The Reign of Death - Romans 5:12-14
INTRODUCTION:
Romans 5:12-21 is by many considered to be the most difficult passage in the book of Romans. We are only going to look at the introduction to this passage this morning and then we will tackle the rest of it next week. I believe that the basic truths that Paul wants us to understand are simple and clear and that is what we are going to look at. I am not going to try and delve into the complexities that the theologians debate, but we will look at what Paul says to us.
Romans 5:12-14 is the introduction and lays the foundation for the rest of the chapter and the truth that is clearly seen in these three verses is that death is universal for the human race. Paul’s primary goal in the rest of this chapter is to reveal to us how one Man’s death provided salvation for many. To do this, so that we can understand the reasonableness of this truth, Paul must first show how one man’s sin produced condemnation for the whole human race.
Paul began Romans by showing us the utter sinfulness and lostness of all mankind (1:18-3:20) then Paul showed us how Christ, by His justifying death on the cross provided the way of salvation for everyone who comes to God in faith and how that salvation cannot be taken from us, lost or forfeited because both the way of salvation and keeping us saved are works of God alone (3:21-5:11). The question that arises from this is how could what one Man did at one time in history have such an absolute effect on the human race?
The parallel that Paul shows between Adam and Christ is really a comparison of opposites. Because of Adam’s sin, all men are condemned; because of Christ’s obedience, many are pardoned. The parallel between Adam and Christ is only in regard to the truth that what one man did affected countless others.
Paul lays for us four logical parts or components to the truth that death is universal: Through one man sin entered the world, Through sin death entered the world, Death spread to all mankind, History shows that death reigns over all mankind. Let’s pray and then turn to our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Romans 5:12-14, our passage for this morning. We will be spending most of our time in verse 12. Please. If you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Romans 5:12-14,
“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— for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.” (Romans 5:12–14, NASB95)[1]
THROUGH ONE MAN SIN ENTERED THE WORLD (Romans 5:12a)
Paul begins this second section of this chapter with “therefore” which connects us back to his last thought that as believers, those of us who have come to God in faith, we are reconciled to God by the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Reminding us of this, Paul is now going to compare Christ and Adam, showing us the common truth between them, that each one as one man did something that had a huge effect on countless others.
Beginning with Adam, Paul says, “through one man sin entered into the world.” (Romans 5:12a, NASB95)[2] Notice and this is important, Paul did not say that sin originated with Adam, only that Adam brought it into the world, into the human realm. Sin did not originate with Adam, it originated with Satan, when as Lucifer he rebelled against his Creator and tried to make himself God. When that took place we do not know, but it had to be before sin entered the world through one man because Satan was there tempting the woman.
When God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, we read this in Genesis 2:15-17, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.’” (Genesis 2:15–17, NASB95)[3] From all the fruit trees in this beautiful garden where God had placed the man, man was free to eat from any of them, but one. One simple prohibition, one tree out of all the trees in the garden God commanded Adam not to eat from it. The consequence for disobedience to God’s command was severe.
God created Eve and gave her to Adam as his wife and helper, Satan came to Eve in the form of one of the creatures God had created and tempted her to doubt God’s Word and to disobey His command. She listened to the serpent and took the fruit and gave it to her husband and they both ate. Even though Eve disobeyed first, the primary responsibility for the sin was Adam’s, first, because he was the one who had received the command not to eat from this tree directly from God. Second, because he had headship over Eve and should have insisted on complete obedience to God for both of them rather than allowing her to lead him into disobedience. Adam disobeyed with his eyes wide open, he knew what he was doing. In this one command only was Adam required to submit to God. Except for this one prohibition, Adam had been given the authority by God to subdue and rule the entire earth. When he disobeyed God, sin entered his life and brought about an inherent change in his very nature, he went from innocence to sinfulness, this became a part of who he was and would be transmitted to every one of his descendants.
Paul’s argument is that through Adam, one man, sin entered into the world. Notice Paul does not say “sins” plural, but “sin” singular. Paul is not talking about a particular unrighteous act, but rather that inherent tendency to unrighteousness. Paul is not talking about the many sinful acts that Adam committed after his first act of disobedience, but the indwelling sin nature that was a result of that first act of disobedience, and that is what he passed on to each and every one of his descendants. Not only did he pass onto them his physical nature, but also his spiritual nature, which after his first act of disobedience was characterized and dominated by sin. In regard to this truth that we all are descended from Adam, John MacArthur writes, “Mankind is a single entity, constituting a divinely ordered solidarity. Adam represents the entire human race that is descended from him, no matter how many subgroups there may be. Therefore when Adam sinned, all mankind sinned, and because his first sin transformed his inner nature, that now depraved nature was also transmitted to his posterity. Because he became spiritually polluted, all his descendants would be polluted in the same way.”[4] John MacArthur speaks of the human race being a divinely ordered solidarity. Solidarity is the state of being solidly united and in this case, we are solidly united because we all come from the same ancestor, Adam. In the book of Hebrews, the author says that Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek because Levi was still in the loins of Abraham when Melchizedek met Abraham after he defeated the kings who had attacked Sodom and Gomorrah and carried off Lot and his family. The author of Hebrews is saying that even though Melchizedek lived many years before Jacob gave birth to Levi, the father of the priestly tribe, Levi by being a descendant of Abraham, he shared in the tithe that Abraham paid to that king priest Melchizedek.
