Romans 5:12-21 – The Second Adam

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

Through the first Adam came death, but through the second Adam came a choice. Romans 5:12-21 highlights a choice and responsiblity we all share.

Introduction

Is your soul alive and well, or is your soul dead and inactive? The greatest gift that God has given to mankind is the gift of life, but many of us don’t realize we’re actually dead in our souls.  This week’s Sunday School commentary immediately picks up with Paul speaking about the blessing that came to mankind through the second Adam.  This week’s Sunday School commentary will cover scripture from Romans 5:12-21. 

What we will focus on learning in this week’s Sunday School commentary:

1. The first and second Adam.
2. What makes the soul dead or gives it life.
3. The great responsibility we have today so that we may live tomorrow.

Sin and Death Through Adam

Our lesson opens with Paul speaking of how sin entered the world, and through sin, death entered the world and spread to all people through one man, which is a reference to Adam (Rom. 5:12). As shown in Genesis 3, Adam sinned in the garden by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  

Now, many will try to put the sin on Eve because Eve ate from the tree first, and passed the fruit of the tree to Adam to eat (Gen. 3:1-6).  Sure, Eve did disobey in the garden by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, God’s instructions were first given to Adam (Gen. 2:15-17).  What this means is that the responsibility fell upon Adam to keep both himself and Eve from disobeying God’s instructions.

To bring further clarity to this point, when the Lord’s presence moved through the garden, He didn’t call for Eve; He called for Adam to come forth (Gen. 3:9)!   

In Romans 5:13, the scripture highlighted that at one point in time, sin was not imputed upon anyone because God’s law was not known to mankind.  So, people lived in ignorance of their sin.  Yet, as Paul pointed out in Romans 5:14, those who lived from Adam to Moses, having not received God’s law, were still sinners.  So, as Paul stated, death reigned, as a king reigns on earth.

Let us keep in mind that there are two deaths, but only one of those deaths is certain for all.  Let me explain these three forms of death to all of you.

The first form of death many of us are familiar with is physical death.  Physical death is a result of Adam’s sin.  You see, it is because of sin that everything tarnishes and fades–sin corrupts and destroys.  This is why Christ said that one ought to lay up their treasures in heaven and not on earth (Matt. 6:19-20).  I’ll speak more on that thought in a moment, but let’s move on to the second form of death.

The second death is one being dead in the trespasses of their sin.  Now, this death doesn’t have to be permanent because one can be made alive.  As Paul said to the Ephesians, we who are of faith have been made alive through Christ, and the receiving of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:1).  However, those who don’t turn to the Lord but continue to live in sin will eventually suffer the true second death.

The third form of death (this is truly the second death) is being separated from God for everlasting life.  This death is an eternal death from which there is no return.

In Romans 5:14, you will notice that Paul likened Adam to a “type of Him”, which is a reference to Christ.  The meaning of this statement isn’t to say that Adam was exactly like Christ.  Paul explains that in Romans 5:15-16 by saying, “The free gift is not like the offense … For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification.”  

Through Adam came sin, the offense against God, and therefore, again, through Adam came death, which is physical and eternal.

Life Through Christ

Now, death does not have to reign over you, nor does it have to be the way in which you go.  To be clear, everyone will physically die, but eternal separation from God does not have to be the path you take.  Christ became our propitiation so that we may obtain God’s mercy and find His grace (Heb. 4:16).  Because Christ became our propitiation, and we are justified through our faith in Him, we are saved from God’s wrath.

Because we are saved from God’s wrath, that means there is no eternal separation for those who believe.  In other words, there is life in and through Christ!   Once again, to be clear, this life is spiritual life that will be eternal life in God’s kingdom.

So, in this comparison that Paul was doing, he tells believers in Romans 5:17 that death no longer reigns over us, like a king.  Death cannot reign over us because Christ, through His death and resurrection, overcame the grave.  Christ, we should understand, reigns victorious over death!

So, when you say you believe in Christ and dwell under His care, you dwell under the one who overcame death’s reign!  So, rather than death having rule over you, because it cannot, Paul stated that righteousness reigns over you.  Righteousness reigns over all who believe.

Life, eternal life, is a free gift, Paul repeatedly states throughout this scripture.  I don’t believe it is a coincidence that Paul keeps repeating this statement.  We fall into sin without any kind of effort, since sin is a part of our nature through Adam.  You can have eternal life without doing any work to earn it.  Keep in mind, God did the work to give you life by giving His only begotten Son who offered His life all of us.

The only thing required of you to have life through Christ is to believe and have faith.  Yes, you must move in obedience, but obedience without Christ we have still ended up with one being a sinner.  Yes, without Christ, we would be no different than those who lived before Moses, because even with the law, one would not be justified.

Romans 5:20-21 is a reminder of what the law has done for mankind.   Through the law, sin is made known to us, and it abounds, as Paul said.  At the same time, as I said in the commentary – Righteousness through Faith – the law helps us to understand that we need Christ’s help to overcome our sin so that we may live righteously, if we desire to inherit God’s promise.  

So, because of sin, grace has also abounded, being made known to us through Christ.  You see, without sin, there would be no need for God’s grace because we would already be righteous.  The fact that we have grace, once again, proves just how wonderful the love of God because God did not have to love us.

The Great Responsibility

So, responsibility is certainly a word of focus for us from what we have learned in this passage of scripture.  You must live responsibly if the kingdom of heaven is your desire.

You see, through Moses, responsibility entered the world because God had given His law to the children of Israel.  The children of Israel were supposed to be an example of what is holy and righteous by heeding God’s law.  God’s desire was for Israel to become a kingdom of priests, a holy nation (Ex. 19:6), but as we know, they chose to live disobediently after having received God’s law (Ex. 32).

The reason why we see Paul touching on Adam and also God’s law is to share a difference between us and those who lived during the days before Moses.  They lived without a law, and death had no choice but to spread because they didn’t know what was righteous in God’s eyes.  However, everyone who has lived after Moses and have heard of God’s law has knowledge of what is and is not righteous in God’s eyes.

Therefore, because we know what is sinful, we have a great responsibility in that we must hold ourselves accountable for living in obedience to God’s instructions, especially if we desire to inherit His kingdom.  Christ taught that one must love the Lord wholeheartedly and love one’s neighbor if one desires to live in obedience and inherit the promise (Matt. 22:36-40).  

Death in the World

After speaking about being saved from God’s wrath, Paul wanted believers to understand there is a difference between life in this world and life with the Lord.  You see, some live in this world who believe that this world is everything–they live for its treasures and its riches.  

Yet, the truth that we must understand is this:  Heaven will never be found or had in this world!  Why can’t heaven be found in this world, even though God created the heavens and the earth?

In Revelation 21:1, when John was caught up to the kingdom of heaven, he said that he saw the old heaven and earth pass away, as a new heaven and a new earth came forth.

Heaven, I will remind you, is eternal.  About the eternal day to come, the Lord said that He will wipe away every tear and there will be no death, nor sorrow (Rev. 21:4).  So, the idea that heaven can be found in a world where there is much death and sorrow is foolish.  Let us choose not to live foolishly, but rather, let us live for the day to, cherishing the free gift that God has given to us.