Superabounding Grace Over Sin (Rom 5:17-21), Part 1/3

There are only two realms you can belong to, and Romans 5 refuses to let us pretend otherwise. We open up Paul’s argument in Romans 5:17-19 and follow his stark contrast between Adam and Jesus Christ: one trespass and death reigns, one act of righteousness and life reigns. If you have ever wondered why Christianity talks about “representation,” “imputed righteousness,” or “justification of life,” this conversation slows down and makes the logic plain.

We talk about federal headship and why Paul frames humanity as two families with two heads: in Adam by natural birth, in Christ by the new birth. From there we dig into verse 17 where death is pictured as a dominating ruler, then contrasted with the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness that causes believers to reign in life. That leads straight into assurance: if death’s reign was unavoidable in Adam, Paul’s point is that Christ’s reign is just as certain for those united to him.

We also wrestle with Romans 5:18 and the word “all,” clarifying how Adam’s condemnation is truly universal while Christ’s justification applies to all whom he represents. That brings up election, predestination, and why we insist salvation is a free gift rather than a human achievement, while still calling people to hear the gospel and respond in faith.

If you want a tighter grip on Romans 5, grace, justification, and what it means to live under Christ’s reign, listen through and share it with a friend. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what line from Romans 5 challenged you most.

Transcript

Setting Up Adam And Christ

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Romans, everybody, Romans chapter five, continuing where we left off last evening, where we finished on verse 16. And today we will pick up on verse 17. But what I want to say as a precursor to what we're about to discuss is basically a continuation of what we have already discussed, which was establishing this contrast, a contrast between Adam and the Lord Jesus Christ. And as Paul in Corinthians refers to as the first Adam and the second Adam. And so what we were trying to establish is that one of the ways, a key way that Paul is laid out here to understand. A key thing to understand here how our salvation and the righteousness that we have in Christ has been set up and established is by understanding the relationship and the comparison between Adam and Christ. And so you're going to see this theme that we've already started, and it's already started being played out in chapter 5, and it will continue until the end of the chapter. Good evening, Cindy. And so what I want to have you look out for is the continuation of this contrast. Because Paul is showing that on the aspects that pertain to Adam that were established to be certain, the same application is to be understood in the things that what Christ has done were also certain and absolute. In Adam, in verse 12, Paul says that he talks about the one man, Adam, in verse 12, who was to be the representative of the head of all of fallen humanity. And Christ, in verse 15 of chapter 5, is the one man, Jesus Christ, who is representative of his redeemed humanity. Adam committed one trespass, which plunged all of humanity into a state of sin and death. And Christ committed, or not committed, but performed one act which led to righteousness and life. Through Adam, sin entered the world. But through Christ, grace entered the world in absolute fullness. Through Adam, death entered the world through sin. But in Christ, life comes through righteousness. In Adam, the result of all those who fell under him, came condemnation. But in Christ came justification. In Adam

Two Humanities Under Two Heads

SPEAKER_03 3:40

there was judgment. There was judgment upon his posterity. And to Christ's posterity came the free gift. In Adam came the curse. And in the Lord Jesus Christ came blessing. With Adam, when he sinned, then death reigned upon all men. Death was the ruler of all men. But in Christ came the reign of life. In Adam, many were made sinners. Many were made sinners. But in Christ, many were made righteousness. So what are we dealing with here? We're dealing with two separate humanities. And each one of these humanities has its own federal head. Adam was a federal federal head or the federal representative of those who he represented. And Christ was the other federal head of the second humanity, which brings life, eternal life with justification. So all of those who are in Adam, they share guilt. They all share guilt. But those in Christ, they possess righteousness. In Adam, they all possess condemnation. But all those in Christ possess justification. In Adam, all of his, those who are in him, possess corruption. But in Christ, all in him possess reconciliation. In Adam, there's death. In Christ, there is eternal life. In Adam, there is judgment. In Christ, there is peace with God. In Adam, there is slavery to sin. But in Christ, there is reigning. Reigning with Christ in life. In Adam, there remains the separation from God. But in Christ, there is everlasting fellowship and communion with God. And Paul is showing us all that there is no neutral position, there is no neutrality, there is no in-between. Every person who exists and who has died and who shall live or die, all of mankind will be in Adam and remain in Adam, or they will be in Christ, and if they're in Christ, they shall remain in Christ. Every person belongs either to Adam by their natural birth, or they belong to Christ by the new birth.

