Dead in Adam or Alive in Christ: Q&A
Romans 5:12-21
Turn to Romans 5. Well, we come again to this most difficult passage, as I had said that most commentators agree of the great depth of this section of Scripture, and that much of this may be beyond our comprehension. So, let’s read through it, and then I hope to answer some questions that may have occurred for you last Sunday.
12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—
13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the trespass of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.
16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the gracious gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were appointed sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be appointed righteous.
20 Now the Law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:12-21 (LSB)
What I hope to do this morning is help clear up some difficulties with this passage from our perspective, as there are no difficulties, obviously, from God’s perspective. And what I wish to do is to ask seven questions.
#1 – WHAT IS MAN’S GREAT PROBLEM?
If we believe what Paul is writing here, we should immediately think to ourselves, we have a real problem, and that problem is sin. And if we look at ourselves in some ways, much of our lives are trying to combat the reality of sin. We are trying to have a perfect marriage, and we are hoping for the perfect job. We want the perfect body, the best summer vacation, we think we should have perfect children. And what is the underlying problem in all this? Sin. If only my spouse was perfect. If only my kids were perfect. If only those within the church were perfect. If only those who are sitting behind me this AM were perfect—don’t turn around! And then of course, ultimately, as we understand more and more of ourselves, we eventually say, if only I were perfect. Now, we may try to mask this as best we can, as we try desperately to deflect our own imperfections, as we might admit that we are not perfect, but we tend to downplay this as best we can. And this is easy for us, isn’t it? You know that family does not do this quite as well as we do. He does not work as hard as I do. In fact, I am not sure anyone works as hard as I do. And we may try to rationalize away any kind of failure. Well, the reason I scream is that he made me really mad. Or the reason I do not live purely is that my spouse is ignoring me. Or the reason I don’t work hard or steal from my employee is that he doesn’t pay me enough. So, understand our proneness to make excuses in many areas of life.
So, we need to set the record straight: I am a sinner, you are a sinner. And if you are a sinner, then you have a problem. And then we can say that we have a problem. And then we can say that the whole world has a problem. I like what G. K. Chesterton said that original sin is the most easily verifiable Christian doctrine; it is obvious, just look around at everyone. And sin exemplifies itself in the big picture. In wars, murders, and horrendous events throughout history. The history of slavery, the heartbreak of human trafficking, and the corruption in governments. And this is a huge problem. One that we cannot solve, one that will not go away. But sin is also the cause of heartache in the closer picture. Husbands and wives at odds, children disobeying, and church splits. It is why there are sexual sins, why pornography is a problem. It is why a wife might look upon another man, why a husband might look upon another woman, why there stealing from employers? Why there are employers who take advantage of their employees. Sin is why people cheat on their taxes, why people fight, why there is envy, and why there is jealousy. Sin is the cause of difficult work, wearisome toil.
It is the reason we get bored, the reason we waste time, the reason we are prone to selfishness, the reason we get mad, the reason we pout, the reason we might think of ourselves better than others. So, sin displays itself in the big picture, in the big world. But it also reveals itself in our own hearts. Yet sin in our hearts is not something that we want to acknowledge. It is something we often want to deflect, we want to justify, rationalize. The heart wants to do all it can to downplay the sin within me, as I would rather play up the sin in others. John MacArthur once wrote that when a Christian is bothered more by his own sin, rather than the sins of others, he is beginning to have a small sense of humility. And he said that when a church is bothered by the sin within its own body as a church more than the sin in the church around the corner, then that church is beginning to learn a small sense of humility. And in all these issues, the big picture and the closer picture are all due to man’s greatest problem, sin.
#2 – HOW HAVE SIN AND DEATH COME INTO THE WORLD?
Well, Paul is going to explain how this happened, as we saw last week. He says in (vs 12) that sin came into the world through one man, who he later tells us is Adam. So, all Paul is confirming here is really answering the question, why is there a sin problem in the world from the big picture right down to my heart? The answer, it started with Adam. And we said that when sin was introduced, death too was introduced, and it spread like wildfire. The picture the Bible gives is that death was out of control. For example, right after Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, Cain kills Abel in Genesis 4, as death is the result, as the genealogies confirm that everyone dies. Once when Anne and I were shopping at the Superstore, I was putting a package of blueberries on the check-out counter, not just the small half-pint, but the big one-pound tub. And as I went to place it on the till, I dropped it. Well, Anne and I both laughed, because if you have ever seen blueberries roll on a hard floor, within seconds, they were everywhere under tills, shopping carts, people’s feet, and down a couple of aisles. Like death, blueberries spread. That’s the picture here that Paul is explaining. And it wasn’t like I was going to make any kind of recovery effort picking them up. So, too death, because of sin, became out of control and began to spread. In other words, every human being is born “in Adam.” His sin becomes our sin, all because of our relationship to the first human. And this death, which is spoken of here, refers to both physical death, which is obvious, as everyone eventually dies.
