1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The state of justification is being at peace with God – forgiven, cleansed, saved; reconciled to communion again with God. That is the work which Christ has wrought as the Mediator between God and Mankind (1Tim 2:15). We have access to this high position only by faith in the One who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification (Rom 4:25). And only the simplest aspects of faith are needed to gain this entrance into salvation: hear, believe and ask. Just the informed decision of the will to accept the gift that Christ is offering (Rom 10:10). No good works, no personal recognition, nothing of human honor or gain. It is uniquely available and achievable by every and any person who has been born. Later will come opportunity for faith to mature and bear the fruit of the Spirit and works of Love. God isn’t in the business of saving good people, but sinners (Mark 2:17).
In the commentary for Rom 4:3, we noted the harmony of teaching between James and Paul concerning faith and works. Here we see an additional point of concordance. The initial faith that is required to be saved and the mature faith of the saved are not equals. The initial act of faith is a decision of the will to accept Christ, but the continuing work of faith is to persevere in His commandments just as Abraham did. In the heart of a true believer, faith takes root, begins to grow, blossoms and then bears good fruit (Rom 1:17).
This grace wherein we stand is the blessed condition of being at peace with God (v1), in full knowledge of His forgiveness, compassion and phileo love. In this blessed state, His mercies are new every morning (Lam 3:22-23). It is a station of grace, separate and distinct from that state a man might gain by doing the works of the Law. Again, faith is the means of access into this grace, for it is not attainable by human works. It is a gift that God offers to every man, without respect of persons. This has been the Apostle’s point in these chapters and it is particularly important for the Judaizers to hear it.
I remember as a youth wondering why the Holy Spirit moved the New Testament writers to explain so often and in such repeated detail that following the Old Covenant is futile for those living in the present age of the New Covenant. It seemed so obvious that the New was meant to replace the Old. Surely that human inclination would die out with the Jews’ religion? But no! I am amazed at the allure of the Old Testament Law even today, as certain groups of Gentiles and Jews still think to become holy by keeping (in varying degrees) Old Testament commandments. They choose to be yoked again to that bondage which cannot gain this state of grace in spite of these strong chapters (and Gal 3:1-3). The Holy Spirit knew the future, and these Scriptures are strong evidences against the Judaizers present efforts to elevate the Law once again. The New Covenant of Grace has superseded the Old Covenant of Law forever and that is true for the Jews too. They will never be reconciled to God by keeping the Mosaic Law, so we should not encourage them in that fruitless pursuit. Point them to the one and only hope of Israel (1Cor 1:21-24).
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
The saints of the Kingdom rejoice during their trials and sufferings, knowing that these work to purify and increase their heavenly experience (2Cor 4:17). In this we note another striking difference between the Age of Law and the Age of Grace. God’s interaction with Man in the Old Covenant was largely a physical experience, but the New Covenant is designed to emphasize a spiritual communion. Tribulation and trial were not met with joy under the Judaic Law, yet Jesus came preaching an entirely new Kingdom in which blessings are counted to the man who is persecuted for the sake of righteousness (see note Mat 5:1).
Nevertheless, Christians are often tempted to discouragement and wavering by physical trials and suffering. The Apostle Paul was troubled on every side, persecuted and cast down, but he refused to despair and distress (2Cor 4:8-9). This verse comforts the suffering soul of faith to focus on this beautiful truth, that the love of God has been poured out into their hearts. Probably the hardest part of suffering is the feeling of being abandoned by God, but remember that in His greatest hour of need, Christ felt alone and forsaken in His suffering too. The work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Saved is key to this experience.
Patience (hupomone). The contemporary sense of meaning is Perseverance, the crowning jewel of faith. To sustain faith at all times and in every circumstance is the constant test of being a follower of Christ, for Perseverance is only developed through suffering and trials: the trying of your faith worketh patience (James 1:3). Pressing on in the face of pain and failure is the mark of that saving faith which overcometh the world (1John 5:4). Meanwhile, the lazy, weak-minded person will receive the Word joyfully at first, but being easily offended, in the time of temptation he falls away (Mat 13:21; Luke 8:13).
