notes

Disclaimer

This page was automatically converted from a module that was shared prior to the release of Published Pages. Additionally, the arc below was auto-converted from the arc created by the author (which used the old module), and so it is possible there are misplaced logical relationships.

notes 1452680587606 Disclaimer This page was automatically converted from a module that was shared prior to the release of Published Pages. Additionally, the arc below was auto-converted from the arc created by the author (which used the old module), and so it is possible there are misplaced logical relationships.

Notes

2010-04-02 01:38:52

2010-04-06 00:51:15

Reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ Alone Sin has separated us from God. Due to this separation, we need to become reconciled to God, and this is only possible through Jesus Christ. We are all declared sinners from birth. How can this be? How did sin enter the world? How can God justly declare us guilty of sin from birth, even before we have committed any sin? Why is Jesus Christ necessary in order to reconcile us to God? It is these questions I seek to answer through the exposition of a passage of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church of Rome. Romans 5:12-19 “­ 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 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.” (Romans 5:12-19). Context In verse 12 we see the connector ‘therefore’ which tells us that this verse connects to the previous thought. Paul is speaking of reconciliation and says that “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:10-11). The passage we will be digging into, therefore, explains how this reconciliation functions. Death Spread to All Men “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Paul begins at the very beginning when God created Adam, whom disobeyed God’s command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a result of Adam’s transgression, sin entered the world through him. Satan was the one who enticed Adam and his wife to break God’s law, yet God holds not Eve, who ate first, but God holds Adam responsible. God told Adam that “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Adam did eat from the tree, and so sin came into the world through him, and death came into the world through sin. Death also spread to all men because all sinned. Paul interrupts his comparison and goes on to explain in verses 13-14 in more detail on how death spread to all men. “For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” Sin was in the world before the giving of the law. What law is this referring to? It is referring to the Mosaic Law which God gave to the Israelites at Mount Sinai through the prophet Moses. Sin is not counted where there is no law, yet Paul concedes that death reigned from Adam to Moses. He said that sin is not counted where there is no law, yet surprisingly proclaims that death reigned from Adam to Moses. How have all men sinned if sin was not counted before the giving of the Mosaic Law? It seems that the answer would be that there are other laws given in the past such as the covenant with Noah and the covenant with Abraham which men have disobeyed. Paul, however, refutes that idea with his next statement that death reigned “even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam.” How was the sin of these men not like the transgression of Adam? Well, Adam was given a command from God to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, yet Adam willfully disobeyed God. These other men being referred to, therefore, did not willfully disobey any commands revealed to them by God, yet they are still guilty of sin. Who are such people? One example of such people would be infants. Infants can die, yet they have not received any laws which they have the ability to choose to obey or disobey. So what sin have infants committed which results in the punishment of physical death? Paul says immediately after that Adam was a type (or pattern) of the one who was to come. In order to answer these questions any further, we must continue to follow Paul’s argument. The Free Gift Verse 15 begins with “but the free gift is not like the trespass.” Paul then explains, “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.” Paul is speaking of a contrast between the trespass of Adam and the free gift of Jesus Christ. He emphasizes how the grace of God is superior to the trespass of Adam. Just as Adam’s trespass caused many to die, then so much more can the grace of God overcome the death brought by Adam’s sin. Despite the greatness of Adam’s transgression and its major effect on all people, the grace of God is greater and we can put our trust in grace to deliver us from the death which has spread to us. The free gift is greater than the trespass. Verse 16: “And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin.” How is it different? Well he goes on, “For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.” One trespass is all it took to condemn man, yet the free gift covers many trespasses and brings justification. Once again we see that the gift is greater than the judgment. “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.” Here in verse 17 we see an interesting parallel beginning to stand out. Since death reigned through the trespass of Adam, much more then will life reign through Jesus Christ for those who receive His gift of righteousness. Paul shows us that this free gift he has been speaking of is a gift of