But there is also the issue of spiritual death, which is less apparent to humans, yet is something with which we are born. Ephesians 2 speaks about man being born dead in his trespasses and sins, as no one is born neutral before God; no one is innocent before God. Therefore, this death that has spread to all men and women includes both physical death, in which we eventually all die, and spiritual death, which we are all born with. And it is this spiritual deadness which brings forth sin because we are born into this world separated from God, with no ability to be obedient to God. So, this is what we call life: when a little guy is born, he or she comes into the world outside of God, which then leads him or her to a life of sin, which ultimately results in physical death. First Corinthians 2:14 says that the natural person does not accept the things of God, for they are foolish to him. Ephesians 2:3 says that you and I are born under God’s wrath. In other words, we do not become under the wrath of God when we sin, for it is worse than that, for we are born under the wrath of God.
There is no puzzlement here; you and I come into the world with this huge problem, which we cannot resolve on our own, which we cannot resolve by trying to be good, and which we cannot resolve outside of God intervening in our lives and doing something for us. For the Bible teaches that we are born outside of God, under the wrath of God. We are born spiritually dead, that we will struggle with sin, and that someday we will die. And unless God does something to intervene for us, we will die in our sins and spend our eternity in hell, outside of God, and under His wrath.
#3 – WHAT HAS GOD DONE TO OVERCOME THE CURSE OF DEATH?
Now, you will notice that (vs 15) begins with the word “but” because Paul is about to introduce a gift, and this is something good. Paul is about to use the term “gift” five times (vs 15-17), In fact, it is referred to at times as a gracious gift. Verse 15, the gracious gift is not like the transgression, the grace of God and the gift by the grace of one Man. Verse 16, and the gift is not like the result of one man’s sin, but the gracious gift resulted in justification. Verse 17, those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. Verse 20, grace abounded all the more, and verse 21, so grace would reign. Question: What is so significant about grace? Well, the word grace means “unmerited favour,” something which cannot be earned or something undeserved. Paul goes out of his way to stress this by also using the term “gracious gift,” as using the word “gift” alone would indicate to us that it is something that cannot be earned. A reward you earn, a gift you do not. But to make sure that we get it, he adds the word “gracious” or “free” in some of your Bibles, a free gift. I think the Scriptures are trying to make something very clear to us that this is something that we cannot work for. Paul says it is a gift. In fact, it is a gracious or free gift.
You know something here that should be so obvious is not obvious in some churches. Because though the Bible makes this so clear, some people, some churches will insist that this salvation must be earned, while the truth is it cannot be earned because it is a gift, it is free, and it is by grace. So, don’t miss this salvation from God by believing, as millions do that you must earn this salvation. For when you think this way, you dishonour everything that Christ has done on the cross. See, the work that has gone into preparing this gift for us was done by Christ, for Christ was the One who was willing to take the punishment which was due to us for our sin. It was Christ alone who bore the punishment for sin, not us, because Christ was the only perfect human. And therefore, He was the only One who could pay such a price for others, because He had no price to pay for Himself. Therefore, if you believe that you can somehow contribute to something that has already been purchased by Christ, you dishonour the gift being offered to you, and you will never be saved.
#4 – WHY IS ADAM PRIMARILY BLAMED AND NOT EVE?
I cannot answer this question too deeply this morning, but I will give some thoughts here. For if Adam was reading Paul’s commentary of the story in the Garden, he might wish to speak up at this point and say, “What about Eve or what about Satan, what is their part in all this?” See, the sin in the Garden was first committed by Eve, wasn’t it? As Satan approached Eve, she ate the fruit of the tree. God had said not to eat of that tree, but when the temptation came, she ate, as the bait was presented, and she grabbed hold of it; she fell for it. Around 10 years ago, I was speaking at a youth retreat with about 4-5 churches, and some of our sons had their youth groups there. And I really enjoy all the activities, and I get involved in as many as I can. And the only free time during the weekend was for about two hours on Saturday afternoon, and I was taking a course at the time and had said to Anne, I need to work on my course. Well, it was a beautiful day, and I got out a lawn chair and some iced tea and had some books out. And just as I sat down, my son Andy came up to me and said that some of the guys are going to play football in about five minutes if you want to play. Well, I love playing football, especially quarterbacking. But I hesitated and thought to myself, no, I need to work on my course. And before I actually said “no,” Andy said, “You can quarterback.” Immediately got up and said, “I’m in!”
