CENTER FOR CHURCH ENRICHMENT

SURVEY OF ROMANS

LESSON OUTLINE 6

Romans 5:1-21

The Results of Justification in Christ

________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Story of Romans So Far!

We began our study by noticing that Romans is an ambassadorial and epideictic letter written by a “senior” apostle, Paul, who had completed his ministry in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Palestine, and wanted to go on from Rome to Spain.

In this letter Paul lays out his mission “credentials” and the gospel he will preach both in Rome and Spain.

He begins by stressing the most important aspect of his theology, God is a righteous and faithful God (Rom 1:16,17)

Paul presents the story of the fall of man, and warns the Jews not to condemn the Gentiles while they were breaking the law and sinning (Rom 1:18-3:20)

He then shows the urgency for the gospel and what people need to know before they can understand grace: the whole world is under the power of sin, and the law of Moses is unable to save them, for the purpose of the law (Torah) was to instruct people regarding the nature of sin, and to hold them accountable for sin (Rom 3:9-20).

Having presented the fallen state of all men, Paul argues that since all men have sinned, justification for all men can be found only in the grace of God and faith in Jesus Christ Rom 3:21-31).

Since the law (Torah) can save no one, then all men, Jew and Gentile alike, can be saved and justified only by God’s Grace and through faith in Jesus Christ.

God makes no distinction in regard to justification, all men are treated the same!

In answer to perceived questions the Jews might have regarding Paul possibly dispensing with the law (Torah) and God’s calling (election) of Israel, Paul argues that in fact he is not destroying the law, but upholding it by emphasizing its proper role. 

Neither was he ignoring the election of Israel by stressing that no one can be justified by law keeping, for Abraham, who God originally called, and thorough whom Israel (and the Gentile) were chosen by God, was chosen by God long before the Torah and circumcision were given, and that Abraham was declared righteous because of his faith alone, and not because he kept the Torah (for the Torah had not yet been given in the days of Abraham).

In this lesson Paul will demonstrate the superiority of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ over attempts to be righteous by Torah keeping.
 

The Wonderful Results of Justification by Faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1-11)

Notice the “therefore” at Rom 5:1 which ties the point Paul is making back to the power of our justification, namely, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom 4:24, 25).

The law of Moses is unable to save us!  It can only can only clarify sin and indict us.

The only power to save and justify sinners (which defines all of humanity [Rom 3:9; 19, 20]) is God’s grace and His powerful work in the death and resurrection of Jesus, and in our faith in Jesus and God’s working.

1. Because we understand the power of our justification by faith in Jesus, we have peace! (Rom 5:1).
   All Attempts to be justified by our works and efforts will only lead to guilt and frustration, for we will never be able to live perfectly and above sin.
   It is only by God’s gracious forgiveness that we can have any peace!
   We have access to God’s grace only through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 5:2).It is only in God’s grace that we can stand firm (Rom 5:2) and have any hope of redemption and sharing his glory [presence in heaven] (Rom 5:2).
2. This peace comes through the access we have through Jesus Christ into God’s grace in which we stand firm (Rom 5:2).
3. There is a textual variant in Rom 5:2 that bares our attention.  This variant is well attested in the manuscripts.  The variant reads “we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand.”  This is in keeping with the theology Paul has been developing in Romans.  It is though faith in Jesus that we have access into God’s grace! (Eph 2:8”For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this [salvation] is not your own doing, it is the gift of God.)
4. Because we understand these principles, we recognize we are in a most advantage position in Christ [notice the expression “more than that” (Rom 5:3, and “much more” (Rom 5:9, 10)].
5. We understand that since our hope is in God’s love (grace and mercy), we can have confidence, look on suffering differently, grow and mature in the realization that we are chosen by God, and that He has given his Spirit to “dwell” in us (Rom 5:3-5).  Paul will make much of the indwelling Holy Spirit in Rom 8!
6. At the right time Christ died for the ungodly (Rom 5:6)Since before the foundation of the world God has had a plan of redemption and justification in mind (Eph 1:3-14).
   He does things at the right time (Mark 1:15; Gal 4:4)!
   At the right time, when we (all humanity, both Jew and Gentile) could do nothing to save ourselves, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  If while we were sinners Christ was willing to die for us, and God was willing to forgive us, how much more that we are now in a covenant relationship with God as his children, through our faith in Jesus (se Gal 3:26, 27), will God be willing to forgive us and justify us (Rom 5:6-10)!
7. Because of our reconciliation with God, and his forgiveness, which we experience in Jesus Christ, we have occasion to rejoice (Rom 5:11)!
8. In law keeping there can be no joy, only guilt, sadness, and frustration!
    

