Romans 5:12-21 The Gospel - Gods offer of righteousness.

Theological Proposition/Focus: The grace that flows from Christ's death offers more than forgiveness; it provides the gift of righteousness, transforming our identity and empowering our new life in Him. This passage explains how sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and how through Christ's death and resurrection, humanity has access to righteousness and eternal life, showcasing the abundance of grace that overcomes sin.

Christ Focus: In this passage, Christ is the Second Adam, who, unlike Adam who brought death, brings life and righteousness to many. Redemptive history is fundamentally altered through Him, fulfilling God's promise to restore creation through grace, rather than through law or works.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Understanding that Christ's sacrifice not only forgives our sins but empowers us to live righteously can help Christians overcome feelings of unworthiness and guilt. It assures believers that they are not merely forgiven but are called to live in a new identity and purpose, equipped by grace.

Introduction

Image: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Normalization of Deviance: the Challenger disaster

Normalization of deviance is when people in an organization gradually start accepting small deviations from rules, safety standards, or best practices until those deviations become the new normal. Over time, what was once seen as risky or unacceptable becomes routine, often without anyone realizing the danger.

This concept was first popularized by sociologist Diane Vaughan in her analysis of the Challenger space shuttle disaster. Engineers and NASA officials had gotten used to small issues (like faulty O-rings) because they had never caused a disaster before—until one day, they did.

In life it is easy for us to fall into the practice of normalization of sin and fail to see the devastating effects of sin. In Romans 5 Paul dives into this by reminding us that it was only one sin that changed the world.

Need: Many Christians struggle with feelings of guilt and unworthiness, often forgetting that forgiveness is coupled with a new identity and purpose in Christ. We don't need to feel guilt over sin but we do need to embrace living for Christ.

When we are in a state of normalization of deviance it is easy to give up on trying instead of giving up we need to turn to Christ and seek to live in a Christ-like fashion.

Setting the Stage:

In Romans 5:9-11, Paul spoke about the personal impact of the Gospel using first-person plural pronouns, but now he moves from the personal to the broad impacts of the Gospel. God's work is for everyone and has implications for all of humanity.

Body

Sin's Spread — The wages of sin is death (12-14).

Paul begins by addressing the entrance of sin into the world through Adam and its pervasive impact. By highlighting the law's role in revealing sin, he sets the stage for understanding the necessity of divine intervention. Christ, as the Second Adam, reverses this cycle, offering a new path of life. This understanding grounds the foundation for comprehending the radical impact of grace, which does not eliminate the past but transforms it toward future hope.

It only took one sin to make a mess of everything (12).

The word that best explains Romans 5:12 is "insidious."

One sin entered the world and brought with it death, and sin spread through all mankind and throughout history up to the present, bringing death to each and every one of us.

Sin is nothing short of insidious. That is one sin changed the world. In fact, we have normalized sin so much that it is almost as if sin proceeds in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects. But we cannot normalize sin.

Sin entered the world through the actions of Adam - the story of the Garden.

From the Genesis account, we know how sin entered the world. God placed Adam and Eve in the garden and allowed them to eat from any fruit in the garden with the exception of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve took the fruit, shared it with Adam, and they both ate. As the head of the family, Adam was charged guilty of allowing sin to enter the world on his watch, and so sin entered the world through one man.

God had warned Adam in Genesis 2:17: "But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."

At the very beginning, God had told Adam what would happen if sin entered the world. Look at Genesis 2:17: "But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."

Seminal vs. federal headship is too deep into theology what matters is that we are responsible for sin.

But here is the thing: Adam's sin is each of our sins. We could get into the weeds of seminal verse federal headship and talk about exactly how the sin nature is passed down, but I think that is getting too deep into the weeds of theology. What we need to know, what we need to apply here, is the reality. Adam's sin resulted in death, and we all bear that responsibility and penalty.

Image: We are so used to mercy that we fail to recognize the severity of sin.

We live in a society that is very merciful. In other parts of the world, mistakes can have much more severe consequences.

My brother tells a story of witnessing a horrific event in one country. He watched as a speeding vehicle hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The pedestrian was hurt badly, but that was just the beginning because in this particular country if you injure a person, you must pay their medical bills and the cost of living for the rest of their life. One mistake cost this man his livelihood for the rest of his life.

