the Week of Proper 25 / Ordinary 30
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Romans 5:12
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Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin came death. So this is why all people must die—because all people have sinned.
Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned--
Wherfore as by one ma synne entred into the worlde and deeth by the meanes of synne. And so deeth went over all men in somoche that all men synned.
Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to everyone, because all have sinned.Genesis 2:17; 3:6; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21;">[xr]
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned—
Sin came into the world because of what one man did, and with sin came death. This is why everyone must die—because everyone sinned.
Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, for that all sinned:-
Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Therefore, as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, because all sinned.
Therefore as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, even so death passed upon all men, in that all had sinned.
What follows? This comparison. Through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin death, and so death passed to all mankind in turn, in that all sinned.
Therfor as bi o man synne entride in to this world, and bi synne deth, and so deth passide forth in to alle men, in which man alle men synneden.
Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:—
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.
Adam sinned, and that sin brought death into the world. Now everyone has sinned, and so everyone must die.
Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:—
For this reason, as through one man sin came into the world, and death because of sin, and so death came to all men, because all have done evil:
Here is how it works: it was through one individual that sin entered the world, and through sin, death; and in this way death passed through to the whole human race, inasmuch as everyone sinned.
For this [cause], even as by one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death; and thus death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
As by one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death, so death hath passed upon all men through this, that all have sinned.
As by means of one man, sin entered into the world, and, by means of sin, death; and so death passed upon all the sons of men, inasmuch as they all have sinned:
Wherefore, as by one man sinne entred into the world, and death by sin: and so death passed vpon all men, for that all haue sinned.
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
This is what happened: Sin came into the world by one man, Adam. Sin brought death with it. Death spread to all men because all have sinned.
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned—
Wherefore, as by one man sinne entred into ye world, & death by sinne, and so death went ouer all men: in who all men haue sinned.
Just as sin entered into the world by one man, and death by means of sin, so death was imposed upon all men, inasmuch as they all have sinned:
For this cause, - just as, through one man, sin into the world entered, and through sin, death, - and, so, unto all men death passed through, for that all had sinned; -
Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world and by sin death: and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned.
Wherfore, as by one man sinne entred into the worlde, & death by sinne: euen so, death entred into all men, insomuch as all haue sinned.
Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned.
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Because of this, just as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death spread to all people because all sinned.
Because of this, even as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death passed to all men, inasmuch as all sinned.
because of this, even as through one man the sin did enter into the world, and through the sin the death; and thus to all men the death did pass through, for that all did sin;
Wherfore as by one man synned entred in to the worlde, and death by ye meanes off synne:
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, so death by this sin; and thereby death passed upon all men, who all by his means became mortal.
You know the story of how Adam landed us in the dilemma we're in—first sin, then death, and no one exempt from either sin or death. That sin disturbed relations with God in everything and everyone, but the extent of the disturbance was not clear until God spelled it out in detail to Moses. So death, this huge abyss separating us from God, dominated the landscape from Adam to Moses. Even those who didn't sin precisely as Adam did by disobeying a specific command of God still had to experience this termination of life, this separation from God. But Adam, who got us into this, also points ahead to the One who will get us out of it.
So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned—
Genesis 3:1-19">[xr] Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned--
When Adam sinned, he doomed us all. Adam's sin brought death and no one escapes it because everyone sins.
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—
Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
as by: Romans 5:19, Genesis 3:6
and death: Romans 6:23, Genesis 2:17, Genesis 3:19, Genesis 3:22-24, Ezekiel 18:4, 1 Corinthians 15:21, James 1:15, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 20:15
for that: or, in whom
all: Romans 3:23, James 3:2, 1 John 1:8-10
Reciprocal: Genesis 5:3 - in his Genesis 5:5 - and he died Genesis 6:17 - shall die Genesis 50:24 - I die Leviticus 12:2 - If a woman Numbers 19:11 - toucheth the dead Numbers 27:3 - died in his Job 14:4 - Who can bring Psalms 49:10 - wise Psalms 51:5 - shapen Isaiah 43:27 - first father Hosea 13:1 - died Luke 8:42 - and she Acts 17:26 - hath made Romans 5:15 - many Romans 5:17 - For if Romans 5:18 - upon Romans 8:10 - the body 1 Corinthians 15:22 - in Adam 1 Corinthians 15:45 - The first 1 Corinthians 15:48 - such are they also that are earthy Galatians 3:22 - concluded Ephesians 2:3 - by Hebrews 7:9 - payed Hebrews 9:27 - as
Cross-References
the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan,
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world,.... The design of these words, and of the following, is to show how men came to be in the condition before described, as "ungodly", Romans 5:6, "sinners", Romans 5:8, and "enemies", Romans 5:10; and to express the love of Christ in the redemption of them; and the largeness of God's grace to all sorts of men: the connection of them is with Romans 5:11, by which it appears that the saints have not only an expiation of sin by the blood of Christ, but a perfect righteousness, by which they are justified in the sight of God; and the manner how they came at it, or this becomes theirs, together with the necessity of their having such an one, are here declared: by the "one man" is meant Adam the first man, and parent of mankind, who is mentioned by name in Romans 5:14; sin which came by him designs a single sin, and not many, even the first sin of Adam, which goes by different names, as "sin" here, "transgression", Romans 5:14, the "offence" or "fall", Romans 5:15, "disobedience", Romans 5:19, and whatever was the first step or motive to it, which led to it, whether pride, unbelief, or concupiscence, it was finished by eating the forbidden fruit; and is called sin emphatically, because it contained all sin in it, was attended with aggravating circumstances, and followed with dismal consequences. Hence may be learnt the origin of moral evil among men, which comes not from God, but man; of this it is said, that it "entered into the world"; not the world above, there sin entered by the devil; but the world below, and it first entered into paradise, and then passed through the whole world; it entered into men by the snares of Satan, and by him it enters into all the inhabitants of the world; into all men that descend from him by ordinary generation, and that so powerfully that there is no stopping of it. It has entered by him, not by imitation, for it has entered into such as never sinned after the similitude of his transgression, infants, or otherwise death could not have entered into them, and into such who never heard of it, as the Heathens; besides, sin entered as death did, which was not by imitation but imputation, for all men are reckoned dead in Adam, being accounted sinners in him; add to this, that in the same way Christ's righteousness comes upon us, which is by imputation, Adam's sin enters into us, or becomes ours; upon which death follows,
and death by sin; that is, death has entered into the world of men by sin, by the first sin of the first man; not only corporeal death, but a spiritual or moral one, man, in consequence of this, becoming "dead in sin", deprived of righteousness, and averse, and impotent to all that is good; and also an eternal death, to which he is liable; for "the wages of sin is death", Romans 6:23; even eternal death: all mankind are in a legal sense dead, the sentence of condemnation and death immediately passed on Adam as soon as he had sinned, and upon all his posterity;
and so death passed upon all men; the reason of which was,
for that, or because "in him"
all have sinned: all men were naturally and seminally in him; as he was the common parent of mankind, he had all human nature in him, and was also the covenant head, and representative of all his posterity; so that they were in him both naturally and federally, and so "sinned in him"; and fell with him by his first transgression into condemnation and death. The ancient Jews, and some of the modern ones, have said many things agreeably to the apostle's doctrine of original sin; they own the imputation of the guilt of Adam's sin to his posterity to condemnation and death;
"through the sin of the first man (say they g) ××ª× ×ת, "thou art dead"; for he brought death into the world:''
nothing is more frequently said by them than that Adam and Eve, through the evil counsel of the serpent, ×ר××× ×××ª× ××× ×××× ×¢×××, "were the cause of death to themselves and to all the world" h; and that through the eating of the fruit of the tree, ×× ××××¨× ×רע×
×ת××××× ××ת×, "all the inhabitants of the earth became guilty of death" i: and that this was not merely a corporeal death, they gather from the doubling of the word in the threatening, "in dying thou shalt die", Genesis 2:17 (margin);
"this doubled death, say they k, without doubt is the punishment of their body by itself, ××× ×¤×© ××¤× × ×¢×¦××, and also of the "soul by itself".''
