One Act of Righteousness - Romans 5:12-21

1:03But there are two events in world history that trump all others. Two actions committed by two men. Two acts that cataclysmically affected all of human history. One plunged the entire world into sin and death. And the other plunged all who believe into grace and life. Well, these two actions are the topic of our passage today. And just a warning: as we go through this, this passage is tough. This passage is going to make us think, it's going to stretch our minds. And I think that's part of the point. I think we're meant to think about it. I think we're meant to meditate on it. I think we're meant to consider how profoundly these two actions have impacted our lives.

2:09Last time we were in Romans, we saw this list at the beginning of chapter 5. We saw this list of extravagant blessings that belong to the believer. Unimaginable blessings, a truckload of blessings, peace with God, access into grace, hope of glory, purpose in our suffering, a guarantee of God's love, salvation from God's wrath, reason to rejoice in God. All of these are blessings that belong to us if we're in Christ. While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son. And now that we are reconciled, we will be saved by his life. That's what the passage said. And we can rejoice in God. And so, building on that foundation, Paul starts our passage today in verse 12 with the word: therefore, you know, since all these things are true, since you have all these blessings because of the death of Christ, then there is this amazing, stunning parallel between Adam and Christ.

3:24Christ has opened up a new existence for believers, Christ has opened up new life, eternal life, so that we're no longer only in Adam, but we're also in Christ. And everything is different. Now, before we jump into our passage today, I want to pause for a minute and just look at the structure of the passage. I think this passage is one that is easy to get lost in as we step through it. It'll kind of wind around and then come back to the main point. And so, I just want to pause and look at that structure. But the whole time, remember the main point of this passage. The main point is that since all of these blessings are ours because of the death of Christ, then there is this amazing parallel between Adam and Christ.

4:27Each of them have accomplished a single work. That cataclysmically affected the whole world. And if you're taking notes, I'll give an outline in just a minute, but for now, just keep your eyes on the text. In verse 12, what he's going to do is start this topic, but then he never actually finishes his point in verse 12. He interrupts himself and he pauses to make some clarifications, and then he'll come back to it in verse 18 and 19. Okay, so he starts a point in verse 12. Look at 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. Pause. He doesn't give the so, right? He said, just as this, and then he never gives the rest of it, the so, in the same way. But he will in verses 18 and 19. But first, he's going to pause to make a clarification in verse 13 and 14. And then he's going to give some differences between Adam and Christ in 15 through 17. So look at verse 13. 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. That's his clarification. Now listen to the differences between Adam and Christ. But the free gift, verse 15, 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. 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.

6:25For 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. So he's finished his clarification and he's finished his differences. And now finally, he's going to restart his main point that he started all the way back in verse 12. Look at verse 18. 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.

7:13To close the passage, he's going to give one more clarification in verse 20 and then summarize in 21. Look at verse 20. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. So that as sin reigned in death, Grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's our passage. It's a big passage, right? With a lot in it and a complicated structure, but let's pray before we jump in. Father, we pray that you'd help us with this passage, that you'd help us understand. There are things in this that are hard for us to understand, and I pray that you would help us read and understand and grow. Help us apply these doctrines and these truths to our lives.

8:05Help us be in awe of Christ this morning. Help us be amazed at the victory that Christ has won over sin and death. Help us, Father, as we read and study. Let us glorify you in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, to introduce this passage, Paul is going to introduce this idea that through the act of Adam, sin and death have spread to all men. Look at 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.

8:56Paul is bringing up the doctrine of original sin. You remember this doctrine? It's hard for us to think about. It's hard for us to stomach sometimes. The doctrine of original sin. This doctrine that says that the entire human race was plunged into death and sin when Adam sinned. We were not born yet, but still, through this one action that happened before we were born, sin was introduced into the world, spreading to all men, and death was introduced into the world, spreading to all men.

9:39You know, many recoil at this idea. I think our initial reaction can be to recoil at this idea. How is that fair? How is it fair that someone I never even met can make such a sinful decision that has consequences for me? How is it fair that he was able to ruin the lives of so many with that one decision? Well, I think we just have to trust the Lord on this, right? I think scripture gives such a clear picture throughout Scripture that God is not some kind of capricious trickster who loves the fact that he tricked humanity into falling into sin and death. No, that's not God's character at all. Of course not. We can trust that he knows what is best. That he always does what is good, always does what is just. And so, starting from that point of view that God knows what's best and that we're trusting him, I think it's easy for us to accept that Adam was this ancestor of all of mankind, that all of us were in Adam, and Adam was our representative. And were we in the same position, we would have done the same thing, would have chosen to sin as well. And I think this is made evident by what comes next. He says, So, death spread to all men because all sinned.

