9Therefore, to much more, having been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him, 10for, if being enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, to much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life, 11and not only [that], but [we are] also ones reveling in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
12Therefore, just as the sin (and the death through the sin) entered into the world through one man, thus also the death passed into all men because all sinned, 13for sin was being in [the] world until law (but sin is not being imputed to ones not being of law), 14but the death reigned from Adam until Moses, even upon the ones not sinning upon the likeness of the trespass of Adam, who is a type of the One about to [be]; 15but the free gift [is] not as the sin, for if the many died by the sin of the one, to much more the grace of God and the gift by grace abounded into the many by the one man, Jesus Christ, 16and the gift [is] not like [that which is] through [the] one who sinned, for on the one hand, the judgment [is] out of one into condemnation, but the free gift [is] out of many sins into justification (acquittal); 17for if the death reigned through the one by the sin of the one, to much more will those ([the] ones receiving the abundance of the grace and the gift of justification) reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 18Consequently, therefore, as through one sin into all men into condemnation, thus also through one act of righteousness into all men in justification (acquittal) of life. 19Just as the many were made sinners through the disobedience of the one man, thus also the many will be made righteous ones through the obedience of the One, 20but law snuck in in order that the sin might abound, but the grace overflowed when the sin abounded, 21 in order that just as the sin reigned by the death, thus also the grace might reign through the righteousness into eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Here we are again looking reality in the face. As I have noted before, the Gospel it turns out is not just the Christian religion’s “neat and tidy way to go to heaven.” It is reality. To ignore or deny the truths presented in Romans 5:12-21 is to deny the very world into which you and I were born and in which you and I not only live our lives but wherein we die as well.
Consider death itself. Why does there have to be death? I am sure an evolutionist would explain something about how organisms accumulate broken cells (or something) until their body can no longer support life functions. That’s nice but I still want to know why? Why does there have to be any problem at all in cell replication? And the problem is much bigger than that. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is the Law of Entropy – the law of physics that says everything is tending to disorder. Everything. The entire known universe is constantly breaking down, falling apart, decaying, and corroding. Machines don’t mature. They wear out. Mountains don’t grow up, they erode down.
Why?
Why is it that, in our world, death ensnares not only the living but the inanimate as well? Both corrode, erode, and break down. It is in no way unreasonable to ask why is death the inevitable reality of our existence?
Before anyone’s brain explodes pondering such questions, listen to what the Lord said to Adam (in a perfect, deathless paradise): “In the day you eat thereof, you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17). As I have noted before, what the Lord said was literally, “In dying you shall die.” In other words, you will die, but not only that, you will find yourself living dying. Death will become the reality in which you live your life until it robs you or that very life itself.
And so, here we are. My friends,
there really is a God and He really did create a man He called Adam. There really
was a Garden of Eden and that man Adam did sin and, in so doing, brought down
death on the entire material Creation. Humans did not evolve. The entire
(scientifically ludicrous) theory of Evolution is nothing more than a wicked
world’s way to deny a reality they do not wish to face: that this is God’s
world and we are His creation. Even death itself shouts in their ears, but they
have no eyes to see nor the ears to hear precisely because as a race, although “they
knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful,…but their
foolish hearts were darkened” (Rom. 1:21).
What if a person lived in Columbus, Ohio, but refused to believe that and instead insisted they were living in Spokane, Washington? Good luck finding the grocery store! At every turn, one would be frustrated. Nothing would work. Nothing would be “where it’s supposed to be.” That person could devise all sorts of profound theories to explain their dilemma, even become a philosopher to ponder the seeming inconsistencies of their existence. When it was all said and done, what would you call them? A fool.
A fool. There really is no better name for a person who refuses to accept the realities of the world in which they live, and tries instead to arrange their life according to some alternate theory. Yet, can anyone see that is exactly what the human race is doing? This is God’s world. We are His created beings. We did not evolve and we are not the masters of our evolutionary destiny. The best thing any of us can do is to stop fighting reality and accept that we live in God’s world.
If we are willing to accept that, the next question would be, what does that mean? Who are we? What is our problem? What is the answer? How can we be in a right relationship with this God who created us? Who is He and what is He like? Again, can anyone see that all those questions are answered in the Bible? And, in fact, to be very specific, they are answered in the Gospel.