They speak of some righteous persons who died, not for any sin of their own, but purely on the account of Adam's sin; as Benjamin the son of Jacob, Amram the father of Moses, and Jesse the father of David, and Chileab the son of David l, to these may be added Joshua the son of Nun, and Zelophehad and Levi: the corruption and pollution of human nature through the sin of Adam is clearly expressed by them;
"when Adam sinned, (say they m,) he "drew upon him a defiled power, ×ס××× ××× ×××× ×× × ×¢×××, "and defiled himself and all the people of the "world".''
Again n,
"this vitiosity which comes from the sin and infection of our first parents, has invaded both faculties of the rational soul, the understanding by which we apprehend, and the will by which we desire.''
This corruption of nature they call ×צר ×רע, "the evil imagination", which, they say o, is planted in a man's heart at the time of his birth; and others say p that it is in him before he is born: hence Philo the Jew says q, that ÏÏ Î¼ÏÏ ÎµÏ Ïο αμαÏÏανον εÏÏι, "to sin is connatural", to every man that is born, even though a good man; and talks r of ÏÏ Î³Î³ÎµÎ³Î·Î½Î·Î½Î¿Î½ ÎºÎ¿Ï ÎºÎ¿Î½, "evil that is born with us", and of s ÏÏ Î³Î³ÎµÎ½ÎµÎ¹Ï ÎºÎ·ÏεÏ, "spots that are of necessity born with" every mortal man. And so his countrymen t often speak of it as natural and inseparable to men; yea, they represent Adam as the root and head of mankind, in whom the whole world and all human nature sinned: descanting on those words, "as one that lieth upon the top of a mast", Proverbs 23:34;
"this (say they u) is the first man who was ××× ×× × ×××
ר×ש, "an head to all the children of men": for by means of wine death was inflicted on him, and he was the cause of bringing the sorrows of death into the world.''
And in another place, speaking of Adam, they say w, that
"he was ×¢×קר ×ר××× ×©× ×¢×××, "the root of the creation", or "of the men of the world"; and death was inflicted upon him and on his seed, because he sinned one sin in eating of the tree.''
And it is observed,
"that ×× ×××××¢×, the "He" demonstrative is not prefixed in Scripture to proper names, which yet is to the word "Adam"; the reason is, (say they x,) because in Adam all his posterity are pointed at, and the whole human species designed.''
Again, they observe y, that
"the end of man is to die, of which this is the reason, because ××× ××××, "mankind" has sinned; that is, the nature of which he is composed, or in other words, Adam and Eve have sinned.''
Once more z
"when he (Adam) sinned, ×× ××¢××× ××× ×××, "all the whole world sinned", and his sin we bear;''
and a that
"the whole congregation of Israel have need of atonement for the sin of the first Adam, for he was ×ש×× ××× ××¢××, reckoned as the whole congregation;''
which exactly tallies with the apostle's assertion in this text.
(When this commentary was written, it was generally accepted that all the fossils in the rocks were laid down by Noah's world wide flood and that the universe was about 6000 years old. Since that time, science has postualated that life evolved over billions of years and that the fossils are a result of this evolutionary process. If you accept the Bible as your authority you cannot accept the theory of evolution in any form. Firstly, the biblical chronology restricts the age of the universe to about 6000 years. Secondly, in order to get fossils, animals must die. This verse tells us that sin, not evolution, is the cause of death. Death and suffering did not exist until after Adam sinned. Hence before Adam sinned, no animal died and it would be impossible for any fossils to form. Before the fall, all animals ate plants, not other animals Genesis 1:30. Paul tells us in Romans 8:20 that Adam's sin subjected all of creation to the curse, not just mankind.
Romans 8:20- :.
See Gill (Editor's note) on "Ex 20:11". Editor)
g Debarim Rabba, sect. 9. fol. 244. 2. h Zohar in Gen. fol. 27. 1, 2, 3, 4. & 36. 3. 4. & 37. 2. & 46. 4. & 54. 3. & 67. 3. & 86. 1. & 98. 1. in Exod. fol. 106. 1. & 127. 2. in Lev. fol. 46. 2. 3. Bemidbar Rabba, fol. 225. 3. Caphtor, fol. 37. 2. i Targum in Ruth iv. 22. & in Eccles. vii. 29. k R. Joseph Albo in Sepher lkkarim, l. 4. c. 41. l T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 55. 2. Bava Bathra, fol. 17. 1. Zohar in Gen. fol. 36. 4. & Imre Binah in ib. & 44. 4. & lmre Binah in ib. & Numb. fol. 83. 2. m Zohar in Gen. fol. 37. 1. n Menasseh ben Israel Praefat. ad lib. de Fragilitate Humana. o Aben Ezra in Psal. li. 5. Abraham Seba in Tzeror Hammor, fol. 14, 3. 4. p T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 91. 2. Bereshit Rabba, fol. 30. 1. q De Vita Mosis, p. 675. r De Praemiis, p. 920. s De Nomin. Mutat. p. 1051. t Kimchi in Psal. li. 5. Menah ben Israel de Fragilitate, par. 1. p. 2. u Bemidhar Rabba, fol. 198. 3. w Caphtor, fol. 102. 1. x Menasseh ben Israel de cermino Vitae, c. 3. sect. 8. p. 198. y En Jaacob, par. 1. fol. 19. 4. z Zohar in Lev fol. 46. 2. R. Menachem Rakanati apud Voisin. Obs. in Pugionem Fidei, p. 590. a Zohar in Gen. fol. 76. 3. & 36. 3.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Romans 5:12-21 has been usually regarded as the most difficult part of the New Testament. It is not the design of these notes to enter into a minute criticism of contested points like this. They who wish to see a full discussion of the passage, may find it in the professedly critical commentaries; and especially in the commentaries of Tholuck and of Professor Stuart on the Romans. The meaning of the passage in its general bearing is not difficult; and probably the whole passage would have been found far less difficult if it had not been attached to a philosophical theory on the subject of manâs sin, and if a strenuous and indefatigable effort had not been made to prove that it teaches what it was never designed to teach. The plain and obvious design of the passage is this, to show one of the benefits of the doctrine of justification by faith. The apostle had shown,
- That that doctrine produced peace, Romans 5:1.
- That it produces joy in the prospect of future glory, Romans 5:2.
- That it sustained the soul in afflictions;
(a)By the regular tendency of afflictions under the gospel, Romans 5:3-4; and,
(b)By the fact that the Holy Spirit was imparted to the believer.
