Romans 5:18-19Amplified Bible
18 So then as through one trespass [Adam’s sin] there resulted condemnation for all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to [a]all men. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience [his failure to hear, his carelessness] the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one Man the many will be made righteous and acceptable to God and brought into right standing with Him.
The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.
In Romans chapter 5 Paul reveals some good news and some bad news.
The bad news is that everyone is a sinner.
And according to Paul we all have Adam to thank for that.
Adam and his Wife Eve committed the first recorded sin in the bible which was – eating fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Something God told them not to do.
They could eat of any other tree in the garden, including the Tree of Life, but not the Tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Why? Because God knew it would bring about a death.
Adam and Eve had a choice, to choose life or to choose death.
God wanted them to choose life so he told them not to eat of this other tree.
But for whatever reasons or rationale, they both ate of the fruit from the tree God told them not to.
And they died.
They didn’t die physically right away, though death was now definitely going to be part of humanities life cycle.
But they died in the sense that they died to their Creator God that day.
You see their eating of that “forbidden fruit” was an act of disobedience, it was an act of opposition, an act of pride, an act of rebellion, an act of the will to do exactly what they wanted instead of what God had commanded them to do.
The result was that they were cast out of God’s dwelling place the Garden of Eden. Their sin resulted an awareness of evil, in being separated from God.
The Word of God for His Children also tells us that ever since Adam and Eve ate of the fruit in the garden humanity has been infected with sin.
Ever since then sin has become a part of life and a way of life for some.
Sin that began with Adam and Eve is seen in their two wonderful boys Cain and Abel when Cain kills his brother.
Sin becomes rampant in the world so God has Noah build an Ark before he floods the world.
And then there is the Tower of Babel where the builders are motivated to build a grand tower to make their names great, greater and greatest above God, which is another way of saying feeding their voracious appetite for feasting on pride.
Whether we like it or not, the bible teaches that we have a sinful nature.
That means ever since birth we gravitate to sinning, we lean towards sinning, we are inclined to sin.
That doesn’t mean we are not capable of doing some good, but our tendency is to over zealously live and love ourselves first – far more than God first loved us.
Now if that’s not enough bad news there is more.
The wages of sin according to the bible is death according to Romans 6.23.
Physical death which we are all aware of.
A spiritual death which is a break in communion with God.
And for those who do not deal with the sin in their lives according to scripture there is an eternal death in a state of Christ-less eternity the church refers to as hell. So as you can probably deduce, humanity was, is in a deep heap of trouble.
Are you ready for some good news?
Hear the text again.
“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man many will be made righteous…But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Paul tells us that what Jesus did through his unconditional obedience to God is far greater than anything Adam did through his unconditional disobedience.
When Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he not only caused sin to enter the universe, but he made us sinners. Through Adam, we inherited a sin nature which causes us to sin all the live long day and night.
Because of this, trying to live a good life or by the Ten Commandments with no God or Savior or a constant reminder of our sin in our life, inevitably will fail.
We were born with a nature contrary to God’s law.
This contrary nature pushes against those standards.
Therefore, we cannot break free from sin’s grasp on our own.
We can never be good enough because our nature sets us up to fail.
Because we were born into sin, we experience everything Adam offers us:
Death (vs. 15, 17),
judgement (vs. 16),
condemnation (vs. 18),
being sinners (vs. 19),
the increase of sin and death (v. 20),
and sin reigning and polluting everything (v. 21).
But Paul’s key point at the end of Romans 5 is that the gift of Jesus has no comparison with the result of one man’s sin because it overshadows and outshines it in every way imaginable!
In point of fact, the Apostle Paul is courageous enough to dare point out that judgement and condemnation followed Adam’s one sin but the gift Jesus offers followed many sins.
If we sin because of our sin nature, try to imagine exactly how many sins we are talking about.
Every person’s disobedience from the time of Adam, until now.
That’s a lot of trespasses.
This is where Jesus’ gifts shine, because He offers them amid all of this brokenness.
Remember, Jesus offers us these gifts:
Grace (vs. 15),
Justification (vs. 16),
Righteousness (vs. 17),
Justification and life (vs. 18),
Righteousness (vs. 19),
Increasing grace (v. 20),
Eternal life (v. 21).
All of this followed many, many sins.
That’s indescribably, undeniably, unconditionally, absolutely incredible!
If under sin judgement, we are aware of our condemnation, the opposite must also be true.
Through Jesus we should know we are forgiven, righteous and holy, the good news continues, in Christ, we have received this reconciliation (Romans 5:11).
And that means what Christ has done in his obedience to God is greater than anything you have done through your disobedience.
Take a deep breath, take several prayerful and worshipful moments to stop and thank Creator God – He offers the permanent solution to sin and death in Jesus.