Death Reigned Then Life Reigns

SPEAKER_03 7:08

And that brings us into verse 17 of Romans chapter 5. Romans chapter 5, verse 17. And Paul says this for if by one man's office death reigned by the one, much more than, much more, they which receive of the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. And so Paul is pointing out here that the reign of death that is introduced by Adam is now contrasted with the reign of Christ or the reign of life that was established by Christ. And see, this is important to understand. Paul is talking about the reigning of death and the reigning of life. And so, just like the reign of death that came under Adam, that reign of death, it ruled and governed men, and there was no way for men to escape that death. They cannot remove themselves from being in subjection to the reign of death. But likewise, we need to understand and conclude in our minds that what Paul is making is doing is making this contrast. So in Christ, if you are made alive in Christ, it is impossible for you to be set free from that. Once you have the reign of Christ, once you have subjected and are in Christ, that is just as permanent for you as the reign of sin was to those who were in Adam. And only those who were in Adam who were justified, who were pulled out of the state of condemnation and death by Christ, only those were made separated from death, but through the work and through the agency of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And you have here in this verse, verse 17, you have death personified as a ruling power. Death is personified as a ruling power, exercising dominion over humanity because of sin. And this objection of man under the reign of sin leaves them in a hopeless, helpless situation. Consequence being damnation, inevitable outside of your supernatural work of Christ, for those who are under the reign of sin and death, but yet who have been chosen and elected in Christ before the foundation of the world, who was the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. So those who receive the abundance of grace, they're not simply delivered from the reign of death. They themselves shall reign in life. And this is why this grace that we that that comes through Christ is called abundant. Because Christ took what he did not only very seriously, but he took what he did, and he did what he did in an abundant way. He didn't just remove sin by taking sin upon himself, but he also garnered for us reconciliation and peace with God. He took away death on one hand, and on the flip side, he imparted life and that eternal. When a Christian, when a person comes to faith, at that very moment they inherit eternal life, never to be lost. No more than those who are under Adam can come outside or come for out from under the reign of death. The only way that is possible is if Christ brings them out of that condition by his death, having been chosen by the Father and given to Christ to redeem. Otherwise, they are left in that state, and God is under no obligation whatsoever to remove anyone from that state of condemnation that they justly deserve. No one whom Christ doesn't save, none of them deserve anything other than the condemnation that is a result of their sin. No one can escape unless Christ is that escape. At least Christ is not their way whereby they are able to escape condemnation. No way whatsoever. And so we see here that Paul paints this, he's indicating a position of victory and restored dominion for those who are saved by Christ. This abundant grace, this abundant mercy, a mercy and a grace and faith that he gives where he is under no obligation to impart. None. So he is under no obligation to give his works to anyone, except whomsoever he pleases. And he is the one who said in John 6 that all that the Father has given me shall come to me, and I shall in no ways cast them out. It's an impossibility. Not an achievement. Not something that we attained or we achieved. It is a gift. And that's important to remember. Salvation and the faith that comes as a result of that grace is a gift and not an achievement on my part or your part or any man's part. Christ accepting. Through Christ, the believer is brought into a new realm of life. Believers are transferred into a different kingdom, a new kingdom that is not this earthly kingdom, not this earthly world, not subject to the governance of the world. We are governed by our Lord and Savior. We're going to see this more as we get into chapter 6. In chapter 6 through 8, we're going to be dealing with in Romans what it is like for the believer to be under this different and new dominion in the kingdom of God. We are in a different realm altogether. And we need to understand that this is not just something that is an abstract kingdom. It is not just an abstract lifestyle. It is a very real kingdom and a very real new lifestyle that was that was given to us when we were born again and translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son, His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is through Christ that the believer is brought into this new realm. Not death. Death does not hold its sway over us. This new realm is life. It is not death. And this life, this realm of life that we enter into, from now on, from the time we become believers, this new life holds sway. Christ's kingdom cannot fail. It cannot

Panel Reflections On Imputed Righteousness

SPEAKER_03 15:25

fail. Brother Jeffrey, encourage and serve me. Go ahead. All right. Sister Meg, what do you think so far?

SPEAKER_06 15:41

I love talking about the righteousness of God. I think that just like last night, and I'm sure today, it's very humbling to know that we play no role or no part, that Jonah 2-9 is truer than ever before, that salvation is of the Lord and it's of him alone. And I'm just thankful that he chose me and his righteousness has been imputed unto me. It's very humbling, brother.

SPEAKER_03 16:07

I'm ready to roll. Ready to roll. Brother Rodney, welcome, brother, and good evening. How you doing?

SPEAKER_04 16:12

Good evening, Brother John. How you doing, man? I'm just sitting here just pondering away for like something to follow along. It just makes me think, just, you know, if one man's disobedience, Adam. Just understand that Paul is comparing, you know, Adam and Christ here so far. You know, one man's disobedience can really like literally damage humanity. It makes me just only think like, you know, what either my obedience or just what man's obedience could restore. You know what I mean? So I'm ready to just tap in and just see where we go based on based on that dynamic right there that I'm that I'm rolling with tonight.