In the same way, but with far greater consequences the sin of Adam was passed on to all his descendants. When Adam disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit he not only sinned as a man, he sinned as man. When Adam and Eve, who were one flesh, disobeyed God, all of their descendants, that is, the entire human race was in Adam’s loins. That means that all of their descendants would share in that sin and the separation from God that it brought and the death that was the consequence. Paul told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die,” (1 Corinthians 15:22a, NASB95)[5] When we speak of guilt and who was guilty, every human being was present in the garden with Adam and shares in the sin he committed there.
Paul in his argument is saying that Adam and Eve are actual historical figures, that they were the original human beings from whom all others descended. If they are not historical, if they are not the original human beings whom God created, then Paul’s argument falls apart and the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is destroyed, there is no good news, there is no Savior. If an historical Adam did not represent all mankind in sinfulness, then an historical Christ could not represent all mankind in righteousness. The Gospel stands on there being one man, the first Adam through which all men, the human race fell, that is the only way all men could be saved by the one Man, Jesus Christ, the second and last Adam.
THROUGH SIN DEATH ENTERED THE WORLD (Romans 5:12b)
The second part of Paul’s argument that death is universal is that because sin entered the world through one man, death also entered the world through that one man’s sin. Man was not mortal when he was created. The word mortal literally means being subject to death. Man was originally created to be eternal. God had clearly warned Adam that disobedience to God’s command, that disobeying God by eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would make Adam subject to death. Even though Satan told Eve that she surely would not die, that was the fate Adam suffered for his disobedience. God had already ordained before man even existed that the wage of sin is death. Death like a poison entered Adam’s heart the moment he ate of the forbidden fruit and now it is the poison in the hearts of everyone of Adam’s descendants. Tiny babies die, not because they have committed sins but because they are born with a sin nature, the ultimate consequence of which is death. Understand that a person does not become a sinner by committing sins but commits sins because he is by nature a sinner. A lie does not make a person a liar because his heart was deceitful before he ever lied. A person does not become a murderer when he kills someone because his heart was already murderous. Jesus said in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” (Matthew 15:19, NASB95)[6]
So, what is meant by death? In God’s Word there are three kinds of death. Death is literally separation and as soon as Adam disobeyed God he died spiritually; he was spiritually separated from God. Paul reminded the Ephesians that before salvation they were dead in their trespasses and sins. The unsaved are alive to the world, but they are dead to God and the things of God. We are born separated from God.
A second kind of death that sin brings is physical death, this is separation from fellow human beings. Adam did not die the moment he disobeyed God, but he began to age and became subject to physical death, he became mortal.
The third kind of death that sin brings is eternal death, this by far is the worse aspect of death and is a horrible extension of the spiritual death mentioned first. The apostle John in the book of Revelation referred to this as the second death. This death brings eternal separation from God and eternal torment in the lake of fire.
The unbeliever should fear all three deaths. Spiritual death prevents earthly happiness and spiritual joy, physical death brings and end to the opportunity for salvation, and eternal death will bring everlasting punishment. The one who has placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation does not need to fear any of these kinds of death. They are saved forever from spiritual and eternal death through Jesus Christ and at the moment of physical death they will be ushered into the presence of God. Some believers will not even have to experience physical death, they will be raptured into heaven when Jesus Christ returns for His church. Christ by conquering death by His resurrection has for believers removed the fear of death.
DEATH SPREAD TO ALL MANKIND (Romans 5:12c)
A third component to Paul’s argument is that death spread to all mankind, without exception. Now I understand that Enoch and Elijah escaped physical death and eternal death, but each was born spiritually dead until they trusted the Lord. Even Jesus died, but not for His own sin but because He took upon Himself the sin of all mankind and in taking man’s sin He also took upon Himself the penalty for sin.
Paul writes in the last part of verse 12, “…and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—” (Romans 5:12c, NASB95)[7] The word translated “sinned” in Greek grammar is in the aorist tense, which means that at one point in time all men sinned. That one point in time was the time that Adam first sinned by disobeying God’s command. His sin became all mankind’s sin, because we all, all of the human race was in his loins, we are his descendants. Paul does not go on to explain this but states it as truth for us to believe because it is the inspired word of God. He simply declared that Adam’s sin is transmitted to all his descendants because that truth was revealed to him by God. Human depravity is not the result, but the cause of our sinful acts, we each inherited Adam’s sin nature and are born with the innate ability and tendency to sin. We do not have to teach children to sin they come by it naturally. David in our Scripture reading this morning said, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5, NASB95)[8] Every person who is born is a child of Satan and remains a child of Satan unless he or she in faith believes that Jesus Christ died for the payment of their sin, was buried and rose from the dead on the third day, only then are we spiritually reborn in Christ and are transferred from Satan’s family to God’s family through Jesus Christ.