Experience, or “proven character” (NASB). The word is elsewhere translated proof (2Cor 2:9; 13:3; Php 2:22), which better fits the progression of tribulations to perseverance to proof to hope. The one who lives by the Law of righteousness which is of faith will attain to this Hope which will never disappoint. Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure (1John 3:3). This is not an uncertain, wishful hope, but an expectant, sure hope. It is called a hope because it is not yet reality. See the note on 1Cor 13:13.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
There is no precedent, whether literal, analogical or typological, to Christ the Omnipotent giving His life to save helpless Mankind. The very concept of God, or any King, offering himself as a ransom for his people is altogether unique and peerless in human history. Beyond that even, Christ died for men and women when they were without strength, yet sinners…dead in trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1). The Just died for the unjust (1Pet 3:18). There are scores of types and shadows in the Old Testament that describe aspects of Christ and the Atonement, but I do not know of one that foreshadows this particular truth. It was one of those mysteries that God, in His wisdom, had hidden from Man from the foundation of the World (1Cor 2:7).
Jesus said, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). And that He did. God commendeth His love toward us…this kind of love is beyond human comprehension or achievement. Since God knows the future, He knows what the exhibition of His love will gain. A human cannot know if his love will result in anything of worth or merit.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Earlier in this chapter the Apostle concluded that we are justified by faith (Rom 5:1); now he says we are justified by His blood. This displays the two parties of the New Covenant and their individual actions. Christ’s blood is the agent of justification, but He justifies those who demonstrate appropriate faith. The Scriptures also say we are justified by His grace (Rom 3:24; Titus 3:7), meaning that Man cannot earn justification by good works. Yet, as these Notes have attempted to show, that crystal revelation cannot be construed to eliminate any and all human participation in the salvation of his soul. Grace descends from above upon those of Faith below; then justification is realized (Eph 2:8).
Every man will choose to walk upon one of two paths in this life: the narrow path of faith in Christ that leads to eternal glories, or the wide road of anti-faith that leads to everlasting destruction. Once we were enemies of Christ, children destined to experience eternal wrath, but Christ wrought an incredible work of reconciliation, offering Himself as the perfect and adequate sacrifice and thereby gain the authority to take away the sins of a man so that he can appear in the presence of the Holy God.
God placed an amazing and beautiful parallel of these two paths of faith/anti-faith leading to their respective eternal destinies in the midst of the terrible and painful account of Christ dying on Calvary’s cross. It is recorded that two thieves were crucified with Him, one on either side. Both were wicked sinners, condemned to die a long, cruel and pitiless death. Both were helpless sinners without strength, entirely unable to save themselves. They veritably represent every man and woman who has ever lived. One chose the way of anti-faith, railing at Christ and sacrileging His holy person, but the other chose Faith. He recognized his sinfulness and that he deserved this due reward of his deeds, yet he saw the opposite character in that beaten, bloodied, innocent Man upon the middle cross. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into Thy kingdom. No good deeds could he offer, unless we count this one action to identify himself with Christ in His weakest moment. Consider further this man’s choice. At first, we marvel that he chose to believe this Christ could do anything for him at all. Dying in ridicule and ignominy, how could this lowly, lonely Man gain a Kingdom? On the other hand, what did the thief have to lose? He too would soon be dead, and he knew for certain where he must spend eternity. Unless Someone would help him? And upon that last, great Hope he threw all his soul. Against hope, he believed in hope (Rom 4:18). He confessed that he was a sinner and that Christ was sinless, and he asked for mercy. See the account in Luke 23:39-43.
Saved by His life – this is resurrection power. See note on Rom 4:25.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Curiously enough, this is the only occurrence of the word atonement in the New Testament. Equally surprising, this Greek word (katallage) is found only once in the Septuagint, where it is translated “compensate” (Isaiah 9:5). In the NT, katallage occurs also in Romans 11:15 and 2Cor 5:18-19, but is translated reconciliation. Its verb form katallaso appears in verse 10, being reconciled to God (also 1Cor 7:11; 2Cor 5:18-20). By definition, this noun/verb pair means, “a change or adjustment of accounts,” and their root word (allaso) means to change, exchange, transform (see Thayer’s, Acts 6:14; Rom 1:23; 1Cor 15:51). Although katallage is not a common word, its root with other prefixes occurs frequently with the same general meaning. For examples, see parallage (James 1:17), diallagathai (Mat 5:24), antallagma (Ruth 4:7) and allagma (Lev 27:10).
