From Death to Life (Romans 5:12–21)

Introduction

Attention

We are continuing our series in the book of Romans. Today, as we look into the text of Romans chapter 5, Paul is going to contrast one man, the first man Adam, to the righteous man Jesus Christ. And in this contrast, he's going to highlight two things: the judgment and the gift.

He's really going to describe a shift that happens in the Christian life. A shift that occurs from death to life as a result of the gift. As Christians, we're people who have moved, transitioned, changed from death to life. If you are a Christian this morning, you have a new life because of Jesus Christ.

This past week, I was in Alabama. I spent a week out there. with our partner church. Valleydale. And they are really a fantastic partner for our church. I spent the latter half of the week talking to different small groups. I spoke with his one particular small group and he was asking me about the context of the of our mission field of the work that we have here in San Diego. And speaking about ethnicities and cultures and different things. And I brought up something. I think it's pretty interesting. One I'll just sharing. Listen, this is crazy to me. I'm a kid from the Bronx. And here I am in Birmingham, AL. talking to you about Jesus. That's crazy to me. And there's one thing that I found that's amazing about the Christian life. And really, this is something I've seen over and over and over is that I can walk into any church or any group of Christians. Christians from all kinds of different walks of life. Christians from a walk of. life that I've never understood. I mean, I grew up in the city all my life and I'm talking with folks who have grew up in the South. But no matter ethnicity or age, or whatever other dividing line. political affiliation, whatever it is. there is something that Unites us all. And it's the love that we have for each other. because of the new life that we have in Jesus Christ. And sometimes people want to look for miracles. Let me tell you that's a miracle. Dad, this kid from the Bronx can go to the Deep South and connect with people and have a love for one another because of the life. that is present in both of our lives. The new life that we have together in Jesus Christ.

If you are a Christian this morning, you have a new life because of Jesus Christ. And as we look at this text this morning, we're really going to see this process that is happening in our life. I mean, is it true that we have a new life in Jesus Christ? And if that's true, how did that happen? What is the Bible say? We're going to take a look at that in Romans, chapter 5 if you have your Bible, Romans, chapter five, starting in verse 12.

Scripture Reading

Romans 5:12–21 CSB

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned. 13 In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the Coming One. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. 16 And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification. 17 If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. 18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pray

Romans chapter five is a transition point in this letter to the Romans. It's really summarizing a lot of what's come up before it, and transitions us into a new section in the letter focusing on the Christian life.

Up to this point, we've heard a lot about the judgment of God and the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. And as we get to this section in Romans 5 where he is contrasting death through Adam and life through Christ, it really is a summary of the things that have come before in this letter.

The Judgement

Versus 12 to 14 focuses on the judgment, and it’s really verse 16 that is a summary of what this text is saying.

Romans 5:16 CSB

16 And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification.

In verse 16 Paul says the gift is not like the one man's sin because from one sin came the judgment, and the judgment is what he talks about from 12 to 14 resulting in condemnation.

But for many trespasses came the gift, and he is going to talk a lot about the gift especially in 15 to 17 and the gift resulted in justification.

You see the judgment in verses 12 to 14 says sin entered the world, death through sin, death would be what he is describing as the judgment, saying death spread to all people.

Verse 13 is going to talk again about sin, and in verse 14 there is this prevailing death that has existed since the fall of man, since what he's going to describe in verse 14 as Adam's transgression.

All of these things refer to the judgment that he described in verse 16, “From one sin came the judgment.” Paul has described a lot about the judgment, particularly in Romans chapter 2.

He ends chapter one speaking about God's wrath. And then in Romans 2:2:

Romans 2:2 CSB

2 Now we know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is based on the truth.

He says, “Now we know that God's judgment on those who do such things is based on the truth.” What are the such things? Well, he gives us a list at the end of chapter 1. This list includes unrighteousness, evil, greed, wickedness, envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, malice, gossip, slenderers, God haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, untrustworthy, unloving and merciful.

He gives us this long list at the end of chapter one, a list of some of the sinful things that exist in the human heart. He tells us in Romans 2:4 “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”

He's really going to speak about the unrepentant heart in Romans 2:5

Romans 2:5 CSB

5 Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.

Where he says, “Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed.” So when we get into Romans 5:12-15 he's talking to us again about the judgment.

And the core of this teaching is that outside of Christ, people who continue to live with an unrepentant heart towards God, a hardened heart that's unrepentant, un-submissive to Jesus Christ, the unrepentant heart is storing up wrath for yourself on the day of God's judgment.

People who continue to live a life in sin with an unrepentant heart to God are people who live under the continuing judgment of God. And that judgment what he's going to describe in chapter five. That judgment is evident to all of us through through the prevailing nature of death. I will get more into that as we talk about imputation.

The Gift

He's going to continue on in the next section of Romans 5:15-17 where he's going to transition now from talking to us about the judgment to now talking to us about the gift. In verses 15 and verses 16 he repeats this line about the gift where he says in Romans 5:15, “the gift is not like the trespass,” and again in Romans 5:16, "the gift is not like the one man's sin.”