As I already stated, Adam had no excuse at all. When he disobeyed God’s command and ate the fruit he had not been deceived and he was fully aware of what he was doing. He deliberately and willfully sinned and each and every one of us shares in that sin and the guilt and the consequences which is death.
Maybe you do not like the idea that you sinned with Adam, why you were not even there, you did not even exist when he sinned. But if you are going to object in this way, remember that when Jesus Christ was crucified you were not there either, but as believers we are willing to except the fact by faith that we died with Him in His death, we did not enter the grave with Him and were not literally resurrected with Him, but in faith we are accounted as being buried and raised with Him. If it is not true that all sinned in Adam, then it would be impossible to make the point that all are made righteous in Christ, which is what Paul will explain later, just as he told the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:22, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22, NASB95)[9]
Maybe you think it is unfair that we are born guilty of Adam’s sin. But at the same time, it is unfair that the sinless Son of God suffered the penalty for sin on the behalf of all mankind. If God was fair, He would have destroyed Adam and Eve when they sinned and that would have been the end of the human race. But because God loves us, He pours out His grace on us and forgives us for our sin paid for through the death of His only Son. Can we fully comprehend this? No, but we can accept it by faith.
Consider the angels, they were created by God, but they were not created in His image or to procreate, so in Lucifer’s rebellion, those angels that followed him and fell with him, fell individually and were immediately damned to hell forever, with no opportunity for salvation. God created the angels to serve Him and to give Him glory. They understand His holiness, His righteousness, His power and His majesty. But they have no comprehension of His grace, mercy, compassion, or forgiveness because those attributes of God have meaning only where there is the guilt feeling of sin. For this reason, perhaps is why Peter wrote that the holy angels long to look into the gospel of salvation. (1 Peter 1:12)
Before God laid the foundations of the earth, he already had in place the plan of salvation and one day heaven will be filled with those who have experienced His grace and mercy and compassion and forgiveness and having been restored to His image and we will give Him eternal praise and glory.
HISTORY SHOWS THAT DEATH REIGNS OVER ALL MANKIND (Romans 5:13-14)
The fourth part of Paul’s argument that death is universal is that history shows death’s reign over all mankind, over the whole human race. No one can escape it, it is universal. Paul points out in verse 13 that even before the Law was given to Moses in the wilderness sin was already in the world. Paul writes, “for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” (Romans 5:13, NASB95)[10] Man’s failure to not meet the standards of the Law was not imputed or not counted against them because they had no law to break. In other words, they could not be transgressors of the Law, but that did not change the fact that they were sinful by nature, death reigned from Adam to Moses, death was universal even without the Law because it was obvious that man was sinful. It was not because of their sinful acts in breaking the Mosaic Law, which they did not have, but it was because they were each born with a sin nature that all humans have and from Adam to Moses they were subject to death even without the Law.
After the fall Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden and no one was able to go back into the Garden, the entrance was guarded by cherubim and a flaming sword that would execute anyone trying to return to the Garden. Because of this there was no more opportunity to disobey God’s single prohibition. There was no longer access to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, so no one could have sinned in the likeness of Adam, but as descendants we are each guilty for that sin.
The human race is one, we all descend from Adam and Eve and we all have inherited Adam’s sin nature. Paul ends this introduction by telling us that Adam was a type of Him who was to come. Remember a type is an Old Testament person, place, thing or occurrence that prefigures a person, place, thing or occurrence in the New Testament called the antitype. So, a type is an example, a copy, or a pattern. It is not the important thing, it is pointing to the important thing, the antitype. Adam was a type being one man that by one act affected the whole human race. Adam is pointing to the One who is to come, the antitype, Jesus Christ, the One Man who by one act will provide salvation from sin and death to fallen mankind.
CONCLUSION:
This brings us to the end of the introduction of this passage where we will stop today. Paul has laid the foundation of death’s universal reign over the whole human race. Next week we will see as Paul transition from death to life as he moves to the glorious gospel of salvation from sin and death that God offers fallen mankind through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
So, what do we take away from this passage? I think that there are a couple of things that are so important for us to learn and understand. First, Paul gives us no doubt that he believes that what is written in the first three chapters of Genesis is historical truth. In this passage of Romans, he portrayed Adam as a real historical figure who was the first man created by God and who became the father of all mankind, meaning that there are not multiple races, but one race all related through Adam. Paul’s teaching shows that the Gospel stands or falls on the historicity of Genesis. If Genesis is fact then the Gospel is fact, if Genesis is fable and we are not all descended from Adam then how can the Gospel be true, how can one Man die for all mankind?
The second thing that I believe is important for us to understand is the doctrine of sin, understand how sin came into the world and understand the consequence of sin which is death and what that means, spiritual death which is separation from God, physical death which is separation from this life, and eternal death which is everlasting separation from God in a place of eternal torment called the lake of fire. Death is something that unbelievers have to fear, but believers do not have to fear death because Jesus conquered death for us through His resurrection.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]MacArthur, John F., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Romans 1-8. Chicago, IL : Moody Press, 1991
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.