Romans 5 - Death in Adam, Life in Christ

 

Previously in Romans 5, we saw how we are justified (just as if I never sinned) by faith and made at peace with God. We have access (the privilege of approaching God with confidence) by faith into the grace of God in which we stand. We cannot stand in our own righteousness, but we can stand in the grace of God and the righteousness of Christ. We also see God’s motive for going to the cross for you and me, and that is His unconditional love for us. In the remainder of the chapter, Paul explains how death reigned because of sin, but how we can reign in life through Jesus Christ.

Sin entered the world through Adam, and death came because of sin. This also introduced sickness and disease into the world that would have not been there otherwise. Technically, we all begin dying from the time we are born, and it is usually some sort of sickness or disease that eventually takes our life.

There are some who like to attribute death in the fossil record to a geological era before man’s existence, but the Scriptures disagree with that belief. They could not have existed before Adam because death did not exist before Adam’s sin. This is yet another proof of the validity of the first 11 chapters of Genesis, of a young earth, and the world-wide flood.

Death spread to all men, because all have sinned. The proof that sin existed before the law is that death reigned from Adam to Moses even though man did not sin after the transgression of Adam (knowingly and willingly). Any of us who have children know we did not have to teach them to do wrong; it comes naturally even though they may not know better or understand. However, God apparently did not impute sin (hold man to the same standards of righteousness) before the law was given. He held man accountable for what he did know (Gen 9:1-17). The fact that we inherited our sin nature from Adam seems to suggest that it’s in our DNA. Sin has affected every part of creation, even down to our genetic material.

Paul says Adam was a type of Him who was to come (Jesus Christ). This one is a challenge to wrap our minds around. How was Adam a type of Christ? The Scriptures tell us that Eve was deceived into eating the forbidden fruit, but Adam knew what he was doing (1 Tim 2:14). So why would Adam do this? It would seem that Adam knew what his wife had done, and knew what the consequences were, because the Lord had said, “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen 2:17) Adam, knowing he would lose his wife, decided to sacrifice himself by sinning also, and in doing so, plunged the whole human race into sin. So then, Adam and Jesus were sinless from the beginning, and both did something that had consequences for all of mankind. Adam, in a sense, became sin by sinning himself, and then passed this sin nature unto the entire human race. Jesus, on the other hand, became sin who knew no sin, and offers salvation and eternal life unto all who believe.

Next, Paul will compare and contrast the first man, Adam, with the last man, Jesus Christ, and what each contributed to humanity. There are five “much more’s” in chapter 5 worth noting, two of which we covered last time. Much more then, we have been justified by His blood, and shall be saved from wrath through Him. We have been reconciled to God by Jesus’ death, and much more will we be saved by His life.

Adam’s trespass brought death and condemnation to many, but the grace of God, eternal life, and justification through Jesus Christ abounded much more to many. Death reigned because of Adam’s trespass, but much more so, will those who have received the abundance of the grace of God and the gift of righteousness reign in life through Jesus Christ. Through one man’s trespass, judgment and condemnation came to all men, but through one man’s righteous act, the free gift and justification came to all men as well. By one man’s disobedience, many were made sinners, but through Jesus’ obedience, many will be made righteous.

There may be some who would think it unfair that Adam’s sin would be passed onto us, resulting in our suffering and death, but how much more unfair is it that God the Son, who never sinned, was tortured and put to death in our place, and counts us righteous through our faith in Him (although we are not righteous). The law entered that sin might abound (to show man how sinful he really is), but grace abounds much more.  It does not matter how sinful we are, God’s grace is bigger if we come before Him with faith and a repentant heart. When comparing Adam with Jesus Christ, as bad as Adam’s sin, sickness, and disease are -- justification, the grace of God, and eternal life through Jesus Christ far exceeds it. Sin reigned in death, but grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is such a great gift that we have been given that it should motivate us to gratitude and obedience to the Lord. However, there is a temptation at times to take it for granted by becoming loose with sin. To an even further extreme, some use grace as a license to do whatever they want. Paul will address this next in chapter 6.