Romans 5:15–16 CSB

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. 16 And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification.

He's going to tell us in verse 15 in describing the gift, that the gift comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ. So this gift, whatever this gift for mankind comes through Jesus Christ.

Now what is the gift he is describing? He says it in Romans 5:17:

Romans 5:17 CSB

17 If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

He's going to say at the end of verse 17, “How much more were those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.”

So here he's going to describe that there is a gift that in contrast to the judgment. The gift comes through Jesus Christ and it is a gift of righteousness. Verse 16 says the gift results in justification.

Basically what Paul is saying is that this gift that comes through Jesus Christ is a gift of righteousness. It places a person in a right standing before God resulting in justification. Justification is this legal terminology to say that the gift that came through Jesus Christ is a gift that placed the believer into a right standing before God and that believer is justified before God, the legal case is settled because of Jesus.

Well, with righteousness and justification, there's a lot of big words there and I'm going to give us another big word. So on one hand we have the judgment that is on all people. It is a judgment that is evident that continues to be evident today by the fact that all people die. There is a death that has spread to all people. And on the other hand there is a gift, a gift of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ.

Imputation

Now there's a core teaching within this text that we need to talk through and explain a little bit. It is something that's described in theology as imputation. What does imputation mean?

Now I'm going to I'm going to describe imputation from this little book in the New Testament called Philemon. Philemon is a letter that Paul writes to a man named Philemon, who he describes as our dear friend and coworker. In this letter, he's writing in defense of a man named Onesimus.

Now Onesimus is a man who worked as a slave to Philemon. As Paul is writing in defense of Onesimus, he is going to describe anything wrong that Onesimus has done, and he's going to ask Philemon to do something for him. He says in Philemon 18:

Philemon 18 CSB

18 And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.

“And if he,” that's Onesimus, and if Onesimus “has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge that to my account.” Basically what he's saying is if Onesimus has has done you wrong, if he has sinned against you, you could say, if he owes you something, what I'm asking for you to do Philemon is to shift that responsibility.

If there's an accountability on Onesimus, shift the responsibility from Onesimus onto me. Charge it to my account. Shift it to me.

And this shift is what Paul is describing in Romans 5, where he had said in Romans 5:12:

Romans 5:12 CSB

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.

Sin entered into the world through one man and death through sin. And in this way, death spread to all people.” This shift happened. So Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree. They disobeyed the command of God and this disobedience to God is sin. And the result of sin, the consequence of sin is death.

God had told Adam and Eve on the day you eat of this tree, you shall surely die. And so this consequence came on to Adam and Eve. And what he's going to describe in Romans 5:12 is that death spread to all people because all sinned. So this death consequence that fell on Adam and Eve also fell on everyone who would come through them.

Now here's an interesting note to see about Romans 5 is that the Bible assumes that Adam and Eve are real people who existed in history, that God means what he means when he says that he created man and woman, Adam and Eve. The gospel is tied to this fact that they are real people who lived in history.

His death spread, the consequence of sin came on them and it continues to be the consequence of sin. The sin consequence continues to be evident to all people because death still exists today.

Now what's interesting about death and whenever we speak about death is that there is something unnatural about death. We know intellectually that it happens that people die, but we never feel ready for it. It always feels like something that shouldn't be. It continues to happen.

When death happens, there's this deep sense of mourning and grieving. Because in the human spirit there is this acknowledgement that just says something just isn't right about this.

The answer to that grief is a grief that extends to the garden. Death spread to all men because all sinned. Grieving happens in the human heart because of the consequence of sin on all of our lives.

So the concept of imputation is the shifting of responsibility from one onto another. We see this concept of Paul repeats this concept in 1 Corinthians 15:22:

1 Corinthians 15:22 CSB

22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

Where he says for just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. We are born as people in Adam and that shift of death has come from him onto us all.

This concept of imputation has Old Testament roots. Has anybody ever heard of a scapegoat? I don't know if you know that the concept of a scapegoat comes from the Bible. It's in the book of Leviticus. That's the book that when you're reading through the Bible, you get through Genesis and Exodus. You hit Leviticus and you see a whole bunch of laws. Leviticus 16:20-22 is going to describe a scapegoat.

Leviticus 16:20–22 CSB

20 “When he has finished making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, and the altar, he is to present the live male goat. 21 Aaron will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the Israelites’ iniquities and rebellious acts—all their sins. He is to put them on the goat’s head and send it away into the wilderness by the man appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry all their iniquities into a desolate land, and the man will release it there.

Here's something from the all the way from the Old Testament they were teaching this concept of imputation this shift that would happen, that the sins of mankind would be shifted over transferred, imputed for one to another.

That concept is ultimately seen in Jesus Christ as we see in Isaiah where he is seeing the Messiah in Isaiah 53:4-5:

Isaiah 53:4–5 CSB

4 Yet he himself bore our sicknesses, and he carried our pains; but we in turn regarded him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds.