SPEAKER_03 16:46

So all right, brothers. All right. Brother Jeffrey, encourage your servant. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 16:53

Good evening, Jonathan, and good evening, panel. Good to see you all here tonight. Bright smiling faces. In this verse 17, Jonathan Paul essentially puts the entire Bible in a nutshell. He talks about the death that Adam's decision, his sin put upon everything and everybody else for the entire Old Testament. And the Bible characters, the prophets, and everybody, and Israel had to deal with his decisions. Then this one man, Jesus Christ, comes that changes all of that. And like I say, essentially Paul has just kind of condensed everything down into that's what this whole thing is about. Adam is Christ's grace. Nothing more. Nothing more. It is grace and only grace, my brother, as you have said many times, that brings us to uh a relationship with Christ. Hallelujah.

SPEAKER_03 17:49

Amen, brother. Amen. Sister Vanessa, your thoughts. What do you think so far?

SPEAKER_07 17:54

I think I agree 100%. That's all I can say right now. It's like, I mean, there isn't a whole lot of words. What comes to my mind is 1 Timothy, but it really doesn't come until the next line, so in 18. Right. But 1 Timothy 2, 5 through 6, because he said, For there is one God and one mediator between God and man. The man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time.

SPEAKER_05 18:29

Right.

SPEAKER_07 18:29

So I just, you know, I believe I believe that with all my heart and soul.

SPEAKER_03 18:36

Because it's true as you should. It is true.

SPEAKER_07 18:39

I know it's true.

Verse 18 And The Meaning Of All

SPEAKER_03 18:41

The Romans 5.18. He says, Therefore, as by one offense, or by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation. Even so, by the righteousness of one free gift came upon all men to justification of life. By one offense of one, by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation. And so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men to justification of life. So again, you're getting this parallel between these two representatives, Adam and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. So this parallel of these two representatives is now stated, but in a more direct and kind of a summary format here. Adam's, what Paul is pointing out here is that Adam's single offense resulted in condemnation, which extended to all. But likewise, Christ's act of righteousness results in justification that leads to life. That leads to life. But the scope of both is described universally. And see, this is what we need to understand. It is universally, in both counts. Adam's single offense resulted in the condemnation of all. This chapter is a very important chapter to understand. Because we know, for example, that when Christ died on the cross and shed his blood, we know that he died and he justified all of those for whom he represented. That's something that we know. But we also know that every single person in the world universally was not saved. And as Paul's going to point out later, does that mean that the promise of God has been made of no effect? Because there are mostly a mankind who is not justified by faith. And Paul's going to point out no. But he points out that we're misunderstanding that Christ has a collective people that was given to him by his father. But when it talks about all of those whom Christ has redeemed being saved, it is talking about those to whom the Father gave him. And in Christ, and in Adam, all of those that were under him were condemned. And Paul is going to bring further light to this teaching that he's talking about. So the scope of both is described universally, even though the application of the of what Of those who came under Christ is understood in connection with those who are united to Christ. All men are not united to Christ. All of those who are united to Christ are those of whom the Father chose to be in Christ before the foundation of the world. And there's no other way to explain it than that. When you look at the fact that the greater part of mankind is going to be cast into the lake of fire. So there's no way that we can say that Christ shed his blood to effectually bring them to repentance and salvation and faith. There's no way we can say that. Because if you do say that, and we say that men, that and men are perishing, are going to perish, then that would imply that if the blood of Christ was supposed to be effectual in terms of those of whom it intended to save, you would have to say that Christ, or

