Romans 5 Explained
The book of Romans is the Apostle Paul’s scholarly explanation of the New Covenant, where he reveals how God deals with us through His mercy and grace instead of through our works of performance.
It’s what Scripture calls the Gospel!
We use the word “Gospel” to refer to anything related to Christianity. But when Paul used this word, he was describing the good news of everything Jesus did for us in His death and resurrection. It countered a lot of Old Testament ideas that many people hold even to this day. The Gospel had such a radical connotation that it seemed too good to be true. So, people were offended when this word had any association with God. To them, good news like this could never come from Him.
Paul constantly encountered this religious mindset. The people were so legalistic that they had a limit on how many steps you could take on a Sabbath Day! One group, the Essenes, had it in their writings that you couldn’t have a bowel movement on a Sabbath. I mean, it was oppressive! These people had such strict religious practices that it makes you wonder how anyone could live under it. Then Paul comes along and says he’s not ashamed of the nearly-too-good-to-be-true news that Jesus paid for everything and it’s not based on his performance. I’m sure you can see how this boggled the religious minds of his day.
When Paul explained why he wasn’t ashamed of the Gospel, he wrote that it’s because it’s the power of God unto salvation (Rom. 1:16). This includes the forgiveness of sins but is not limited to only being forgiven. It’s also talking about healing, deliverance, prosperity, joy, and peace! Paul said that the Gospel releases the power for everything you need. All you have to do is believe and receive. There’s no better place to understand these things than the book of Romans. It’s one of my favorite books. I believe I can say that if Romans isn’t one of your favorite books, then you do not have a revelation of the true Gospel. Romans is where you really get a solid foundation and begin to mature in these things.
In the summer of 1968, after I first got really turned onto the Lord, I was at a meeting where I heard a man say, “If you could understand the first eight or nine chapters of the book of Romans, it would cause you to be a mature Christian.” I remember that stuck out to me, and so I started seriously studying the book of Romans. I would venture to say it was at least ten or maybe fifteen years before I felt like I got a revelation of it. Up until that time, I had knowledge, but it just didn’t really impart the truth that Paul was trying to get across. I’m still learning. I’m not saying that I’ve got it all figured out yet, but this has become one of the most important things that God has spoken to me. I tell you, if it affects you the way that it has affected me, I believe this could be just totally life-transforming for you.
Let’s take a look at Romans the fifth chapter.
Romans 5:1
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
The word “therefore” means “for that reason; consequently” (American Heritage Dictionary). Paul had just proven through the life of Abraham that justification came by faith. He then made the statement that these truths about Abraham were not written in Scripture for his sake alone but so that we could also be justified by faith (Romans 4:23-24). So, having established justification by faith, here he moved on to some of the benefits of being justified by faith instead of works.
The first benefit of being justified by faith, instead of works, that Paul mentioned is peace. Peace can only come when we relate to God on the basis of faith in what He did for us instead of what we do for Him. Those of us who are thinking that we must perform up to some standard to be accepted by God will have no peace. That puts the burden of salvation on our shoulders, and we can’t bear that load. We were incapable of living holy enough to please God before we were saved, and we are incapable of living holy enough to please God now that we are saved (Hebrews 11:6). We were saved by faith, and we have to continue to walk with God by faith (Colossians 2:6). Not understanding this has caused many Christians who love God not to enjoy the peace that was provided for them through faith in Jesus. This is the Gospel of peace (Luke 2:14, Romans 10:15, and Ephesians 6:15).
Romans 5:2
By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The Greek word that was translated “access” here is “PROSAGOGE,” and it literally means “admission” (Strong’s Concordance). It was only used three times in the New Testament, and it was translated “access” each time (this verse; Ephesians 2:18, and 3:12). Faith is our admission, or ticket, into the grace of God. No one is allowed in without a ticket. Our own good works won’t grant us admission. God’s grace can only be accessed by faith.