This shift must occur on the human being if one is to know what life is all about. And what's interesting here as we're looking back in Romans 5 is that death and life means something different in the Bible than what we might think of it.

Death and Life

See, we think of death and life in physiological terms meaning when one is physically alive until they are not, until they are physically dead. But the Scriptures describe death and life as something different. We see this in the Gospel of John, where the Lord says this in John 11:25-26:

John 11:25–26 CSB

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. 26 Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Now what is he describing is something very interesting and unique. It is something new and challenging for the human mind and heart to consider. What does he mean when he says even if someone dies they will live? He's describing himself as the life and if you live and believe in him even if you die, you will live, and then he says, in fact you will never die.

The Scriptures describe death as more than just something physiological. It is something spiritual, and for one to live under the judgment under the wrath of God is to continue to live in eternal death.

In fact if you consider it, there is something extremely important about this life. But what's important about this life is not necessarily this life, although this life is important, but what's important about this life is it is its ongoing effect into eternity. And that eternity is directly affected by the years that we live in these bodies on Earth

Death in the Bible is more than physical. It is a spiritual death that if one continues with an unrepentant heart before God, they continue under the wrath of God, under the judgment of God, a place where we all start in Adam.

Rejecting Jesus is to reject God’s grace. Rejecting Jesus is to reject the one who is the life and to reject him is to continue to live in under the wrath of God and in a perpetual existence under the consequence of sin which is an eternal death.

And it is not a death of nonexistence. It is a death of spiritual existence but separated from God in a place the Scriptures describe as a lake of fire. People because of their unrepentant hearts before God live in a perpetual conscience existence in an eternal death in a place designed for demons, hell.

But in fact the good news of the gospel is that a change, a shift is possible. One can shift from death to life. Where Jesus says what he has done wrong, charge it to my account, and Christians are people who have moved from death to life.

Take a look at Romans 5:18:

Romans 5:18 CSB

18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone.

Now, this is an interesting verse. And what I want you to understand, this verse is not teaching universalism. Universalism is a heretical teaching that says that eventually all people will be saved through Jesus and that everyone will go to heaven. No one will go to hell. You will see this today in Unitarian so-called churches.

That's not what the Bible teaches. What Romans 5:18 is saying is that men and women are born into a reality of sin. There's condemnation for everyone. He said earlier in Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Sin impacts us all. Sin leads to death.

But death doesn't need to be the end. Death doesn't need to reign. Because just as sin is a reality in the human life, God’s grace is a reality and we can cling to. It is a greater reality. It is a reality of hope for all people. It is a gift, and it is a gift that is available for everyone.

And if all the world would run to the cross, everyone could have life in Jesus Christ. The cross is big enough for everyone.

But salvation is a gift, and a gift must be received. For this imputation to occur, for this shift to occur in a human from death to life, the gift must be received. We receive this gift by faith, by a heart that stops being unrepentant, by a heart that stops being hardened, by a heart that's ready to submit to the king of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ, to see him on the throne, to say God, you reign, and I need you.

One main point today for Christians

Christians have moved from death to life, so live a life of victory!

For the Christian today, a Christian is someone who has been transferred from death to life. There is victory in your life. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57:

1 Corinthians 15:54–57 CSB

54 When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. 55 Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

Christian live like your alive in Jesus Christ. There is victory in your life. Walk out of here saying glory to the Lord. Glory to his name. For he has changed my life. He has rescued me from death and given me a new life in him.

When I was a child, my parents sent me off to a church summer camp. These were a lot of fun. We would get outside of the city, it was a place with grass and trees. The camp had a nice sized pool. I was a young kid, and my friend and I went into the shallow end of the pool. My friend decided that we should go to the deep end of the pool, and I followed him. The problem was that I couldn’t swim. We got out there, and I couldn’t feel the bottom. I tried to flail my arms, but I couldn’t stay above the water. The water started going above my head, and I was struggling. I soon blacked out.

The next thing I knew, I was staring up at the sky. I was no longer in the water. I was laying down on the grass, and people were looking at me. Someone had jumped in and rescued me.

Christian, sometimes we act like we’re still in the deep water, and we’re drowning. The reminder today is that God has rescued you from the deep waters. There is a new day in your life. It is a day that you are now alive. It is a day where we see all those where all those things that were all that sin that is weighed us down. That is crushed us. That sin is no more. That sins on the cross. and your light can shine so bright in your life and in community in your world. because there is new life in you.

Whenever you are feeling depressed, remember that you have a new life in Jesus Christ.

If you are feeling anxious, if you are feeling afraid, remember that you have a new life in Jesus Christ

If you are feeling guilty, if you are feeling and ashamed because of things you've done in the past, remember that you have a new life in Jesus Christ.

If there are things in your heart that you need to confess, confess it. And remember that you have a new life in Jesus. Christ.

Embrace it. Live in it. Love it. Love him Live in the life that Jesus Christ has given you. and walk. and live your life for his glory. Amen.

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!