“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” - Romans 5:15
Jesus: The Great Un-Doer. If Jesus had a superhero name, this might be it. Because of Christ, sin does not have the last say in who we are and who we can be. What Adam’s sin (and our own) did to us, Jesus came to undo for us. Adam’s sin brought guilt; Jesus’ death brings grace. Adam’s sin ruined us; Jesus’ death redeems us. Adam’s sin condemned us to eternal death; Jesus’ death gives us eternal life. However, the Apostle Paul wants us to understand this is no one-to-one comparison because there is no way what Adam did to us can be compared to what Jesus did for us.
Romans 5:16 says, “The gift of God cannot be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.” Adam’s sin put us under the judgment of God, but the death of Jesus put us under the mercy of God. Because of Adam we were deemed guilty and doomed to eternal death. Because of Jesus, we are declared, “Not guilty,” and delivered to eternal life. Through Jesus, God’s grace covers the sins of all people who repent and place their faith in Him.
But Jesus did more than just save us from death. As believers, we now rule over death. Death is now our slave. In other words, because of Adam, we were born slaves to sin, but through Jesus, we are not just redeemed from being slaves to sin, we have been elevated to a throne of grace to reign with Christ. “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:17).
Christ did more than free us from sin. He took us from being slaves to being rulers. Yes, we have been sinfully infected by Adam; but we have been spiritually corrected by Jesus…and then some.
Father, thank You for not only setting me free from sin and death but also for making me reign in life through Jesus. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Topics: Sin