The Greek word that was translated “rejoice” here is the same word that was translated “glory” in Romans 5:3 and “joy” in Romans 5:11. That Greek word is “KAUCHAOMAI,” and it means “to vaunt (in a good or a bad sense)” (Strong’s Concordance). It is derived from an obsolete root word, “AUCHEO,” meaning “to boast” (Strong’s Concordance). Paul was rejoicing because of the grace that had been given him and the hope of being glorified with Jesus. Anybody could rejoice because of those good things, but Paul went on to say that he had the same rejoicing even in the midst of tribulation. Not many people rejoice during the hard times. But Paul could make this boast because he was totally convinced of the faithfulness and unconditional grace of God. Those who can’t rejoice during tribulation are not convinced.
Rejoicing and hope are very closely related. We cannot rejoice in trying times if we have no hope. Therefore, hope is very important in the Christian life (see note 12 at Romans 5:4).
The hope that Paul was rejoicing in here was probably what he called the “blessed hope” in Titus 2:13. In that instance, Paul was clearly referring to the Second Coming of Jesus. Therefore, what Paul was probably speaking of here was the return of Jesus and becoming like Him (1 John 3:1-2).
Romans 5:3
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Paul had just expressed the joy that he had concerning the Second Coming of Jesus and the glory that would be revealed in us (Romans 8:18, see note 6 at Romans 5:2). Anybody can rejoice about heaven, but here Paul began to say that he had that same rejoicing in the midst of tribulation. This is something that very few people can say, and Paul was presenting this as a direct result of justification by faith. When we believe that God loves us because of our faith in Him, and not because of our performance for Him, then we rejoice—not only in the good times and pleasant things, like thoughts of heaven, but also in the hard times. Our faith remains steadfast. However, those who trust in their own efforts will be devastated in times of trouble because they will know they are getting what they deserve, and they will feel that they have to clean up their act before they can expect any help. Their attention will be on self instead of Jesus, the Author and Finisher of their faith (Hebrews 12:2). Paul continued this same thought on through Romans 5:10. In Romans 5:6-8, he illustrated how great the love of God was for us in that He died for us when we were ungodly. Then he drew a conclusion by way of comparison: if God loved us when we were His enemies, then how much more does He love us now that we are His children? That’s the reason Paul could rejoice even in tribulation. If God could work in his life to bring him to justification while he was a sinner, then how much more, now that he was reconciled to God, will God work whatever comes against him for his good!
People have taken these scriptures to say that God is the one who brings tribulations to accomplish these positive results in our lives. That is not what these scriptures say. Tribulations exist, not because God creates them, but because there is a battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the devil. And when we operate in faith, God can grant us such victory that we are actually better off because of the battle (see note 9 at this verse). It’s just like when an army goes to war. If they win, there are spoils to be gained. But if those soldiers embraced their enemy because of the spoil they were expecting to receive, they would be killed instead of blessed. First, they have to fight and win the war. Then, and only then, will the spoils be available. The enemy doesn’t come to be a blessing, but a blessing can be obtained from the enemy if their opponents are victorious. Likewise, tribulations and adversities are not blessings from God (see note 2 at John 9:2); they are attacks from the enemy intended to steal away the Word of God from our lives (see note 5 at Mark 4:16).
No one should say that the temptation came from God, for God is not the one who tempts anyone (James 1:13). However, there are spoils to be gained when we fight and win over our problems. If problems were what perfected us, then most Christians would have been perfected long ago and those who experience the greatest problems would be the greatest Christians, but that’s not the way it is. God’s Word is given to make us perfect and thoroughly furnished unto every good work (2 Timothy 3:17). God’s Word does not need to be supplemented with problems to accomplish its work. This is a pivotal point. Those who believe God has ordained the problems in their lives to work some redemptive virtue will submit to those problems and therefore to Satan, the author of those problems (see note 3 at Luke 13:16). They have to or else, in their way of thinking, they would be rebelling against God. Yet James 4:7 tells us to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil. If Satan can reverse our thinking on this issue and get us to submit to the problems he brings into our lives, he’s got us (Romans 6:16). Paul was simply rejoicing that even in tribulation, he had the opportunity to use, and therefore strengthen, his patience that had already been given him as a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and through the Word of God (Romans 15:4). And as he believed that, as he stood in patience, he would gain experience that would cause him to hope even more the next time the devil attacked. Likewise, we can rejoice in tribulation, knowing that regardless of what the devil does, we will win and reap the spoils of victory.
