Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons


Romans

Sin and forgiveness. 5:18-21

[Seed logo] Introduction
      In chapter 5:12-21 Paul explains how Christ's saving death has affected all humanity. Paul does this by comparing the saving work of Christ with the condemning work of Adam. He begins this comparison in v12, but then in v13-17 he qualifies it. Finally, in v18, he makes the comparison, repeats it in v19, and then in v20-21 notes the part the law plays.

The passage
      v18. Paul resumes the comparison between the condemning work of Adam and the saving work of Christ which he had introduced in v12. His point is simple, just as Adam's transgression has led to the condemnation and doom of all humanity, so Christ's work of acquitting sinners before God, by means of his atoning work on the cross, has led to eternal life.
      v19. The point made in verse 18 is repeated. Just as Adam's disobedience has affected all, so Jesus' obedience has affected all. As one man's disobedience made all humanity sinners, so one man's obedience (ie. Jesus' sacrifice on the cross) has made justification (ie. divine acquittal consisting of the gift of an eternal right-standing before God) possible for all humanity. We are all sinners because of Adam's sin in the sense that sin, having entered the human race through Adam, now prompts an innate tendency toward living a sinful life. Yet, on the other hand, we are accounted righteous in God's sight through Jesus' obedience - his conformity to the will of God, his submission to the cross. The righteous standing that belongs to Jesus becomes ours when we link ourselves with Jesus, when we incorporate ourselves with Jesus. In Jesus we are counted righteous. The NIV actually says that in Jesus "we are made righteous." Most commentators suggest that the word "made" is best understood as "declared". That is to say, although we are still unrighteous in our actual state, we are "constituted righteous" as far as our eternal standing is concerned in the presence of God. It is dangerous to push "made" in the sense of possessing a righteous state, since the old Adam is with us till the day we die. Still, if God declares us righteous, then we are righteous. The eternal reality of our righteous status is such that we can properly say we are eternally "ranked as being righteous", Heinz Cassirer.
      v20-21. Paul now clarifies his argument by explaining the function of the Law of Moses in the business of condemnation and reconciliation. The Law was added to increase human transgression, yet where sin increased, God's grace overflowed all the more in the gift of righteousness (justification - God's declaration of right standing in his sight) for sinners, and thus, as a consequence, eternal life (peace with God, reconciliation) through Christ. The Law of Moses came many years after Adam. When it came it served to show up sin for what it is, and so made sinful acts conscious and willful acts of disobedience against God. Yet, as this rebellion against God continued, culminating in the rejection and crucifixion of Jesus, so also the grace of God overflowed all the more from this very act of ultimate evil. This served to displace the reign of sin, resulting in death, with the never-ending reign of God's undeserved favour. God's favour (his grace) is seen in the gift of right-standing in his sight, which gift results in eternal life.

Made righteous
      The Bible tells us that Jesus identifies himself with sinners through his death on the cross. He makes himself one with us so that he can stand before the judgement throne of God on our behalf.
      It is interesting how often people describe their near death experience as if they have entered a temple of light and there before them sits ...... well, lets say "the Ancient of Days." My father actually had such a near-death experience during an operation. As he put it, "I saw the temple of light and He beckoned me." In reality, the stare of the Ancient of Days would destroy us in a moment, but if we hide behind Jesus then he sees only the righteousness of his Son rather than our sinfulness.
      We can stand approved before "the Ancient of Days" if we share the righteousness that belongs to Jesus. Through faith in Christ we are incorporated in, united with, Christ, and so in Jesus we can receive the long-promised blessings of God, "well done thou good and faithful servant." In Jesus we are treated as faithful sons of God.
      Thankfully, the stare of the Almighty does not pierce the goodness of Jesus.

Discussion
      1. What did Adam's disobedience achieve, and what did Jesus' obedience achieve?
      2. Discuss the meaning of the phrase "made righteous".
      3. What is the function of the Law of Moses?
     