Romans 5 - At Peace with God

Last time in Romans, Paul illustrated justification by faith by using the real-life example of Abraham. Abraham believed in the Lord, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. He was imputed righteousness by faith before he was circumcised. This means that both Jew and Gentile must be saved in the same way. The law can only leave us in debt to God and subject to His wrath. Our only hope is the righteousness of Christ credited to us by faith. He meets us when we are spiritually dead, and brings life to us where there was no life. We are born again and made into a new creation. This is possible because Jesus died for our sins and was raised for our justification.

Paul continues on that same topic, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ‘Justified’ is a legal decree rendering someone just or innocent. Chapter 1:18-3:20 proved us guilty before God, but because of our faith in Jesus and what He did on the cross, our guilty sentence is changed to justified (just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned).

Before coming to Christ we were God’s enemies and under His wrath, but now, because of our faith in Jesus, the thing that made us His enemies (our sin) has been removed. We are now at peace with Him. Not only are we at peace with God, we have been given His peace. Jesus told His disciples, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (Jn 14:26-27) Paul also wrote to the Ephesians, “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.” (Eph 2:14) The peace of God in our lives is Jesus Christ who dwells in us through the person of the Holy Spirit.

Not only do we have the very presence of God dwelling inside us, we have access to the grace of God through faith in this same Jesus. ‘Access’ means to have the privilege of approach. We get to approach unto God anytime because of our faith in Him. This word appears three times in the NT, here in Romans 5, in Ephesians 2:14, and in 3:12. In each instance, it is referring to the access we have to the Father and to the grace of God through faith in Christ. The author of Hebrews also writes, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb 10:19-22)

The phrase ‘through whom also we have access’ means that it happened in the past, but the results continue into the future. It is also unchanging (we are not in jeopardy of losing this privilege). This speaks to the security of the believer. If our sin could not stop us from receiving this access to the grace of God, then it cannot cause us to lose it either. If it could, then we would never know when we had lost it. What sin would be bad enough, or how many times after committing the same sin would the Lord say “that’s enough?” This creates fear and condemnation in the life of the believer, neither which are of God. The Scriptures state, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Tim 1:7) In summary, we are justified, at peace with God, and have access to the grace of God by faith which cannot be lost. It is for these reasons we can rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

It is for these reasons we can also glory in tribulations. Now, we don’t typically think of glorying or rejoicing in tribulation, but when God allows trials into our lives, there is a purpose. One of His purposes in allowing us to suffer is to teach us patience (perseverance). This is a character trait that is largely going by the wayside today. We have a whole generation who don’t know how to persevere through trials, but give up at the first sign of adversity. We have all heard the saying, “no pain, no gain,” and this is true in our spiritual lives as well. James writes, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4) As we learn to persevere through trials, God uses this to build our character. Trials are God’s way of refining us to make us more Christ-like. I’ve heard it said that trials don’t cause us to sin, they only reveal what is already there. So, if we are feeling pressed and pressured from various trials, and the ugly comes bubbling to the surface, this is the Lord’s way of teaching us obedience which leads to more blessing in our lives.

So, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. Biblical hope, again, does not mean I wish something will happen, but it’s a confident expectation that God will do what He says He will do. When the Lord brings us through hard times, it gives us confidence He will then bring us through the next trial. This gives us confidence He will bring us through the greatest trial which is death, and bring us into eternal life.

The hope that comes from tribulation does not disappoint us, because it gives us the ability to comprehend the love that God has for us. He pours out His love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us at salvation. This seems to be speaking to an experience: It’s in those times of great trial that the Lord ministers to us that we sense His comfort and love, and we can, in turn, share this same love with others in their trials. We may not always sense His presence and love, but we can still rest in it by faith.

