Two Men and Two Realms
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Two Men and Two Realms
Two Men and Two Realms
If you know these two men—and what they represent—then you will understand world history from God’s point of view. In fact, if you know these two men, you will grasp the essential message of the Bible.
You don’t have to know about Nebuchadnezzar.
You don’t have to know about the Medes and the Persians.
You don’t need to know anything about the Tabernacle.
You don’t need to know about Micah or Haggai.
You don’t even need to know the Beatitudes or the Sermon on the Mount.
You don’t need to memorize the names of the 12 apostles.
All those things are good and useful and even important to know. But if you want to know the heart of the Bible and the central truth about world history from God’s point of view, you only need to know two people.
When God looks at the billions of people who live on planet earth—and the other billions who lived here in the past—he sees two people who stand out from all the rest of humanity. They are representative men. The whole history of the human race revolves around those two men—what they did and what flowed from what they did.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.
And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned. For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
One man is Adam; the other man is Jesus Christ. Adam did something in the Garden of Eden; Jesus did something when he died on the cross. Because Adam sinned in the Garden, a vast result has come upon the human race. We live today in the continuing consequences of what Adam did in the early mists of recorded history.
On the other side is Jesus Christ. When he died on the cross and rose from the dead, something happened that counteracted what Adam did in the Garden. The course of the world was changed at Calvary and we live today in a changed world because of the death of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago.
Two men, two deeds, two frozen moments in time, with two vast results flowing across the generations, affecting us to this very day.
More than that, when God looks at humanity today he sees it as having two parts and only two parts. There is no “third part” or “middle group.” Everyone who has ever been born from the beginning of time down to the present hour has either been a follower of one man or the other.
You follow Adam or you follow Christ. Or to say it in New Testament terms, you are either “in Adam” or “in Christ.”
Two men, two acts separated by thousands of years. And yet those two men and those two acts have set off a chain of events that reverberates through history, touching all of us directly.
You have been touched by these two men whether you know it or not.
Paul’s burden in this passage is quite simple. He wants to compare and contrast what Adam did with what Jesus Christ did. And he wants us to understand that what Jesus did was far greater than what Adam did. What Jesus accomplished was greater than what Adam started. That’s the whole message of these verses in a nutshell. What Adam did was vast in its results, but what Jesus did was greater in every way.
Adam’s Universal and Disastrous Influence vs. 12-14
Adam’s Universal and Disastrous Influence vs. 12-14
What is it inside us that makes us want to do wrong? Where did it come from? Why are we all bent toward evil?
Romans 5:12-14 offers us the Bible’s clearest answer to those questions. In these few words we come face to face with the awesome truths of original sin and total depravity.
Where does sin come from? The hatred, the greed, the violence, the competition, the injustice, the fraud, the killing, the wanton bloodshed—where does it come from? What makes us hate one another? Why can’t we change human nature? The answer is simple: “Through one man sin entered the world.”
Death came to all through one man’s sin - vs. 12
Death came to all through one man’s sin - vs. 12
We turn from the theoretical and historical to the personal. We’re no longer talking about what Adam did long ago. We’re talking about you and your life this week. Why do you sin? Why do you repeatedly choose to do wrong?
There is an answer that lies on the surface, so simple that you may miss it. You sin because you have a sin nature. That is, you were born with an inner bent toward sin. Paul says it like this:
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
Notice the last three words—"Because all sinned.” That’s in the past tense—"All sinned.” Not “All sin” (though that is true) or “All are sinners” (equally true). The tense is crucial for understanding Paul’s point. This is not a commentary upon the current activities of men and women as they continue to sin. No, Paul is pointing back to some event in the past when “all sinned.”
This verse is pushing you and me back to the Garden of Eden, back to that fateful moment when Adam ate the forbidden fruit. In some mysterious way, you were there and I was there. In some strange way, when Adam sinned, you sinned with him and so did I.
This is the doctrine of original sin in its plainest form. It means that when Adam sinned, you sinned. When Adam disobeyed, you disobeyed. When Adam fell, you fell. When he died, you died. To say it another way, although you and I were not historically there in the Garden, because we are descendants of Adam—in his family tree—we suffer the consequences of what he did.
You Were There
You may say, “How can that be? I wasn’t there in the Garden, how could I sin in Adam or with Adam or through Adam? How could I fall when Adam fell?” Well, theologians have a term for this principle. They call Adam the “Federal Head” of the human race. Does that help? No, probably not.
