|
WAGGONER on ROMANS page
3
A Series of Contrasts— Romans 5:12-19
12 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: 13 (for until the law sin was in the world; but sin
is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned
from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the
similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of Him that was
to come. 15 But not as the offense, so also is the free gift; for if
through the offense, so also is the free gift; for if through the
offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift
by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift; for the
judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many
offenses unto justification. 17 For if by one man's offense death
reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of
the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
18 Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to
condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man's
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
many be made righteous.
Joy in God. —The
eleventh verse should have been included in last week’s lesson, as the
thought is the same as in the preceding verses. By the same life by
which we receive the reconciliation and salvation, "we also joy in
God." Christ's life is a joyous life. When David had fallen, he
prayed, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold
me with thy free Spirit." Psalm 61:12. The brightness of the
heavens, the beauty of the infinite variety of flowers with which God
clothes the earth, and the glad songs of the birds, all indicate that
God delights in joy and beauty. Brightness and song are but the natural
expressions of his life. "Let them also that love thy name be
joyful in thee." Psalm 5:11.
There is probably no passage in Romans [considered] more
difficult to understand than verses 12-19. The reason is that there is
so long a parenthesis in the midst of the main statement, and there is
so much repetition of the same form of expression. There is really no
greatly involved argument. In this study we shall not attempt to deal
with every particular, but will note the main thought running through
the whole, so that the reader can read and study it more satisfactorily
for himself.
First Principles .—It
will be seen from verse 12 that the apostle goes back to the very
beginning. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."
There can never be any presentation of the gospel, if these facts are
ignored.
Death by Sin .—Death
came by sin, because sin is death. Sin, when it is full grown, bringeth
forth death. See James 1:15. "To be carnally minded is death."
Romans 8:6. "The sting of death is sin." 1 Corinthians 15:56.
There could be no death if there were no sin. Sin carries death in its
bosom. So it was not an arbitrary act on the part of God that death came
upon men because of sin. It could not possibly be otherwise.
Righteousness and Life .—"To
be spiritually minded is life and peace." Romans 8:6. "There
is none good but one, that is, God." Matthew 19:17. He is goodness
itself. Goodness is his life. Righteousness is simply God's way.
Therefore righteousness is life. It is not merely a conception of what
is right, but it is the right thing itself. Righteousness is active. As
sin and death are inseparable, so are righteousness and life. "See,
I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil."
Deuteronomy 30:15.
Death Passed upon All Men. —Note
the justice here. Death passed upon all men, "for that all have
sinned." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall
not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the
iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon
him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him." Ezekiel
18:20. And this is also a necessary consequence of the fact that sin
contains death in it, and that death can not come in any other way than
by sin.
The Conclusion .—It
will be noticed that the twelfth verse begins a proposition that is not
completed. Verses 13-17 are parenthetical; we must pass on to the
eighteenth verse to find the conclusion. But as the mind would naturally
lose the first part of the statement on account of the long parenthesis,
the apostle repeats the substance of it, so that we may perceive the
force of the conclusion. So the first part of verse 18 is parallel to
verse 12. "As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men to condemnation." The
conclusion is, "Even so by the righteousness of One the free gift
came upon all men unto justification of life."
The Reign of Death. —"Death
reigned from Adam to Moses." That does not imply that death did not
reign just as much afterwards. But the point is that Moses stands for
the giving of the law; "for the law was given by Moses." John
1:17. Now since death reigns through sin, and sin is not imputed when
there is no law, it is evident from the statement that "death
reigned from Adam to Moses," that the law was in the world just as
much before Sinai as it was afterwards. "The sting of death is sin;
and the strength of sin is the law." 1 Corinthians 15:56. There can
be no sin imputed when there is no law; but wherever there is sin, there
death reigns.