The word “worketh” was translated from the Greek word “KATERGA- ZOMAI,” and that Greek word means “to work fully, i.e. accomplish; by implication, to finish, fashion” (Strong’s Concordance). Paul was not saying that tribulations produced patience. Patience comes from the Scriptures (Romans 15:4). But tribulations cause us to use what God has already given us through His Word, and we therefore become stronger as a result (see note 8 at this verse).
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, “patience” means “the capacity, quality, or fact of being patient.” One definition of “patient” is “persevering; constant” (AHD). The Greek word used for “patience” here is “HUPOMONE,” and it means “cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy” (Strong’s Concordance). Patience is not a passive word, as many people use it, but it is an active word. Patience is actually faith—faith that is sustained over a long period of time. Patience comes from the Scriptures (Romans 15:4), just as faith does (Romans 10:17). Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, just like faith (Galatians 5:22-23). It was by faith that Moses endured (the definition of patience, Hebrews 11:27). It was through faith and patience that Abraham received the promises (Hebrews 6:12-15), and not just faith, but a faith that was constant over a twenty-five-year period of time. Therefore, patience is not just passively waiting on God to do something, but it is actively believing for the manifestation of God’s promise against all odds, regardless of how long it takes.
That kind of faith will make you perfect and complete, not wanting for any good thing (James 1:4). Patience is a byproduct of hope. Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.” When people have hope firmly established in them, then no obstacle or length of time can keep them from enduring. That’s why the Scriptures produce patience, because they give people hope (Romans 15:4).
Therefore, patience, hope, and faith are all intertwined. People can’t have one without the others. Those who say they are patiently waiting on God yet have lost their hope are deceived. Likewise, those who don’t believe God are not operating in patience. First comes hope from a promise of God’s Word. Then faith begins to give substance and evidence to those things that were hoped for (Hebrews 11:1). And if time is involved before the manifestation comes, then patience does its work (James 1:4).
Romans 5:4
And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
The Greek word used for “experience” here is “DOKIME,” and it means “approved character; the quality of being approved as a result of test and trials” (“Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament” by Fritz Rienecker). Sanday and Headlam also defined this word in this verse as “the temper of the veteran as opposed to that of the raw recruit.” Therefore, this verse is speaking of the character that is produced as a result of having fought battles and won.
Hope by itself will never give people victory. Many people have hoped for things and yet have never realized those hopes because they never moved into faith. Faith is the victory that causes people to overcome the world (1 John 5:4), yet faith won’t work without hope. Just as a thermostat activates the power unit on an air conditioner, so hope is what activates our faith. Faith only produces what we hope for (Hebrews 11:1).
Therefore, hope is the first step toward faith. The word “hope” means “a desire accompanied by confident expectation” (American Heritage Dictionary), so desiring the things of God with some expectation of obtaining them is the first step in walking in faith. Once this hope is present, then faith begins to bring the desired thing into manifestation. If a delay is encountered, patience completes the work (see note 10 at Romans 5:3). In context, Paul was saying that our experience “worketh” (see note 9 at Romans 5:3) hope. However, he also said in this same epistle (Romans 15:4) that hope comes through the Scriptures. There- fore, it is to be understood that the character that is developed through tribulations just adds to the hope that we have already received through God’s Word.
Romans 5:5-6
And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
Notice the terms that Paul used to describe us before the transformation of the new birth. We were weak (this verse), ungodly (this verse), sinners (Romans 5:8), and enemies (Romans 5:10). The Lord didn’t save us because we deserved it; it was an act of grace. As great as this truth is, Paul didn’t stop here. He continued on to make a comparison that if God loved us enough to die for us when we were weak, ungodly, sinners, and enemies, then much more now that we are justified (Romans 5:9) and reconciled (Romans 5:10), He is willing to save us in spite of our actions.
Romans 5:7
For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
Paul was attempting to explain the great love of God shown to us through grace. To illustrate it, he drew on the greatest expression of love known to man: laying down your life for another (John 15:13). However, Paul took it a step further. It is possible to imagine people giving up their lives for others. That has happened many times. But it is inconceivable that they would sacrifice their lives for their enemies. Yet that was exactly what God did (Romans 5:10). Since this is so, how could we ever doubt God’s goodness to us now? On our worst days as Christians, we love God infinitely more than our best days as unbelievers.