All sin separates from God, but disobedience is especially offensive (13-14).

Direct disobedience is very bad as in In 1 Samuel 15:23 "For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king."

Sin is bad, but direct disobedience of God is particularly bad. In 1 Samuel 15:23, the prophet Samuel, speaking to Saul, states, "For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king."

Disobedience, rebellion against the God of the universe, is an especially heinous sin that warrants God's full judgment.

Look carefully at verses 13 and 14. Adam's sin was present, devastating, and permeated humanity prior to the Mosaic Law. But there was an interesting reality in place. Prior to the Mosaic Law, God had not invoiced sin. Yes, you heard right; I used the word "invoice." The Greek word ἀλλογεῖται, which the NIV translates as "charged," is only used one other place in the NT, Philemon 18: "If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me." It carries the idea of careful accounting—the sort of thing you would put on an invoice.

In other words, prior to the Mosaic Law, sin still resulted in death, but there was not a formal list of charges that God might bring against someone. What did the Law do? The Law formalized what was already a problem. The Law moved sin from the category of "missing the mark" to the category of "disobedience."

Our fallen failure to image God warrants death but disobedience is nothing short of rebellion.

Here is how I think we should think about this passage. We all have a fallen sin nature, and we fail to live up to God's ideal for life. Specifically, we fail to accurately represent or image God to creation. When we fail to live up to God's ideal for life, we miss the mark, and that is sin, which warrants death. But then, worse, there are times we disobey God's commands directly; this is nothing short of transgression, rebellion against God, and also deserves death.

It is almost as if the law is intended to break the normalization of deviance to get us out of the sin cycle by highlighting the severity of sin.

So, sin is sin and is exceedingly sinful, but there is something we must be very aware of: we are capable of and do directly disobey the commands of God and enter into something called rebellion.

Gift of Grace — But the gift of God is eternal life (15-17).

God's grace as a response to Adam's trespass, which brought death, is displayed in the immeasurable gift through Jesus Christ. The contrast between the death that Adam inaugurated and the abundant life offered by Christ is evident. Grace not only matches but surpasses the tragedy of sin, providing believers a stronghold against despair and guilt. The power of Christ's sacrifice awakens hope and newness beyond forgiveness to righteousness.

As significant as Adam's sin was, God's offer of salvation can take care of it (15).

On one hand, there is a similarity between Jesus and Adam. Both did something that affects all of mankind. But there is also a great difference. For starters, Adam's sin did not put God's grace on display. In fact, Adam's sin was a failure to represent God to all of creation. Adam failed to image God. On the other side, Christ's actions demonstrated God's love for us. In fact, this is what Romans 5:8 tells us.

Romans 5:8: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Sin is an offense against the infinite God, but the infinite God can infinitely cover sin.

But it is not just the contrast between failure and success in imaging God that is described here. What we also see is the significance of God's grace that even though Adam's sin was significant and insidious, God's grace overflows. The idea here, as I see it, is that sin is an offense against the infinite God, but the infinite God can infinitely cover sin.

Mathematical notion of levels of infinity - the continuum hypothesis

In mathematics, there are notions of levels of infinity. For example, the set of natural numbers (1, 2, 3, ...) is an infinite set, but so is the set of real numbers (which includes decimals and fractions). However, the real numbers form a larger infinity than the natural numbers. The Continuum Hypothesis is a famous idea that asks whether there is an infinity size between these two. Mathematicians have shown that this question cannot be proven true or false using standard math rules, making it one of the biggest mysteries in set theory.

When we talk about sin, evil, etc., I think it is helpful to bear this idea in mind. God's infinity is, by definition, transcendent above all else, so God can overflow His grace well above anything we can imagine.

In fact, God's offer of salvation takes care of not only Adam's sin but all subsequent sins (16).

Ok, let me go further down the mathematical rabbit trail. Imagine for a minute that you have 8.2 billion copies of the counting numbers (natural numbers). That is, you have 8.2 billion infinite sets. Then count all those up; how many numbers do you have? The answer is an infinite number, but even then the real numbers are still infinitely larger than this infinite set. Ok, enough mind-blowing on infinity; let me apply it here.

