Sermon Tone Analysis

As we were in Adam, So Now we are in Christ

I remind you that we have been looking at the fullness and finality of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ in Paul’s epistle to the Romans, an exposition which starts here in the first verse of Chapter 5, all the way over to Chapter 8.

As you may recall, Paul had just started into this section with his main theme in v12, stating

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—

But, rather than continue his argument, the logical mind of Paul could not simply let it go at that, but he had to immediately stop there, and to explain to us just what he means by that statement in v12, “death spread to all men, because all sinned”

He therefore sets out to show and explain to us just what it means to be in Adam, or to be in Christ in a most explicit manner, that we may be certain to grasp within our minds the important nature of this truth!

It was so very important to him for this reason, for if we do not sufficiently grasp the true nature of the historical man Adam and his one act of sin, and the one result of that sin, then neither will we understand the enormity of the one act of the one man Jesus Christ, and His result.

And so in v13 and 14 we digressed, and learned that through the one act of Adam, every person has been condemned, for in that act of Adam, we all sinned.

Adam sinned, and that sin led to death in all men; sin results in death.

It supports and amplifies what the apostle said in v12 when he stated “death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

Yet it is not sufficient for us to solely understand the similarities between the transgression and the gift; though the similarities are vitally important, the contrasts and differences between the transgression and the gift are also vitally important to our understanding the fullness and finality of our salvation in Christ Jesus.

And Paul has again broken into his argument with a second interruption, in order that we not take this analogy “As we were in Adam, so now we are in Christ” too far, he desires to highlight for us the essential differences and contrasts we may otherwise gloss over and miss.

So we digresses a second time in Romans 5:15-17 with this,

Romans 5:15 (LSB)

But the gracious gift is not like the transgression.

For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

Romans 5:16 (LSB)

And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the gracious gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

Romans 5:17 (LSB)

For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.