11:07So, before we start to say, oh, that's not fair, I was plunged into sin and death because of what Adam did, we have to pause and say, Well, wait a second, I've done the same thing my whole life. All men stand in line throughout history, ready to join in the sin of Adam. But before we've even finished puzzling out this doctrine of original sin, he hits us with another curveball, another head scratcher, that there's this apparent tension about death. Because later in verse 18, he's going to say that one trespass led to condemnation for all men. But then here, he says, death spread to all men because. All sinned.

12:02So, which is it? Do we die and find condemnation because of one trespass? Or do we die and find condemnation because we all sinned? See the tension there? Do we die and find condemnation because of Adam's one trespass? Or do we die and find condemnation because we all sin? I think that if you can accept it, the right answer is the first answer. We die because of Adam's one trespass. One trespass led to condemnation for all men. That's what it says in verse 18. And here in verse 12, the word that it uses for because is not the normal word for because. My translation says because. But the word that it uses is often something like upon which or whereupon or then all sinned. So Adam sinned, it plunged the whole world into death. Then everyone else followed and sinned as well.

13:13So this universal sin that we all take place in, all of that shows that we do deserve this condemnation as the human race, right? We do deserve this condemnation, but death is here, whether we personally sin or not. And I think that that meshes well with what we see in our experience, right? That people die before they're even given a chance to sin. Or Christ died, and of course he never sinned. So bear with me. Hopefully, I didn't lose you and all that. But if we're leaving behind that doctrine for now, let's look at this clarification that Paul is eager to make in verse 13 and 14 so that we can jump into our outline in verse 15. So look at verse 13. Paul interrupts himself so he can provide this clarification. He's just said that sin is in all the world, and death is in all the world. But he pauses to answer this objection. What about those who never had the law?

14:23Can they sin? Was sin in the world before the law came? Might seem like a strange question to us, but I think for a Jewish person, that was a good question. If you're not sinning against the law, what are you sinning against? Look at verse 13. 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 who sinned. Was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

15:08So, the main point of these verses is that there was sin before the law. That's our short answer, right? There was sin before the law, and we know that because death reigned from Adam to Moses. That all of these sinners who lived between Adam and Moses also died. So, it wasn't just the law that started making things a sin. You remember the genealogy in Genesis chapter 5, where over and over and over, what does it say? And he died, right? Verse 8: Thus, all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died. All the days of Enos were 905 years, and he died, and he died, and he died, and he died over and over, with the exception of Enoch, who was taken up by God. But everybody dies, and that's what Paul is saying. Death reigned. We know that from Scripture, even between Adam and Moses. Moses, who was given this law. Death reigned. And so we know that there was sin before the law. Verse 13 again. For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Now, what does that mean? Sin was not counted where there is no law.

16:26Well, that word for counted is like you're. Tab or something. It's added up. It's like your bill. So sin was not billed before the law came. So you might go to a restaurant and maybe you have the confidence and the financial stability to just order whatever you want without ever looking at the menu and looking at the prices. You just say your order and you have no idea what it costs and you still have this debt, right? You haven't received the bill yet, so you don't know what it is. It hasn't been counted yet, but you still have a debt. It's not like you don't have a debt to pay. And I think that's a similar illustration to what he's saying in this passage: that, yes, between Adam and Moses, yes, they sinned. Of course, they sinned. And yes, they were dying because of that sin.

17:26The wages of sin is death. There is a wage to pay. There is a debt to pay. But that it is not specifically counted before the law. Look at verse 14. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam. What does that mean? Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam. You know, a few weeks ago, On a Sunday night service, Pastor Tom went through several of the different words about sin, the words in scripture for sin. And I know from several of you who came to me afterwards and said that that lesson was so helpful when Tom went through that, practically useful. Well, I think that Paul in our passage today is actually making a distinction between two of those words for sin.

18:28Yes, people sinned even though they weren't transgressing over a specific rule, even though they weren't trespassing. He says, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam. So God gave Adam a specific boundary and he crossed it. And later, through Moses, God is going to give the nation of Israel their specific boundaries and they cross them. You have transgression in Adam and transgression in Israel, but even in between, before they get the law, though there wasn't these transgressions of the boundaries, there was still sin, and that sin deserved death. You see the point he's trying to make? In Romans 4, verse 15, he says, For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law, there is no transgression.