righteousness. We can begin to see how all have sinned, despite the fact that those who have not sinned in the likeness of Adam still suffer the punishment of physical death. It is not through the individual sins of all men from Adam to Moses that brought them death, but it is solely through the trespass of Adam that brought death to all men. Infants can experience death because of Adam’s trespass which caused death to spread to all men, in the same way that the righteousness of Christ causes life to spread to all who will receive Him and His abundant grace. If you receive the gift of righteousness through Christ, you will receive life and ultimately conquer death by rising again at the resurrection unto eternal life, but if you reject the gift, you will be conquered by death and perish because of Adam’s trespass alone, although your own individual sins will also add to your condemnation. Even if you had no sins of your own, you would be condemned as guilty by Adam’s trespass alone. Moving on to verse 18 we read, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” Paul explains more details in verse 19, “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.” The parallelism should be clear. Adam’s trespass brought condemnation on all men who are in Adam, and in contrast the one act of righteousness by Jesus Christ brings justification and life on all men who are in Christ. All people are in Adam for we have all descended from Adam. We are all guilty of sin because Adam’s guilt is imputed to us. God declares us guilty because of our father Adam who is the head of the human race. In contrast, Jesus Christ is the head of the new humanity, and all who receive Christ are in Christ and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us who believe. Through Adam’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so how much more through Jesus’ obedience will the many be made righteous? Paul used the word ‘all’ in verse 18, for one trespass led to condemnation for all men who are in Adam , while one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men who are in Christ . Looking back at the end of verse 12 where Paul said that death has spread to all men because all have sinned, we can see why he did not finish his comparison until verse 18. Paul used the phrase ‘just as’ when describing how sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin and spread to all men because all sinned, but then he diverts to explain how all have sinned, before continuing the comparison in verse 18. Let us try and put together what Paul would have said without the digression. Verse 12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned,” and then in the second half of verse 18, “so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men,” and then verse 19, “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.” We can see the reason why Paul stopped after verse 12 to clarify how all have sinned before continuing the comparison in verses 18-19. He made the parallel clear to us in order to avoid misunderstandings. Reconciliation In the beginning, before we dug into the passage, I mentioned the context preceding it. Paul was talking about reconciliation. Speaking to the believers at the church of Rome, he pointed out that while they were enemies of God, they were reconciled to Him by the death of Jesus Christ. The guilt of Adam was imputed to his descendents. This is original sin. This is what is meant when it is said that all people are born sinners. Adam is the head of the old humanity and his descendents are declared guilty from birth. A man is also the head of a household and the ruler over his wife. Eve ate from the tree first, yet God held Adam accountable. Christ is the head of the new humanity, and His righteousness is counted on behalf of those who have received Him and His gift of righteousness. Adam’s sin is imputed to us, and Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to us, if we receive Him. Although Christ had no sin of His own, He died on the cross on behalf of those who will receive Him. Jesus Christ did not physically die because Adam’s sin was imputed to Him, but rather, Christ died physically because He was a substitute who took the sins of His people upon Himself and bore the punishment of death on their behalf. If you have received reconciliation and justification by receiving Christ and the gift of righteousness by His amazing grace, then let us rejoice in our Lord Jesus Christ. If you have not received the gift of righteousness by the grace of Christ, then you will be condemned and perish if you continue to reject it. Righteousness comes by faith in Christ, not by works. Good works do not make a sinner righteous; good works only keep a sinless person righteous. Since none of us are sinless, we can’t be reconciled to God and declared righteous apart from faith in Christ. Seek the righteousness of God! If you seek your own righteousness, you will never find it because you have no righteousness uncontaminated by sin. God did not create humans as self-sufficient and self-sustaining independent creatures. God created humans as dependent creatures who must depend on Him for there sufficiency and sustainment. You can’t have your own righteousness and even if you did have your own righteousness, you can’t sustain it on your own. We must receive the righteousness of God which has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Romans 1:16-17 sums up what I just said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”