- That this doctrine rendered it certain that we should be saved, because Christ had died for us, Romans 5:6; because this was the highest expression of love, Romans 5:7-8; and because if we had been reconciled when thus alienated, we should be saved now that we are the friends of God, Romans 5:9-10.
- That it led us to rejoice in God himself; produced joy in his presence, and in all his attributes.
He now proceeds to show the bearing on that great mass of evil which had been introduced into the world by sin, and to prove that the benefits of the atonement were far greater than the evils which had been introduced by the acknowledged effects of the sin of Adam. âThe design is to exalt our views of the work of Christ, and of the plan of justification through him, by comparing them with the evil consequences of the sin of our first father, and by showing that the blessings in question not only extend to the removal of these evils, but far beyond this, so that the grace of the gospel has not only abounded, but superabounded.â (Prof. Stuart.) In doing this, the apostle admits, as an undoubted and well-understood fact:
1. That sin came into the world by one man, and death as the consequence. Romans 5:12.
2. That death had passed on all; even on those who had not the light of revelation, and the express commands of God, Romans 5:13-14.
3. That Adam was the figure, the type of him that was to come; that there was some sort of analogy or resemblance between the results of his act and the results of the work of Christ. That analogy consisted in the fact that the effects of his doings did not terminate on himself, but extended to numberless other persons, and that it was thus with the work of Christ, Romans 5:14. But he shows,
4. That there were very material and important differences in the two cases. There was not a perfect parallelism. The effects of the work of Christ were far more than simply to counteract the evil introduced by the sin of Adam. The differences between the effect of his act and the work of Christ are these.
- The sin of Adam led to condemnation. The work of Christ has an opposite tendency, Romans 5:15.
- The condemnation which came from the sin of Adam was the result of one offence. The work of Christ was to deliver from many offences,Romans 5:16; Romans 5:16.
- The work of Christ was far more abundant and overflowing in its influence. It extended deeper and further. It was more than a compensation for the evils of the fall, Romans 5:17.
5. As the act of Adam threw its influence over all people to secure their condemnation, so the work of Christ was suited to affect all people, Jews and Gentiles, in bringing them into a state by which they might be delivered from the fall, and restored to the favor of God. It was in itself adapted to produce far more and greater benefits than the crime of Adam had done evil; and was thus a glorious plan, just suited to meet the actual condition of a world of sin; and to repair the evils which apostasy had introduced. It had thus the evidence that it originated in the benevolence of God, and that it was adapted to the human condition, Romans 5:18-21.
(The learned author denies the doctrine of imputed sin, and labors to prove that it is not contained in Romans 5:12, Romans 5:19. The following introductory note is intended to exhibit the orthodox view of the subject, and meet the objections which the reader will find in the Commentary. The very first question that demands our attention is, What character did Adam sustain under the covenant of works, that of a single and independent individual. or that of the representative of the human kind?
This is one of the most important questions in Theology, and according to the answer we may be prepared to give, in the affirmative or negative, will be almost the entire complexion of our religious views. If the question be resolved in the affirmative, then what Adam did must be held as done by us, and the imputation of his guilt would seem to follow as a necessary consequence.
1. That Adam sustained the character of representative of the human race; in other words, that he was the federal as well as natural head of his descendants, is obvious from the circumstances of the history in the book of Genesis. It has been said indeed, that in the record of the threatening no mention is made of the posterity of Adam, and that on this account, all idea of federal headship or representation must be abandoned, as a mere theological figment, having no foundation in Scripture. But if God regarded Adam only in his individual capacity, when be said unto him âin the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,â then, the other addresses of God to Adam, which form part of the same history, must be construed in the same way. And was it to Adam only, and not to the human kind at large, viewed in him, that God said, âbe fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth?â Was it to Adam in his individual capacity, that God gave the grant of the earth, with all its rich and varied productions? Or was it to mankind at large? Was it to Adam alone that God said, âin the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground,â etc.? The universal infliction of the penalty shows, that the threatening was addressed to Adam as the federal head of the race. All toil, and sweat, and die. Indeed, the entire history favors the conclusion, that God was dealing with Adam, not in his individual, but representative capacity; nor can its consistency be preserved on any other principle.
2. Moreover, there are certain facts connected with the moral history of mankind, which present insuperable difficulties, if we deny the doctrines of representation and imputed sin. âHow shall we on any other principle account for the universality of death, or rather of penal evil?â It can be traced back beyond all personal guilt. Its origin is higher. Antecedent to all actual transgression, man is visited with penal evil. He comes into the world under a necessity of dying. His whole constitution is disordered. His body and his mind bear on them the marks of a blighting curse. It is impossible on any theory to deny this. And why is man thus visited? Can the righteous God punish where there is no guilt? We muss take one side or other of the alternative, that God inflicts punishment without guilt, or that Adamâs sin is imputed to his posterity. If we take the latter branch of the alternative, we are furnished with the ground of the divine procedure, and freed from many difficulties that press upon the opposite view.
It may be noticed in this place also, that the death of infants is a striking proof of the infliction of penal evil, prior to personal or actual sin. Their tender bodies are assailed in a multitude of instances by acute and violent diseases, that call for our sympathy the more that the sufferers cannot disclose or communicate the source of their agony. They labor with death and struggle hard in his hands, until they resign the gift of life they had retained for so short a while. It is said, indeed, that the case of infants is not introduced in Scripture in connection with this subject, and our author tells us, that they are not at all referred to in any part of this disputed passage, nor included in the clause, âdeath reigned, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adamâs transgression.â On this, some observations will be found in the proper place. Meanwhile, there is the fact itself, and with it we are concerned now. âWhy do infants die?â Perhaps it will be said that though they have committed no actual sin, yet they have a depraved nature; but this cedes the whole question, for that depraved nature is just a part of the penal evil, formerly noticed. Why are innocent infants visited with what entails death on them? One answer only can be given, and no ingenuity can evade the conclusion, âin Adam all die.â The wonder is, that this doctrine should ever have been denied. On the human family at large, on man and woman, on infant child, and hoary sire, on earth and sky, are traced the dismal effects of the first sin.
3. The parallelism between Adam and Christ is another branch of evidence on this subject. That they bear a striking resemblance to each other is allowed on all hands. Hence, Christ is styled, in 1 Corinthians 15:0, âthe last Adam,â and âthe second man,â and in this very passage, Adam is expressly called a type, or âfigure of him that was to come.â Now in what does this resemblance consist? Between these two persons there are very many points Of dissimilarity, or contrast. The first man is earthy, the second is the Lord from heaven. From the one come guilt, and condemnation, and death; and from the other. righteousness, justification, and life. Where then is the similarity? âThey are alike,â says Beza, âin this, that each of them shares what he has with has.â Both are covenant or representative heads, and communicate their respective influences to those whom they represent. Here then, is one great leading point of similarity, nor is it possible in any other view to preserve the parallel.