19:25I think he's making that same point. Yes, there is sin, and yes, people die. Because of their sin, but where there is no law, there is no transgression. They're not trespassing. So, Paul's point in this clarification, he's answering an objection, right? He's pausing. He interrupts himself just to give an introductory clarification: that yes, even before people received the law, there was sin and there was death. This has been all of human history. Sin has reigned, and death has reigned, all because of the unrighteous act of Adam. And he says at the end of verse 14 that Adam is a type of the one to come. Adam is a type of the one to come. He brings it back to our main discussion, right? Adam is this type, this imprint or example of the one to come. There is this parallel between Adam and Christ. And that doesn't mean that they're exactly the same. In fact, most of the passages that we're about to jump into, most of our outline, are differences between Adam and Christ. So, yes, there is this similarity. Yes, Adam is a type of Christ, but they're very different. And we're going to study this morning how they are different. So, as Paul distinguishes between Adam's work and Christ's work, he will show four victories secured by Jesus Christ. Four victories. That's our outline for today. Four victories. Secured by the man Jesus Christ. And the first is in verse 15: the victory of grace over sin. The victory of grace over sin. Verse 15. But the free gift is not like the trespass.

21:21For 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. Adam's transgression set into motion more than he could have ever imagined. He was being selfish. He fell for the temptation that he could be like God. He fell for the temptation that the fruit looked good to eat. He wasn't thinking about World War II. He wasn't thinking about a multitude of assassinations or terrorist plots.

22:20He was only thinking about himself. And so he deliberately trespassed over the boundary that God had given him. And through one man's trespass, many have died. One careless, thoughtless, selfish act had effects that abounded for many, for all of mankind. But Christ was the opposite, right? Christ was the opposite. He knew what he was doing. He was being careful to follow God's will. He was being selfless, not selfish. And in that selflessness, he gave a free gift. Verse 15, the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God in a free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many.

23:26So I think the main point of this first difference is that surely if Adam's work that was so careless and thoughtless and wicked, if that can have effects that abound to all of mankind, then surely Christ's careful act can have effects that abound to many. Christ is the better man, and he accomplishes a better act. If Adam could accomplish so much, surely Christ could accomplish much more. That's the phrase that he uses. Much more, much more have the grace of God in the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for many. So, yes, sin abounds because of the work of Adam, but grace abounds much more. Grace triumphs over this sin.

24:29Even in verse 20, it'll say, Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. There's no way that sin could overcome this grace because it was won by a better act, an act of obedience. It was won by a better man. Christ's free gift was much more powerful than Adam. And so now we can have abundant grace. That's the first victory: grace over sin. The second victory is righteousness over condemnation. Righteousness over condemnation, or justification over condemnation. Look at verse 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. So here we see a difference in result: that the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. So for Adam's act. Action, it was one trespass.

25:34And that one trespass led to a judgment. And that judgment led to a condemnation, not just for Adam, but for all of mankind. The condemnation for many. This is the result of Adam's action, condemnation. But Christ's action is the opposite. Christ's action followed many trespasses, a whole world history full of sins and trespasses, including the sins that got him put up on the cross. But still, he gave the free gift. And this free gift is different than the one man's sin, because this free gift does not result in condemnation. The free gift results in justification, a declaration of righteousness for the believer.

26:34The free gift following many trespasses brought justification. And this is nothing new for us if we've been paying attention as we go through the book of Romans, right? This is one of the key themes, maybe the key theme, is that we are justified by faith. In chapter one, the righteous shall live by faith. In chapter three, all fall short and are justified by his grace as a gift. In chapter four, Abraham. Believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness. In chapter 5, since we have been justified by faith over and over and over, we have faith, and because of that, we are justified.

27:16Because of what the Lord has done, we can receive this gift of righteousness. Justified before God. Well, the third victory of Jesus Christ is the victory of life over death. Life over death. Look at verse 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. Again, he's doing this contrast between Adam and Christ.