We have now received the atonement, or adjustment of accounts unto reconciliation. This is the very contextual point of these chapters, in which Abraham received an adjustment of righteousness on account of his faith which privileged him to stand in God’s presence. In the Old Testament, atonement was always made, it was not received. But since Christ has come, we have now received the atonement. The sacrifices of the Old Covenant were required to make an atonement for your souls (Ex 30:15) by the forgiveness of sins (Lev 5:10). However, the blood of bulls and goats cannot truly take away sins (Heb 10:4), so those atonements looked forward to the one atonement that can veritably remove sins. If justification is the state of being right with God (v1), then the atonement is the method or basis by which that can take place.
In the OT, the word atonement appears more than 80 times and translates the Hebrew words kaphar and kippur. However, the Greek words that the Septuagint uses (exilasmou, exhilaskomai) are never used in the New Testament (although see 1John 4:10 for hilasmos, which only lacks the prefix). After having studied every occurrence of these words in the Greek and Hebrew Scriptures, I believe the fundamental idea in offering a sacrifice of atonement under the Old Covenant is that it was a personal gift to God to show one’s desire to receive favor in his sight. Offered from a low position and with no intent of “satisfaction” or full repayment, it was a simple gift that hoped for a change of estate. This is the exact intent of kaphar in Gen 32:20, long before that word was used by Moses in the Judaic worship system. The atonements did not purge the sin, nor did it repay the sin; it covered the sin until such time that the sin would be repaid and purged. And that is the meaning of kaphar upon its first appearance in the Bible, where in Gen 6:14, Noah covered (kaphar) the Ark with kopher. Outside of this passage, kopher always means a sum of money used to ransom, bribe, or redeem. These singular occurrences of kaphar before the Mosaic Law add dimension to the meaning of the word and help us understand why God had Moses use it in deeply religious terms. Later, the prophets used kaphar in its fully realized spiritual sense, “to forgive, pardon, pacify,” for that is the result of an atonement sacrifice.
The Day of Atonement (kippur) marked the most sacred ceremony in the Mosaic Law. While the kaphar was an offering by any common man (with priestly coaction) to solicit the favor/pardon of God, the kippur was a High Priestly ceremony that directly speaks of Christ offering Himself as the means whereby a man is able to solicit the favor/pardon of God and be fully reconciled to Him. We have now received the atonement. The kaphar was a true sacrifice in that it was voluntary and personal, but it could only cover the sins of one (the offerer). The kippur of Christ on the other hand, was infinitely more valuable in that it was intermediary, plenary and eternal. These three aspects directly contrast to the kaphar of a man under the Law, for note that the atonement of Christ was 1) Intermediary, being effective and available for not only the offerer, but for all Mankind. 2) Plenary; being far from just a covering of sins, it is able to remove the sins of the world. 3) Eternal; one offering of the perfect sacrifice effected full reconciliation forever.
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Adam and Eve were perfectly created and placed in a perfectly created World. They were poised to live forever in harmony and beauty in the Garden of Eden with God. Their sin not only ended that dream, it drastically changed their lives and the lives of their children and children’s children even down to the present day. The entire Universe fell under the curse of decay and death, subjected by God unto vanity on account of Satan and sin (Rom 8:20-21). We see the effects of sin everywhere in the physical world and it rules all life under entropy and order-to-chaos laws.
Sin also brought major changes to the spiritual world, although those effects are harder to understand. The day that Adam sinned, a part of him died (Gen 2:17). We might say he died spiritually, for that inward, invisible part of Man which is responsible for thought and decision was breached and poisoned. Protestant commentaries stress that physical death was the penalty for Adam’s sin and virtually ignore the fact that guilt is not assessed to the physical body but to the spirit/soul of a man. Nor did Adam physically die in the day that he ate the fruit. However, he did die spiritually in the very moment he transgressed the commandment (Rom 7:9). This “fallen” part of Man was passed on to Adam’s children, and to their children, on down to the present day. Contrary to Protestant belief, we were not all “in Adam” when he sinned and are therefore guilty of Adam’s sin. How preposterous is that notion! Yes, every man has been gravely and intrinsically affected by Adam’s sin, but only by inference and extrapolation can these verses be made to teach the Calvinist idea of “original sin.”