For suppose we disturb the parallel as now adjusted, and argue that Adam was not a federal head, that we are therefore neither held guilty of Adamâs sin, nor condemned and punished on account of it; where shall we find the counterpart of this in Christ? Must we also maintain that he does not represent his people, that they are neither esteemed righteous on account of his work, nor justified and saved by it? Such is the legitimate consequence of the opposite views. If we hold that from Adam we receive only a corrupt nature, in consequence of which we sin personally, and then become guilty, and are in consequence condemned; we must also argue that we receive from Christ only a pure or renewed nature, in consequence of which we become personally righteous, and are then and therefore justified and saved. But such a scheme would undermine the whole gospel. Though the derivation of holiness from Christ be a true and valuable doctrine, we are not justified on account of that derived holiness. On the contrary, we are justified on account of something without us - something that has no dependence whatever on our personal holiness, namely, the righteousness of Christ. Nay, according to the doctrine of Paul, justification in order of nature, is before sanctification, and the cause of it.
It is but justice to state, that the commentator maintains that a resemblance between Adam and Christ lies not at all in the mode in which sin and righteousness, life and death have been respectively introduced by them; but is found in the simple fact that âthe effect of their doings did not terminate on themselves, but extended to numberless other persons.â pp. 117, 118, 128. Indeed, he repeatedly affirms, that in regard to the introduction of sin by Adam, nothing whatever is said in this passage in regard to the mode of it. The fact alone is announced. If this were true, it is allowed that the arguments we have now employed would be much weakened. But the assertion cannot be substantiated. If the analogy do not lie in the mode, but in the simple fact, that the effects of their doings do not terminate on themselves; what greater resemblance is there between Adam and Christ, than between any two persons that might be named? David and Ahab might be compared in the same way; the good deeds of the one, and the evil deeds of the other, not terminating with themselves. Besides, Paul certainly does state in the previous chapter, the mode in which the righteousness of Christ becomes available for salvation. He states plainly that âGod imputeth it without works.â When then in the 5th chapter he looks back upon this subject, and introduces his parallel with âWherefore as by one man,â etc. are we to believe that he intends no similarity in the mode? Shall we make the apostle explain the manner in which the righteousness becomes available, and say nothing of the way in which its opposite is introduced, at the very time he is professedly comparing the two?
Such is a brief outline of the evidence on which the doctrine of imputed sin is based. The principal arguments are those derived from the universality of penal evil, and the parallel between Adam and Christ. And these are the very topics handled by the apostle in this much vexed passage. Our author, indeed, in his opening remarks maintains, that nothing is said by the apostle of original sin in this place. âThe apostle here is not discussing the doctrine of original sin;â and âhis design is to show one of the benefits of the doctrine of justification.â But the design of Paul is to illustrate the doctrine of justification, and not simply to show one of its benefits. For in the former part of this chapter Romans 5:1-11, the apostle had fully enlarged on these benefits, and there is no evidence that Romans 5:12, Romans 5:19, are a continuation of the same theme. On the contrary, there is obviously a break in the discourse at Romans 5:12, where the apostle, recalling the discussion, introduces a new illustration of his principal point, namely, justification through the righteousness of Christ. On this the apostle had discouraged largely in Romans 3:0; Romans 4:0.
And lest any should think it anomalous and irrational to justify people, on account of a work they themselves had no hand in accomplishing, he now appeals to the âgreat analogous fact in the history of the world. This seems the most natural construction. No wonder,â says President Edwards, âwhen the apostle is treating so fully and largely of our restoration, righteousness, and life by Christ, that he is led by it to consider our fall, sin, death, and ruin by Adam.â - Orig. Sin. p. 303. The following analysis will assist the reader in understanding the whole passage: âAs the point to be illustrated is the justification of sinners, on the ground of the righteousness of Christ, and the source of illustration is the fall of all men in Adam; the passage begins with a statement of this latter truth. âAs on account of one man death has passed upon all people; so on account of one,â etc. Romans 5:12. Before, however, carrying out the comparison, the apostle stops to establish his position, that all people are regarded, and treated as sinners on account of Adam. His proof is this. The infliction of a penalty implies the transgression of a law, since sin is not imputed where there is no law, Romans 5:13. All mankind are subject to death or penal evils, therefore all people are regarded as transgressors of a law, Romans 5:13. The Law or covenant which brings death on all people, is not the Law of Moses, because multitudes died before that Law was given, Romans 5:14.
Nor is it the law of nature, since multitudes die who have never violated even that law, Romans 5:14. Therefore, we must conclude, that people are subject to death on account of Adam; that is, it is for the offence of one that many die, Romans 5:13-14. Adam is, therefore, a type of Christ. Yet the cases are not completely parallel. There are certain points of dissimilarity, Romans 5:15, Romans 5:17. Having thus limited and illustrated the analogy, the apostle resumes, and carries the comparison fully out in Romans 5:18-19. âTherefore as on account of one man.â etc. Prof. Hodge.)
Romans 5:12
Wherefore, - Î´Î¹Î±Ì ÏÎ¿Ï ÍÏο dia touto. On this account. This is not an inference from what has gone before, but I a continuance of the design of the apostle to show the advantages of the plan of justification by faith; as if he had said, âThe advantages of that plan have been seen in our comfort and peace, and in its sustaining power in afflictions. Further, the advantages of the plan are seen in regard to this, that it is applicable to the condition of man in a world where the sin of one man has produced so much wo and death. âOn this accountâ also it is a matter of joy. It meets the ills of a fallen race; and it is therefore a plan adapted to man.â Thus understood, the connection and design of the passage is easily explained. In respect to the state of things into which man is fallen, the benefits of this plan may be seen, as adapted to heal the maladies, and to be commensurate with the evils which the apostasy of one man brought upon the world. This explanation is not what is usually given to this place, but it is what seems to me to be demanded by the strain of the apostleâs reasoning. The passage is elliptical, and there is a necessity of supplying something to make out the sense.
As - ÏÌÌÏÏÎµÏ hoÌsper. This is the form of a comparison. But the other part of the comparisonâs deferred to Romans 5:18. The connection evidently requires us to understand the other part of the comparison of the work of Christ. In the rapid train of ideas in the mind of the apostle, this was deferred to make room for explanations Romans 5:13-17. âAs by one man sin entered into the world, etc., so by the work of Christ a remedy has been provided, commensurate with the evils. As the sin of one man had such an influence, so the work of the Redeemer has an influence to meet and to counteract those evils.â The passage in Romans 5:13-17 is therefore to be regarded as a parenthesis thrown in for the purpose of making explanations, and to show how the cases of Adam and of Christ differed from each other.
By one man ... - By means of one man; by the crime of one man. His act was the occasion of the introduction of all sin into all the world. The apostle here refers to the well known historical fact Genesis 3:6-7, without any explanation of the mode or cause, of this. He adduced it as a fact that was well known; and evidently meant to speak of it not for the purpose of explaining the mode, or even of making this the leading or prominent topic in the discussion. His main design is not to speak of the manner of the introduction of sin, but to show that the work of Christ meets and removes well-known and extensive evils. His explanations, therefore, are chiefly confined to the work of Christ. He speaks of the introduction, the spread, and the effects of sin, not as having any theory to defend on that subject, not as designing to enter into a minute description of the case, but as it was manifest on the face of things, as it stood on the historical record, and as it was understood and admitted by mankind.
