Romans 5:12–21 — two men, two kingdoms: Adam and Jesus

Through Romans, part 9 · Romans 5:12–21

Three words to watch

Read this section slowly and you'll notice three repeated words. One — eleven times. The key idea is our identification with one man or the other, Adam or Jesus. Reign — five times. Two men, each reigning over a kingdom. Much more — five times. In Jesus we've gained far more than we ever lost in Adam.

Adam was given dominion over the old creation; he sinned and lost his kingdom. Christ came as King over a new creation — "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jesus didn't just undo Adam's damage; He did "much more" by making us children of God. God condemned the whole human race through one man, and God was then able to save the whole human race through one Man.

Why we die (vv. 12–14)

"Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned."

Adam's sin passed to all of us. The Bible reasons this way elsewhere — Hebrews 7:9–10 says Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek "while still within his ancestor" Abraham. We were in Adam. Death came in through sin, and because we all come from Adam, we all die.

Verses 13–14 make a careful point: sin was in the world before the law, and though sin isn't charged as a specific transgression where there's no law, "death reigned from Adam to Moses" anyway — even over people who hadn't sinned the way Adam did. Even infants die. So death is not the result of the law. The law wasn't given until Moses. Death comes from Adam. We don't die because of our own individual acts of sin; we die because Adam sinned and we are all in Adam. We sin because we're sinners; we're sinners because we were born that way.

My daughter has traits she got from me. She had no say in it. Good or bad, they're hers now. That's what Adam handed us.

And men — one thing to take from this. Adam was responsible for his home, and he failed to protect it. When Jesus, the last Adam, died on the cross, He crushed the serpent's head and rescued His bride — exactly what the first Adam should have done in the garden. Crush the serpents in your home. Don't let them creep in, because they will.

Not like the trespass (vv. 15–17)

"But the gift is not like the trespass." Paul is announcing a contrast. "For if by the one man's trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many." Our account was left bankrupt by sin; now it overflows with righteousness through Jesus. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life" (6:23). "The many" here means the same as "all" in verses 12 and 18 — all are guilty in Adam, and all can have grace in Jesus.

A trespass is crossing a line. God drew a line and Adam crossed it. Adam's offense brought sin; Jesus' offering brought salvation.

Verse 16: judgment from one sin brought condemnation, but the gift "following many trespasses" brought justification. One man, one sin, condemnation for all. One Man covered every sin, and justification is offered to all. Verse 17: if death reigned through one man's trespass, "how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." We're restored to our place — "kings and priests unto God" (Revelation 1:5–6). Notice the word "receive." Grace overflows, but it has to be received.

Born into it (vv. 18–19)

"So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous."

We did nothing to receive the gift of death from Adam — we were born into it. In the same way, we do nothing to earn the gift of grace from God — we have to be born into it. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Adam's sin gave us an unrighteous standing before God. Jesus' obedience gives us a righteous one.

The old carol says it well: "Adam's likeness now efface, stamp Thine image in its place; second Adam from above, reinstate us in Thy love."

Where sin abounded (vv. 20–21)

"The law came along to multiply the trespass." The law didn't bring sin in — Adam did. The law brought the revealing of sin, so people could see how much of it there was. "But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more." Whatever sin is in your life, there's more grace than sin. When a child comes in filthy from playing, there's more water in the well than dirt on the child.

"So that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Two kings. One reigned in death; the other reigns unto life. Which one you're under depends entirely on which man you're in.

Which man are you in

You never picked Adam. You were born into him. Nobody signed you up for death, it just came with the family, and that's exactly why behaving your way out doesn't work. You don't leave a family by improving. You leave it by being born into another one. Jesus gave the obedience Adam never gave, died the death Adam earned, and rose with a kingdom in His hands. He's offering it as a gift, which means the only thing left for you to do is take it. Say so to Him today. One reign ends and another begins, and it happens that fast.

Now, the child who comes in filthy from playing. That's most of us by Thursday. There's more water in the well than dirt on you — but somebody still has to walk the child over to the well. This week, take the one sin you've decided is too old and too repeated to bring up to God again. Bring it up again. Grace multiplied more than that sin ever did, and it didn't run low while you were gone.

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