Unlike Adam and Eve in their pre-sin estate, every person is now born with a sinful nature; he is inclined to sin, pre-disposed to please his own flesh. Left to itself, every ordered system in the physical realm tends to disorder. Left to himself, every man spiritually tends to disobey God and follow his own will. However, it is a serious overreach to infer that from birth all men are naturally and utterly depraved, sinful and spiritually dead, for that condition is a consequence of individual sin. Notice, Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. The spirit/soul of a man cannot be sinful or fallen before sin, so these cannot be part of this “sinful nature” that Adam’s sin brought into the world. We repeat, Adam did not pass the guilt of sin to other souls per pro, for the Scriptures are clear that only one’s own sin will estrange him from God. The soul that sinneth IT shall die (Eze 18:20). The Apostle also wrote, By man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead (1Cor 15:21)
If it be true that Adam passed the guilt of sin to every man, then he is not responsibility for his condition. He is a soul of Satan’s and is destined for punishment with Satan at life’s end regardless of whether HE sins or not. Adam sinned for him and he must bear the guilt of it. That would be most egregiously unfair and unlike God. Moreover, if a man’s own actions does not bring the guilt of sin, then Jesus’ death was not an act of mercy, but an act of fair play. God must rectify this unjust situation of a man guilty of sin without action or choice. Again, that does not fit God’s character. Everybody intrinsically knows that he is guilty of death on account of his own actions, for all have sinned (Rom 3:23).
The difference is monumental. Is a soul born estranged from God or in union with God? It is universally believed that babies belong to God and not Satan; if a child dies before reaching the age of accountability he will go to heaven. That truth implies the soul of every man is NOT born guilty of the sin of Adam and is not utterly depraved and sinful. Instead, every soul is perfectly and sinlessly created and placed in the womb. It is only later that Satan’s corrupting ways will bring temptation, sin and death (James 1:13-15). Then and only then does the soul become estranged from God (Rom 7:9-11).
A man’s own choices and actions cause his own guilt, that is only common sense. He alone is responsible for his sin and destiny. The most basic of all scientific laws, the Law of Cause and Effect, requires this to be true! Every effect had a cause, which itself was an effect of a cause, and which can be traced back in time unto the very beginning. The original cause by which Sin has come to exist in the world is the sin of Adam, that is what this passage says. While verses like Psalms 51:5 and 1Cor 15:21-22 are used to promote the “guilty from birth” notion, they are better fitted in the interpretation we have just given, which believes a man is born with a sinful physical nature, but not a sinful soul nature. The soul becomes corrupted and sinful on account of it’s own choice and actions.
A young man once asked me the following hypothetical question. Given that Jesus never sinned and so was never corrupted, would He not have lived forever on the earth? I don’t think so. We said that Adam and Eve would never have died if they had not sinned, but that’s because they lived in an un-fallen World. Jesus was born into a fallen World, just like every other human since Adam and Eve. This is a key aspect of the salvation story: Jesus was born as a human into his fallen world for the purpose of saving it from destruction; He redeemed it by living a perfect life and giving His life as the one and only perfect Sacrifice. Moreover, Jesus’ body was subject to like passions of pain, hunger and sickness, so His body was fully human and would have died just like other humans. However, unlike all of Adam’s descendants, Jesus never died spiritually, and that makes His bodily death strikingly opposite that of Adam and his race. Jesus bore our sins, but He was not guilty of our sins.
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 to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
The section which spans verses 12-21 should be assimilated as a whole before dissection into study parts. The objective of this passage is to illustrate God’s plan form mankind by positioning in parallel several key events in the lives of the first man Adam, and Christ the last Adam (1Cor 15:45). This is advertised beforehand by the Apostle when he says that Adam is a figure of Him that was to come. He then compares the two in various ways and upon several topics, to show the commonality of all men, Jew and Gentile, to total bondage of sin and death under Satan’s rule.
“Sins against the Law were not imputed before the Law was given. Nevertheless, sin and death ruled over all men in that era from Adam to Moses, even though they didn’t sin in the same manner as had Adam, who is a figure of Him that was to come.” That is straightforward and logical, but what does it mean that not all men have sinned after the similitude of Adam?