Every time we sin, we commit a sin against the infinite God. But God's grace is still sufficient to cover those sins.

Bear with me for a second. God's pronouncement on Adam's sin was death. What if God had only worked to forgive Adam and Eve? That would have been fair, but instead, God allowed each of us to come into existence, be born, and then provided a way to pay for our sin too.

God could have stopped the whole humanity thing at Adam, and then you and I would not exist to enjoy God's creation, but in God's love for you, He instead provided a way to allow you to come into existence and to be saved. Think about that: God knew He would have to pay for you, yet He still brought you into existence.

What's more, God's offer of salvation includes an invitation to life (17).

Jesus did not remain dead, Jesus was raised in a resurrection body.

Jesus did not remain dead! No, three days later, Jesus was raised from the dead, inheriting a resurrection body. In the ensuing days that followed the resurrection, Jesus walked and talked. Jesus ate food and lived life free from the bonds of sin, free from the decay of death.

Image: As a general rule, a big mistake does not come with an invitation to be part of the rescue, but with God that is the case.

Imagine you are out sailing, and your ship capsizes.

You notify the coast guard, and they dispatch a helicopter to pick you up. After being hoisted from the sinking debris, you board the helicopter, and what happens next? The pilot asks if you want to take the controls for the flight back to shore, right? No, that is not how things work; the one being rescued, as a general rule, does not get to participate in the rescue. But with God, things are different.

With God, we are rescued from the tyranny of death and immediately invited to begin participating in further rescue efforts. Real life, meaningful life, complete life, fulfilled life—choose your word but recognize that what God is doing is incredible.

MTR: Ask yourself, “Am I partaking in the invitation to life?”

How? Live like Christ, share the Gospel, seek a deep relationship with God.

Reigning Righteousness — In Christ Jesus our Lord (18-21).

The universal implications of Christ's righteousness shed light on justification for all people. As sin reigned in death, grace now reigns through righteousness, leading to eternal life. This frames believers' journey as one of transformation, not merely escape from sin. We are called to live out this identity. Christ's act of righteousness becomes the cornerstone for a life empowered by grace.

It was Christ's righteousness that forms the foundation of our salvation (18).

The intentional connection between Adam and Christ - both are responsible for changing the course of humanity.

There is a lot to unpack here, but let's begin by noting that Paul is intentionally drawing a connection between Adam and Christ. What is that connection? Paul draws a connection in that both Adam and Christ are responsible for acts that changed the course of all humanity.

Adam's one act of disobedience brought condemnation upon all people. Sometimes, in our effort to clearly communicate the Gospel, we end up confusing things a little, or at least missing some nuance. When we talk about the Gospel with kids, we usually begin with some sort of question: "What is sin?" Then we ask, "And have you ever sinned?" But here is something worth considering. The verse here tells us that Adam's sin, in fact, brought condemnation on all. We are all sinners, so the hypothetical I want to propose doesn't matter too much, but I think it matters.

Depending on time maybe talk about the significance of the virgin birth here.

Suppose you truly had not sinned; as a descendant of Adam, you would still be condemned because of Adam's sin. What about Jesus, you might ask? Well, Jesus was born to Mary in her virginity. Jesus did not have a human father. I am slightly speculating here, but I have a lot of theologians who come before me in this speculation. The reality is that even without our own sin, we still stand condemned because of Adam's sin. One man's act truly affects us all.

But it is not all bad; you see, there was another man who came along— a man who came along outside of the line of Adam, having no human father. This Jesus committed one righteous act, thereby securing justification and life for all people.

Jesus secured life-giving justification but that does not mean everyone accepts it.

I want you to notice something in the text. Jesus secured life-giving justification. He brought it. But that does not mean all people have it. Here is what really matters: salvation is for all, but that does not mean all accept it. As a side note, I think this passage presents a challenge to the doctrine of limited atonement.

Image: Chic-fil-A free food. I chose to pass on the fruit cup but every time they offer me a sandwich.

