Romans 5:21, commentary and pictures

Paul sets two rival reigns side by side, sin reigning unto death and grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Adam's transgression and fall brought wretchedness, misery and death, while Christ's sacrifice, humiliation and death bring life and immortality. By disobeying God's commands humanity fell under condemnation of the law unto death, and that fall called for God's grace to appear on behalf of sinners, so that without the fall the meaning of grace would never have been learned.

Grace is greater than sin, and Christ's death takes away the sin of the world and makes salvation possible. God's law is the foundation of His government in heaven and on earth, so not one precept could be abrogated or changed to meet fallen humanity, and not even the life of an angel could be accepted as a sacrifice for its transgression, but only the Son who created humanity could make atonement for him. Grace is God's favor shown to undeserving human beings, for sinless angels who serve in obedience receive His love but not His grace because they have never sinned and never needed it, and fallen humanity did not seek grace but grace was sent in search of humanity.

God rejoices to bestow this grace unto eternal life by Jesus Christ on everyone who hungers for it, not because any are worthy but because they are so utterly unworthy, so that human need itself is the qualification that gives assurance of receiving the gift. God gives righteousness by faith and by grace justifies sinners unto eternal life, for salvation belongs solely to God in that the sinless Christ is condemned so the guilty may go free and through Him death gives way to life. The verse belongs to the passage showing that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that Christ in humanity could grasp divinity and fallen human nature through faith, having overcome, could grasp the divine nature.

The verse belongs to the testimony that binds the law and the gospel into a perfect whole. That testimony is to go throughout the world so that all may discern the light and walk in the light, and when received by every opened, simple, contrite heart it gives light and understanding and gives power to become sons of God. True reception is not mere nominal faith, a theory of truth, or a legal religion, but believing to a purpose and appropriating God's richest gifts and fullness, receiving grace for grace to be pleaded for and imparted to others.

The abundance of grace does not permit continued sin, for those who are dead to sin cannot go on living in sin, and those who belong to Christ are called to purity, holiness and implicit obedience, which is the only path of safety, keeps the soul in harmony with God's laws, and leads close to the Redeemer. On that path the body is converted, renovating grace is received daily, and the believer is made rich with title to an immortal inheritance, walking as an overcomer with a title that will stand the test of law and through Christ's righteousness holding a claim to eternal life, with the heart resting on the promise of full and free salvation, imperishable wealth, and a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. God gives the grace that is unto eternal life to the brokenhearted, for when a person breaks the heart before God, God binds it up and gives that grace.