10000000032089 32089 Notes 2010-04-02 01:38:52 2010-04-06 00:51:15 Reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ Alone Sin has separated us from God. Due to this separation, we need to become reconciled to God, and this is only possible through Jesus Christ. We are all declared sinners from birth. How can this be? How did sin enter the world? How can God justly declare us guilty of sin from birth, even before we have committed any sin? Why is Jesus Christ necessary in order to reconcile us to God? It is these questions I seek to answer through the exposition of a passage of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Church of Rome. Romans 5:12-19 “­ 12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 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. 16 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. 17 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. 18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 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.” (Romans 5:12-19). Context In verse 12 we see the connector ‘therefore’ which tells us that this verse connects to the previous thought. Paul is speaking of reconciliation and says that “while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (Romans 5:10-11). The passage we will be digging into, therefore, explains how this reconciliation functions. Death Spread to All Men “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Paul begins at the very beginning when God created Adam, whom disobeyed God’s command to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a result of Adam’s transgression, sin entered the world through him. Satan was the one who enticed Adam and his wife to break God’s law, yet God holds not Eve, who ate first, but God holds Adam responsible. God told Adam that “for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Adam did eat from the tree, and so sin came into the world through him, and death came into the world through sin. Death also spread to all men because all sinned. Paul interrupts his comparison and goes on to explain in verses 13-14 in more detail on how death spread to all men. “For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.” Sin was in the world before the giving of the law. What law is this referring to? It is referring to the Mosaic Law which God gave to the Israelites at Mount Sinai through the prophet Moses. Sin is not counted where there is no law, yet Paul concedes that death reigned from Adam to Moses. He said that sin is not counted where there is no law, yet surprisingly proclaims that death reigned from Adam to Moses. How have all men sinned if sin was not counted before the giving of the Mosaic Law? It seems that the answer would be that there are other laws given in the past such as the covenant with Noah and the covenant with Abraham which men have disobeyed. Paul, however, refutes that idea with his next statement that death reigned “even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam.” How was the sin of these men not like the transgression of Adam? Well, Adam was given a command from God to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, yet Adam willfully disobeyed God. These other men being referred to, therefore, did not willfully disobey any commands revealed to them by God, yet they are still guilty of sin. Who are such people? One example of such people would be infants. Infants can die, yet they have not received any laws which they have the ability to choose to obey or disobey. So what sin have infants committed which results in the punishment of physical death? Paul says immediately after that Adam was a type (or pattern) of the one who was to come. In order to answer these questions any further, we must continue to follow Paul’s argument. The Free Gift Verse 15 begins with “but the free gift is not like the trespass.” Paul then explains, “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.” Paul is speaking of a contrast between the trespass of Adam and the free gift of Jesus Christ. He emphasizes how the grace of God is superior to the trespass of Adam. Just as Adam’s trespass caused many to die, then so much more can the grace of God overcome the death brought by Adam’s sin. Despite the greatness of Adam’s transgression and its major effect on all people, the grace of God is greater and we can put our trust in grace to deliver us from the death which has spread to us. The free gift is greater than the trespass. Verse 16: “And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin.” How is it different? Well he goes on, “For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.” One trespass is all it took to condemn man, yet the free gift covers many trespasses and brings justification. Once again we see that the gift is greater than the judgment. “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.” Here in verse 17 we see an interesting parallel beginning to stand out. Since death reigned through the trespass of Adam, much more then will life reign through Jesus Christ for those who receive His gift of righteousness. Paul shows us that this free gift he has been speaking of is a gift of righteousness. We can begin to see how all have sinned, despite the fact that those who have not sinned in the likeness of Adam still suffer the punishment of physical death. It is not through the individual sins of all men from Adam to Moses that brought them death, but it is solely through the trespass of Adam that brought death to all men. Infants can experience death because of Adam’s trespass which caused death to spread to all men, in the same way that the righteousness of Christ causes life to spread to all who will receive Him and His abundant grace. If you receive the gift of righteousness through Christ, you will receive life and ultimately conquer death by rising again at the resurrection unto eternal life, but if you reject the gift, you will be conquered by death and perish because of Adam’s trespass alone, although your own individual sins will also add to your condemnation. Even if you had no sins of your own, you would be condemned as guilty by Adam’s trespass alone. Moving on to verse 18 we read, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” Paul explains more details in verse 19, “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.” The parallelism should be clear. Adam’s trespass brought condemnation on all men who are in Adam, and in contrast the one act of righteousness by Jesus Christ brings justification and life on all men who are in Christ. All people are in Adam for we have all descended from Adam. We are all guilty of sin because Adam’s guilt is imputed to us. God declares us guilty because of our father Adam who is the head of the human race. In contrast, Jesus Christ is the head of the new humanity, and all who receive Christ are in Christ and the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us who believe. Through Adam’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so how much more through Jesus’ obedience will the many be made righteous? Paul used the word ‘all’ in verse 18, for one trespass led to condemnation for all men who are in Adam , while one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men who are in Christ . Looking back at the end of verse 12 where Paul said that death has spread to all men because all have sinned, we can see why he did not finish his comparison until verse 18. Paul used the phrase ‘just as’ when describing how sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin and spread to all men because all sinned, but then he diverts to explain how all have sinned, before continuing the comparison in verse 18. Let us try and put together what Paul would have said without the digression. Verse 12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned,” and then in the second half of verse 18, “so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men,” and then verse 19, “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.” We can see the reason why Paul stopped after verse 12 to clarify how all have sinned before continuing the comparison in verses 18-19. He made the parallel clear to us in order to avoid misunderstandings. Reconciliation In the beginning, before we dug into the passage, I mentioned the context preceding it. Paul was talking about reconciliation. Speaking to the believers at the church of Rome, he pointed out that while they were enemies of God, they were reconciled to Him by the death of Jesus Christ. The guilt of Adam was imputed to his descendents. This is original sin. This is what is meant when it is said that all people are born sinners. Adam is the head of the old humanity and his descendents are declared guilty from birth. A man is also the head of a household and the ruler over his wife. Eve ate from the tree first, yet God held Adam accountable. Christ is the head of the new humanity, and His righteousness is counted on behalf of those who have received Him and His gift of righteousness. Adam’s sin is imputed to us, and Jesus’ righteousness is imputed to us, if we receive Him. Although Christ had no sin of His own, He died on the cross on behalf of those who will receive Him. Jesus Christ did not physically die because Adam’s sin was imputed to Him, but rather, Christ died physically because He was a substitute who took the sins of His people upon Himself and bore the punishment of death on their behalf. If you have received reconciliation and justification by receiving Christ and the gift of righteousness by His amazing grace, then let us rejoice in our Lord Jesus Christ. If you have not received the gift of righteousness by the grace of Christ, then you will be condemned and perish if you continue to reject it. Righteousness comes by faith in Christ, not by works. Good works do not make a sinner righteous; good works only keep a sinless person righteous. Since none of us are sinless, we can’t be reconciled to God and declared righteous apart from faith in Christ. Seek the righteousness of God! If you seek your own righteousness, you will never find it because you have no righteousness uncontaminated by sin. God did not create humans as self-sufficient and self-sustaining independent creatures. God created humans as dependent creatures who must depend on Him for there sufficiency and sustainment. You can’t have your own righteousness and even if you did have your own righteousness, you can’t sustain it on your own. We must receive the righteousness of God which has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ. Romans 1:16-17 sums up what I just said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” notes