The proof of God’s love is in that, when we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. Paul has already spent the first three chapters proving how hopelessly lost and incapable of saving ourselves that we were. Jesus came and died at the right time. The bible doesn’t tell us why God picked the time that He did to send His Son into the world, but there are some observations worth noting. First, at the time of Jesus’ birth, the known world was under the control of Rome, and it was a relatively stable and peaceful time in the empire. The empire had spread throughout much of Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East, and it had a great network of roads, kept safe by Roman soldiers. This greater ease of travel would have aided early Christians in spreading the Gospel, whereas it would not have been possible in other eras. Second, although Rome had conquered the known world, the Greek culture still prevailed. This meant that the common Greek was the trade language, and was spoken by most people in the empire, making communicating the Gospel possible to more people. Third, there was a great anticipation among the Jews that the Messiah would come. Fourth, the Jews had been under the Law for over 1,300 years, which was ample time for they and the whole world to see that no one could live up to its demands. The school master had done its job.

For Christ to die for the ungodly is an incredible thing, because most people wouldn’t die for a righteous man (someone who is moral in conduct. More people may be willing to die for a good man (someone who is also kind and benevolent to others), but it is against our nature to die for a wicked person. However, this is precisely what Jesus did for you and me.

God demonstrates (proves in action) His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God justifies man by faith in His Son, and love is His motivation for doing so. To help illustrate this, I want to go back to Genesis.

God told Abraham, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” (Gen 22:2) Most of us know the story, Abraham took Isaac his son, and left for the land of Moriah. When they could see the mountain that God had told him of in the distance, he laid the wood for the offering on Isaac, and he carrying the knife and fire, climbed the mountain with his son to the place that God had said. Abraham built an altar, placed the wood on it, and then bound Isaac to it. Just as he was getting ready to slay his son, the angel of the Lord spoke to him from Heaven, and told him not to lay his hand on him.

The parallels here are quite obvious. The area of Moriah is where Jerusalem would later be, and where Salem was in Abraham’s time. So, it was the same region, and some believe it was the same place that Jesus was crucified. Isaac carried the wood up the hill, and went in agreement with his father. He submitted to the will of his father, even to the point of allowing him to plunge a knife into him. Jesus carried His cross towards Golgotha, and submitted to the will of His Father, even unto death. The author of Hebrews later tells us that Abraham was acting in faith that God would raise him from the dead (Heb 11:17-19)

In Bible interpretation there is something called the principle of first mention. The first time something appears in the Bible, it often is the clearest and simplest explanation of a certain biblical truth, and the Holy Spirit is teaching us something that will help us understand the same truth found later in the Scriptures. This is by no means a hard and fast rule, but there are some examples that are quite compelling. As we discussed last time, Genesis 15 is the first time that the words “believe” and “righteousness” appear in the Bible, and Genesis 22 is the first time the word “love” appears in the Bible. This is no accident that this passage closely mirrors the cross, for the greatest proof of God’s love is what Jesus did on the cross for you and me.

Much more then, since we have been justified by His blood (the price has been paid), we shall be saved from wrath through Him. As believers we are not appointed unto wrath (1 Thes 5:9), and this is one of the primary reasons I believe Christians will not be here during the tribulation, a time of God’s wrath on sinful humanity. If we were reconciled to God when we were His enemies through the death of His Son, how much more will we be saved by His life. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is God’s stamp of approval that everything Jesus did and said are true. More than that, we joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have received reconciliation (being restored to Divine favor).

God, beyond a shadow of a doubt, has proven His love for us by sending His Son to die for us when we were His enemies. The word ‘love’ has been heavily abused in the English language, but is rich with meaning in the Scriptures. The Vine’s dictionary states the following regarding the love of God in its verb form: “In respect of agapao as used of God, it expresses the deep and constant "love" and interest of a perfect Being towards entirely unworthy objects, producing and fostering a reverential "love" in them towards the Giver, and a practical "love" towards those who are partakers of the same, and a desire to help others to seek the Giver.” God loved us when we were altogether unworthy of it, and it was this sacrificial love that caused Him to go to the cross for you and me. It is this same love that we can have toward Him and to one another. In the remainder of the chapter Paul will speak to the relationship between sin and death, and contrast this with the grace of God that reigns through righteousness unto eternal life.

