(Gen 3:19) By the sweat of your browThe penalty for the disobedience of Adam and Eve is that they and all their descendents would return to dust. They would experience physical death. This penalty continues to apply to us today.
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return."
Adam's sin brought natural death upon the whole human family, but nothing more. The punishment which we incur through Adam terminates at death. If men are punished after death, it is not because of Adam's, but because of their own individual sinsThe salvation that Jesus brings resolves all the outstanding charges by God against man. So how does it affect the penalty of death that comes to all the descendents of Adam? Beginning in Romans chapter 5, Paul explained how in Jesus we are rescued from the permanent consequences of this penalty. He began his explanation in verse 12, then took a detour to explain some concepts, and came back to the explanation in verse 18. First we will look at Paul's overall point from the beginning and end of this section, and then we will return to look at the explanation inserted in the middle.
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--In a parallel passage, Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
...
Rom 5:18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.
Rom 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
1Co 15:20-22 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.Through Jesus, in additon to the gift of righteousness through faith, we also receive the resurrection from the dead. The penalty of death, which comes to us through the universal fall of man, is overcome by resurrection through Jesus Christ.
Rom 5:13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.Here Paul was trying to help the Jews, who were looking at everything through the eyes of the Law of Moses. To them, it seemed that all the promises and all the penalties from God were under the umbrella of the Law. To clear up that misunderstanding, Paul pointed out:
Rom 5:14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
Rom 5:15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
Rom 5:16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
Rom 5:17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Rom 5:20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,Law was given "so that the trespass might increase." In other words, it shines a spotlight on the sin so that it becomes obvious, and to increase our accountability. Law makes it clear what God expects, so that when we disobey we are all the more responsible as a result. Law leaves us with no excuse. We are forced to admit that we are sinners.
Rom 5:21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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