Notes

Textual notes   Abbreviations,   Bibliography
 
      Paul's letter to the Romans is an exposition of the gospel set against law-bound believers (mainly Jewish believers - judaizers, the circumcision party) who regard submission to the law (primarily the law of Moses) as the means of maintaining and/or advancing their standing before God. For Paul, this heresy (nomism / pietism) not only undermines the substance of the gospel, but actually undermines a believer's standing before God, a standing which rests wholly on the covenant faithfulness of God appropriated through faith in the person and work of Christ.
      Paul, having stated his thesis in 1:16-17, that right-standing in the sight of God (covenant compliance) is appropriated through faith, proceeds in 1:18-2:11 to establish the universality of sin, reminding self-righteous Jewish (law-bound) believers ("the weak", 15:1) that they too are infected by the stain of sin, 2:1-5, the consequence of which is divine condemnation, 2:6-11. Then, in 2:12-29, Paul examines the place of the law in the righteous judgment of God, making the point that those Jewish believers who have retained their standing under the law, even though circumcised, actually break the law and thus face the curse of the law and the "wrath and fury" of God's condemnation. In 3:1-8 Paul answers two objections to his rather negative view of the standing of Jewish believers under the law, namely, that he devalues the covenant/law and that he promotes libertarianism. Then, in 3:9-20, Paul drives home his conclusion, namely that the human condition of universal sin and its consequence is not avoided by submission to the law, for the law only serves to make sin more sinful. In 3:21-30 Paul draws a conclusion from his argument so far. When it comes to the covenant faithfulness of God, whether in judgment or vindication, there is no "distinction" between a person under the law, or a person outside the law. All have sinned and stand condemned, and all who believe are justified, and this because they rest, not on their own faithfulness, but the faithfulness of Christ - his "sacrifice of atonement." So, for believing Jews, like Paul, there is no ground for "boasting" about their faithfulness under the law, for a person is judged in the right with God ("justified") by faith and not by obedience. From 3:31 to 4:25, Paul explains, with reference to the life of Abraham, how his gospel of right-standing in the sight of God by faith does not "nullify" the law, rather, it "fulfills" the law; faith "fulfills / completes" the justification to which the law of Moses pointed. Then in 5:1-11 Paul draws together the consequence of his argument so far, namely, a believer's "reconciliation with God."
      Having dealt with the business of standing right before God, Paul, in 5:12-8:39 examines the business of living right before God, of possessing the fullness of life which belongs to those who are in Christ. In 5:12-21 Paul explains how "Christ's saving death has affected all humanity", Dumbrell. Christ's death has overcome the curse of Adam's sin. This truth is exegeted by comparing the disobedience of Adam with the obedience of Christ. The consequences of both acts are beyond comparison, for sin leads to eternal death, but grace in Christ leads to eternal life.
      In 5:18-21, our passage for study, Paul makes the point that just as all humanity participates in Adam's disobedience and its consequence, so may all participate in the obedience of Christ and its consequence, namely right-standing before God.
      In v20-21, Paul notes the place of the law in the Adam/Christ dichotomy, identifying the Torah ("law") as the divine mechanism of exposing Israel's standing with all humanity under sin. The Torah identifies sin as sin and magnifies its consequences ("the curse of the law"). Having "entered / penetrated / arrived", the law then undermines any notion that sin can be restrained by an effort of the will. So, the law exposes us as sinners under the condemnation of death, but God's grace in Christ is far more powerful. The atoning work of Christ has conquering sin and provided access to eternal life.
      The reader will note that these two verses play a significant role in the debate over the new perspective on Paul. New perspective commentators tend to see the Torah as a mechanism designed to sanctify the national life of Israel for the maintenance of the covenant and that for the faithful remnant, it performed this role. For Gentile believers in Christ, the indwelling compelling of the Spirit supersedes this role, which truth drives Paul to have "works of the law" lifted from Gentile believers. Yet, in these two verses, Paul is quite adamant that the divine purpose of the law is to expose the human condition of loss, a loss shared by Israel.
      Romans 5:12-21 serves to contrast the universal loss caused by Adam and the universal salvation achieved by Christ, a contrast between sin and grace. In verses 20-21, Paul notes the relationship of the law to Adam and Christ. In unequivocal terms he ties law to sin, not grace, such that law remains independent of grace (law but exposes our need for grace), and he identifies the divine purpose of the law in terms of exposing the human condition of sin, death and judgment.
      Paul has much more to say on the issue of the law and as far as I can tell, his critique is against the notion that the law serves to maintain the covenant - restrain sin and advance holiness (progress sanctification). The law never served this end. Righteousness before God has always rested on faith, a faith like Abraham's, it has always rested on a reliance upon the promises of God, upon God's covenant fidelity. Righteousness, both in being right before God, and doing right, has always rested on faith, not law. Paul's gripe is particularly focused on those believers who have adopted the pharisaic heresy of nomism, the notion that the law restrains sin and progresses holiness and therefore secures and/or advances a person's standing before God. Only faith in Christ can do this. To return to the law is to undermine a believer's standing before God.