Romans 4 - Justified by Faith

Previously in Romans 3, we saw how there are none righteous, no not one. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no difference between the Jew and Gentile, the Law stops everyone’s mouth, and the whole world stands guilty before God. If that were all there was to the story, we all would be doomed and damned for eternity. However, we have been justified freely by His grace through redemption in Christ Jesus. Jesus appeased God’s wrath for us on the cross by shedding His blood to pay for our sins. We have to only receive it by faith. This is a marvelous transition from the wrath of God on sinful man in the first three chapters. Examples are a useful tool when teaching, and Paul will give us a real-life example of someone who was justified by faith.

He turns to Abraham, the most esteemed man in Judaism, to illustrate his point. He asks what Abraham, their father according to the flesh, had found? Abraham was the father of the Jewish people. God had called him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and promised to give him the land of Canaan to his descendants. The problem was, he did not have children, and his wife was past child bearing years. However, God promised him a son through his wife Sarah. She did bear him a son, Isaac, whose wife bear him Jacob, who became the patriarch of the nation of Israel. In relation to Abraham’s son, Abraham asked God what He would give him since he was childless and the heir of his house was his servant? God responded that He would give him an heir that would come from his own body. Then the Lord took him outside, told him to look up to the heavens, and to count the stars if he was able. He told Abraham, “So shall your descendants be.” Then it says that Abraham believed in the Lord, and the Lord accounted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:1-6) This is the first time the word “believe” and “righteousness” appear in the Bible, and this passage is quoted four times in the New Testament in support of God’s imputed righteousness based on faith. This is the Gospel in the Old Testament, Abraham believed in (put his trust in) the Lord, and the Lord put this belief to his account for righteousness.

Coming back to Romans, Paul says that if Abraham were justified by works, he would have something to boast about, but not before God. Someone may be impressed by the works of another, but as Paul has already pointed out, there are none righteous or who do good before God. He then quotes from this passage in Genesis, ‘“Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”’. The word “accounted” is an accounting term, and means to put down to one’s account or to impute. God imputed His righteousness to Abraham based off his faith. David Guzek writes, “The Apostle Paul does not say that Abraham was made righteous in all of his doings, but God accounted Abraham as righteous. Our justification is not God making us perfectly righteous, but counting us as perfectly righteous. After we are counted righteous, then God begins making us truly righteous, culminating at our resurrection.”

There are two opposing paths one can take here, the first being that of grace. Grace is the unearned favor of God, freely given to us with nothing expected in return. In contrast, to the man who works, the wages are not counted as grace, but as debt. It’s like working your tail off all month for a paycheck, but at the end of the month, the employer says, “No, you actually owe me.” There’s no way our works (however good they may be) can erase or somehow make up for our sins before God. As a result, we will owe Him on the day of judgment unless we have believed and have been accounted righteousness for that belief as Abraham was by the God who justifies the ungodly. God doesn’t just save the one who is good by man’s standards, but He saves the ungodly, the worst of the worst.

David understood this when he said, “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.” David, a man guilty of capital punishment on two accounts (adultery and murder) under Jewish law, understood what it meant to be forgiven. Not only does the Lord not impute our sin to us, He imputes Christ’s righteousness to us in its place. This is a good God who would do this for us.

Lest the Jewish reader should think they are the only recipients of such blessings, Paul makes the case that Abraham was justified before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision, the seal or stamp of the righteousness of the faith that he had prior to his circumcision. Abraham was justified 14 years prior to his circumcision, so the Jew could not argue that circumcision had anything to do with his justification, nor could they argue that Gentiles needed to be circumcised in order to be declared righteous. In so stating, Abraham is the father of all who believe.

