Where Grace Reigns (Romans 5:12-21)
Thus far in Romans, we have seen how God sent Jesus to redeem us. This act of love and grace wasn’t based on how righteous we are, but based on how righteous and faithful God is to His promises. All we have done is respond to the gospel with faith and confidence in God’s provisions.
In Chapter 5 thus far, we have seen that we should be rejoicing over the hope this gives us. There should be an inner joy over having peace with God. If God would save us while we were enemies, we are completely assured that He will save us now that we are striving to do His will.
For the next few weeks, we will really dive into that assurance and we will see how what God has done for us mold us. He has already said that suffering produces character and character produces hope that will not put us to shame. What does he mean by that? He has also said that God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. What does he mean by that? These are concepts we will explore as we study through Chapter 8.
Adam’s Sin Brought Separation
Today, we need to start in the beginning. Paul is going to talk about Adam so we must remember what happened. God gave Adam one command in Gen 2:17, “Do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for in the day you eat of it you will surely die.” Then, in Chapter 3, what did he do? He ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and verse 7 says that his eyes were opened and he knew that he was naked. The knowledge of good and evil made him and his wife aware and ashamed of their current situation. So they made clothes out of fig leaves. Then, verse 8 says they hid themselves from the presence of God. When God comes walking into the garden, he finds them and immediately knows what they have done so he immediately strikes them dead. No, that’s not what happened. God clothes them with animal skins and then he removes them from the garden in verses 22-24. Cherubim with flaming swords were placed outside, preventing them from entering the garden again. They did not die physically on that day, but their relationship was severed because of their transgression. They lost access to the tree of life, eventually leading to physical death.
Comparing and Contrasting Adam and Jesus
With this story as the backdrop, Paul wants us to understand how what Jesus has done for us is similar to what Adam has done for us. You might say, “ Wait, that does sound good.” But it is. It’s very good!
Romans 5:12 (ESV) — 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—
Now, you will notice in your Bibles that there is a dashed line at the end of verse 12. That’s because all the translators recognize that Paul starts an argument and doesn’t finish it until verse 18. First, we are going to see his argument, and then we will see why he stopped making the argument to give us this parenthetical statement. Skip down to verse 18 to see the rest of the argument.
Romans 5:18-19 (ESV) —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.
Paul is saying that death or condemnation reigned because of the decision Adam made. We all come to an age where we know the difference between right and wrong and we all sin and find ourselves guilty (Romans 1-3). Spiritual death is the consequence of that disobedient sin.
Adam’s sin had an impact. His sin led to mankind being kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Cane, Abel, and Seth were not allowed to enter in. All of mankind was condemned to a life separated from God. This is what Paul means when he says, “death spread to all men.” Lack of access to the garden meant a change in relationship with God and no access to the tree of life.
So, in a sense, Adam affected us all. He wants us to see that the consequences of his sin spread to us as we also sin. We suffered condemnation and spiritual death as a result of Adam’s mistake.
Comparing
The first verse provides the first part of an argument saying, “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin.” But he waits to give a rational conclusion for the “just as” clause until verse 18, where he says “so one act of righteousness.” The argument goes like this.
- Just as one man’s disobedience affected all mankind, so one man’s obedience affected all mankind.
- Just as Adam’s single act of sin made many sinners, so Jesus’ single act of righteousness made many righteous.
- Just as Adam’s sin brought death (condemnation) for all who sinned, so Jesus brought life (justification) for all who receive the grace of God.
Jesus has done the one thing all mankind has needed since the very beginning! He has opened the gates to the tree of life! Through Jesus God has undone what no man in all of history has been able to undo. He has set us free from the reign of death.
Contrasting
Now, for those of you who were paying close attention, or perhaps for the 'prudent Bible students' among us, you might be wondering about those verses we skipped in the middle – verses 13-17. Paul includes this 'parenthetical' not to confuse us, but to provide crucial clarification and to emphasize just how different Jesus' work is from Adam's, even in their similarities.
Romans 5:13–17 (ESV) — 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.
Why provide such a huge parenthetical? This is Paul’s attempt to clarify some things. First, he wants to say that the law didn’t bring sin into the world, Adam did. The need to be righteous by our own pure and perfect lives started in the day he ate of that tree. We all sin, as he said back in Chapter 2:15, when we go against our consciences and feel accused or attempt to excuse ourselves. The only way sin cannot be counted against us is if we find righteousness without the law.
So, he says, “The free gift is not like the transgression.” After the transgression, death reigned, but the free gift brings life! It brings justification instead of condemnation.
The most interesting thing about this is the phrase, “death reigned.” He depicts death as a being with power to reign over us. It’s like being in a country that is oppressive and enslaves you and you cannot escape from it.
But notice verse 17, “those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. “ Jesus created a country where death doesn’t reign anymore and he built a bridge where we can cross over. So the parenthetical tells us that even though what Jesus did was on the magnitude of what Adam did, it has the totally opposite result.
Now, we have entered into the country where we are free to choose. We can let God who freed us be in control of our lives, or we can choose to return to the country where death reigns.
Grace Abounds
In the final section of our text Paul restates this, bringing out the power of grace.
Romans 5:20–21 (ESV) — 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.
Paul says that the law’s purpose was not to save us, but to increase our sin, increase our death, and increase our guilt. Consider that for a moment. When we emphasize the law and law keeping as a means of becoming righteous, we are putting sin and death in a higher position. But God brought Jesus in to remove the rule of sin and death and put grace on the throne of our lives.
In the new country, grace abounds over the sin and death that the law produces. God has made it to where we are exceedingly sinful so that He could be exceedingly gracious. He wants His grace to reign. This picture of a new country where grace reigns is powerful.
Application
This means that we must base our righteousness on faith in what Jesus has done, not on our ability to keep the law.
Isn’t that hard to do? God has provided us with salvation apart from the law, but we struggle to accept it.
This text teaches us that Jesus has completely flipped the script for humanity. He has created the opportunity for us to be released from sin and death’s stranglehold. How many times have Christians let their concern over the tiniest failure cloud their assurance of righteousness? What are we doing when we do that?
- We are putting sin and death back on the throne. Satan’s goal is to cast us down with accusations, but God moves us out of the country where death has dominion over us. We have intercession now through King Jesus and grace abounds.
- We are making too much of ourselves and not making much of God. We must be like David who believed God had forgiven him after he did atrocious sins, not because he made up for his sin, but because God’s grace abounds.
- We are consuming our time with guilt instead of fulfilling our purpose with joy. This peace with God and hope of righteousness from Jesus should result in a joyful, fruit-bearing life. God has demonstrated how wonderful He is in order to woo us to Him, creating a passion and love for Him. Let go of the guilt, tear down the idols of your life, and put God in the highest place with joy and devotion. He should be your everything!
Conclusion
Jesus’ righteousness has brought a tremendous opportunity for us to be reconciled to God. God has given us a second chance to be in a relationship with Him. Will we take advantage of it? Jesus has brought us into a new era of light and life. Will we choose to be reconciled and “reign in life?”
If you have not been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, and you are of the age of accountability, you are falling short of the glory of God. Make that decision today then choose to live for God and enjoy the blessing of a continued relationship obediently living for God’s glory. If we can help you let us know.