      As noted in previous studies, Paul may have used a chiastic structure (a ring composition) for his argument in chapters 5-8. It is important to consider the possibility as it can improve our understanding of the flow of Paul's argument:
        A. Assurance of future glory, 5:1-11;
          B. Basis for assurance - the work of Christ, 5:12-21;
            C. The problem of sin, 6:1-23;
            C'. The problem of sin and the law, 7:1-25;
          B'. Basis of assurance - the work of Christ through the Spirit, 8:1-17;
        A'. Assurance of future glory, 8:18-39.

v18
      Paul restates the comparison between Adam and Christ commenced in v12 and completes it in this verse.
      ara oun "consequently" - so therefore. Serving as an emphatic "therefore".
      wJV ..... ouJtwV - "just as .... so ...." - Forming a comparative clause.
      dia + gen. "-" - through, by means of [one trespass]. "Through the lapse of one / through one lapse", Morris.
      eJnoV paraptwmatoV "one trespass" - Adam's sin, although note, it is unclear whether Paul intends "one man's sin" or "one sin."
      eiV "result" - to. Here probably expressing result, obviously not purpose, and so helping to provide the verbal element of sentence, as NIV. The sentence in Gk. has no verb. The result of the one sin is the condemnation of all mankind.
      katakrima (a atoV) "condemnation" - Guilty and thus subject to punishment. Used 3 times in NT. The prefix strengthens the sense of judgment, so "condemnation", even "punishment", BAGD.
      dikaiwmatoV (a atoV) "[one] act of righteousness" - righteous act / judicial sentence. Most commentators opt for "just deed / righteous act", cf. Moo, which nicely balances the sinful act that led to condemnation, but elsewhere in the NT the word carries the sense of "judicial sentence / ordinance." If this sense is followed we head toward a tautology, since "justification" ("judicial sentence [resulting] in/to justification") is itself a judicial sentence. Morris suggests "sentence of justification", "justificatory sentence", Godet. Moo points out that the word used for "justification" in this verse is not the one usually chosen by Paul. So, dikaiwsiV ("justification") may just mean here "right standing before God" rather than the act of declaring/making right before God. This possibility deals with the tautological problem. "Just as a single transgression resulted in a condemnation extending to all men, so one acquittal results in a life giving justification extending to all men", Cassirer.
      dikaiwsin (iV ewV) "justification" - justification, put in a right relationship with / right with, or being right with. See above.
      zwhV (h) gen. "life" - [to justification] of life. The genitive is probably epexegetic, explaining something about "justification", it "leads to / issues in life", Morris, so also Zerwick, Turner. Possibly appositional, "justification which is life"; or expressing result, "this righteous status has life, eternal life, as its result", Cranfield, so also Murray, Moo, cf. BDF 166; even possibly descriptive, "a life-giving justification." "This justifying, by which God was true to his nature and his covenant promises, leads to and reflects a life of ultimate triumph for all people in Christ", Dumbrell.

v19
      This verse is an uncluttered restatement of v18.
      wJsper ..... ouJtwV "just as ... so ..." - Forming another comparative clause.
      thV parakohV "the disobedience" - Used rather than "sin / trespass" and promoting a balance with Christ's "obedience", presumably his submission to the cross.
      katestaqhsan (kaqisthmi) aor. pas. "were made" - "Constituted".
      katastaqhsontai (kaqisthmi) fut. pas. "will be made" - The legal / "forensic flavor" of this word should be noted; not just "made", but rather, "people are inaugurated into the righteous state", Moo. A logical future tense, rather than predictive, cf. Fitzmyer; "by one man's obedience the rest of mankind can be constituted righteous", Barclay.
      dikaioi adj. "righteous" - "Righteous" in a legal sense, not moral, "ranked as being righteous", Cassirer.