God’s grace is so abundant we should celebrate it every single chance we get!
Paul wrote, “Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more.”
Hear this,
The bad news is that we are hopeless “all the live long day” sinners at heart.
The good news is that God still loves us NEVERTHELESS.
The bad news is that we were powerless to do anything about our sin, the good news is that NEVERTHELESS God acted on our behalf.
Bad news is that we are “all the live long day” ungodly sinners, NEVERTHELESS God justifies us through the life, death of Savior Jesus the Christ upon the cross!
The New and Better Adam
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 5:19
Adam, the first man, was made in the image of God.
The Lord gave Adam a role unique in all creation, yet he failed to fulfill it and was sent out of Eden.
God then made a new start with the Israelites; they were called to be His people.
They displayed His character as and when they obeyed His law.
Like Adam, though, the Israelites failed in their role and were sent into exile.
Gloriously, when we come to the New Testament, we discover where Adam and Israel failed, Jesus succeeded. Jesus is what the people of God were meant to be:
the new and better Adam, the true Israel. He is descended from Adam, and He identifies with Adam’s race. He identifies with us completely, yet unlike Adam, Jesus was tempted and did not sin (Hebrews 4:15).
What we have in our Lord and Savior Jesus is the only human being who ever absolutely 100% obeyed God, the only one with whom God is always pleased.
He kept every letter of the law.
Therefore, Jesus is the one person, the only persona to have lived who doesn’t and never did deserve to be violently, lethally banished from God’s presence.
But He was banished.
On the cross, He with maximum obedience, willingly, unconditionally, faced the punishment all sinners deserve—sinners who are bound up in Adam’s sin.
All of humanity finds its heritage in Adam, both by nature and by descent.
We are born in sin and united with Adam in our rebellion against God.
There is no exception.
The only answer to humanity’s predicament?
Is for men and women to be introduced to the only person who kept the law perfectly and who did not deserve to be banished from God, but who then was obedient to the point of death on the cross so sinners may, by grace through faith, receive all that He deserves instead of bearing all that Adam deserved.
Romans 10:1-4 Amplified
The Word of Faith Brings Salvation
10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation. 2 For I testify about them that they have a certain enthusiasm for God, but not in accordance with [correct and vital] knowledge [about Him and His purposes]. 3 For not knowing about God’s righteousness [which is based on faith], and seeking to establish their own [righteousness based on works], they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law [it leads to Him and its purpose is fulfilled in Him], for [granting] righteousness to everyone who believes [in Him as Savior].
Romans 1o:5-8 Amplified
5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law [with all its intricate demands] shall live by it. 6 But the righteousness based on faith [which produces a right relationship with Him] says the following: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into Heaven?’ that is, to bring Christ down; 7 or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead [as if we had to be saved by our own efforts, doing the impossible].” 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word [the message, the basis] of faith which we preach—
Romans 10:9-13 Amplified
9 because if you acknowledge and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord [recognizing His power, authority, and majesty as God], and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart a person believes [in Christ as Savior] resulting in his justification [that is, being made righteous—being freed of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God]; and with the mouth he acknowledges and confesses [his faith openly], resulting in and confirming [his] salvation. 11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile; for the same Lord is Lord over all [of us], and [He is] abounding in riches (blessings) for all who call on Him [in faith and prayer]. 13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord [in prayer] will be saved.”
This truth of Salvation through Christ ALONE is the exact heart of everything.
Acts 4:8-12 Amplified
8 Then Peter, filled with [the power of] the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people [members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish High Court], 9 if we are being put on trial today [to interrogate us] for a good deed done to [benefit] a disabled man, as to how this man has been restored to health, 10 let it be known and clearly understood by all of you, and by all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you [demanded be] crucified [by the Romans and], whom God raised from the dead—in this name [that is, by the authority and power of Jesus] this man stands here before you in good health. 11 This Jesus is the stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which became the [a]chief Cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has provided the world no alternative for salvation].”
For believers, all that was formerly true of us found its root in one act of Adam, while all that is true of us now is the result of the absolute obedience of Christ.
In the name of God the Father, and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
O’ My Creator and Creating God,
Source of Perfect Love which will never let me go ….
This is love.
Not that you spoke words of comfort,
walked with the unclean and unloved,
shared wisdom, bread and wine,
brought healing into lives
and challenged the status quo.
This is love.
That you spoke the word of God,
walked a painful road to the Cross,
shared living water, bread of life,
brought Salvation to the world
and, in this love, died for the sake of all.
This is love.
It is a lifeless, yet soon obedient seed in Your hand
obediently being sown into the very hardest ground,
which will very soon obediently open and germinate,
which will very soon obediently blossom and flower,
and will very soon obediently spreads its sweet perfume.
Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen!
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 