What Paul is propounding in Romans 5 is reality.
What I would like to suggest is that this reality presented in the Gospel offers us a most profound hope. What Romans 5 is teaching is actually bright hope. Now, this reality begins, as it were, in an ugly hopelessness. It begins in a deep darkness. And what is that? God’s first man Adam did in fact serve as what is called the “Federal Head” of the human race. In other words, he represented all of us. As he made his choice whether or not to obey God (whether or not to accept reality), that choice of his would bear consequences for his entire race (and the entire created universe) over which his headship ruled.
Consider what is said: “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin…” (v.12). “For if the many died by the trespass of the one man…” (v.15). “The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation…” (v.16). “By the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man…” (v.17). “Just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men…” (v.18). “Just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners…” (v.19). Reality is that Adam was, in fact, our Federal Head, and his sin condemned us all. As it says in I Cor. 15:22, “In Adam, all die…”
I should acknowledge here that the “theologians” argue endlessly about Paul’s statement back in v.12, “…because all sinned.” Some insist the intended thought is, “…because all sinned in him,” that is “in Adam,” emphasizing our condemnation in him, the one man (which, I would suggest is the whole point of the whole passage). Others, who can’t bear the thought that we should all be condemned for someone else’s sin, claim it is referring to the fact that we all, being sinners, condemn ourselves. Personally, I wonder if the Lord didn’t leave the interpretation just a bit ambiguous, precisely because both are true? In my mind, once again, the whole point of the whole passage is to demonstrate that we stand condemned in Adam. However, that said, no one can even remotely claim that is “unfair,” that I am somehow an innocent victim of this seemingly arbitrary arrangement. The fact is none of us needs an Adam to end up condemned. I have more than my own share of sins to be condemned for. And, I am quite confident, had I been given Adam’s choice, I’d have done no better. So, I ask, what difference does it really make? Either way, I end up condemned. That is the darkness where our reality begins.
But if we would accept this
truth, then from beginning to end, we understand what exactly is wrong with
this world and with us. And, understanding what is wrong, this passage
emphasizes that what the Lord has provided for us is a hope far brighter than the
darkness of this death-infused existence. We read the glorious hope of verse 8,
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us!” Then beginning in verse 9, Paul starts saying “How much
more?” Look at the verses: “How much more, being justified by His blood,
shall we be saved from wrath through Him!” (v.9). “How much more, being
reconciled, shall we be saved by His life?” (v.10). “For if the many died by
the sin of the one, how much more the grace of God abounded…” (v15). “For
if death reigned through the one by the sin of the one, how much more
will the ones receiving the abundance of grace reign in life through the One,
Jesus Christ?” (v.17). Again and again, Paul emphasizes, “How much more!” until
he can clearly say, “Where sin did abound, grace overflowed!” (v.20).
That, I believe is really the point the Lord wants us to take from this passage. He didn’t put it in the Bible so theologians could argue endlessly. What He wants us to see is how much more He is offering us. He wants us to see that the gift of His Son is so great, it completely eclipses the darkness of sin and death and our condemnation in Adam!
What the Lord wants for you and me is clearly spelled out in v.21, “Just as sin reigned by death, thus also grace might reign through righteousness into eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!” For those of us who have received this gift, the Lord wants us to know that what we have in Jesus is something far greater than all of our sin. That was the point to start with, “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” then “…how much more…”
Even for believers, we find still the weight of our sins to be unbearable. The regrets from our past seem sometimes to suck the very joy from our souls. Then there is the constant awareness that I’m still no prize for the Lord. Like the young man exclaimed, “When the Lord saved me, He got ripped off!” We really do want to serve the Lord well, yet we live keenly aware my feeble efforts don’t seem to amount to anything at all. With a certain wise man, we can exclaim, “Who shall deliver me from this body of death???” and the answer there too is, “Thanks be to God, through our Lord Jesus Christ!” Even where our sin seems to abound, grace super-abounds. Because of Jesus, even us failures are invited to “Come boldly before the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
The Lord wants us to be constantly assured the grace we have received in Jesus is far greater than the sin and death that still seems to cling to us like our skin. Just as in this passage, what the Lord wants us to focus on is not the darkness but the light, not the death but the life, not the failure of our Adam, but the victory of our Jesus!
No comments:
Post a Comment