One man’s deed can affect many. Through one act of sin, Adam affected the whole human race. By his one act of disobedience, sin entered into the entire human race, and death reigned through sin. But through His one act of obedience, Christ brings righteousness and life to all who follow in Him.
Adam and the reign of death
The claim of consistency between the effect of Adam’s disobedience and Christ’s obedience
The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ can best be understood in light of the hopeless condition mankind is in without it. The apostle Paul explains how the whole human race is guilty of sin and destined for God’s condemnation and death. His explanation serves to prove that one man’s single act can have an imputed spiritual effect on many others. The argument makes the claim that if Adam’s sin has brought guilt on all of us, then it’s logical to conclude that Christ can be justly punished for our sin and His righteousness credited to all of those who believe in Him.
Paul makes an analogy between the universal effect of Adam’s disobedience on all of mankind with the universal effect of Christ’s atonement on all of those who believe in Him. He then points out the differences between the results secured by Adam and those secured by Christ. Everything which was lost in Adam is gained, and much more, in Christ.
How sin, condemnation and death spread to all mankind
Paul writes, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come” (Romans 5:12-14).
There are the following four steps in the logical progression of Paul’s argument:
Sin entered the world through one man.
God created Adam, who was the first man, in His own image. He was created in a state of innocence, but not yet proven to be righteous. For that to happen, Adam would have to be tested. God put Adam in a garden in Eden to work it and take care of it. The garden provided everything Adam needed to live. God only placed one restriction on Adam. He was forbidden to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden–the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God forewarned him saying “…for when you eat of it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17).
After Eve was created, the serpent (Satan’s agent) tempted Eve to eat of the forbidden tree even though she knew better. Then she gave some to Adam and he ate it too. Their eyes were then opened and they were ashamed because they realized they were naked. They also hid from the LORD God when He called for them because they were afraid.
Consequently, Adam disobeyed God, and sin entered into the human race through Adam’s transgression of God’s explicit commandment.
Death entered the world through sin.
We might have expected that God would have struck them down immediately for their sin. Surely, however, the process of dying began right away and would eventually lead to their physical death. Though death now reigns over human life, it is the result of sin. If there had been no sin, life would go on forever. Death is an unnatural part of life and will ultimately be conquered.
Most importantly, Adam’s disobedience led immediately to spiritual death, which is a separation from God. This cause us to be estranged from God. We are in fact apart from Him and left without eternal hope.
Death spread to all men because all sinned.
We sin because we have inherited a sinful nature
This concept may be difficult to understand so let’s follow Paul’s argument. There is a distinction to be made between “sin” and “sins”. We are not sinners because we commit individual “sins”. Rather, we commit individual “sins” because we are sinners by our very nature. We inherited that sinful nature from our first Father, Adam. Our natural disposition is to sin, because we place our self-will above the will of God and do not submit to His authority. In other words, we’re all born sinners. Even a newborn baby is a sinner by virtue of being a member of the human race, even though that baby has not yet committed any “sins”.
So, Paul is arguing that the spiritual death that Adam and Eve experienced has been passed onto their progeny. Therefore death reigns over the whole human race because God treats us all as guilty of sin on account of our sinful nature, not because of the specific “sins” we commit.
How every person can be held responsible for Adam’s disobedience
If this concept seems unfair, we must understand that we may never fully comprehend it. However, the Bible reveals there are times when God judges people corporately for the sin of an individual. For example, when King David sinned by deciding to count the fighting men of Israel, seventy thousand people died of the plague because of his disobedience (2 Samuel 24:1-17).
Also, after Achan took forbidden plunder, the LORD’s anger burned against Israel. So, the men of Ai prevailed against Israel and thirty-six men died. Not only was Achan destroyed for his sin, but his whole family and all of his belongings, including the plunder, were destroyed as well (Joshua 7:1-26).
Finally, Jesus is shown to be a more superior priest than Aaron, who was Israel’s first high priest, because God likened His priesthood to the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:6). By way of contrast, Aaron and his priesthood descended from the line of Levi, the son of Jacob whose great grandfather was Abraham.
It was Abraham who gave his tithes to Melchizedek, who then gave Abraham his blessing. Beyond doubt, the lesser person is blessed by the greater. “One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor (Hebrews 9:7-8). Likewise, when Adam sinned, you could say that every human being was still in his body. He represented the human race before God. So, through our common bond, his guilt corporately passed on to us, because we have inherited our sinful nature from him as a just consequence of his act of disobedience.