Adam was not just the first man, he was a special man. Created perfect in all ways and placed in a beautiful world of excellence where God came personally to walk and talk with him (Gen 3:8), there has only been one Adam and there never will be another. That alone makes him an interesting type of Christ. Nevertheless, the two paths of life that Adam and Christ chose are thoroughly different, for while Christ lived in full subjection to doing the will of the Father, Adam chose to take his own way. He rebelled against God and took the fruit that God had forbidden him to eat. For unlike Eve, Adam was not deceived by the Serpent’s lies; he ate that fruit even knowing he was disobeying God (1Tim 2:14). So Adam’s sin was disobeying God’s clear verbal direction, and a very glaring sin it was given that he did not have a fallen nature as all other men. On these two points, Adam’s transgression was different, for many have not directly disobeyed God’s verbal commandment and, excepting Adam and Christ, all have been born with a fallen, sinful nature. Nevertheless, death reigned over them too, even though they did not sin after the similitude of Adam. For all have transgressed the internal law of conscience that God has given them (Rom 2:14-15; 1:19-20).
Disobedience results in guilt, sin and death (John 15:22, Rom 7:9-11), but how can one commit sin by not obeying a commandment he has not heard? (Rom 2:12). That is why before the Law, sins against it were not imputed. However, in the full picture, such persons are still sinners before God, being guilty of not diligently acquainting themselves with His laws of conscience. Even the citizens of a secular nation are required to learn the laws of the land, and they are responsible for offending any “unknown” law. Before Moses, each man was responsible to seek God and do His will according to the knowledge and conscience that is in him intrinsically. The man that seeketh shall find, but the man uninterested in the testimonies of God in nature, conscience and revelation is committing the sin of not doing what is right and good (James 4:17).
Every person is born with certain basic concepts of God and his moral law. Perhaps some are created with greater capacities of knowledge and of them more will be required. Those who have never been introduced to the Word of God have an opportunity for salvation too, even though they have not heard of Christ in this life. The hazy references in 1Pet 3:19 and 1Pet 4:6 may explain how they do hear of Him. Nevertheless, how much more effective is the preaching of the Cross for salvation! (Rom 10:13-15).
Some argue that this tends to repress evangelistic efforts, but that is false on two fronts. First, the righteousness of faith that Paul teaches is much easier to attain than following the law of conscience. Second, this is the same situation that God was faced with when He created the world. He knew many would rebel against His will and would be punished for their disobedience, yet He knew that the glorious awards for those who accepted His gift would far outweigh the negatives. And so He implemented His grand plan for the world and Man. For evangelists and missionaries, however, this should be a sobering thought. We must not simply awake people to the knowledge of the truth, but assist them in teaching and discipleship.
So guilt passed upon all men in that all have sinned; some for disobeying as Adam had and others for not proving what is that acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom 12:2). Rebellion and Deception, all sins fall under one of these categories. The first is based on knowledge and the other is based on ignorance, but they both lead to death. The same two original sins, Adam’s rebellion and Eve’s deception, continue to be demonstrated today in all the world.
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17 For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
While it is readily apparent that these verses compare and contrast the first Adam with the last Adam, the parallels are not as sharply formed as we might wish. That might be due to the peculiarities of language and translation and maybe it is an evidence of Paul’s claim not to be of eloquent speech (1Cor 2:1). On the other hand, this Apostle was known to speak of things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures (2Pet 3:16).
The general comparison is easily grasped, but the objects in the parallels seem to lack precision at times. The figure of comparison is Adam and Christ, and the point of contrast centers upon Adam’s offence and Christ’s gift. Both were single events with world-wide, long-standing effects. The one was an act of rebellion and selfishness, the other was an act of obedience and submission. The one caused overwhelming personal debt; the other was a gracious offer to pay the debt. The one gave reign to Satan, sin and death, the other gave reign to Christ, righteousness and life. The offence rules over all men; the gift avails only to those who accept it.
Here is my paraphrase translation:
(v15) “The offense and the gift are similar in that each were enacted by one man, but they are dissimilar in that while one man’s offense caused the spiritual death of all men, the grace of God acting in the other Man has caused the gift to abound unto all. (16) Neither does the result of the gift resemble the result of the offense; for after the sin the ruling was, ‘Guilty.’ The gift however, came after many sins, and the new ruling was, ‘Righteous.’ (17) If one man’s sin caused death to reign over all, so much more shall the recipients of abundant grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life by the other Man, even Jesus Christ. (18) So then, while the sin of one resulted in Man’s condemnation, the righteous judgment of One resulted in Man’s reinstatement unto life.”
