THE following are the next verses to be considered in our study of the book of Romans:
“Therefore, as thru one man sin entered into the world, and death thru sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that 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 until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression, who is a figure of Him that was to come. But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many.
“And not as thru one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment came of one unto condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses unto justification. For if, by the trespass of the one, death reigned thru the one; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life thru the One, even Jesus Christ. So then as thru one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so thru one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life.
“For as thru the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so thru the obedience of the One shall the many be made righteous. And the law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly: that, as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign thru righteousness unto eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord.” Rom. 5: 12-21.
The foregoing passage should be closely studied in order to get what it so strongly teaches. It will not be possible in these brief studies to tell all that might be written upon it, but it is hoped that something may be said that will lead the reader into still further and continued study of the great gems of truth in this wonderful book of Romans.
The apostle makes the strongest part of his argument in these verses for the purpose of showing that it was thru one man that sin came into the world, and also that thru another Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, man has the way of salvation. Sin puts the man out of harmony with the very law of his being. God created the man to do right things only, and as soon as he began to do wrong things he himself sowed in his own body the seeds of decay and death. And hence death came as both a consequence and a penalty for sin.
When Adam sinned in the beginning, he took upon himself the consequences of sin, and made it necessary for the death penalty to be passed upon him, just as the Lord told him would be the case. And being thus subject to death, all the posterity of Adam became subject to death also. “Death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam’s transgression.”
Note especially the following:
“But not as the trespass, so also is the free gift. For if by the trespass of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God, and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many. And not as thru one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment came of one unto condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses unto justification.” Verses 15, 16.
The form of expression in this passage is peculiarly strong, and also very soul-satisfying in helpfulness. The free gift is not as the trespass. The free gift is much stronger than the trespass. It was thru the trespass of the one that the many died. But God entered the arena at this critical juncture and caused His grace, and His gift by the grace of the one Man, to abound “much more.” Note particularly that the gift of God’s grace that brings salvation is much more abundant than the trespass. The trespass is bad; the trespass is very powerful, and very hard to break away from; but the gift of God’s grace is “more powerful. It is not merely more powerful, but it is “much more” powerful. God does not have just barely enough grace and power to save the sinner from the death that awaits him, but He has “much more” than enough. Then we are perfectly safe in trusting our cases to God for salvation. He has “much more” than enough power to save every one of us. He is the all-powerful God.
The same thought of the abounding grace of God is still further emphasized:
“And the law came in besides, that the trespass might abound; but where sin abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly: that, as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign thru righteousness unto eternal life thru Jesus Christ our Lord.” Verses 20, 21.
The Lord took the pains in Moses’ time to write the law out in plain characters, so that men could more closely study the principles that underlie all His moral government. And, after writing the law in this manner, He gave many additional precepts and illustrations to show the depth and breadth of His law. He showed that the law took cognizance, not merely of the outward acts of men, but that it went down to the depths of the very thoughts and motives of the heart; the law of God is deep enough and broad enough to go into the innermost recesses of the secret self, and to demand that the very roots of sin be taken away.
This wonderful presentation of the law of God, this wonderful showing of the meaning of God’s moral government, made the sin to appear in its most abounding character. It was shown to its very depths. And as it was thus shown in its true light, the sinner would be subject to the discouraging idea that God might not be able to save him, his sins being so great. But when the sin was thus made to abound, the Lord also made His grace to “abound more exceedingly,” so that the sinner could have the substantial comfort that the power of his divine Father was more than equal to the task of his salvation.
Such are a few of the gems that sparkle in the wonderful words quoted at the beginning of these paragraphs. Study the sacred text closely for all the other rich truths that our Father would reveal to us thru the statements that He has caused to be written for our salvation and comfort. T.