Election Reprobation And Gospel Duty

SPEAKER_03 23:00

if you think that he intends to save all people by his blood, or that he or that he shed his blood for every single person without exception, then he is a most miserable failure of a save of a savior. If anyone is in hell, if anyone is in hell, this is not a popular thing to be saying. This is not a popular thing to be saying. Christ gives life to whomsoever he pleases. And those who he is pleased to save are those whom the Father gave to him to save. Do we know who they are? No. We don't know who they are. And this is why Christ commands us to preach and to share the gospel with all mankind, with all people, to love all people. But he has his sovereign purpose. And there are those that are that are predestined to show forth his glory and his grace in saving us through unmerited favor. And there are those whom God has has created and molded to be vessels of dishonor to show forth his justice. To show forth his justice. All men fell in Adam, but those who were predestined, they were predestined to life. The rest were left dead. And so it's a similar picture like to the in like in the Passover. It's a similar picture. And so in that regard, you're right. They were reprobate. Those who were rejected. And so it's a tough situation to have to talk about. Because it is a fact that God has predestined those to life. And those who did not receive life and who were not predestined to life, they were, they their destiny was reprobation, rejection. Rejection. And so, and it's a terrible thing. And this is why we ought to be fervent in our appeal to our loved ones and to all with whom God brings across our path to come to faith. Verse 18, it says, it says, at the end of it, even so, by the righteousness of the one, free gifts came upon all men to justification of life. So this right here is emphasizing not only a legal decoration of righteousness and life in Christ, but the result that leads to life in the fullness or in the fullest sense, completely restored fellowship with God and a eternal participation in his divine favor. Endless, no end, declared righteous and justification. Look what he says, justification of life. Even so, the righteousness of one, the free gift, or even so, by the righteousness of one, meaning Christ, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. Those who have received the free gift, the free gift, meaning God's under no obligation, the gift was free. These souls receive by this free gift justification of life. So that means that when you receive this free gift, at the moment you receive this free gift, you should have absolute boldness and confidence that justification of life is yours. Life belongs to you, and you have been declared righteous before God. Declared righteous for nothing you deserve. The Lord God Almighty owes you nothing. He owes none of us anything. Sister Lisa, what do you think?

SPEAKER_00 28:25

I think that's amazing. And as Matt Meg said earlier, it's just so humbling. There's nothing that we we did or that we could do. It's all in God's hands, his sovereignty, and it just leads me, leaves me to be so grateful. And that's all I really have to say is I just have so much gratitude. Thank you, Lord.

SPEAKER_03 28:47

Amen. Brother Jeff, man of God, your thoughts.

SPEAKER_05 28:52

Well, I mean, I I'm an accord with everyone else. I uh, you know, God created the universe for his pleasure and his glory. And, you know, the thing is, we who receive the grace to faith, to salvation, it's like Lisa says, I'm so grateful that I was chosen. You know, that it gives it brings me to tears to think there might be somebody who wasn't. But you know, what's even harder than that is when you realize that when you come before the Lord, you can't say, Well, you chose you didn't choose me. You predestinated me to be a reprobate. No, man's natural state is to be a sinner and to reject God. That's our natural state. That's right. You know, and the fact is, you know, if God doesn't extend the golden scepter, I'm using the the uh image from Swarez and Esther. Yeah, if he doesn't extend the golden scepter to us, that's his choice. Right. But but the reason why you're going to hell is still your fault. That's right. And, you know, that's where people really go, what do you mean, it it is, because that's how we are naturally. But you know, the thing is what it does is it humbles me and makes me want to fear in the sense of having awe and reverence for our Almighty God all the time and more and more each day, right? That you deigned to take this dead man and make him alive. Amen. And that's what I gotta say about that.

SPEAKER_03 30:20

Great word, brother. Great word. Sister Mariah, your thoughts thus far.

SPEAKER_01 30:27

Thus far, I think that people think that because they can't see that Christ is reigning and that we have life within us, that they still equate the the death that death is reigning. And so they can question the life that Christ has given us all the day long because man still dies. And so I think that that leads them into a bit of a pickle because they don't really understand what justification until life truly means.

SPEAKER_03 31:04

That's right. Absolutely. Amen.

Verse 19 Obedience Makes Righteous

SPEAKER_03 31:09

Verse 19, Paul continues. And it is interesting that he is, he's really, he's really making a case for this contrast between the two, Adam and the Lord Jesus Christ. Brother Jeffrey, go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 31:31

Yeah, Jonathan, I just wanted to add that it's ironic, Jonathan, in fact, downright scary, to think that when it's all of history is done. And we're either with the Lord or in separated from him, Jonathan, there's going to be a lot more people that are separated from God eternally than there will be with him in glory. As far as the numbers game is concerned, the devil is probably going to win that unless the great revival comes and we all hope and pray for that. But Jonathan, that that that is something that's sobering to me that we just we see this and we know Jesus said, few there are that find it. You know, and that that right there should be a wake-up call to us all, brother, that we have an obligation to stay firmly rooted and grounded in the Word of God, as Paul is admonishing us here to do and walk fully and completely with him. So I just thank you for this teaching, brother. It is awesome. Keep it going.

SPEAKER_03 32:43

Amen, brother. Absolutely. So in verse 19, he says, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. And so the basis of this parallel that Paul is making between Adam and our Savior, he now clarifies in terms of obedience and and disobedience. Excuse me. So through Adam's disobedience, it says that many were made sinners. Many were made sinners. And it wasn't just by imitation, but they were made sinners. And this has to do with it has to do with their being so being constituted by their relationship to him. In simpler terms, it's it's they it wasn't just that they imitated his acts, but they adopted the nature. They adopted the nature of Adam. And his nature now resulted in sin and death because him acting as the federal representative of all his posterity, now this is how these this is how his posterity would be born into death and sin. Into it.