Arc

2010-04-02 01:38:52

2010-04-06 00:51:15

editing

Romans

Romans 5:12-19

NT

esv

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man,

and death [came] through sin,

and so death spread to all men

because all sinned--

ground

for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given,

but sin is not counted where there is no law.

negativepositive

Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses,

even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

concessive

ideaexplanation

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.

conditional

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.

actionresult

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.

progression

discourse

10000000032089 32089 Arc 2010-04-02 01:38:52 2010-04-06 00:51:15 editing Romans 5 12 5 19 Romans 5:12-19 45 NT esv i489401 i489402 i489403 i489380 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, i489381 and death [came] through sin, i489404 i489382 and so death spread to all men i489383 because all sinned-- ground 1 i489405 i489406 i489384 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, i489385 but sin is not counted where there is no law. negativepositive 2 i489407 i489386 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, i489387 even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. concessive 2 1 ideaexplanation 1 i489408 i489409 i489388 But the free gift is not like the trespass. i489410 i489389 For if many died through one man's trespass, i489390 much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. conditional 2 ideaexplanation 1 i489411 i489391 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. i489412 i489392 For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, i489393 but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. negativepositive 2 ideaexplanation 1 i489413 i489394 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, i489414 i489395 much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness i489396 reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. actionresult 2 conditional 2 i489415 i489416 i489397 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, i489398 so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. conditional 2 i489417 i489399 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, i489400 so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. conditional 2 ideaexplanation 1 progression concessive 2 1 1 1 esv 25 a 50 discourse