v20
      In 5:12-19, Paul has established the universality of sin and presumably he now wants to include Israel in this state of loss, identifying the Torah ("law") as the divine mechanism of exposing Israel's standing with all humanity.
      nomoV "the law" - Presumably the Torah, the law of Moses.
      pareishlqen (pareisercomai) aor. "was added" - Added at a later date. Not "come / enter between", as if standing between Adam and Christ, nor "snuck in" as if the law deceptively came, so Dunn, rather simply "arrived / penetrated / entered." "The law has been added to the nexus of sin and death that was initiated with and by Adam", Hofius.
      iJna + subj. "so that [the trespass might increase]" - Forming a purpose clause explaining the intended aim of the addition of the law. The law was given in order to Increase the awareness of sin (make it visible) and increase the reality of sin (make it more sinful by making it a conscious act of disobedience). The law does not prompt obedience, nor does it actually damn us, since we are already damned. "The law compels sin to demonstrate its full power and greatness by arousing within us sleeping sinful passion and by kindling the latent epiqumia (desire, longing) directed against God", Hofius.
      pleonash/ (preonazw) aor. subj. "might increase" - Increase in what sense? i] The law serves to increase the number of actual transgressions against God's revealed will exponentially starting with the one command, don't eat the apple, to the many commands of the Torah, so Dunn, Godet; ii] The law encourages legalism and therefore leads to damnation, so Bultmann; iii] The law serves to heighten our awareness of what constitutes sin and therefore our state of loss; iv] The law serves to increase the seriousness of sin by making it "transgression", "rebellion against the revealed will of God", Moo. Something like [iii] or [iv] is best.
      ou| de "but where" - Most likely introducing a conditional sentence, rather than local, as NIV. "But when sin increased, then grace ...."
      uJpereperisseusen (uJperperisseuw) aor. "[grace] increased all the more" - Sin and law together are a potent power for loss, but God's grace is more than able to overpower them. The superlative sense is best expressed, "grace super-increased / super abounding grace", Moo; "superabundant grace", Morris.

v21
      iJna + subj. "so that" - Forming a purpose clause. "Grace increased all the more in order that ... grace will reign [replace the reign of sin]"
      wJsper .... ouJtwV "just as ..... so .." - even as. Comparative clause: comparing the reign of sin and death with the reign of grace through righteousness unto life.
      hJ aJmartia "sin [reigned]" - The power of sin took control, "established its reign", NEB.
      en + dat. "in [death]" - Possibly expressing sphere, "in the sphere of / dominion of death", Moo; or possibly means, "by means of"; or accompaniment, "with; or instrument, "through", "sin used death as the instrument of its tyranny", Barrett. It is also possible that the proposition is used here for eiV = movement toward, "to death", "sin reigned such that all come to death." "Sin exercised its kingly rule by bringing death (spiritual and physical)", Cassirer.
      basileush/ (basileuw) aor. subj. "[grace] might reign" - The eschatological note here can be captured by "will reign", although grace reigns now. Sin may exercise its kingly rule and bring death, but "super abounding grace" exercises its rule and brings life.
      dia + gen. "through" - through, by means of. A purpose clause would make sense, although the preposition would normally be followed by an acc., and even then such usage is rare, "in order that they might receive the gift of justification that results in eternal life", Hofius. None-the-less, the more likely "through / by means of" is best. Super abounding grace exercises its rule "by means of" righteousness and as a consequence, brings life eternal.
      dikaiosunhV (h) "righteousness" - As always, there are many possible meanings: "conduct that reflects the New Covenant relationship", Dumbrell; a "status of righteousness", Cranfield; "the gift of righteousness", Osborne, Schreiner (Schreiner includes both the forensic gift of a righteous status along with a grace-produced righteous living); Imputed ("donated") righteousness, Murray; "uprightness", Fitzmyer. The chances are that as the grace is God's, so the righteousness is God's, ie. "righteousness" as his "covenant fidelity", his determined action-plan, in Christ, to gather a people to stand right with him for eternity, to justify a people for himself in union with Christ. "So grace might also exercise dominion through [the gift of] justification leading to eternal life", NRSV.


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