Great perplexity has been introduced by forgetting the scope of the apostleâs argument here, and by supposing that he was defending a special theory on the subject of the introduction of sin; whereas, nothing is more foreign to his design. He is showing how the plan of justification âmeets well understood and acknowledged universal evils.â Those evils he refers to just as they were seen, and admitted to exist. All people see them, and feel them, and practically understand them. The truth is, that the doctrine of the fall of man, and the prevalence of sin and death, do not belong especially to Christianity any more than the introduction and spread of disease does to the science of the healing art. Christianity did not introduce sin; nor is it responsible for it The existence of sin and we belongs to the race; appertains equally to all systems of religion, and is a part of the melancholy history of man, whether Christianity be true or false.
The existence and extent of sin and death are not affected if the infidel could show that Christianity was an imposition. They would still remain. The Christian religion is just âone mode of proposing a remedy for well-known and desolating evils;â just as the science of medicine proposes a remedy for diseases âwhich it did not introduce, and which could not be stayed in their desolations, or modified, if it could be shown that the whole science of healing was pretension and quackery. Keeping this design of the apostle in view, therefore, and remembering that he is not defending or stating a theory about the introduction of sin, but that he is explaining the way in which the work of Christ delivers from a deep-felt universal evil, we shall find the explanation of this passage disencumbered of many of the difficulties with which it has been thought usually to be invested.
By one man - By Adam; see Romans 5:14. It is true that sin was literally introduced by Eve, who was first in the transgression; Genesis 3:6; 1 Timothy 2:14. But the apostle evidently is not explaining the precise mode in which sin was introduced, or making this his leading point. He therefore speaks of the introduction of sin in a popular sense, as it was generally understood. The following reasons may be suggested why the man is mentioned rather than the woman as the cause of the introduction of sin:
(1) It was the natural and usual way of expressing such an event. We say that man sinned, that man is redeemed, man dies, etc. We do not pause to indicate the sex in such expressions. So in this, he undoubtedly meant to say that it was introduced by the parentage of the human race.
(2) The name Adam in Scripture was given to the created pair, the parents of the human family, a name designating their earthly origin; Genesis 5:1-2, âIn the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him; male and female created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam.â The name Adam, therefore, used in this connection Romans 5:14, would suggest the united parentage of the human family.
(3) In transactions where man and woman are mutually concerned, it is usual to speak of the man first, on account of his being constituted superior in rank and authority.
(4) The comparison on the one side, in the apostleâs argument, is of the man Christ Jesus; and to secure the fitness, the congruity (Stuart) of the comparison, he speaks of the man only in the previous transaction.
(5) The sin of the woman was not complete in its effects without the concurrence of the man. It was their uniting in it which was the cause of the evil. Hence, the man is especially mentioned as having reordered the offence what it was; as having completed it, and entailed its curses on the race. From these remarks it is clear that the apostle does not refer to the man here from any idea that there was any particular covenant transaction with him, but that he means to speak of it in the usual, popular sense; referring to him as being the fountain of all the woes that sin has introduced into the world.
âIn the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die,â Genesis 2:17. This is an account of the first great covenant transaction between God and man. It carries us back to the origin of mankind, and discloses the source of evil, about which so much has been written and spoken in vain. That God entered into covenant with Adam in innocence, is a doctrine, with which the Shorter Catechism has made us familiar from our infant years. Nor is it without higher authority. It would be improper, indeed, to apply to this transaction everything that may be supposed essential to a human compact or bargain. Whenever divine things are represented by things analogous among men, care must be taken to exclude every idea that is inconsistent with the dignity of the subject. If the analogy be pressed beyond due bounds, the subject is not illustrated, but degraded. For example, in the present case, we must not suppose that because in human covenants, the consent of parties is essential, and both are at full liberty to receive or reject the proposed terms as they shall see fit; the same thing holds true in the case of Adam. He indeed freely gave his consent to the terms of the covenant, as a holy being could not fail to do, but he was not at liberty to withhold that consent. He was a creature entirely at the divine disposal, whose duty from the moment of his being was implicit obedience. He had no power either to dictate or reject terms, The relation of parties in this covenant, renders the idea of power to withhold consent, inadmissible.
But, because the analogy cannot be pressed beyond certain limits, must we therefore entirely abandon it? Proceeding on this principle, we should speedily find it impossible to retain any term or figure, that had ever been employed about religious subjects. The leading essentials of a covenant are found in this great transaction, and no more is necessary to justify the appellation which orthodox divines have applied to it. âA covenant is a contract, or agreement, between two or more parties, on certain terms.â It is commonly supposed to imply the existence of parties, a promise, and a condition. All these constituent parts of a covenant meet in the case under review. The parties are God and man, God and the first parent of the human race; the promise is life, which though not expressly stated, is yet distinctly implied in the penalty; and the condition is obedience to the supreme will of God. In human covenants no greater penalty is incurred than the forfeiture of the promised blessing, and therefore the idea of penalty is not supposed essential to a covenant. In every case of forfeited promise, however, there is the infliction of penalty, to the exact amount of the value of the blessing lost. We cannot think of Adam losing life without the corresponding idea of suffering death. So that, in fact, the loss of the promise, and the infliction of the penalty, are nearly the same thing.
It is no valid objection to this view, that the word âcovenant,â as our author tells us, (p. 137,) âis not applied in the transaction in the Bible,â for there are many terms, the accuracy of which is never disputed, that are no more to be found in the Scriptures than this. Where do we find such terms as âthe fall,â and âthe Trinity,â and many others that might be mentioned? The mere name, in, deed, is not a matter of very great importance, and if we allow that in the transaction itself, there were parties, and a promise, and a condition, (which cannot easily he denied,) it is of less moment whether we call it a covenant, or with our author and others, âa divine constitution.â It is obvious to remark, however, that this latter title is just as little to be found âapplied in the transaction in the Bible,â as the former, and besides is more âliable to be misunderstood;â being vague and indefinite, intimating only, that Adam was under a divine law, or constitution; whereas the word âcovenantâ distinctly expresses the kind or form of law, and gives definite character to the whole transaction.
But although the doctrine of the covenant of works is independent of the occurrence of the name in the Scriptures, even this narrow ground of objection is not so easily maintained as some imagine. In Hosea 6:7, it is said (according to the marginal reading, which is in strict accordance with the original Hebrew,) they like Adam: ×××× k'-âAadam have transgressed the covenant. And in that celebrated passage in the Epistle to the Galatians, Galatians 4:24, when Paul speaks of âthe two covenants,â he alludes, in the opinion of some of the highest authorities, to the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. This opinion is espoused, and defended with great ability by the late Mr. Bell of Glasgow, one of the most distinguished theologians of his times, in a learned dissertation on the subject: Bell on the Covenants p. 85. Scripture authority, then, would seem not to be entirely lacking, even for the name.
This doctrine of the covenant is intimately connected with that of imputed sin, for if there were no covenant, there could be no covenant or representative head; and if there were no covenant head, there could be no imputation of sin. Hence, the dislike to the name.)
Sin entered into the world - He was the first sinner of the race. The word âsinâ here evidently means the violation of the Law of God He was the first sinner among people, and in consequence all others became sinners. The apostle does not here refer to Satan, the tempter, though he was the suggester of evil; for his design was to discuss the effect of the plan of salvation in meeting the sins and calamities of our race. This design, therefore, did not require him to introduce the sin of another order of beings. He says, therefore, that Adam was the first sinner of the race, and that death was the consequence.
