Vs 6: For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Reading these verses is like breathing in His grace. My heart fills with tears of thanksgiving and joy for our God’s indescribable gift to us of His Son. God not only says He loves us, He demonstrates that love toward us by sending His Son to die for us when we were still His enemies...when we were weak and helpless. We are saved from God's wrath and reconciled to God in Christ.
Vs 7: For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
I have no idea as to whether I would have the moral courage to suffer and die for a “good” person and I definitely find it pretty hard to contemplate suffering and dying for an enemy...and yet that is what God in His humanity did for me and for you.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!—1 John 3:1
Vs 8: But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
I have heard it said that this is one of the most beloved verses in the Bible. God has proved His love for us and that makes Him worthy of our worship and our trust.
Vs 9: Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him
Those who have been justified or pronounced righteous are also delivered from God’s wrath at the final judgment. Those who are justified in God's eyes, through faith in what Christ has done, will never suffer God's wrath for their sin. We have been declared "not guilty," and we will not be condemned.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,—Romans 8:1a
As much as we are amazed at the justification we have in Christ, how much more will we stand in awe when we realize the magnitude of God’s wrath from which we have been saved.
Vs 10: For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
On reconciliation...
Colossians 1:21-22 says:
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation” (Colossians 1:21-22 NIV).
Because of Christ’s death, we are reconciled—our proper relationship with God has been restored. We are no longer His enemies. We are now at peace with God...we are His friends. We love Him because He first loved us. We are not only reconciled though! We are also saved by His life! Our Jesus always lives to make intercession for us. Jesus Christ the Righteous is our Advocate before our Father in heaven.
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.—Hebrews 7:25
It is He who preserves us through this life and presents us faultless before our God.
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.—Jude 24-25
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.—Romans 8:31-34
May I say with Paul....
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (NIV).
Vs 11: And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Knowing all that the Lord Has accomplished should fill us with joy. It brought to my mind all the blessings in the the first part of Romans 5:
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
AND that love that is poured out in our hearts is the same love that was poured out on my behalf at Calvary. This is the love that sustains me! This is the love that will see me through this vale of tears. This is the love that is my portion. The power that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me, works in me and intercedes for me.
Verse 12: Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
I inherited Adam’s sin nature because I am “in” Adam and each of us confirms our heritage with Adam by our own sin everyday.
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 5:18, ESV)
Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let that goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, oh, take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above
We all share the same sinful nature and are judged for the sins we commit. So it really isn’t fairness we need—it is mercy. So my first takeaway from these three short verses is that I am thankful for my God’s steadfast love which never ceases.
Verses 13-14: 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 those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
Paul has already shown that keeping the law does not bring salvation because we can’t keep the law...all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Here he adds that breaking the law is NOT what brings death. Death is the result of Adam’s sin and all the ones we commit even if they don’t look the same as Adam’s. Paul reminds us that for thousands of years the law had not yet been explicitly given, and yet people died. He says this in verse 20:
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.—Romans 5:20-21
Here he explains that the law was added to help people see their sinfulness, to show them the seriousness of their offenses and and to drive them to God for mercy and forgiveness. It points out our sin and places the responsibility for it squarely on our shoulders. The law, however, offers us no remedy. We must turn to Jesus and the cross for that. My second takeaway then is to thank God for the indescribable gift of His Son. Adam was the counterpart of Christ.
And so it is written, "The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.—1 Corinthians 15:45
My last takeaway from this section is that it really brought home to me the blessings we have in Christ. It made them “pop” so to speak, as I really thought about the far reaching effects of Adam’s sin. His nature became corrupted...it spread to his children’s children and all the way until the law was given and on and on...so much suffering, pain and death. And not just death temporally but death spiritually and eternally as well. But then the good news in verse 20!
But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more...I.LOVE.THAT. It brings this section of Scripture to mind and I will end with it. Paul is speaking...
12 I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service,
13 though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief,
14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.
16 But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.
17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:12-17, ESV)
One man’s offense...one Man’s righteous act
Verse 15... But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man's offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
Paul tells us here that the free gift is not like the offense. Why? Because the gift of grace overwhelms fall of man! God doesn’t just hit the proverbial reset button when we believe, He overwhelms us by crediting His Son’s righteousness to our account. Our position before Him now is fixed in a state of justification. This is now our permanent position in Him. We are accepted in the Beloved and at the moment of justification we go from death to life. Not only that, we are now the inheritors of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We stand in grace and the Spirit of God now lives in us. All of God’s promises to us are yes in His Son. He will complete the good work He began in us until the day of Jesus Christ.
Verse 16... And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
The judgment following the sin resulted from one trespass and brought condemnation, but the free gift resulted from many trespasses and brought justification [the release from sin’s penalty for those who believe].
Verse 17... For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Adam’s sin brought death and condemnation to him and all his descendants. Christ sacrifice did and will bring salvation to those who believe. Those who believe can be absolutely certain that they will reign in life with Jesus. By God’s grace this gift has abounded to many, but sadly, many refuse His offer, choosing to remain a slave of sin rather than come to Jesus and be given life abundantly.
Here Paul compares the work of Adam in bringing sin and death into the world with the work of Christ in dying for sin in order to offer God's free gift of grace to all who believe.
Vs 18: Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
Adam’s sin brought condemnation on the human race. Christ’s sinless sacrifice, or as Paul writes, his one act of righteousness opened the way for justification that brings life.
Vs 19: For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.
Adam's action was one of disobedience. He and Eve disobeyed God's direct and clear command to them. The result of that disobedience, was that many were made sinners. Adam brought sin into the world and every person born since, other than Christ (Hebrews 4:15), was born into that sin.
In contrast, Jesus' life on earth was characterized by His obedience to God, His Father. That obedience included His own death: "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:8). By His act Jesus' many would be made righteous through their faith in Him and by God's abounding grace.
Vs 20: Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
Paul had already explained that the law was ineffective for salvation, but now he says that rather than being an antidote for sin, it actually increases sin! It made everything much, much worse which was what God had intended. One commentator on the Bible reference site
“Once God gave actual commands about what to do and what not to do in this life, human beings moved from simply being sinners by nature to becoming actual lawbreakers. The existence of God's commands criminalized their sin—our sin—at a new level. Now we were all living in blatant, open rebellion. The solution to sin was not law, but grace.”
Where sin increased, grace increased all the more. No matter how much people sin, God’s grace is greater. When our awareness of sin increases, we need to ask God to help us see that his grace is always greater in its capacity to forgive than our capacity to sin.
Vs 21: so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
All you need to do in this day and age is look online at the news to see that this world is characterized by sin and death. Thankfully the age to come will be characterized by grace, righteousness, and eternal life. Today, I think, it is also very easy to see the battle of good vs evil being waged. Paul was picturing here the outcome of the war between the kingdom of grace and the kingdom of sin. Until Christ, the war appeared to be decided, because sin reigned in death. But Christ’s death and resurrection provided the decisive victory by which grace will reign. Under the reign of grace, a righteousness is declared that will bring eternal life.