In December, Chic-fil-A made Emily and me very happy. They ran a special, and every Tuesday they offered us a free item. Every Tuesday morning, before dropping Emily off at her office, we would stop off at the Chic-fil-A and grab our sandwich. However, there was one day when the offer was for a fruit cup. We chose not to stop and get the fruit cup. The offer was there, but we passed.

Now I should be fair to strong Calvinists. Strong Calvinists have arguments for their view of limited atonement that account for verse 18, but I have not found those arguments convincing.

So what does all of this mean? Christ's righteousness is the foundation of our salvation, and that righteousness is offered to all. This doesn't mean that all will accept the offer, but it does mean it is an offer to all. The point I think we should all agree on is that Christ's righteousness is incredible and incredibly efficacious for our justification.

The righteousness of Christ is rooted in his obedience (19).

Image: Reckless people vs disciplined people visiting the shooting range.

Have you ever compared a reckless person with a disciplined person? It is incredible to watch or be part of.

Emily and I enjoy going to the shooting range and shooting guns, but I am very particular when we shoot. Safety is very important to me, and I think it is a discipline. When not in use, guns are stored unloaded with the action open so that everyone can see. The gun is treated like it is always loaded, etc.

I have also been to the range at times and just could not stay long because I was watching people with no discipline. Sometimes the gun was stored safely; other times I didn't know. Sometimes the barrel was pointed safely; other times it was not. Sometimes the finger was off the trigger; other times it was not.

In verse 19 Jesus was disciplined where Adam was reckless.

In verse 19, we see a contrast between the purposeful and intentional obedience of Jesus and the reckless disobedience of Adam. Now the text does not use the words reckless or discipline, but let's dig into the language a bit.

Paul described Adam's act as παρακοή (disobedience). This word is actually rare in surviving Greek but has a more common cognate verb which means to ignore or hear carelessly. In contrast, Jesus obeyed; the word here carries the idea of submission .

Again, here is the reality we encounter. Jesus, in contrast to Adam, obeyed God, and that obedience secured justification.

While the Law brings explicit disobedience, grace brings about complete and total forgiveness (20-21).

You might be tired of hearing me say it at this point in our study of Romans, but I am going to say it again. If you go searching for righteousness in the Law, you are going to be sorely disappointed.

Here in Romans 5:20-21, a most incredible reality emerges. The Law, instead of restraining sin, brings an increase of trespass against God. How is this possible? Because what the Law did is turn "missing the mark" or failing to live the way God intended into nothing short of rebellion and disobedience. In Romans 1:18-32, we learn that humanity has a general notion of right and wrong and is expected to do right, but with the Law, that general notion is made explicit. Disobedience to the Law is, in fact, rebellion against God as opposed to naivety. Both are sin, but there is something especially wrong about direct disobedience.

This does not mean that the Law is itself a bad thing, but rather the situation is one where the Law, together with the sinful nature of humanity, forms a toxic combination.

Image: Don't mix bleach (sin) and vinegar (law). You get chlorine gas

People who like to clean are often aware of the dangers of mixing bleach and vinegar. Vinegar is a versatile ingredient in cooking, used for its acidity, flavor enhancement, and even chemical reactions in baking. It can even be used for cleaning. However, when mixed with bleach, it can release deadly chlorine gas. The Law has a useful place and enhances our understanding of God. However, when mixed with our sin nature, the results are deadly.

MTR: Take a minute; don't celebrate sin, but do celebrate grace!

What does this look like?

Here in a minute, we are going to sing the song "Build My Life." The bridge to this song includes the lyrics, "I will build my life upon Your love. It is a firm foundation. I will put my trust in You alone. And I will not be shaken." As you sing, think about grace. Yes, we sin! Yes, it hurts to know that we sin, but God's grace abounds, and we do not need to be shaken by sin! Instead we can reset and seek to live for Christ.

This week the NTSB preliminary report on the DCA plane crash. In the report they found that for more than a decade there had been at least one near miss accident every month. That is, normalization of deviance So what did they do? The NTSB recommended that immediate action be taken.

We too should take immediate action to embrace the righteousness of God and reject sin. How do you fight normalization of deviance? The answer is more simple than you would believe, the key step is "Encourage a culture where people speak up about small problems." Notice this is also how we combat the normalization of sin. We talk about it and build our righteousness on the foundation of Christ.