Into the world - Among mankind; John 1:10; John 3:16-17. The term âworldâ is often thus used to denote human beings, the race, the human family. The apostle here evidently is not discussing the doctrine of original sin, but he is stating a simple fact, intelligible to all: âThe first man violated the Law of God, and, in this way, sin was introduced among human beings.â In this fact - this general, simple declaration - there is no mystery.
And death by sin - Death was the consequence of sin; or was introduced because man sinned. This is a simple statement of an obvious and well-known fact. It is repeating simply what is said in Genesis 3:19, âIn the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return into the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.â The threatening was Genesis 2:17, âOf the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.â If an inquiry be made here, how Adam would understand this; I reply, that we have no reason to think he would understand it as referring to anything more than the loss of life as an expression of the displeasure of God. Moses does not intimate that he was learned in the nature of laws and penalties; and his narrative would lead us to suppose that this was all that would occur to Adam. And indeed, there is the highest evidence that the case admits of, that this was his understanding of it.
For in the account of the infliction of the penalty after the Law was violated; in Godâs own interpretation of it, in Genesis 3:19, there is still no reference to anything further. âDust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.â Now it is incredible that Adam should have understood this as referring to what has been called âspiritual death,â and toâ eternal death,â when neither in the threatening, nor in the account of the infliction of the sentence, is there the slightest recorded reference to it. People have done great injury in the cause of correct interpretation by carrying their notions of doctrinal subjects to the explanation of words and phrases in the Old Testament. They have usually described Adam as endowed with all the refinement, and possessed of all the knowledge, and adorned with all the metaphysical acumen and subtility of a modern theologian. They have deemed him qualified in the very infancy of the world, to understand and discuss questions, which, under all the light of the Christian revelation, still perplex and embarrass the human mind. After these accounts of the endowments of Adam, which occupy so large a space in books of theology, one is surprised, on opening the Bible, to find how unlike all this, is the simple statement in Genesis. And the wonder cannot be suppressed that people should describe the obvious infancy of the race as superior to its highest advancement; or that the first man, just looking upon a world of wonders, imperfectly acquainted with law, and moral relations, and the effects of transgression, should be represented as endowed with knowledge which four thousand years afterward it required the advent of the Son of God to communicate!
The account in Moses is simple. Created man was told not to violate a simple law, on pain of death. He did it; and God announced to him that the sentence would be inflicted, and that he should return to the dust whence he was taken. What else this might involve, what other consequences sin might introduce, might be the subject of future developments and revelations. It is absurd to suppose that all the consequences of the violation of a law can be foreseen, or must necessarily be foreseen, in order to make the law and the penalty just. It is sufficient that the law be known; that its violation be forbidden; and what the consequences of that violation will be, must be left in great part to future developments. Even we, yet know not half the results of violating the Law of God. The murderer knows not the results fully of taking a manâs life. He breaks a just law, and exposes himself to the numberless unseen woes which may flow from it.
We may ask, therefore, what light subsequent revelations have east on the character and result of the first sin? and whether the apostle here meant to state that the consequences of sin were in fact as limited as they must have appeared to the mind of Adam? or had subsequent developments and revelations, through four thousand years, greatly extended the right understanding of the penalty of the law? This can be answered only by inquiring in what sense the apostle Paul here uses the word âdeath.â The passage before us shows in what sense he intended here to use the word. In his argument it stands opposed to âthe grace of God, and the gift by grace,â Romans 5:15; to âjustification,â by the forgiveness of âmany offences,â Romans 5:16; to the reign of the redeemed in eternal life, Romans 5:17; and toâ justification of life,â Romans 5:18. To all these, the words âdeathâ Romans 5:12, Romans 5:17 and âjudgmentâ Romans 5:16, Romans 5:18 stand opposed.
These are the benefits which result from the work of Christ; and these benefits stand opposed to the evils which sin has introduced; and as it cannot be supposed that these benefits relate to temporal life, or solely to the resurrection of the body, so it cannot be that the evils involved in the words âdeath,â âjudgment,â etc., relate simply to temporal death. The evident meaning is, that the word âdeath,â as used here by the apostle, refers to the train of evils which have been introduced by sin. It does not mean simply temporal death; but that group and collection of woes, including temporal death, condemnation, and exposure to eternal death, which is the consequence of transgression. The apostle often uses the word âdeath,â and âto die,â in this wide sense, Romans 1:32; Romans 6:16, Romans 6:23; Romans 7:5, Romans 7:10, Romans 7:13, Romans 7:24; Romans 8:2, Romans 8:6,Romans 8:13; 2 Corinthians 2:16; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Hebrews 2:14. In the same sense the word is often used elsewhere, John 8:51; John 11:26; 1 John 5:16-17; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 20:6, etc. etc.
In contrasting with this the results of the work of Christ, he describes not the resurrection merely, nor deliverance from temporal death, but eternal life in heaven; and it therefore follows that he here intends by death that gloomy and sad train of woes which sin has introduced into the world. The consequences of sin are, besides, elsewhere specified to be far more than temporal death, Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 2:8-9, Romans 2:12. Though therefore Adam might not have foreseen all the evils which were to come upon the race as the consequence of his sin, yet these evils might nevertheless follow. And the apostle, four thousand years after the reign of sin had commenced, and under the guidance of inspiration, had full opportunity to see and describe that train of woes which he comprehends under the name of death. That train included evidently temporal death, condemnation for sin, remorse of conscience, and exposure to eternal death, as the penalty of transgression.
And so - Thus. In this way it is to be accounted for that death has passed upon all people, to wit, because all people have sinned. As death followed sin in the first transgression, so it has in all; for all have sinned. There is a connection between death and sin which existed in the case of Adam, and which subsists in regard to all who sin. And as all have sinned, so death has passed upon all people.
Death passed upon - διηÍλθεν dieÌlthen. Passed through; pervaded; spread over the whole race, as pestilence passes through, or pervades a nation. Thus, death, with its train of woes, with its withering and blighting influence, has passed through the world, laying prostrate all before it.
Upon all men - Upon the race; all die.
For that - εÌÏ Ì ÏÌÍÍ eph' hoÌ. This expression has been greatly controverted; and has been very variously translated. Elsner renders it, âon account of whom.â Doddridge, âunto which all have sinned.â The Latin Vulgate renders it, âin whom (Adam) all have sinned.â The same rendering has been given by Augustine, Beza, etc. But it has never yet been shown that our translators have rendered the expression improperly. The old Syriac and the Arabic agree with the English translation in this interpretation. With this agree Calvin, Vatablus, Erasmus, etc. And this rendering is sustained also by many other considerations.
(1) If ÏÍ oÌ be a relative pronoun here, it would refer naturally to death, as its antecedent, and not to man. But this would not make sense.
(2) If this had been its meaning, the preposition εÌν en would have been used; see the note of Erasmus on the place.
(3) It comports with the apostleâs argument to state a cause why all died, and not to state that people sinned in Adam. He was inquiring into the cause why death was in the world; and it would not account or that to say that all sinned in Adam. It would require an additional statement to see how that could be a cause.
(4) As his posterity had not then an existence, they could not commit actual transgression. Sin is the transgression of the Law by a moral agent; and as the interpretation âbecause all have sinnedâ meets the argument of the apostle, and as the Greek favors that certainly as much as it does the other, it is to be preferred.
