The Word Made Fresh
1So, since we are justified by faith, we are at peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2and through Christ we have received this grace in which we live, and we rejoice in our hope that we will share in the glory of God. 3Not only that, but we can also rejoice even when we suffer because we know that suffering strengthens us, 4and strength produces character, and character results in hope, 5and we are never disappointed by hope because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
6Yes, while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7You know that it is rare for anyone to die for a good person – although it does happen, but very infrequently. 8But God’s love for us is proven in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. 9It is even more certain, then, that because we have been forgiven through his blood, now we will be spared God’s wrath through him. 10After all, while we were enemies of God we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son. Therefore, it is even more certain that we will be saved by his life. 11Even better, we can boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, because now we have been reconciled to God through him.
12Sin entered the world through one man, and death entered the world through sin and spread to everyone because everyone has sinned. 13Therefore, sin was in the world before the law, but where there is no law sin cannot be recognized. 14Yes, death claimed dominion from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not as far-reaching as Adam’s, but Adam was a type of the one who was to come.
15The freely given gift is not at all like the trespass. After all, if many died because of one man’s sin, it is even more certain that God’s grace in the freely given gift of the one man, Jesus Christ, is given in abundance to the many. 16The freely given gift does not have the same effect as the sin of the one man, because the judgment following that single trespass brought condemnation, but the freely given gift that then followed many trespasses has resulted in justification. 17If one man’s sin brought death into the world, it is even more certain that those who receive God’s abundant grace, and the freely given gift of righteousness, will have dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18So, just as one man’s sin resulted in everyone being condemned, so also does one man’s righteous act lead to justification and salvation for all. 19Just as one man’s disobedience caused everyone to sin, so by the one man’s obedience will the many be made righteous.
20But now the law has entered, and sins have multiplied; but where sin has increased, grace has abounded even more, 21so that although sin was in charge of death, now grace has dominion through the justification that leads to life eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Commentary
1-5: Continuing with the theme of justification by faith (God overlooks our sins because of our faith, not our works), Paul calls it grace and attributes it to Jesus Christ. We can boast, he says, not in our works but in our hope of sharing God’s glory and in our suffering because of that hope. Suffering results in endurance (“no pain, no gain”), endurance in character (“when the going gets tough, the tough get going”), and character in that hope which is grounded in God’s love for us.
6-11: The death of Christ was the avenue for our justification; the resurrection is the avenue for our salvation.
12-14: Because of the transgression of Adam all people became sinners and were separated from God. Because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ all people became reconciled to God (compare 1 Corinthians 15:21).
15-17: The term “freely given gift” is important to this paragraph, but only occurs six times in the Bible; five of them here and once in the next chapter where the freely given gift is identified as eternal life (6:23). Paul contrasts the freely given gift with the trespass of Adam. His point is that the blood of Jesus is more powerful than the transgression of Adam.
18-21: Verse 18 seems to confirm the idea of universal salvation — “justification and salvation for all.” Verse 19 hedges on it — “the many will be made righteous.” Verses 20-21 say the same thing, substituting law and grace for justification and condemnation in verses 18-19. We can summarize this paragraph thusly:
18: The trespass of one (Adam) led to condemnation.
The righteous act of one (Jesus) leads to justification and life.
19: The disobedience of one led to the many becoming sinners.
The obedience of one leads to the many becoming righteous.
20: When the law entered, sin increased but so did grace.
21: Sin leads to death (so Adam), but grace leads to life (so Jesus).
Takeaway
Faith in Jesus Christ replaced the demands of the Law of Moses. That does not erase the validity of the Law – the Law shows us how God wants us to live with one another. But it does mean that the condemnation of the Law is erased because of God’s love for us which resulted in the life of Jesus and in his suffering on our behalf.