28:04Through this one man and through his trespass, death entered. And here he's saying it didn't just enter. Death is reigning. It's the same word he used in verse 14. Death reigns over mankind. No one could escape from the grip of death. Every single human can expect death before a new life is even brought into this world. We understand that that new life will someday die. If you are alive today, then you can expect that death awaits you, as could everyone who has ever descended from Adam. That's the point, right? Death has dominion. It is reigning over all men. But again, there is another history-altering act. It's not just the one act of Adam, but there is a better act committed by a better man, Jesus Christ. And if you receive, that's what the verse says, if you receive the abundance of grace that is offered in this act, if you receive the free gift of righteousness that is offered in this act, then rather than being ruled over by death, he says, you will reign in life.

29:23Death no longer rules over you. Instead, you reign in life. 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. Death has no dominion over you in this life if you become a believer. Instead, you are the one who is able to look forward to the day when you will taunt death. Do you remember that passage in 1 Corinthians? When the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality, then... And shall come to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's the same victory we're looking at in our passage today, right? The victory of life over death.

30:26The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. Christ had this victory over sin. He had this victory over the law. And he had this victory over death. So far, in our outline, we've seen three victories secured by Jesus Christ. The victory of grace over sin, of righteousness over condemnation, of life over death. And I might add that those are in the right order. He's going to summarize those again at the end of the passage, and he's going to keep that same exact order. He's going to say grace leads to righteousness, leads to life. It makes sense, doesn't it? Grace and then justification and then life. Well, our final victory regards the acts themselves of Adam and Christ. The fourth victory is the victory of obedience over disobedience. In verses 18 and 19. The victory of obedience over disobedience. And if you remember from the beginning, if you're following the structure of this passage, this is finally where he returns to the main point that he started all the way back in verse 12. He said, just as this, and he never gives the other side, now in verse 18 and 19, he will. So look at verse 18. He repeats, therefore, he says, 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 one man's disobedience, the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience, the many will be made righteous. So you can see the similarity, right? You can see the main point of this passage. You can see that just as one trespass led to condemnation for all, so one act of righteousness leads to justification for all. One man's disobedience made many sinners, and one man's obedience made many righteous. So one for many, one for many. That's the parallel. But even in showing this parallel, you can see the obvious truth that the victory belongs to Christ, right?

32:51One was a disobedience, and one was an obedience. Adam carelessly disobeyed Jesus carefully. Obeyed the law, obeyed his father. Adam had no idea what he was getting the world into. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing. Adam's disobedience led to condemnation for all. Christ's obedience triumphs over Adam and brings justification and life to those who were formerly in Adam. I know that some of you haven't stopped looking at that phrase. One act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. It sounds like universalism, right?

33:45Listen again. One act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. Is he saying that justification and life are for all men? Are all justified? Are none condemned in the end? Well, I don't think we can go there. You know, Scripture makes the point obviously all throughout Scripture that not all are saved. But even in this passage, I think that's the most plain reading because of what we've already seen in this passage. You know, already in the book of Romans, he's made it clear that those who are justified are justified by faith. And so by definition, Definition, it's only those who believe, who have faith, that are justified. It's not all. But even in this passage, he has already limited the all to those who receive this grace. Remember back in verse 17, those who receive the grace or receive this gift of righteousness. So I think that the most natural reading of this does not read universalism into this passage. Another thing that people say about this passage is that it's reading and it's teaching us about how God made the availability or the basis for all to be saved, that that's the point of this verse. That he provided for this unlimited atonement for all men, that he provided for the justification for all men. But again, I don't think that's what this passage is saying. I think that this passage doesn't say this act leads to the possibility of justification for all men. It says it leads to justification in life for all men. Okay, so if we're just looking at this passage and its context, I think the most natural and the most plain reading of this is the very topic of this passage: that all in Adam receive condemnation and death, but all in Christ receive justification in life.

35:54The point being that it doesn't matter if you're a Jewish person or a Gentile person. Or anything under the sun, all in Christ receive this justification and life. And of course, all of this language, just like all of Romans so far, has been this judicial courtroom language, you know, that's easy to tell when he's using words like condemned and justified, right? Guilty or innocent. But even in verse 19, the word for made can also be translated as rendered. So in verse 19, for as by the one man's disobedience, the many were rendered sinners, so by the one man's obedience, many will be rendered righteous. In the same way that we were rendered guilty because of the sin of Adam, we will be rendered innocent, rendered innocent, justified righteous because of the obedience of Christ. One for many.

