“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. 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. 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” (Rom. 5:15-17, ESV).
Death in Adam Vs. Life in Christ
What Jesus accomplished in his death does not merely correspond to the predicament instigated by Adam but far exceeds it, “much more” [πολλῷ μᾶλλον] (cf. vv. 9, 10, 15, 17), so “if Adam’s fall had the effect of producing the ruin of many, the grace of God is much more efficacious in benefitting many, since admittedly Christ is much more powerful to save than Adam was to ruin.”1 Reference to the “free gift” [χάρισμα]2 or “act of grace,”3 and the “free gift” [δωρεά]4 in “grace” [χάρις],5 are reminders of what has already been affirmed: justification is a “free gift” [δωρεάν] by God’s “grace” [χάρις] (3:24). Further, “eternal life” (cf. 2:7; 5:21) is the “free gift” [χάρισμα] (“act of grace”) of God in contrast to “death” as something earned, i.e., the “wages” [ὀψώνια] of sin (6:23; cf. 4:4-5). Association with our physical progenitor “Adam” (Heb. adám, meaning “mankind”) renders us susceptible to sin and death, i.e., “condemnation” [κατάκριμα] (cf. v. 18), whereas our association with our spiritual forerunner Christ grants us redemption and life, i.e., “no condemnation” (8:1). “Our destiny is determined, if you will, by the community of which we are most essentially a part—'in Adam' or 'in Christ.'”6
Disobedience and Sin Vs. Obedience and Righteousness
“Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 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” (Rom. 5:18-19, ESV).
Following the explanatory digression of vv. 12b-17, Paul resumes the opening thought of v. 12a: “just as” [ὥσπερ] sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, “so then” [ἄρα οὖν],7 “as one trespass led to condemnation [κατάκριμα] for all men …” This defines “death through sin” as spiritual in nature, “because,” like Adam, “all sinned.” By contrast, “so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” The “many” (vv. 15, 19), expressing a large but indefinite number, is the “all” (v. 18) in each category, whether disobedient like Adam resulting in “condemnation,” or obedient like Christ resulting in “justification and life.” No one becomes a sinner unconditionally due to Adam’s sin, and no one is made righteous unconditionally as a result of the Lord’s death.8
Adam’s sin brings us death and condemnation by God; Christ’s righteousness brings us life and a warm welcome by God. Adam’s wrongdoing puts us under the judgment of God; Christ’s sacrifice brings us into the grace of God. Adam’s disobedience dooms us; Christ’s obedience saves us. And the good news is that the freeing power of the latter is greater than the enslaving power of the former…”9
Sin Increasing Vs. Grace Abounding
“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:20-21, ESV).
While the whole world is “held accountable to God,” the introduction of the Law of Moses essentially redefined “sin” (5:12-13) as “guilty transgression,” revealing and enhancing “knowledge of sin” (3:19-20)10 and thereby increasing the “trespass.” Before the law, ignorance of sin prevailed. This is certainly not a criticism of divine law, which was intended as a gracious gift to guide and protect Israel (2:18; 7:12, 14; 9:4), still serving “to make people aware of their desperate need for forgiveness and the saving grace of Christ apart from their observance of the law.”11
With sin increasing, “grace abounded all the more” (cf. 5:2, 15). And the dominating influence of sin “in death” (cf. 5:14, 17a), something over which we have control (6:12), has been surpassed by the reign of grace “through righteousness” (cf. 5:17b). The ultimate result is “eternal life” (cf. 2:27; 6:22-23), provided only “through Jesus Christ our Lord,” concluding the fifth chapter of Romans with a key concept stated at the beginning, middle, and end (5:1, 11, 21; cf. also 7:25).
--Kevin L. Moore
Endnotes:
1 J. Calvin, Romans 114-15, as quoted in F. F. Bruce, Romans 124.
2 Qualified in 1:11 with the adj. “spiritual” [πνευματικός]. The “gifts” in 11:29 had been committed to Israel (cf. 3:2; 9:4-5); the “gifts” in 12:6 are inclusive of but not limited to the miraculous.
3 C. K. Barrett, Romans 113.
4 In Paul (5:15, 17; 2 Cor. 9:15; Eph. 3:7; 4:7). Elsewhere particularly ascribed to God (John 4:10; Acts 8:20) and the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; 10:45; 11:17), and descriptive of heavenly-generated salvation (Heb. 6:4).
5 Paul uses χάρις twenty-six times in Romans, six in this chapter and five in chapter 11.
6 R. Mohrlang, Romans 96.
7 ASV, CSB, NASB, BSB, BLB, ERV, GNT, LSV, MSB; “Therefore” (ESV, N/KJV, NRSV), “Consequently” (ISV, NIV, NET), “In conclusion” (NAB).
8 R. C. Deaver, Romans 175. “When humankind declared its independence from God, it abandoned the only power which can overcome the sin which uses the weakness of the flesh, the only power which can overcome death…. guilt only enters into the reckoning with the individual’s own transgression. Human beings are not held responsible for the state into which they were born” (J. D. G. Dunn, Theology of Paul the Apostle 97). See K. L. Moore, “Are Humans Totally Depraved from Birth?” Moore Perspective (1 July 2015), <Link>; and “Unconditional Election,” Moore Perspective (8 Jul 2015), <Link>.
9 R. Mohrlang, Romans 96.
10 See also Gal. 3:19, 22; 1 Tim. 1:9-10. It has been suggested that the adv. “where” [οὗ] in this passage is in reference to Israel (C. E. B. Cranfield, Romans 1:293).
11 R. Mohrlang, Romans 21; cf. G. W. Hansen, Galatians 101.
No comments:
Post a Comment