Let me explain it this way. When Adam was created, he stood as the divinely appointed representative for the whole human race. What happened to him happened to all of us because in God’s eyes he was appointed to act in the place of everyone who would later come after him.
But we can even go beyond that. You truly were there in the Garden because you were present in his loins. You were seminally present in Adam because he is the father of all humanity. All of us trace our lineage ultimately back to this one man. He and Eve are the progenitors—the founders—of the human race.
So when Adam sinned, he represented us and we were truly present in him because we are directly descended from him.
All were affected even before the Law was given - vs. 13-14
All were affected even before the Law was given - vs. 13-14
The Difference Between Adam and Christ vs. 15-17
The Difference Between Adam and Christ vs. 15-17
Paul uses the “much more” formula here
Grace
First (v. 15) there is a contrast between the death of many and the overflow of grace to many. It is not just that grace and death are opposites, but that the overflow of grace is more powerful than death.
The word “trespass” means to go beyond the border. You “trespass” when you enter someone’s property illegally. It’s what happens when you deliberately break a rule. Someone may draw a line in the sand and say, “If you cross that line, you’ll be in trouble.” Trespassing is what you do when you say, “Oh yeah! You just watch me.” And you step across the line.
That’s what happened in Eden. God drew a line in the sand and said, “Don’t cross it.” Adam said, “Watch me.” And he deliberately “crossed the line” when he ate the forbidden fruit.
By contrast when Jesus died on the cross, he died for others. What Adam did was an act of total selfishness. He didn’t care that others would be hurt by his foolish decision. When Jesus died, it was totally for others. He had no sin of his own, so he couldn’t be dying for himself. His death was self-sacrificing. That’s why Paul calls it “God’s grace” and “the gift.”
Adam was thinking only of himself.
Christ was thinking of others.
Thus in the very nature of what these two men did, Christ’s deed was greater than Adam’s misdeed, even as love is greater than selfishness.
v. 16
Think of it this way. How many sins did Adam have to commit in order to bring condemnation to the world? Only one. That’s all it took. One sin and the world was plunged into darkness. One man, one sin, condemnation comes to the whole world.
On the other side of the ledger, how many sins were forgiven in the death of Christ? Paul says “many trespasses.” He doesn’t mean “many versus all” but “many versus one.”
Adam Jesus Christ
One man One man
One sin (by him) Many sins (by others)
Condemnation Justification
Which is greater? What Jesus did is far greater because his deed was “provoked” by many sins. What Adam did was his own fault, yet it affected the whole world. What Jesus did paid the price not just for Adam’s sin but for the sins of the entire human race—from the time of Adam till the end of the world. Thus the power of Jesus’ death is far greater than the power of Adam’s single, solitary sin.
Life - vs. 17
Don’t let that complicated verse trip you up. Just focus on two words: Death and Life. Death reigned. That’s our heritage from Adam. Death reigns on the earth because of Adam’s sin. That’s why the newspapers never have to reprint an obituary column. Why? Because new people die every day. Every day there is a new list because people are always dying.
What keeps the mortuaries in business? What keeps the undertakers going? Why do cemeteries stay in business? Why is it that they never run out of customers? The answer is simple: Death reigns. That’s our heritage from our spiritual father Adam. He sinned and as a result death now reigns on the earth.
It doesn’t matter whether you are important or not. Someday you will die. Someday your family and friends will follow the hearse that will lead to your grave. It happens to all of us sooner or later. It doesn’t matter whether you are rich or not. Someday you will die. It doesn’t matter whether you are a peasant or a potentate. Someday you will die. In this world, as a direct result of Adam’s sin, death reigns. Someday we’ll have your funeral to prove the point.
The next time you see a hearse, remember “Death reigns.”
The next time you drive past a mortuary, remember “Death reigns.”
The next time you pass a cemetery, remember “Death reigns.”
Ah, but that’s only one part of the story. There is a way out. There is a way to reverse what Adam did. There is a way to overcome the reign of death. It comes, Paul says, to those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and the “gift of righteousness.” That, by the way, is the whole doctrine of justification in three words. Justification means that when we receive Christ by faith, we also receive the “gift of righteousness.” It’s not earned in any way. It’s a free gift.