The promise that Abraham and his descendants would be heir of the world was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. If it were through the law, then faith would be made void and the promise would be of no profit. This is because the law brings about wrath. If we recall from chapters 1-3, the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, and that all of mankind is under this sentence of Divine judgment. If the Lord had not given us the law or written it on our hearts, there would be no sentence against us, but because He is a perfectly loving and just God, He has. Therefore, our works can only leave us in debt to God, and therefore subject to His wrath. For this reason, it must be by faith so that we can have access to the grace of God, and it can be made available to all people, Jew or Gentile. This makes Abraham the father of us all, and is a fulfilment of the Scriptures which state, “I have made you a father of many nations”

God is a miracle-working God; He gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist into existence. Abraham believed this. He was in an impossible situation, but in hope (joyful and confident expectation), believed in the promise of God. He did not allow his body which he considered to be as good as dead or the deadness of Sarah’s womb to persuade him otherwise, but was strengthened in his faith. He was fully convinced that God was able to perform what He had promised. It was for this belief that it was accounted to him for righteousness.

This wasn’t written for Abraham’s sake alone, but for ours as well. We too were dead spiritually with no hope of fixing the problem on our own, but by believing in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, God’s righteousness will be credited to our account as well. This is interesting that Paul refers to Him who raised up Jesus: all three members of the trinity are credited with the resurrection, so this could be a reference to the Father or the Holy Spirit. To believe in one person of the trinity is to believe in the others as well. God, as a triune being, is responsible for our imputed righteousness, and it is because of Jesus who died for our sins and who was raised to life again for our justification.

This is such a simple concept that people often like to complicate it further by adding to what we need to do to be saved (e.g. baptism, communion, repentance, public profession of one’s faith, etc.) Although these are all things a true Christian should do, none of them have saving power in and of themselves. The proof is that if you take any one of them alone or all of them together, they are outward acts of obedience that cannot erase sins previously committed, and only leave us fallen short of God’s righteous and holy standards. Paul wrote to the Ephesians that it was by grace that they were saved, through faith (reliance upon Christ for salvation), and not of themselves. It is the gift of God, and not of works, lest anyone should boast. There is nothing that you or I can contribute or offer God for our salvation; it is a free gift. I cannot stop doing enough bad things and do enough good things to make myself right with the Lord. I can only believe in the One who justifies the ungodly and be counted as righteous before Him. Missler writes, “The ransom has been paid. The divine justice has been appeased. The holiness of God has been vindicated. ...And the believing sinner is declared justified from all things. Such is the testimony of Chapter 4. We can’t add to it. It is blasphemy to even try.”

In closing, I want to take a look at one final passage in the Gospel of John. There was a man who came to Jesus by night named Nicodemus, who was a Pharisee, part of the strictest sect in Judaism. The Pharisees prided themselves in their own righteousness, keeping the law, and even all the rules in their extra-biblical texts. Jesus did not commend him for this, nor did He even mention it. He cut right to the chase when He said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” You see, being a Christian is not God reforming or improving the old man, for as we will see in a couple chapters, the old man must die. The true spiritual life is being reborn. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Co 5:17) In explaining how this re-birth takes place, He takes Nicodemus back to an Old Testament passage in numbers. The people murmured against God and against Moses, and as a result, the Lord sent poisonous snakes among them that bit them, killing many of them. After the people repented, the Lord told Moses to make a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole, so that whoever looked upon it would be healed. In the Bible, the serpent represents sin, and bronze represents judgment. Whoever trusted the word of the Lord through Moses looked upon it and was made well. So too, we have been bitten with the poisonous bite of sin, but our sin has been judged on the cross in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus told Nicodemus, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn 3:14-15) We look to Jesus by faith, we are born again, and are imputed His righteousness. In the following chapter Paul will finish his discussion on justification by faith, and discuss how our faith in the Lord causes us to triumph in trouble.