That was the bait, the temptation, and I grabbed it. Well, in a much more serious way … Eve jumped at it, and she ate the fruit, and then she gave some to Adam, and he too ate it. So, why the blame placed upon Adam by Paul here in our passage? Well, as I said, we do not have time to get into this a whole lot, but one thing: if you read 1 Timothy 2, Paul speaks about the fact that Eve was deceived by Satan, whereas Adam willfully ate of the fruit. But there is also another topic in the Bible, and it is man’s role of leadership, specifically in this case, in a marriage. In Genesis 3:9, after Adam and Eve sinned, God said, “Adam, where are you?” As the husband has the responsibility of leadership in marriage, he has been given the role to lead and protect. And this ties into the truth that as Christ is the Head of the church, so too, the husband is the head of the wife, that the husband loves, and is willing to give his life for his wife. And, interestingly, this husband leadership is so assumed in the Bible. That Paul does not even explain roles here, though he does in other passages, such as Ephesians 5. But here in Romans 5, he considers Adam to have been the leader. And therefore, it was Adam for whom God considered the guiltiest. And ultimately, it is Adam’s sin that God states as the sin which has affected all men and women.
#5 – WHAT DOES IT MEAN (vs 18) WHEN IT REFERS TO CHRIST’S ONE ACT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS?
“So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.”
Romans 5:18 (LSB)
Christ’s one act of righteousness. What does that mean? Does that refer to only one act of righteousness that Christ did? Or does this refer to His complete life of righteousness? We might say that it was Christ’s obedience during His death, so what part? His time in the Garden, when He prayed not My will, but Thine. What about His willingness to be beaten and whipped, that he allowed the thorns and the nails? Or what about His life before that with His disciples? Which part? It is very difficult to say. We may be inclined to understand that His one act of obedience must have included His whole life, for anytime during His 33 years, if He ever sinned, any act of unrighteousness would have disqualified Him to be the Saviour of the world—one lie, one hate, one improper thought. It is also interesting that when Christ was baptized, He Himself said that it fulfilled all righteousness. This was all part of the one act of righteousness, as was His teaching, His obedience, His submission, His love, His willingness to die, was all part of the one act. And what helps us here a little in this passage is that word righteousness, the Greek word dikaima, which means “just requirement.” In other words, the one “just requirement” was fulfilled in Christ, which was His perfect life! The next question #6 and listen carefully as this is lengthy.
#6 – WHAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE IMPUTED SIN OF ADAM AND SINS COMMITTED BY THE UNBELIEVER VERSUS THE IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST AND GOOD WORKS DONE BY THE CHRISTIAN?
Well, Paul teaches that the human race sinned when Adam sinned, and sin was in the world, but notice:
“[F]or until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”
Romans 5:13 (LSB)
But (vs 14) nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses. In other words, everyone still died. What is Paul’s point? People’s individual sins were not counted against them before the Law was given, but they still died. Why? Because it was not individual sins that brought death to everyone, it was their connection to Adam. So, another good question is, what is the connection between personal sin and the sin inherited in Adam? In other words, we have sinned in Adam, but we also sin in action, don’t we? And how does all that affect both death and judgment?
Well, let’s consider first how people in general view death and judgment. Firstly, some would believe that after life, we are placed in the ground and we rot, and that is it. In fact, this is becoming likely the go-to belief of much of today’s society. I find that funerals, even nominal Christian funerals, are becoming a thing of the past. At most funerals—up until a few years ago—even if there was no church background, most would understand some kind of heaven, not necessarily a strict biblical heaven, but a place of peace and tranquillity. Not even sure what that was based upon, but it was the way in which many people understood life after death, even without much faith or without any faith. But then it sort of morphed into a “mystical” understanding for some. That the dead would become a bird or have some kind of “mystical” existence without pain. But I would suggest that even that is on the way out, as many today do not even consider life after death. So, what happens to us? According to many in the world today, we get buried, we rot, or we are cremated and no longer exist.
I bought a pair of winter boots in 1983, 43 years ago. And this past winter, they basically started to fall apart, so I bought a new pair after the winter on clearance. And Anne said that since your last boots lasted 43 years, you could give these to one of the boys in about 20 years. But I said, no, I am going to be buried in these boots, and they are just going to rot. This was really Solomon’s conclusion if there was no God in the book of Ecclesiastes, that we might as well eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die, and there is nothing after that. Understand that this is primarily where our culture is headed today. Or I suppose some may still believe that we will stand before God someday, and sort of put our good deeds over here, and our bad deeds over here, and whichever wins out determines our final destination. Or God will ask us someday, “Did you do your best? Were you sincere and did you believe in what you had been taught in Mahammad, Buddha, Jehovah, or Mary?” And if you are sincere, God will say you are okay. So, what is it? Well, wisdom is calling out to us this morning, and saying come, listen to what God says, come and listen to what the Bible says. And this passage has been teaching us that every one of us comes into the world condemned because of our connection with Adam.