Death Through Adam; Life Through Christ : (5:12-25)

Because we are not always sensitive to Jewish thinking and tradition, the next passage has been difficult to understand!
With a little help in learning to think like a Jew, we can make some sense out of it!

The contrast between what Adam did and what resulted form this, and what Jesus did and what resulted form this,  is a key to understanding the passage (see also 1 Cor 15:20-22).

We also need to understand that the Jew did not differentiate between spiritual death and physical death as though they were two different deaths!

For the Jew, death meant both physical and spiritual loss, and in fact resulted in total ruin of everything we are or stand for, especially our standing and relationship with God.

One man stands for all that we are humanly speaking, all that we are according to the flesh ¾ Adam.

Adam, the “old man”.

One man stands for all that we are by God’s grace and faithfulness, all that we are according to the Spirit ¾ Jesus.

Jesus,  the “new man” (5:12-21).
 

Death and Life; Adam and Christ!

Paul begins with the simple remark, well known by the Jew, that sin came into the world through one man, Adam.

Because of this sinful condition, death passed to all men, simply because all men sinned (Rom 5:12)!

One way of translating the Greek eph ho here could be, “in view of the fact that”, or, “in as much as”, or “since all men sinned“.

The expression “and so death spread” can be translated as “in this manner”, or “even so”.

The big question here is how do we understand death.

Does it refer to physical death, or spiritual death?

The answer is yes, to both, or even more, it refers in the Hebrew tradition to total ruin.

What Paul is in effect saying here is, “Sin came into the world through one man, Adam, and the total ruin of man, death, came about through sin.  In this manner all men through sin experience total ruin, and total ruin became a part of human experience simply because all men sin”!

The point Paul is making is simple.  “Follow the example of Adam and choose sin, and the result will be the total ruin of everything in your life.”

Rom 5:13 introduces a new interesting argument!

Notice that in all of our major translations verse 13 is set as introducing a parenthetical statement:

1. The KJV puts it in parentheses - “(For until the law sin was in the world….)”.  The KJV ends the parenthetical statement at the end of verse 17.  This view is very good and we will come back to this later!
2. The NIV, the ASV, the NASV, and the RSV begin verse 13 with a dash ---, indicating that a new parenthetical idea is being introduced.  The problem is that several of the major translations do not indicate where the parenthetical statement ends!  The ASV, like the KJV, does carry the paragraph through to the end of verse 17.
3. Carefully examine the translation you use [taking it for granted that you use one of the major English translations!] and observe where the parenthetical section begins and ends!

In literature a parenthetical statement can be lifted out of the body of the piece without doing harm to the narrative, and can then be considered as a separate statement commenting on the main statement!

It is the opinion of Dr. Fair that the KJV and ASV are correct in carrying the parenthetic statement through verse 17.

If this is correct, then the major thought Paul is developing runs like this:

Rom 5:12 “Sin came into the world by one man, Adam, and death was introduced by sin.  In this manner all men died because all men sinned --- vs. 18 Then as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men…”

The thought is that one man, Adam introduced sin and death, and one man Adam who sinned brought in condemnation for all men since all men follow Adam and sin!

Paul will then make his contrast between Adam and Jesus. 

Sin and death came in through Adam.

You will die if you follow Adam and sin!

Life and righteousness came in by one man, Jesus.

You can have life and righteousness if you follow Jesus.
 

The Parenthetical (parallel, explanatory) Argument of Rom 5:13-17

Now we can go back to the parenthetical passage, Rom 5:13-18!

Remember that parenthetical material or arguments are intended to explain the meaning of a statement made earlier!

In this parenthetical argument (complicated, nevertheless) Paul will explain this business of Adam and sin, and death passing on to all men because all men follow Adam and sin!

Sin was naturally in the world before the law was given (take for example Noah and the flood).  We know God held man accountable for sin before the law was given (take Cain for example, and also Sodom and Gomorrah!).

The point is that sin can be, and was counted even where there was no Torah or Mosaic law!

But Paul now adds that where there is no law, sin is not counted!

Is this a contradiction?

Surely not!

It might not be contradictory, but it is confusing if one does not follow what Paul is arguing about the benefits of being in Christ!

Nearly all commentators have difficulty with this passage!

Let’s run through this again!

There was no Torah law of Moses before Mt Sinai; that is, from Adam to Moses there was no law of Moses!

There should be no problem following that statement!

But there was sin from Adam to Moses and God held men accountable for their sin between Adam and Moses.

But now Paul adds “where there is no law”, not where there was no law!

Before Sinai and Moses there was no law, and yet sin was counted.

