be in the position of the righteous? It does not mean a return to the state of Adam before the fall, to the state of innocence. No, it means that we stand before God in the same position his own Son stands - wrapped in the grace of Calvary! Christ became man and, through his obedience, accomplished much more than what Adam had forfeited. Therefore, we are not placed in the state of innocence but in the position of the righteous.

The obedience of the One

This obedience of Christ must impress us. I would first like to direct our thoughts to the well-known quote from Psalm 40: "Then I said, 'Behold, I come (it is written of me in the scroll of the book) to do your will, O God'" (Heb. 10:7). This is a description of the obedience of the One. He came, not to do His will, but the will of the One who sent Him (John 6:38). Do we realize what this will entail and what it meant for Him to carry out this will? He was obedient "unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil 2:8). It was an absolutely voluntary obedience. We see this in John 10: "Therefore the Father loves me because I lay down my life ... I have received this commandment from my Father" (v. 17.18).

Moreover, it was pure obedience. In Gethsemane, the Savior prayed, "Father, if thou wilt remove this cup from me—yet not my will, but thine be done!" (Luke 22:42, JND). Although He desired to avoid the agony of being made sin, He still said, "Yet not my will, but thine be done!" What pure obedience!”

Love, obedience to His God and Father, and love for us, the lost, made this glorious response of God to the problem of indwelling sin possible.

Law and overflowing sin

Verse 20 refers back to verse 13, which dealt with the law. In the period between Adam and Christ, the law "ran alongside" or - as verse 20 puts it - "came in alongside." Why did it come about? Why did God give it? To enable righteousness based on his works? No, of course not, because Paul writes: "...not having my righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ" (Phil 3:9). Moreover, this would contradict the statement: "Therefore by the works of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight" (Romans 3:20). Did it bring life? No. "For if a law had been given that was able to give life, then indeed righteousness would be by law" (Gal 3:21). 

This verse in Romans teaches us what the law was given for: "...that transgression might abound." Through the law, the fruits of sin came to the fore and became transgression: man's self-will, pride, lust, passion, and disobedience. All of this was revealed as sin by the law so that no one could be proud of anything.

Unfortunately, the law now produces "effects" in us that are difficult to combine: on the one hand, it commands a sinful person not to sin, and he tries in vain to keep it. On the other hand, however, the law causes "every lust" in man (chap. 7:8). Thus, the transgression and sin overflow.

Abundant grace through righteousness

But God's answer to this is grace: it is abundant and overflows even this overflowing sin of man, "so that as sin reigned in death" - we looked at this in verse 17 - "so grace also may reign" (v. 21). Grace reigns, not the law. Praise and thanks be to God! We have not come under a law again; grace reigns. Nor is it yet justice that reigns. That will happen in the future in the Millennial Kingdom.

Now grace reigns through righteousness—a wonderful sentence. Grace does not reign at the expense of justice, for the Lord, through His work on the cross, has completely fulfilled God's righteous demands regarding sin. God is just when He "justifies the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom 3:26) because He cannot punish sin twice.

After the love and grace of God had been demonstrated in the sending and sacrifice of His Son, His righteousness was proven in that He seated at His right hand the one who had glorified Him infinitely in life and death. Shortly before the cross, the Lord Jesus said: "Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in him." This happened on Golgotha. Then He added, "God will glorify him in himself, and immediately he will glorify him" (John 13:31, 32). This means that God would set Him at His right hand.  John 16:10 tells us that this was an act of righteousness on God's part. God acted righteously with regard to His Son, who had glorified Him when He gave Him the place at His right hand. It can also be said that God had to give Him this place justly - the place He had always held as Son and which He had now acquired based on His accomplished work of redemption as man. It is wonderful that we now have a share in the results of His work! The Savior died for us, and we are justified. Now, we have a life that has eternal glory as its goal. A stream of grace now flows from the cross through the channel of righteousness. This stream flows into the home of eternal life. Everything has become through Jesus Christ. This is God's glorious answer to the overflow of man's sin!

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