Adam a Figure. —"Death
reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the
similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of Him that was
to come." How is Adam a figure of Him that was to come, namely,
Christ? Just as the following verses indicate, that is, Adam was a
figure of Christ in that his action involved many besides himself. It is
evident that Adam could not give his descendants any higher nature than
he had himself, so Adam’s sin made it inevitable that all his
descendants should be born with sinful natures. Sentence of death,
however, does not pass on them for that, but because they have sinned.
A Figure by Contrast. —Adam
is a figure of Christ, but only by contrast. "Not as the offense,
so also is the free gift." Through the offense of one many are
dead; but through the righteousness of One, many receive life. "The
judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many
offenses unto justification. "For if by one man's offense death
reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of
the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus
Christ." There is contrast all the way through. Everything that
came through Adam's fall is undone in Christ; or, better still, all that
was lost in Adam is restored in Christ.
"Much More." —This
might be taken as the key-note of this chapter. Not only is everything
that is lost in Adam restored in Christ, but "much more."
"If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life."
And there is no chance of finding fault with the
inevitable fact that we are inheritors of a sinful nature through Adam.
We can not complain that we are unjustly dealt with. It is true that we
are not to blame for having a sinful nature, and the Lord recognizes the
fact. So he provides that just as in Adam we were made partakers of a
sinful nature, even so in Christ we shall be made partakers of the
divine nature.
But "much more." "For if by one man's
offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of
grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by One, Jesus
Christ." That is, the life of which we are made partakers in Christ
is much stronger for righteousness than the life which we received from
Adam is for unrighteousness. God does not do things by halves. He gives
"abundance of grace."
The Condemnation.—"Death
passed upon all men;" or, as stated later, "judgment came upon
all men to condemnation." "The wages of sin is death."
Romans 6:23. All have sinned, and, therefore, all are in
condemnation. There has not a man lived on earth over whom death
has not reigned, nor will there be until the end of the world.
Enoch and Elijah, as well as those who shall be translated when the Lord
comes, are no exceptions.
There are no exceptions, for the Scripture says that
"death passed upon all men." For the reign of death is simply
the reign of sin. "Elias was a man of like passions with us."
Enoch was righteous only by faith; his nature was as sinful as that of
any other man. So that death reigned over them as well as over any
others. For be it remembered that this present going into the grave,
which we so often see, is not the punishment of sin. It is simply the
evidence of our mortality. Good and bad alike die. This is not the
condemnation, because men die rejoicing in the Lord, and even singing
songs of triumph.
"Justification of Life." —"By
the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto
justification of life." There is no exception here. As the
condemnation came upon all, so the justification comes upon all. Christ
has tasted death for every man. He has given himself for all. Nay, he
has given himself to every man. The free gift has come upon all. The
fact that it is a free gift is evidence that there is no exception. If
it came upon only those who have some special qualification, then it
would not be a free gift.
It is a fact, therefore, plainly stated in the Bible,
that the gift of righteousness and life in Christ has come to every man
on earth. There is not the slightest reason why every man that has ever
lived should not be saved unto eternal life, except that they would not
have it. So many spurn the gift offered so freely.
"The Obedience of One." —By
the obedience of One shall many be made righteous. Men are not saved
through their own obedience, but through the obedience of Christ. Here
is where the skeptic cavils, and says that it is not just that one man's
obedience should be counted as another's. But the man who rejects the
counsel of the Lord does not know anything about justice, and is not
qualified to speak in the case.
The Bible does not teach us that God calls us righteous
simply because Jesus of Nazareth was righteous eighteen hundred years
ago. It says that by his obedience we are made righteous. Notice that it
is present, actual righteousness. The trouble with those who object to
the righteousness of Christ being imputed to believers is that they do
not take into consideration the fact that Jesus lives. He is alive
today, as much as when he was in Judea. "He ever liveth," and
he is "the same yesterday and to-day, and forever." His life
is as perfectly in harmony with the law now as it was then. And he lives
in the hearts of those who believe on him.
Therefore it is Christ's present obedience in believers
that makes them righteous. They can of themselves do nothing, and so God
in His love does it in them. Here is the whole story: "I am
crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth
in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Galatians
2:20.
|