The interchange of gift (dorea), free gift (charisma) and grace (charis) is prominent in these verses. Dorea and charisma are used synonymously in the Scriptures (see 2Cor 9:15; Heb 6:4; Eph 4:7; Rom 6:23; 1Cor 12:4; 2Tim 1:6), but in this passage the translators chose to distinguish between the two by adding the apparently redundant word, free. Nevertheless, it is clearly evident that the gift which contrasts so sharply with the offence is “the Salvation of Man” (see Eph 2:8; John 4:10). This is truly the greatest, most benevolent, most unmerited gift in the history of Mankind. Who offers a throne to a peasant? Who forgives a debt of impossible worth? Who blesses a sinner with ETERNAL LIFE? It is an amazing, unspeakable gift by grace. We can only bow our heads in thankfulness, reverence and humility. Yes, there is a work that we must do, but the Big Work has been accomplished by God.
Adam’s one sin was followed by God’s righteous decree of condemnation, which eventually extended to all men since all have sinned. After many sins however, the great mercy and kindness of God brought salvation by means of the gift of life through Jesus Christ (Rom 6:23). Adam’s sin resulted in death reigning over all mankind. Jesus Christ’s righteousness resulted in life reigning over all who receive His grace.
Amazingly, the standard Protestant idea is that all men were “in Adam” when he sinned and so all are guilty of sin. Clarke says, “Death reigned over mankind during the period between Adam and Moses; therefore men did not die for their own transgressions, but in consequence of Adam’s one transgression.” And Guzik writes, “”He is not saying that death reigned over us all because we all sinned; he is saying that death reigned over us all because Adam sinned” (Morris)”. Wow. I can imagine Paul shaking his head at these comments and wondering, “But didn’t I just say, so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned?” (v12). The Calvinistic proposal that Man is totally depraved and sinful by being “in Adam” when he sinned is simply not taught in this passage! Nor is it to be found elsewhere in the Scriptures. And neither does it comport to common sense, nor to the character of God. Why hang all mankind’s guilt on Adam when it is obvious that all of us have personally sinned? See my notes on 1Cor 15:21-22.
18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Verse 18 expands on verse 16, with the comparison again centering on those two actions that have affected multitudes: the offence of Adam and the gift of Christ. This time however, the gift is only implied (the KJV has it in italics), and in its place we read, righteousness (dikaioma). This Greek word is translated justification in v16, but outside the book of Romans, and in more than 100 occasions, it is virtually always rendered, “statute, precept, judgment” (ie, Gen 26:5; Ps 19:8; Eze 18:9; Luke 1:6; Heb 9:1; Rev 15:4; Rom 1:32). The only exceptions are in Romans 2:26; 5:16; 5:18; 8:4 and Rev 19:8. The standard word for righteousness is dikaiosune, found about 100 times in the New Testament. In choosing dikaioma, the Apostle seems to convey the idea of a statute or judgment of Christ bringing spiritual life to Man. It is the righteous, just act of a Mediator (Heb 9:15) Several other Scriptures paint a similar picture and they too are found in context with the Mosaic Law. Colossians 2:14 describes an existing judgment against Man that was taken away by Christ, and Romans 8:3 describes God sending His Son into the world to condemn, or pass judgment, on sin.
Paul’s Jewish audience would have understood these familiar Greek words according to their usage in the Septuagint, where dikaioma are honorable statutes and precepts of God, and dikaiosune are the just, pure actions of man or God. The essential truth here is this: By the sin of one came condemnation from God which eventually passed to all men; by the righteous and just life of the other came life. Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many (Heb 9:28).
In these notes we have rejected the idea that Adam’s sin was imputed to all men in favor of the belief that every man is guilty on account of his own disobedience. Here we find an additional point in that consideration. For if this verse teaches that one man’s sin made every man guilty, then it also teaches that one man’s righteousness made every man justified. The fallacy of that idea is self-evident in the full light of Scripture, for Paul is working under the premise that the gift is not like the offence. See those points of contrast in our previous note. “Just as one man’s sin brought sin into the world and each man chose to sin for himself, so too one man’s righteousness brought salvation into the world for each man to choose that salvation for himself.”
19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
The last contrast between Adam and Christ is on the topic of obedience. Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered (Heb 5:8). Adam’s disobedience opened the world to Satan and sin, and thereby all men became sinners. The reason the Apostle here says many became sinners instead of all became sinners, is in order to maintain the parallel: Many were made sinners…many be made righteous. Notice the similar parallel in the previous verse, which showed all men becoming condemned and all men being presented with the opportunity of life.