All have sinned - To sin is to transgress the Law of God; to do wrong. The apostle in this expression does not say that all have sinned in Adam, or that their nature has become corrupt, which is true, but which is not affirmed here; nor that the sin of Adam is imputed to them; but simply affirms that all people have sinned. He speaks evidently of the great universal fact that all people are sinners, He is not settling a metaphysical difficulty; nor does he speak of the condition of man as he comes into the world. He speaks as other men would; he addresses himself to the common sense of the world; and is discoursing of universal, well-known facts. Here is the fact - that all people experience calamity, condemnation, death. How is this to be accounted for? The answer is, âAll have sinned.â This is a sufficient answer; it meets the case. And as his design cannot be shown to be to discuss a metaphysical question about the nature of man, or about the character of infants, the passage should be interpreted according to his design, and should not be pressed to bear on that of which he says nothing, and to which the passage evidently has no reference. I understand it, therefore, as referring to the fact that people sin in their own persons, sin themselves - as, indeed, how can they sin in an other way? - and that therefore they die. If people maintain that it refers to any metaphysical properties of the nature of man, or to infants, they should not infer or suppose this, but should show distinctly that it is in the text. Where is there evidence of any such reference?
(The following note on Romans 5:12, is intended to exhibit its just connection and force. It is the first member of a comparison between Adam and Christ, which is completed in Romans 5:18-19. âAs by one man,â etc. The first point which demands our attention, is the meaning of the words, âBy one man sin entered into the world.â Our author has rendered them, âHe was the first sinner;â and in this he follows Prof. Stewart and Dr. Taylor; the former of whom gives this explanation of the clause; that Adam âbegan transgression,â and the latter interprrets it by the word âcommence.â It is, however, no great discovery, that sin commenced with one man, or that Adam was the first sinner. If sin commenced at all, it must have commenced with some one. And If Adam sinned at all, while yet he stood alone in the world, he must have been the first sinner of the race! President Edwards, in his reply to Dr. Taylor of Norwich, has the following animadversions on this view: âThat the world was full of sin, and full of death, were too great and notorious, deeply affecting the interests of mankind; and they seemed very wonderful facts, drawing the attention of the more thinking part of mankind everywhere, who often asked this question, âwhence comes this evil,â moral and natural evil? (the latter chiefly visible in death.) It is manifest the apostle here means to tell us how these came into the world, and prevail in it as they do. But all that is meant, according to Dr Tay orâs interpretation, is âhe began transgression,â as if all the apostle meant, was to tell us who happened to sin first, not how such a malady came upon the world, or how anyone in the world, besides Adam himself, came by such a distemper.â - Orig. Sin, p. 270.
The next thing that calls for remark in this verse, is the force of the connecting words âand soâ ÎºÎ±Î¹Ì Î¿Ï ÌÌÏÏÏ kai houtoÌs. They are justly rendered âin this way,.ââ in this manner,â âin consequence of which.â And therefore, the meaning of the first three clauses of the first verse is, that by one man sin entered into the world. and death by sin, in consequence of which sin of this one man, death passed upon all people.
It will not do to render âand soâ by âin like manner,â as Prof. Stewart does, and then explain with our author, âthere is a connection between death and sin. which existed in the case of Adam, and which subsists in regard to all who sin.â This is quite contrary to the acknowledged force of ÎºÎ±Î¹Ì Î¿Ï ÌÌÏÏÏ kai houtoÌs, and besides, entirely destroys the connection which the apostle wishes to establish between the sin of the one man, and the penal evil, or death, that is in the world. It, in effect, says there is no connection whatever between those things although the language may seem to imply it and so large a portion of Christian readers in every age have understood it in this way. Adam sinned and he died, other people have sinned and they died! And yet this verse is allowed to be the first member of a comparison between Adam and Christ! Shall we supply then the other branch of the comparison, thus: Christ was righteous and lived, other people are righteous and they live? If we destroy the connection in the one case, how do we maintain it in the other? See the supplementary note.
The last clause âfor that all have sinned,â is to be regarded as explanatory of the sentiment, that death passed on all, in consequence of the sin of the one man. Some have translated εÌÏ Ì ÏÌÍÍ eph' hoÌ, in whom; and this, indeed, would assign the only just reason, why all are visited with penal evil on account of Adamâs sin. All die through him, because in him all have sinned. But the translation is objectionable, on account of the distance of the antecedent. However, the common rendering gives precisely the same sense, âfor that,â or âbecause thatâ all have sinned, that is, according to an explanation in Bloomfieldâs Greek Testament, âare considered guilty in the sight of God on account of Adamâs fall. Thus, the expression may be considered equivalent to αÌμαÏÏÏÎ»Î¿Î¹Ì ÎºÎ±ÏεÏÏαÌθηÏαν hamartoÌloi katestatheÌsan at Romans 5:19.â There can be no doubt that ηÌμαÏÏον heÌmarton does bear this sense, Genesis 44:32; Genesis 43:9. Moreover, the other rendering âbecause all have sinned personally,â is inconsistent with fact. Infants have not sinned in this way, therefore, according to this view, their death is left unaccounted for, and so is all that evil comprehended in the term âdeath,â that comes upon us antecedent to actual sin. See the supplementary note.
Lastly, this interpretation would render the reasoning of the apostle inconclusive. âIf,â observes Witsius, âwe must understand this of some personal sin of each, the reasoning would not have been just, or worthy of the apostle. For his argument would be thus: that by the one sin of one, all were become guilty of death, because each in particular had besides this one and first sin, his own personal sin, which is inconsequential.â That people are punished for personal or actual transgression is true. But it is not the particular truth Paul seeks here to establish, any more than he seeks to prove in the previous part of his epistle, that people are justified on account of personal holiness, which is clearly no part of his design.)
Romans 5:13
For until the law ... - This verse, with the following verses to the 17th, is usually regarded as a parenthesis. The Law here evidently means the Law given by Moses. âUntil the commencement of that administration, or state of things under the law.â To see the reason why he referred to this period between Adam and the Law, we should recall the design of the apostle, which is, to show the exceeding grace of God in the gospel, abounding, and superabounding, as a complete remedy for all the evils introduced by sin. For this purpose he introduces three leading conditions, or states, where people sinned, and where the effects of sin were seen; in regard to each and all of which the grace of the gospel superabounded. The first was that of Adam, with its attendant train of ills Romans 5:12, which ills were all met by the death of Christ, Romans 5:15-18. The second period or condition was that long interval in which men had only the light of nature, that period occurring between Adam and Moses. This was a fair representation of the condition of the world without revelation, and without law, Romans 5:13-14. Sin then reigned - reigned everywhere where there was no law. But the grace of the gospel abounded over the evils of this state of man. The third was under the Law, Romans 5:20. The Law entered, and sin was increased, and its evils abounded. But the gospel of Christ abounded even over this, and grace triumphantly reigned. So that the plan of justification met all the evils of sin, and was adapted to remove them; sin and its consequences as flowing from Adam; sin and its consequences when there was no written revelation; and sin and its consequences under the light and terrors of the Law.
Sin was in the world - People sinned. They did what was evil.
