Lesson 66

Grace Reigns in Life Over Sin's Reign of Death

Romans Chapter 5:12-21

Review:

Observations:

1. These verses demonstrate that Paul viewed Genesis and Adam - as historical fact;

2. To deny the reality, the fact of Gen 1-3 is to deny the biblical answer to the origin of sin. or Why man is the way he is?

3. No sin is trivial, Adam sinned but once, and the whole race went down the drain.

4. See in this context how God views man; and it is related to the unity with a single head, this brings either death or life!

5. Rom 5:12-21 is an antithetical comparison; sin, condemnation and death what we are linked to in Adam; as seen in v.12-14

The antithesis of this is righteousness, justification and life that flow from our being linked to Christ. v.15-21

6. Have 2 important points made by Rom 5:12;

- in 5:12a explains the entrance of sin through one man, Adam

- in 5:12b explains the extent of the penetration of sin and death; all mankind.

7. This passage is the cornerstone of Biblical anthropology.

- What you believe about man impacts 2 areas of study today that are having a great impact in so many areas of our lives; psychology and sociology.

5:15-21 Our link to Christ

- First notice how vs:14 closed; Says Adam was a type; tu,poj

- How then are Adam and Christ similar?

#1 - Both were firsts or heads of a long line of descendants.

#2 - What each did affected their posterity!

"but" avlla, indicates a strong contrast; from here on contrasts are drawn between Adam and Christ not similarities.

- The effect of Christ's work surpasses the effect of Adam!

But the free gift is not like the transgression.

- What then is the free gift??

For if [1^cc ] by the transgression of the one the many died,

- What's the most significant thing to remember about Adam?

much more did the grace of God and gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

- Heb 2:14-15 points out that Christ's cross work is more powerful/effective than death and its exploitation by Satan.

- What this is saying is that what Adam did was much, it brought physical death; but what Christ did was much more, even greater He brought life, eternal life.

The first one "the many died" is defined by vs:12 "so death spread to all men" these are the ones in Adam.

The second one, "gift...abounded to the many," refers to those who have received the "grace gift" and therefore are new creations in Christ.

- Something else we ought to notice here is the double portion of grace?

- The "much more" coupled with the main verb "abound" gives us the degree aspect, the how much more the effect of Christ's work on the cross is than Adam's sin.

* So God's grace provision in/through Christ far exceeds the effect of Adam's sin and the death it brings; grace brings forgiveness, life!

* We see here an aspect of grace that the prophet Ezekiel pointed out centuries ago.

That God delights in grace more than He does in judgment. Ezk 18:23; 33:11

* What Paul is doing in the context here when he says that the grace of God that abounds through one Man is setting us up for the axiom he will give us in Rom 5:20 "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more"

5:16 2nd contrasting parallelism; there is a difference in kind;

"And the gift is not like (that which came) through the one who sinned;"

here's the contrast:

- "for on the one hand the judgment [judicial sentence] (arose) from [ek] one (transgression) resulting in condemnation,"

Adam's judgment led to all humanity's enslavement to the sin nature which places all humanity in a position to sin as Paul so thoroughly proved in chapter 1:18-3:20.

- "but on the other hand the free gift (arose) from [ek] many transgressions resulting in [an act of] justification."

* What Paul's is contrasting here is the sphere of enslavement unbelievers find themselves in, issuing in sinful acts, (katakrima - condemnation) verses the sphere of liberation believers now have in Christ flowing from God's gift that provides the resources to result in righteousness acts.

- Paul highlights the differences between Adam's sin and Christ's gift, 2 areas of contrast;

#1 the terrible havoc wrought by one sin contrasted with the tremendous deliverance wrought from many sins by Christ,

#2 between the fruit of the unbeliever of condemnation and the freedom the believer has to produce righteous acts/conduct. [eivj dikai,wma]

** The greatness of God's grace and the free gift that flows to us as believers from that grace is greater than the billions of sins committed down thru the centuries.