The Tale of Two Men

Introduction: History has been shaped by some pretty remarkable individuals. As we look back, we can identify moments when certain men and women had such a profound influence that they changed the course of history itself.

Consider Johannes Gutenberg. Before the printing press, books had to be copied by hand. They were expensive, scarce, and inaccessible to most people. But with one invention, knowledge spread farther and faster than ever before. Literacy increased, ideas crossed borders, and eventually the Word of God was placed into the hands of ordinary people. One man's work changed the way the world communicated forever.

Or consider Alexander Fleming. In 1928, he noticed something unusual growing in a petri dish. That simple observation led to the discovery of penicillin, the first widely effective antibiotic. Since then, countless lives have been saved because of that discovery. Again, one man's work changed the course of medicine and preserved the lives of millions.

Or consider a few others. Thomas Edison, whose work with electricity helped reshape modern life with the invention of the light bulb. The Wright brothers, who made human flight possible and changed the way the world moves and connects. Martin Luther, whose stand at the Reformation helped recover the truth of justification by faith alone and reshaped the church across Europe. Even in more recent history, figures like Tim Berners-Lee, who helped develop tools like the internet, have altered the way the entire world communicates and accesses information.

History is filled with individuals whose influence reached far beyond their own lifetime. Their contributions have shaped civilizations and improved the lives of countless people.

But as significant as those individuals are, their influence is small when compared to the two men Paul sets before us in Romans 5.

The impact of Gutenberg was immense, but not everyone learned to read. The impact of Fleming was extraordinary, but not everyone has access to penicillin. Their influence, remarkable as it is, has limits.

Every person who has ever lived, however, has been affected by the sin of Adam, and every person who has ever been saved has only ever been saved through Jesus Christ. No two individuals have shaped human history—or, more importantly, human destiny—more than these two men.

That is the argument Paul unfolds in Romans 5. Through the remainder of this chapter, Paul sets before us two men whose actions have shaped the destiny of every human being. Through Adam came sin and death. Through Jesus Christ comes righteousness and life. To fully appreciate the greatness of Christ's saving work, we must first understand what happened through Adam. So as we work our way through this passage, we'll consider two great realities: first, Death Reigns Through Adam; and second, Life Reigns Through Christ.

Read Romans 5:12-21

Death Reigns Through Adam

Death Entered Through Adam’s Sin

God’s Design

Adam was created in God’s image

Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

Adam was to act as God’s representative steward over creation

Genesis 1:27–28 “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Adam was given clear instruction

Genesis 2:16–17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Adam chose his own way over God’s

Genesis 3:1–6 “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”

From this point forward, this became the very nature of mankind

Romans 3:10–12 “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Death Demonstrates Universal Guilt

Read Romans 5:13-14

Sin Existed Before the Law

Genesis 5:1–11 “This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were eight hundred years; and he had sons and daughters. So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. Seth lived one hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. After he begot Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Cainan. After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died.”

Death reigned even when there was no revealed law

Ezekiel 18:4 ““Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.”

Transition: Paul has shown us why death reigns. It reigns because of Adam's disobedience. But verse 14 reminds us that God's plan was never intended to end with Adam. He was "a type of Him who was to come." The first Adam points us to the last Adam. The first Adam brought death through his disobedience; the last Adam brings life through His obedience. And that leads us to our second point: Life Reigns Through Christ.

Life Reigns Through Christ

Life in Christ Abounds

Read Romans 5:15

While Adam’s sin resulted in his sin nature being passed to all men, the obedience of Jesus breaks the power of that sin nature.

John 10:27–30 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.”

While Jesus broke the power of sin and death, the opposite is not true. The power of sin and death can by no means break the power of Jesus

Life in Christ Justifies

Read Romans 5:16

While the judgment came from one offense, Christ’s one act justifies all offenses

Romans 4:5–8 “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

God’s loving grace toward man is so great that He provides not only for the redemption of one man from one sin but for the redemption of all men from all sins

Life in Christ Prevails

Read Romans 5:17

While Adam’s sin did not bring about its intended consequences, the gift of righteousness always results in eternal life

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”

Romans 8:28–30 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”

In Christ, we are no longer victims of sin, but victors over it.

Life in Christ Triumphs

Read Romans 5:18

While Adam’s life was characterized by disobedience, Christ’s life was characterized by obedience

In Adam

Titus 1:16 “They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.”

In Christ

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

In Christ we are no longer enslaved to sin, but free to live a life of righteousness.

Life in Christ Empowers

Read Romans 5:19–20

While Adam’s nature incites disobedience to the law, Christ’s nature incites obedience to the law.

Romans 8:5–8 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Romans 8:3–4 “For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

God’s grace not only surpasses Adam’s one sin but all the sins of all of mankind for all time.

Conclusion:

Read Romans 5:21

Paul has spent this passage comparing two men, but ultimately he has been describing two kingdoms.

One kingdom is ruled by sin and ends in death. Every person is born into that kingdom because of Adam. It is a kingdom marked by condemnation, guilt, and separation from God.

The other kingdom is ruled by grace through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Everyone who repents of his sin and places his faith in Christ is transferred into that kingdom. Your condemnation is replaced with justification, death is overcome by life, and sin no longer has the final word.

The question, then, is which kingdom are you a part of?

For the unbeliever

If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, you remain in Adam. That means you remain under the reign of sin and the sentence of death. But the good news of the gospel is that Christ has done everything necessary to rescue you. He lived the life you could never live, died the death your sins deserved, and rose again in victory. There is nothing left to do but repent of your sin and believe in Him. The same grace that Paul has magnified throughout this passage is available to you today.

For the believer

If you are in Christ, remember who you are. You are no longer defined by Adam's failure but by Christ's victory. You are no longer condemned but justified. You are no longer a slave to sin but alive to God. Therefore, don't live as though death still reigns. Live in the confidence, joy, and obedience that come from the grace of God, knowing that the One who has justified you will also keep you until the day you stand before Him in glory.

Death may have entered through one man, but life has come through another. Sin once reigned, but now grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. That is the gift of the gospel, and that is the hope found only in Christ.