37:01We see the victory of grace over sin, of righteousness over condemnation, of life over death, and of obedience over disobedience. But just as we had this big introduction in verses 12 through 14, he has a big conclusion in verses 20 and 21. So he has another clarification about the law. Look at verse 20. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. So, do you remember earlier he started talking about the law? His question was: Can people still be sinners if they never had the law? And he says, Yes. And so, now he's returning to the idea of the law and saying, Well, then, what was the law for? What did the law do?

37:49And he says, The law came in to increase the trespass. That word came in has a negative connotation, like slipped in, almost like a burglar or something. The law slipped in to increase the trespass. So, he's not saying that the law was something bad. No, Scripture makes clear: the law was something glorious and good for his people. It was a gift of God to give it to them. But for the sinner who is standing there and wishes to justify himself and earn his own righteousness by the law, it's the law itself that slipped in and condemned him, shown that he cannot earn his own righteousness. The law has slipped in to increase his trespass, not make it less. But no matter how much the trespass increased, where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. Grace super abounded. Grace super increased. And so, yes, Adam's act caused sin to spread, but Christ's act. Act was triumphant over that sin.

39:06Well, when you add the law to the sin, yes, that causes the transgression to increase, but still, Christ's act triumphs over even the law plus sin. Verse 21, so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So there's a new ruler. He uses this picture again. Earlier, he used the picture of something reigning to say that death was reigning over us, but now we reign in life. Now he's using the picture to say that it was sin that reigned and ruled in our life, but now grace reigns over that. It increases and triumphs over the sin. Grace reigns through righteousness, leading to eternal life. Grace, righteousness, life. Eternal life, never fading away, never being reconquered by Adam or the sins of his descendants. Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, because of his act, because of his obedience.

40:24For those of us who are in Christ, these truths are ours. This has been such a theological text to step through. I know it's been a lot. There's been so much that we have gone over, but don't forget that real theology is always practical. We're meant to dwell on these things. If this was foreign ground for us, stepping through this, then we need to pause. We need to dwell on it. We are meant to be floored by the fact that Christ shook the foundations, that he changed our existence. We're meant to be floored by that. We're meant to meditate on it and think about it, that we're no longer under Adam.

41:22Yes, sin and death abounded for us, but now that we're in Christ, abundant grace abounds, abundant righteousness abounds, abundant life abounds. We're meant to understand this dichotomy, this split. That when it comes to individual salvation, the main thing is not whether you are a Jew or a Gentile. The main thing The main thing is not whether you are an altar boy or a party boy when it comes to individual salvation. The main thing is not whether you are a good person or a bad person.

42:13If you would be saved, then this is what matters. Are you in Adam only? Or are you in Christ? Are you in Adam only, or are you in Christ? You might think that you are too messed up to be made right. And I would add to that: you're more messed up than you think. From birth, you were plunged into this world, this existence of sin and death. Hopeless. But do you really think that Adam's work could triumph over Christ's work?

43:06No matter how messed up you think you are, do you really think that the careless, thoughtless act of disobedience could triumph over the purposeful, careful, good work of Christ? No, of course not. God won't let it happen. If you come to Him and confess your sin, And ask for forgiveness. If you ask to be in Christ, then grace will abound to you instead of sin. You will be righteous and justified rather than condemned. You will reign in life instead of having death reign over you, and all because of the act of Jesus Christ. So come to Christ today.

43:56For those of you who are believers already, don't feel stuck in your sin. Christ was victorious over death, and Christ was victorious over your sin. He reversed the work of Adam. He was careful and purposeful to accomplish just what needed to be done, to reverse the sin of Adam, to pay for all of your sins, and to provide all that you need for life and godliness. So live like it. You reign in life now. So live like it. Chapter 6 will tell us how when we get there. Live like it. You reign in life. Grace abounds to you. Pray with me.

44:49Father, we are amazed at the work of Christ. We know that. Through our sin, over and over and over in this life, we confirm the fact over and over and over that we deserve death. We don't deserve forgiveness, we don't deserve life, we don't deserve grace, and yet, such a victory was won by Christ on the cross. This one act of obedience that changed everything. What a gift to us, Father. And I pray that you would help us dwell on these things. I pray that you'd help us slow down to think about this parallel between Adam and Christ and to think about how much greater, how much more your grace abounds through Jesus Christ.

46:09We thank you, God, for these timeless truths. I pray that we would let them impact our weeks, let them impact our day today, let them impact our life as we dwell on these things. In Jesus' name, amen.