O Romans Two Adams Part 1 Chapter 5:12-14 ne of the difficulties in understanding the Fall, especially for the western mind, is why we should be condemned because of the actions of one person, Adam. Scripture, of course, has no problem with the concept. The principle is found throughout the Bible. Those of us who are Jewish constantly acknowledge this truth in our lives. Take for example the following quotes from the Haggadah. The youngest child present asks the following questions: Why is this night of Pesah so different from all other nights of the year? 1 We tell the story of the Passover in a way that makes it easily understandable to children. Once the questions are answered, an account of four different kinds of children is presented. The exciting tale of Israel s escape would always fill the children with wonder and delight. But children are not all alike, as our Rabbis discovered many centuries ago. There are some who are very curious and ask lots of questions; there are others who are just as curious but who may be shy; in all, the Rabbis said, there are four kinds of children, each one quite different from the rest; and each needs to be told the story of the Exodus in a different way. 2 We are concerned here about the second. Another kind of child is the irreverent child. He is scornful. He does not feel as though he is part of the whole celebration. He asks his father, What does this service mean to you? he says, to you, as though he were an outsider and had nothing to do with it. This is as bad as denying that loyalty to one s own people is a sacred bond. He should be scolded and told, It is because of what God did to me when I went out of Egypt. To me; not to you; if you had been there, you would not have deserved to go forth, because you do not consider yourself part of the Jewish people. 3 Note the father s response. I went out of Egypt. We all come out of Egypt with our forefathers. It was just as if we were there in person, because we were already part of the seed of Abraham. And it is out of this same concept the God, through Paul, tells us we are condemned in the fall of Adam. I Introduction II Universal Condemnation Verses 12-14 A Through Adam Verse 12 B Even Without Law Verse 13 C Shown By Death Verse 14 III Conclusion 11 The New Haggadah, Behrman House Inc., Publishers, New York, NY, 1942, p.15 2 Ibid., p. 23. 3 Ibid., p. 25-27.
We have seen the universality of the sin problem. Nothing anyone can do will resolve the situation in which they find themselves. No matter how hard they try to live righteously, no matter what system they use to define righteousness, they will fall short of God s perfect standard. It is clear that all are sinners, all are lost, and all are condemned. But there is hope in the midst of the darkness. While we can t resolve our sin condition and of course we can t be of any help to others, God provides the answer: Christ s substitutionary payment for our sin. But all of this raises an interesting discussion about the nature of universal sin and how Christ s work can deal with it. And so the subject of these two verses is the two Adams. When I originally outlined this section, it was my intent to cover verses 12 through 21, but as I got into the lesson I realized I needed to focus specifically on the issue of original sin and the resultant universality of condemnation. It is also important to remember that the first sin was Satan s. But he is not the cause of our downfall, he was simply an element in it. We have talked of the fall of Satan on previous occasions. Now we shift focus to the first Adam. Verse 12: We must understand the reason sin is universal is because of the sin of Adam and its subsequent transmission to all humanity. Mills makes an interesting point. He believes that Eve is equally responsible in that Man is the generic name for humanity and Adam and Eve were one,therefore both were equally culpable. 4 This is an interesting idea and may have some merit, but I believe Adam is considered more culpable because he was willfully disobedient, whereas Eve was deceived. Anyway, original sin is the one and only generational sin presented in scripture because it is found in all humanity. Paul breaks the sin problem into three phases. First Adam sinned. His sin was willful disobedience to God. Adam sinned willfully. This must be understood above all else. Adam is the one who is responsible for our condition, not Eve. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Genesis 3:6). And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner (1Timothy 2:14). Again, Eve was deceived. Adam was willful. Second, the result of this sin was physical and spiritual death. Death entered the world. When we are born, we are already on the road to death. But in some ways physical death, at least for believers, is a release, for it allows us to go into the presence of God. 4 Mills, Sanford, C., A Hebrew Christian looks at Romans, American Board of Missions to the Jews, New York, NY, 1971, p. 156. ) 80 (
The second death of course is spiritual. Where Adam was spiritually alive, with sin came death and without God s intervention it is ireversible. Man is born dead. This is what makes salvation so exciting. It is a miracle. It brings a spiritually dead person to life. This leads us to the third aspect Finally, the impact of Adam s sin is universal. As the progenitor of all humanity, the consequences of his sin have become universal. Because of Adam s sin, all have sinned and therefore are in need of a Savior. However, the sins for which we are judged for are our own. We do not start life with even the possibility of living it sinlessly; we begin it with a sinful nature. 5 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in His heart: Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done (Genesis 8:21). Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies (Psalm 51:5; 58:3). All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath (Ephesians 2:3). One of the struggles we have in dealing with our fall in Adam is the western focus on individuality. Let me give you an example. In the Passover Hagaddah, we talk about the fact that we, contemporary Jews, were in captivity in Egypt. We were rescued by Moses. We crossed the Red Sea and eventually entered into Canaan. As a result Israel, is home for all Jews. That is why the Passover service ends with everyone saying Next Year in Jerusalem. We are one with our ancestors. In the same way, since Adam is the father of all humans, we are one with him. Consequently, his sin becomes part of the condition of all mankind and therefore we are born condemned. Barnhouse summarizes the response to this truth. Men hate the doctrine of original sin and seek to deny its existence, but it still stands. They substitute the theory of ascent for the doctrine of descent, but the fall still confronts them. Even if they could sweep away the indestructible revelation of God, their very deeds expose man s sinfulness. And if men deny the evidence of their senses, their own hearts proclaim kinship to death, which envelops all the race. Apart from the doctrine of the Fall, there is no explanation for the course of human history. If the first three chapters of Genesis were destroyed, the facts of history would demand that they be rewritten to account for all that has followed since the day when man turned away from God and lost the image in which he was created. Our text stands secure: By one man sin entered. 6 5 Douglas, J. D. and Merrill C. Tenney, editors, NIV Bible Dictionary, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990 6 Barnhouse, Donald Gray, Exposition of Bible Doctrines, 4 Volumes, God s Grace, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1973, p. 29. ) 81 (