And this passage is teaching us that we are sinners, no matter how good or how bad we may be from a human perspective. And that we are put right with God, not based upon any level of obedience that I may be able to perform, but it is solely based upon the perfect obedience that Christ performed. That is what Paul has been teaching. However, this is only in relation to salvation, because the actions and obedience of the Christian do matter and we are accountable for those actions, and since they do matter, how does this fit in with the imputed righteousness of Christ? Well, we are spiritually dead because we are “in Adam,” his sin has been imputed to us. And when Adam sinned, we sinned. But for the Christian, the one who believes by faith, Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to the believer. Therefore, the believer is declared righteous because of the righteousness of Christ. However, the sins committed by the unbeliever are still judged by God in reference to his or her existence in hell. And the punishment for sin in hell will be greater for some than others. The Bible speaks about that kind of accountability all the time.
Therefore, the result of being “in Adam” is death, but the degree of punishment in hell will be determined by the life of the unbeliever. And likewise, the life given to the Christian is completely dependent upon the righteousness of Jesus Christ, for without His righteousness no one qualifies for eternal life. However, the actions of the believer, which are done through the influence of the Holy Spirit, will be judged by God and rewarded accordingly. That kind of accountability is all over the Bible. So, let me give you this statement to help answer this question: The imputed sin of Adam brings death, but the unbeliever’s sinful actions will bring greater judgment. The imputed righteousness of Christ brings life, but the believer’s obedient actions will bring greater reward. Let me conclude with a question in the form of a quiz:
#7 – WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF DEATH FOR ALL MANKIND?
A – Death results from one transgression, the sin of Adam.
B – Death results because of our depravity, our slant towards evil, and our rebellion against God.
C – Death results from our individual sins, our lying, impure thoughts, pride, etc.
D – All of the above.
I would suggest that from our passage this morning, the answer is A – Death results from one transgression, the sin of Adam. B – is a result of that, that we are depraved, leaning towards evil, rebellious against God. C – is a result as well. Our individual sins are a result of our connection with Adam. John Piper wrote:
“The judgment that leads to condemnation is that God ordained that there be a union such that when He reckons Adam’s sin to be our sinning in Adam, bringing about our condemnation.”
John Piper
Jonathan Edwards preached:
“This text should compel us to think no worse of others than we do of ourselves. For it teaches us that we are all companions in a miserable, helpless condition.”
Jonathan Edwards
But Jesus said these words, “Whoever comes to Me, I will never cast out.” Can I ask you something this morning? Have you ever surrendered your heart and life to Jesus Christ, realizing that there is nothing you can do to save yourself? Do not believe the lie that you were born into God’s family, that somehow you bypassed the gospel, and you stood with God. No, all are born outside of God, for the Bible says that to have spiritual life, you must be born again. And becoming a Christian is pleading with Christ, saying, “Lord, forgive my sin, forgive my pride, save me from this certain death, so that I would believe in You and receive eternal life.” If that is your desire this morning, there is no greater need in your life. So, I beg you to make that decision today. And do not keep that a secret, for Jesus said that whoever does not acknowledge Me before men, I will not acknowledge them before the heavenly Father. I trust that this has been helpful. Let me leave you with a quote by John Piper.
“The judicial consequences of Adam’s sin are experienced by all of those who are in him, not on the basis of the individual sins that they perform but on the basis of their corporate identity with Adam. Therefore, the judicial consequences of Christ’s righteousness—that’s the whole point of this text—are experienced by all of His people not on the basis of their individual acts of righteousness but on the basis of their union with Christ.”
John Piper, “Adam, Christ, and Justification: Part #2”
Brothers and sisters, the reason this is so important for us is that our obedience toward Christ and the love for our Saviour must include this understanding of our desperation to fully embrace the goodness of God. Let’s pray. Father, we have been informed of our desperate condition this morning from Your Word that we are a condemned people through Adam, and our desperate condition is proven by our actions and ultimately by our death. As Paul wrote the Corinthians, as in Adam we all die. But we also praise You, this morning, that as in Christ we all live, as You have provided a way for us to live forever with You. From being “in Adam” and therefore being dead, to being “in Christ” and therefore being alive. From sin being imputed to us to righteousness being imputed to us. From our being declared sinful to being declared righteous. And as our condition in Adam influences our disobedience, may our new condition in Christ, through the Spirit, influence our devotion and obedience. And all God’s people said, amen.