From Moses to Christ there  was law (Torah)

Now after Christ there is no law in the sense that the power of the law to kill through sin has been taken away.

In Paul’s argument, which he is only beginning to develop and which will be more fully developed in the chapters that follow, we might ask, “Paul, just where is there no law or accountability to law and sin?”

Paul’s answer would be, “There is no law for those in Christ, for in Christ Christians are dead to the law, released form slavery to the law!”  (See Paul’s argument in Rom 7:4-6; Gal 4:24, 25).

A major point that Paul will make in Rom 8 is that through Christ’s death we are freed from the demands of the law so that in  Christ “the just requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us.” 

The just demands of the law were that the Jew should not sin, that he be righteous and in a right relationship with God!

The law, however, could not deliver what it demanded!

Paul has already stated that no human being van be justified by Torah law (Rom 3:19, 20)!

He will argue in Rom 8:1-4 that what the law could not do, that is free the Jew from the law of sin and death, that is, bring them into a covenant relationship of righteousness with God, Christ has done for us!

The point is that in Christ there is no law and the consequences of the law, namely, death, in the sense that in Christ the Jew is freed from the consequences of failing to keep the law!

Paul is explaining in this section of Romans that prior to Sinai and the Mosaic covenant, that is prior to the law, death did pass to all men because they followed in the image of Adam and sinned, even though there was yet no Torah law (Rom 5:12-14).

Humanity between Adam and Moses made Adam’s choice to sin their choice, and his condemnation became their condemnation. 

The addition of the covenant law at Sinai was no cure for the human problem with sin and death! 

In fact Paul says, “The law (Torah) was added so that the trespass might increase.” (Rom 5:20)!

What trespass?  Increase in what way? 

The section has been speaking about the Adamic (human) trespass. The Jewish Torah was “brought in alongside” previously existing moral law (without which there could have been no sin). 

The Jewish Torah had more than one function in God’s purposes but the one Paul isolates here is that it was brought in to give human sin (as summarised in Adam and earlier spelled out in Rom 1:18-3:20) an occasion to show itself even more clearly. (See Romans 7:7, 13 where through the Jewish Torah sin exposed and seen to be “utterly sinful”).

This is an astounding thing to say and it was bound to generate questions from the Jews!  Questions that Paul will enter into shortly. 

At this point Paul is interested only in summarising the human situation “in Adam” with or without the Jewish Torah (law).

“In Adam” humanity is under condemnation and has earned death, but while sin was working so was God’s grace which will now be seen in Christ!

We summarize Paul’s argument  thus far.

1. Before Moses, from Adam to Moses, there was no Torah law, but mankind were held accountable for sin.
   There obviously was sin when there was no Torah law!
2. With Moses God brought in the Torah law to clarify the matter of sin, and under this law Jews were held accountable for their sin.
3. In Christ there is no law and mankind in Christ are not held accountable for sin because their sins have been atoned for by the death of Christ, and they have been forgiven.
4. The point Paul is making, follow Adam in sin and you will be held accountable for sin, regardless of whether you are under the Torah or not!
5. Follow Christ, where there is no Torah law, and there is no sin because sin has been forgiven by the grace of God!

In Rom 5:13-17 Paul will argue that the free gift of God’s grace is not like the “gift” earned by sin! 

The gift of God’s grace in Christ is life and justification.

The “gift” of Adam, and the “gift” of the Torah is sin and death!

Adam was the prototype of sinful man.
Adam introduced sin and death, this is true even under the Torah law!

Christ is the prototype of a new man!

Follow Christ and you have life and righteousness!

With the bringing in of the Torah, Adam’s sin and the human situation was seen to be even worse than at the first realized, but God’s grace responded to the worsening situation by introducing grace given in Christ (5:20-21).
 

We now return to Paul’s argument in Rom 5:12

Rom 5:18, 19.  One man’s trespass (sin), Adam,  led to condemnation for all men in that all men sinned and followed Adam (Rom 5:12).

One man’s righteousness, Christ, leads to acquittal and life for all men, the point being, if we follow this one man, Christ.

Rom 5:20.  The introduction of the Torah law did not change the Adamic situation , it only increased or emphasized the consequences of Adam’s typology.

Where the Torah emphasized (increased) the consequences of sin and the Adamic life, grace cam in to do what the Torah could not d, and gave life and righteousness.

Sin (and consequently, the Torah) reigned in death.

Grace (in Christ where the Torah law does no operate) reigns through righteousness and eternal life.
 

Conclusion!

Choose who you want to follow, Adam and the Torah which bring death!

Or Christ and grace (where the Torah does not operate) which bring righteousness and life!