The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one (Psalm 14:2-3). Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted. From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil (Isaiah 1:5-6). The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9). The resultant complaint regarding this doctrine is: How unfair that we should be held responsible for and held accountable for Adam s sin. Well, note s Harrison: If one is still troubled by the seeming injustice of being born with a sinful nature because of what the father of the race did and being held accountable for the sins that result from that disability, he should weigh carefully the significance of reconciliation as stated by Paul: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men s sins against them (2Cor 5:19). The sins committed, that owe their original impetus to the sin of the first man, are not reckoned against those who have committed them provided they put their trust in Christ crucified and risen. God takes their sins and gives them his righteousness. Would we not agree that this is more than a fair exchange? 7 Verse 13: Keep in mind, Paul s argument is a legal one. This is why he can say that even though prior to the Law sin was present, it was not counted legally. Witmer puts it this way: This does not mean that sin does not exist unless there is a Law. It means that sin does not have the character of being a transgression apart from Law and therefore sin is not taken into account (lit. imputed, reckoned ) as such. 8 Schaffer takes us back to 2:1 when he notes: those who lived from the time of Adam until the giving of the law will not be judged by the Law of Moses, but on the basis of what they knew, apart from the law, about right and wrong. They will not be judged by what they didn t have (the law), but by what they did have (their own conscience and moral standards). So all come under condemnation, for even the before the Law of Moses all were guilty. 9 Verse 14: Of course the universality of sin and our condemnation in Adam is self-evident if one thinks about it. It can t be denied. Consider the truth that no one gets out of this world alive. and that death is the product of sin. Therefore we are all condemned. This is the final consequence of Adam s sin. For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). 7 Harrison, Everett F., The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Romans, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1990 8 Witmer, John A., The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Volume 2, Romans, Victor Books, Wheaton, IL., 1986, p. 458. 9 Schaeffer, Francis A., The Finished Work of Christ, The Truth of Romans 1-8, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, 1998, p. 141. ) 82 (
Before the Law, from the creation of Adam and the fall to the giving of the Law, everyone died. Well, Enoch didn t, but that s a different story. So even prior to the Law, people still were guilty of sin and consequently died. And so Adam, though the one who brought condemnation, becomes the pattern for the One who is to bring redemption. pattern. Adam by his sin brought universal ruin on the human race. In this act he is the prototype of Christ, who through one righteous act (v. 18) brought universal blessing. The analogy is one of contrast. 10 Diodore speaks to Adam being a pattern of Christ by stating: Adam was a type of Christ not with respect to his sin or his righteousness in this respect the two men were opposites but with respect to the effects of what he did. For just as Adam s sin spread to all men, so Christ s life also spread to all men. Adam was also a type of Christ in another respect. For just as he was the head of Eve, in that he was her husband, so also Christ, being its bridegroom, is the head of the Church. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH. 11 Conclusion: In the midst of understanding just how and why we are unable to escape the consequences of Adams behavior though self- or religious-righteousness, we are shown how Adam points us towards Christ. Everything Paul is saying is not intended to discourage the lost, but to discourage them from believing they can doing anything about their condition. What he really doing is encouraging them to look to the only one who can save them Christ. This is all about God s love and mercy because He wouldn t allow mankind to stay in the hopeless condition resulting from the fall. Instead, He provided the only answer for the dilemma: Himself. We can choose to see Paul s teachings as negative. Or we can recognize them as a statement of facts and then praise God for loving us enough not to leave us stuck in our sin. Instead, He provided a way of escaping the natural eternal consequences of sin. Instead, He provided the way to receive eternal life and the joy of eternal relationship with Him. Come ye sinners, poor and needy, Weak and wounded, sick and sore; Jesus ready stands to save you, Full of pity, love and pow r. Let not conscience make you linger. Nor of fitness fondly dream; All the fitness He requireth Is to feel your need of Him. Come, ye weary, heavy laden, Lost and ruined by the fall; If you tarry till you re better, You will never come at all. 12 10 Douglas 11 Bray, Gerald, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, Vol. VI, Romans, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL, 1998, p. 142. 12 Hart, Joseph, The Celebration Hymnal, Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy, Word Music, Waco, TX, 1997, #486 ) 83 (
Romans Two Adams Part 1 Chapter 5:12-14 I Introduction II Universal Condemnation Verses 12-14 A Through Adam Verse 12 B Even Without Law Verse 13 C Shown By Death Verse 14 III Conclusion I Introduction: II Universal Condemnation: A Through Adam: (Genesis 3:6; 1 Timothy 2:14; Genesis 8:21; Psalm 51:5, 58:3; Ephesians 2:3; Psalm 14:2-3; Isaiah 1:5-6; Jeremiah 17:9)
B Even Without Law: C Shown By Death: (Romans 6:23; ) III Conclusion: Personal Application: This week let us again focus on our own opportunities to evangelize. Let s pray that the Lord will give us the opportunity to present the glorious news of hope in the midst of despair. Prayer for the Week: Lord, help us be aware of those around us who have not yet received the good news of Your gift of salvation. Let us be willing to offer the only hope for the hopeless, the only love for the loveless. In Christ s name, amen.