History proves it to be true.
Paul then proves the point that our guilt as sinners is attributable to our nature and not because of our individual sinful acts. He points out that sins were in the world but not held against those who committed them before the law was given. Yet, they all died. But, unlike Adam, who disobeyed God’s commandment, his posterity had no law to break because the law had not been given until the time of Moses. Therefore, the cause of the sinful acts (i.e., the sinful nature) must have been the reason for the penalty of death to universally occur when there is no law to condemn the acts themselves.
Christ and the reign of life
Having argued that all men inherited the sin nature from Adam, Paul then makes the analogy between Adam and “the one to come”, who is Christ.
“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
“Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
“The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:15-21).
The provision of Christ’s gift is greater than Adam’s offense
Let’s first notice that Christ’s act of obedience unto death had a greater effect than Adam’s single act of disobedience. Adam’s act brought death, Christ’s act accomplished much more. Christ’s act didn’t just return men back to the same condition of innocence that Adam was in before he sinned, instead it took men from death, beyond the innocence of Adam, to the very righteousness of Christ.
Christ’s redemption is not limited to redemption. He brings the gift of salvation, justification, and righteousness. We receive power over our sins now and a full release from the presence of all sin when we are glorified. Christ’s redemption is so much more than just cancelling sin. So Christ’s gift is greater than Adam’s offense.
Adam’s one sin damned everybody, but Christ’s gift forgives all believers’ sins
Although one sin brought the condemnation that came upon us all, the free gift of grace brings forgiveness of all the sins of all the people who believe in Him. Just think that God considers a single act of sin so serious that He would condemn the entire race because of Adam’s sin. So, how much more does God express his grace by freely forgiving the multitude of sins that everyone of us who believe in Christ commits?
Grace overpowers the consequences of sin
Adam expected one result but he received another. He apparently joined Eve in anticipation of becoming like God. But instead, he and his progeny received God’s curse of death. On the other hand, Christ’s act of obedience brought exactly what was expected, which includes fully reigning in life. We are blessed with eternal life; we are kings and priests who inherit all God’s possessions, and our lives go on forever.
Not only do we live forever if we belong to Christ, God transforms our lives to be like His. He also gives us authority and power to overcome sin and darkness. We don’t have to the victim of sin any longer. God calls us to live a holy and triumphant life. Righteousness in Christ makes us right with God and we reign. So, when grace comes through Christ, it overpowers the consequences of sin.
Adam’s one sin made us sinners, but Christ’s life of obedience brings us righteousness
Through one man, Adam, comes sin, condemnation and death. But through one man, Christ, comes righteousness, justification and life. So, the essence of Adam’s act was his disobedience, and the essence of Christ’s act was obedience.
When Adam sinned once, the whole human race were made sinners. All of us became children of disobedience since we were born into a disobedient race. Disobedience became a part of our make-up. So, all of us will sin.
But when Christ came, His whole life was one act of obedience, even unto death. As a result, we not only are credited with His perfect righteousness, but our nature has also changed. We have become new creations in Christ Jesus. God has planted in us a heart of righteousness that must bear fruit. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
We now desire to live for Him. “ I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). And we now have a newfound love for Christ, so we long to please Him. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23).
Grace is greater than our sin
God’s law not only revealed our inability to keep it, but it also incited us to sin even more. It had no ability to restrain sin due to our nature as sinners. We naturally rebel against the authority of God and the dictates of our conscience. The law was unable to change our inherited sinful nature. It just made known how desperately we needed righteousness.
But to those who are redeemed by Christ, the law restrains sin because the law becomes the pleasure of their hearts. So, the law excites sin to the unregenerate but restrains sin to the regenerate. Therefore, where sin abounded, grace did much more. The energizing force behind sin is the law, whereas the greater energy behind righteousness is God’s grace.
Choose Christ and live
Death is inevitable. It awaits us all. It can be the beginning of a worse death forever without God and without those who are alive forever. But it can also be the beginning of eternal bliss in the presence of the living God. The choice is yours. The truth is that you were there with Adam, and you sinned and you’ll die. But you can have joy in knowing that your sins have been forgiven and you have peace with God. Which will you choose?
Come to the wellspring of life
Ask yourself two very important questions. First, are you sure that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Secondly, are you certain why God should let you into heaven? If you don’t know for sure, you can settle that matter today. Visit my post, How to Begin Your Life Over Again and you’ll know where and how you’ll spend eternity.
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