But notice the result of receiving the gift of righteousness. Those who receive this free gift now “reign in life.” On one hand, death reigns; on the other hand, those who know Jesus Christ as Savior reign as kings right now,
in this life and in the life to come. We live in a dying world, but in this realm of death, we may through Jesus Christ reign as kings. And in the life to come, we shall reign forever, rising from the dead, clothed with immortality.
Only God could take a slave and transform him into a king. But that is what God has done through Jesus Christ.
So what Jesus did is far greater than what Adam did.
The Choice Between Adam and Christ vs. 18-21
The Choice Between Adam and Christ vs. 18-21
We come now to the two great results that flow forth from Adam and from Christ. If you are in Adam, you have one set of results; if you are in Christ, you have something else entirely.
Condemnation or Justification 18
Condemnation or Justification 18
I think this is easy enough to see. One man, one act of selfish disobedience, with the result being condemnation for “all men.” That’s our inheritance from Adam. Because of him, we are all born “condemned.” Because of him, we are all guilty before God, deserving the flames of hell. Note that the condemnation is universal. It comes to “all men” without exception. Apart from Jesus Christ, the whole human race stands condemned by Almighty God.
On the other hand, Jesus Christ died and his act of righteousness results in justification that brings life for all men. Is Paul here teaching universal salvation? Not at all. Verse 17 clearly says that the gift of righteousness provides life for those who “receive” it. You don’t have to do anything to be condemned. Condemnation is Adam’s “gift” to you. But if you want to be justified, you must “receive” the free gift by faith.
When Christ died, he died for all men. However, the effect of that wondrous death will never be made real in your life until you personally—by a conscious choice—receive God’s gift by simple faith.
Made Sinners or Made Righteous 19
Made Sinners or Made Righteous 19
Here we have the second result—Adam’s sin results in the whole human race being “made sinners"—that is, declared guilty before God. On the other hand, Christ’s death results in “the many” (those who receive him by faith) being made righteous.
Think about it. One man commits one sin and through him enormous suffering comes to the entire world. You say, “Why didn’t God give Adam another chance? Why didn’t God say, ’Maybe you didn’t understand what I said. Let’s try it again.’ Isn’t this a harsh punishment for one simple mistake?” We would have done this, I think. We would have given Adam a second or a third or even a fourth chance. Why didn’t God do that?
I think there are two answers to that question:
1. It didn’t matter how many chances God gave Adam, he would have sinned anyway. If God had given him a hundred chances, he would have sinned a hundred times.
2. By judging him after one sin, God was able to pay for that one sin (and its terrible results in history) through the single act of righteousness provided by the death of his Son Jesus Christ.
So we are either “made sinners” (which is our universal lot as sons and daughters of Adam) or we are “made righteous” through Jesus Christ. To make it more personal, you are either “in Adam” or “in Christ.” The only question is, How does one move from being “in Adam” to being “in Christ?”
Though you are born in Adam, and corrupted through Adam, and made a sinner through Adam, the very moment you trust Jesus Christ you are transplanted from Adam into Jesus Christ. Whereas once you were as guilty as Adam, now you are as righteous as Jesus Christ. That is why you can stand before God uncondemned. Whatever is true of Jesus is now true of you.
What you need, what I need, what the world needs, is a spiritual transplant that will move us from Adam to Jesus Christ. That’s how sinners are made righteous in God’s eyes.
Conclusion - vs. 20-21
Conclusion - vs. 20-21
In Jesus Christ we have gained much more than we ever lost in Adam!
In Jesus Christ we have gained much more than we ever lost in Adam!
Our passage ends with one great principle which sums up everything Paul has been saying. When God gave the Ten Commandments, he wasn’t trying to tell us how to go to heaven. No one gets to heaven by keeping the Ten Commandments. You can’t do it because no one ever truly “keeps” the commandments perfectly. And God won’t accept anything less than perfection. He doesn’t grade on a curve. It’s all or nothing with him.
No, God gave the Ten Commandments so that we might realize the depth of our own personal sinfulness. Without the law we would go merrily on our way, patting ourselves on the back, congratulating ourselves on how good and clever we are. But let a person just once take a good look at the Ten Commandments, let him consider the words and the depth of their meaning, let him carefully scrutinize his own life, let him be ruthless in his self-examination. When a man does that truly and honestly, the only result can be, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” The more we understand of God’s law, the greater our sense of our own sinfulness.
Here, then, is the principle: In Jesus Christ we have gained much more than we ever lost in Adam! Around the turn of the century Julia Johnston wrote a hymn that perfectly captures the sense of this passage:
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.