But sin is not imputed - Is not charged against people, or they are not held guilty of it where there is no law. This is a self-evident proposition, for sin is a violation of law; and if there is no law, there can be no wrong. Assuming this as a self-evident proposition, the connection is, that there must have been a law of some kind; a âlaw written on their hearts,â since sin was in the world, and people could not be charged with sin, or treated as sinners, unless there was some law. The passage here states a great and important principle, that people will not be held to be guilty unless there is a law which binds them of which they are apprized, and which they voluntarily transgress; see the note at Romans 4:15. This verse, therefore, meets an objection that might be started from what had been said in Romans 4:15. The apostle had affirmed that âwhere no law is there is no transgression.â He here stated that all were sinners. It might be objected, that as during this long period of time they had no law, they could not be stoners. To meet this, he says that people were then in fact sinners, and were treated as such, which showed that there must have been a law.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Romans 5:12. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world — From this verse, to the conclusion of the chapter, the apostle produces a strong argument to prove that, as all mankind stood in need of the grace of God in Christ to redeem them from their sins, so this grace has been afforded equally to all, both Jews and Gentiles.
Dr. Taylor has given the following analysis of the apostle's mode of argumentation. The argument stands thus:-"The consequences of Christ's obedience extend as far as the consequences of Adam's disobedience. The consequences of Adam's disobedience extend to all mankind; and therefore, so do the consequences of Christ's obedience. Now, if the Jews will not allow the Gentiles any interest in Abraham, as not being naturally descended from him, yet they must own that the Gentiles are the descendants of Adam, as well as themselves; and being all equally involved in the consequences of his sin, from which" (as far as the death of the body is concerned) "they shall all equally be released at the resurrection, through the free gift of God, therefore they could not deny the Gentiles a share in all the other blessings included in the same gift."
This argument, besides proving the main point, goes to show:
1. That the grace of God in the Gospel abounds beyond, or very far exceeds, the mere reversing of the sufferings brought upon mankind by Adam's one offence; as it bestows a vast surplusage of blessings which have no relation to that offence, but to the many offences which mankind have committed, and to the exuberance of the Divine grace.
2. To show how justly the Divine grace is founded on the obedience of Christ, in correspondence to the dispensation Adam was under, and to the consequences of his disobedience: if this disobedience involved all mankind in death, it is proper that the obedience of Christ should be the cause not only of reversing that death to all mankind, but also of other blessings which God should see fit (through him) to bestow on the world.
3. It serves to explain, and set in a clear view, the difference between the law and grace. It was the law which, for Adam's one transgression, subjected him and his posterity, as included in him when he transgressed, to death, without hopes of a revival. It is grace which restores all men to life at the resurrection; and, over and above that, has provided a gracious dispensation for the pardon of their sins; for reducing them to obedience; for guarding them against temptations; supplying them with strength and comfort; and for advancing them to eternal life. This would give the attentive Jew a just notion of the law which himself was under, and under which he was desirous of bringing the Gentiles.
The order in which the apostle handles this argument is this:-
1. He affirms that death passed upon all men by Adam's one transgression, Romans 5:12.
2. He proves this, Romans 5:13; Romans 5:14:
3. He affirms there is a correspondence between Adam and Christ; or between the ÏαÏαÏÏÏμα, offence, and the ÏαÏιÏμα, free gift, Romans 5:14.
4. This correspondence, so far as the two opposite parts answer to each other, is justly expressed, Romans 5:18; Romans 5:19; and there we have the main or fundamental position of the apostle's argument, in relation to the point which he has been arguing from the beginning of the epistle, namely, the extensiveness of the grace of the Gospel, that it actually reaches to ALL MEN, and is not confined to the Jews.
5. But, before he laid down this position, it was necessary that he should show that the correspondence between Adam and Christ, or between the offence and the gift, is not to be confined strictly to the bounds specified in the position, as if the gift reached no farther than the consequences of the offence; when in reality it extends vastly beyond them, Romans 5:15-17.
6. Having settled these points, as previously necessary to clear his fundamental position, and fit to his argument, he then lays down that position in a diversified manner of speech, Romans 5:18; Romans 5:19, just as in 1 Corinthians 15:20, 1 Corinthians 15:21, and leaves us to conclude, from the premises laid down, Romans 5:15-17, that the gift and the grace in its utmost extent, is as free to all mankind who are willing to accept of it, as this particular instance, the resurrection from the dead. They shall all be raised from the dead hereafter; they may all be quickened by the Spirit here.
7. Having thus shown the extensiveness of the Divine grace, in opposition to the dire effects of the law under which Adam was; that the Jews might not overlook what he intended they should particularly observe, he puts them in mind that the law given to Adam, transgress and die, was introduced into the Jewish constitution by the ministry of Moses; and for this end, that the offence, with the penalty of death annexed to it, might abound, Romans 5:20. But, to illustrate tho Divine grace by setting it in contrast to the law, he immediately adds: where sin, subjecting to death, hath abounded, grace hath much more abounded; that is, in blessings bestowed; it has stretched far beyond both Adam's transgression, and the transgressions under the law of Moses, Romans 5:20; Romans 5:21, and see the note on the first of these verses.
Upon this argument the learned doctor makes the following general remarks:-
"I. As to the order of time: the apostle carries his arguments backwards from the time when Christ came into the world (Romans 1:17; to Romans 4:0.) to the time when the covenant was made with Abraham, (Romans 4:0.,) to the time when the judgment to condemnation, pronounced upon Adam, came upon all men, Romans 5:12, to the end. And thus he gives us a view of the principal dispensations from the beginning of the world.
"II. In this last case, as well as in the two former, he uses law or forensic terms; judgment to condemnation, justification, justify, made sinners, made righteous. And therefore, as he considers both Jews and Gentiles at the coming of Christ, and Abraham when the covenant was made with him, so he considers Adam, and all men, as standing in the court before the tribunal of God. And this was the clearest and concisest way of representing his arguments." Notes, p. 283.
Sin entered into the world — There was neither sin nor death before the offence of Adam; after that there were both. Adam's transgression was therefore the cause of both.
And death by sin — Natural evil is evidently the effect of moral evil; if man had never sinned, he had never suffered. Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return, was never spoken till after Adam had eaten the forbidden fruit.
Death passed upon all men — Hence we see that all human beings partook in the consequences of Adam's sin. He propagated his like; and, with the rudiments of his own nature, propagated those of his moral likeness.
For that all have sinned — All are born with a sinful nature; and the seeds of this evil soon vegetate, and bring forth corresponding fruits. There has never been one instance of an immaculate human soul since the fall of Adam. Every man sins, and sins too after the similitude of Adam's transgression. Adam endeavoured to be independent of God; all his offspring act in the same way: hence prayer is little used, because prayer is the language of dependence; and this is inconsistent with every emotion of original sin. When these degenerate children of degenerate parents are detected in their sins, they act just as their parents did; each excuses himself, and lays the blame on another. What hast thou done?-The woman whom THOU gavest me, to be with me; SHE gave me, and I did eat. What hast THOU done? -The SERPENT beguiled me, and I did eat. Thus, it is extremely difficult to find a person who ingenuously acknowledges his own transgressions.
Genesis 3:6; Genesis 3:6, &c., where the doctrine of original sin is particularly considered.
