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unpacked the way that God has displayed his love for them through the work of His Son. He began with
the context he has already explained in the preceding chapters. What Christ has done for them he did
while they were captured in their ungodly sin. The problem they could not solve, he solved. He died to pay
the penalty that the sin of his enemies required if they were going to be saved (v.6-8). This reality has
significant, eternal consequences for them and us. First, the justification of sin was accomplished through
the shedding of Jesus’ blood in his death. That justification is a past work that they appropriate by faith in
the one who gave himself for them (v. 9). It is not something that is promised to happen, the act that
justified has already taken place at a specific point in time at a specific place in history. As a result, they
are reconciled (brought into a peaceful relationship) with God and are no longer the objects of God’s
wrath against sin (v.10). In Jesus’ death they were saved from sin, in his resurrection they were given life
that is to be lived in a worshipful walk with God (v.11). Such are the broad brushstrokes of how God has
displayed the glory of His love through the saving work of His Son.

How Jesus compares to Adam

With the broad outline of salvation before his readers, Paul proceeded to fill in some of the details of how
and why God has done what He has done in saving a people for His name. He began by taking them all the
way back to creation to compare the new man, Jesus, with the first man, Adam. This comparison is going
to provide the foundation from which the question, “How can God accept Jesus’s death as payment for
my sin?” can be adequately answered. He made two points in the final two paragraphs in this chapter that
help provide the answer to that question.

Sin and its consequence of death entered into God’s creation by means of Adam’s transgression before
any law was given. (Romans 5:12-14)

In Genesis 3, Moses told us about the entrance of sin and death into the experience of God’s image-
bearers, Adam and Eve. It is to that event that Paul returned to remind his readers that Adam’s sin had
and has far-reaching consequences for all people. That sin brought death and that sin was contagious and
spread to all people who were ever born. Some might say, “That is not fair! Why should I suffer for
Adam’s sin?” Ultimately Paul’s answer is that it is our connection to Adam and the passing on of his sin
nature to us stands as the type — the pattern for the passing on of Christ’s righteousness to us. The
imputation of one man’s (Adam) sin to us sets up the imputation of another man’s (Christ) righteousness
to those who trust in Him.

The obedience of Jesus in dying for sin is sufficient to justify all men and provides eternal life to those who
trust in Him. (Romans 5:15-21)

The contrastive conjunction “but” begins the next paragraph. In that paragraph Paul pointed to the fact
that the gifts that graciously come through the work of Christ are much greater and more powerful than
the consequences of the transgressions of Adam that were passed down to us. Righteousness before God
is described in this paragraph as a “free gift” (v. 15, 16, 17) that is given as an act of God’s grace to those
who trust in Christ. That grace is centered in a person. That person is Jesus the Messiah of Israel.
To understand the impact of these things we must follow the logical flow of the truths that Paul laid out
for us in this text. One man’s (Adam) trespass brought death to all men (v.15), but God’s grace was also
given through one man (Jesus Christ) (v.15). The trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift brought
justification (v.16). Since death reigned because of the trespass, life now reigns because of the free gift of
Christ’s righteousness. Therefore, just as one trespass led to condemnation and death, so one act of
obedience made many righteous before God and leads to eternal life. (vv. 18-21).
Undergirding the logical flow of this passage is the truth that as Adam lived as the representative of all
people and his sin impacted all, so also Jesus Christ lived as the representative of all people and his
obedience to the will of the Father that resulted in his death and resurrection paid the penalty for all sin
and brought life to all who entrust themselves to him.

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