Shall be made righteous. Some understand this to be a simple declaration, like a “judicial” or “forensic” decree that does not actually, intrinsically, change the individual. Anabaptists believe the soul of a saved person is veritably cleansed of all sin (1John 1:7) and he is truly a new creature. The Word of God is able to discern, divide, change the innermost elements of the soul and spirit (Heb 4:12).
Being made righteous is a two-part process, with the second, final action to be accomplished at the end of the present Age. The change from past to future in the verbs implies this second act of redemption/justification: “many shall be made righteous.” See note on Mat 19:28. The verb katastathesontai (be made) is elsewhere translated “appoint, ordain, set” (Acts 6:3; Luke 12:44; Heb 8:3; Tit 1:5), but see also 2Pet 1:8; Jam 3:6.
For main-line Protestantism, the book of Romans is a theological dissertation on Salvation, while the Anabaptist takes Romans as the basis for right living in the Kingdom of Christ. The differences in understanding this chapter are particularly evident in the disparity of their initial premises. Protestantism sees the big picture as God saving selected persons from the utterly depraved masses flowing inexorably to their infernal abode. Therefore, they believe that Adam and Eve’s sin was passed to their children in the fullest sense – every person is born in total depravity of spirit, soul, mind and volition. Man is born a wicked, guilty sinner, estranged from God and incapable to choose to believe in Him or to do good because he doesn’t possess the basic faculties to do so. Christ came to save the elect by depositing in them those necessary faculties that Adam’s race lacks. So these are enabled to believe and the rest of Mankind goes unknowingly and ignorantly unto eternal punishment.
Anabaptism meanwhile, sees the big picture as God seeking whosoever will for salvation and eternal communion with Him. They believe that while Satan spoiled God’s perfect creation through Adam’s sin, each man is born innocent in spirit, soul, mind and volition. He is not a wicked, guilty sinner at birth, but chooses to become one by his own decisions and actions. The necessary faculties for salvation have been “deposited” in every man from birth, so all possess the ability to choose faith in Christ unto salvation. Christ came to ransom Mankind from their captivity to Satan and to give him new power to reign in life in the never-ending Kingdom of Grace.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
The Law was instituted by God as a way that Man could attain right-standing with Him. In truth, it was a provisional reconciliation, contingent upon a retroactive application of the sacrifice of Christ. Nevertheless, it would be imperious to infer that the Old Testament saints were unable to experience full fellowship with God. Some of the greatest giants of faith and righteousness are found in that era when the commonwealth of Israel was the Kingdom of God’s design. Elsewhere, Paul says the Law was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made (Gal 3:17-19). So the Law’s design was not to make men sinners, but to bring men to the knowledge of sin (Rom 3:20). Sin was already in the world when the Law came, but God does not impute sin without consciousness of it (Rom 5:13). Obviously, with the knowledge of sin came death (Rom 7:8), and this death prevailed and increased in the world until Christ. See our thoughts in Rom 4:3 for the reasons that God injected the Law into the world.
It is my belief that these verses are not saying that grace abounded to Man during the time of the Law, but that God’s grace, in the form of Christ, came to Man at a time when sin abounded. The Jewish religion had largely devolved into a man-made social construct which benefited the influential and wealthy, while crushing the poor and lowly. At this time, when the world was without strength, dead in trespasses and sins, God sent His Son into the world (Rom 5:6-8; Eph 2:5).
Under the Old Covenant, sin reigned unto death; under the New Covenant, grace reigns unto life (see also Rom 8:2). The characterization makes the two Covenants seem to be different as black is from white. Yet that assumption is not entirely correct, as we have already said. Rather, the coming of the New Covenant gives fuller credence to the Old. Yes, sin truly reigned in the past because the true Atonement was not yet offered, but sin reigns in many places and in many hearts under the present Covenant too. The saints of the Old and New are justified by the same blood of the perfect Lamb; they looked forward to that event and we look backward. They saw the pattern dimly in types and shadows and upon it they put their faith; we see the full, amazing story in detail, and upon it we also put our faith.Grace did much more abound. We began this chapter with grace (v2), and it is fitting that so it ends. The next chapter will explain this grace as it works in the heart of the believer. The privileged position of Grace is attained by faith in Jesus Christ through righteousness (dikaiosune). In this case, the Apostle apparently does not refer to the righteousness (dikaioma) of Christ in verse 18, but the gift of righteousness (dikaiosune) in verse 17, where we found it to be a euphemism for Salvation.