Romans 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Living Commentary—The Message puts Romans 5:7-8 into modern language: “We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.” What great love God has for us.
This verse is commonly quoted to illustrate the unconditional love that God has toward sinners. While that is certainly true and this verse does clearly teach that, this is not the point that Paul was making. In context, Paul was talking to Christians about the grace of God. He was making a comparison, and Romans 5:9-10 are the point of his comparison. He was using this truth here about God commending His love toward us while we were still sinners as a step to another truth. Not viewing this verse in context has caused many people to accept salvation by grace but then come back under the deception that they have to live good enough for God to use them as Christians. While realizing one truth, they completely missed the whole point of what Paul was saying. These verses, taken in context, conclusively prove that we begin and continue our walk with God through faith in His grace (Colossians 2:6).
Romans 5:9
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
The phrase “much more” that is used in Romans 5:9-10 is amazing. It would have been wonderful to think that after salvation, God continued to love us with the same love that was manifested toward us through the death of His Son. But Paul was saying that once we are justified by grace through faith, God loves us much more. Being loved the same would be great, more would have been awesome, but much more is beyond our ability to comprehend. Many Christians accept the love of God for the sinners. They extend love toward the drunks or adulterers as long as they are lost, but if the drunks or adulterers receive the forgiveness of God and ever commit one of those sins again, they show no mercy. They actually believe that God loves us much less now that we are saved. We got by with things before we were saved, but now we have to be holy or else. These verses clearly teach that is not the truth. God loves us much more now than He did before our salvation. And before our salvation, He loved us so much that He died for us. He loves us even more now. Does this mean that living a holy life is not necessary? It means that our own holiness is not a requirement. We are acceptable to God by grace through faith. But those of us who are truly born again have had a change of heart. We want to live holy (1 John 3:3). However, we all fail to be as holy as we want to be. When we fail, this knowledge that God loves us more now than when He sent His Son to die for us will keep us from being condemned and draw us back to serving God.
Romans 5:10
For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
Romans 5:8 is often taken out of context and used to stress that God loves sinners. But Romans 5:9 is the point Paul was getting to. If God loved us as sinners so much that He was willing to die for us, then much more does He love us as saints. These two thoughts are combined in this verse. Jesus’ death paid our debt and reconciled us to God. His resurrection gave us His supernatural power to reign in life (Galatians 1:4).
Romans 5:11
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
Living Commentary—The Greek word that was translated “atonement” at the end of this verse is “KATALLAGE,” and it means “exchange (figuratively, adjustment), i.e. restoration to (the divine) favor” (Strong’s Concordance). Christian- ity is the great exchange. We exchanged our sin for His righteousness (Romans 5:19 and 2 Corinthians 5:21). We exchanged our sickness for His health (1 Peter 2:24). We exchanged our sorrow for His joy (Isaiah 61:3). It’s already done. We have received it already. Thank You, Jesus.
Romans 5:12
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Living Commentary—The fact that people inherited their sin nature is a totally new concept to many Christians. Most people believe it’s what they do that makes them sinners. But this verse clearly teaches that sin entered the earth through one man, Adam (also Romans 5:15-18), and death is a result of that sin (Romans 5:15). It is not our individual actions of sin that separate us from God. It’s that sin nature (see my note at Romans 5:21). Our sins don’t make us sin- ners. We were born sinners, and we sin because that is our nature. As Paul said in Ephesians 2:3, “And were by nature the children of wrath.” This is why we “must be born again” (John 3:7). We received our sinful nature through our natural birth, and we only receive a new nature through a spiritual birth (see my note at 2 Corinthians 5:17). People have tried to train dogs to abide by human standards. They housetrain them and teach them to beg and pray and do all kinds of human things. But the dogs’ nature is still that of a dog. That’s why they will lick themselves and relieve themselves on the carpet and do many things that their owners don’t want them to do. That’s their nature. If left to themselves, they act like dogs, because they are dogs. You can get shampooed, learn to do tricks, and look good on the outside, but if you have not been born again, you are just a housebroken sinner. Your nature hasn’t changed. You will still go to hell, because that’s where sinners go. But the person who accepts what Jesus did for them and puts their faith in Him gets a new nature and goes to heaven after death. That’s where the ones with the new, righteous nature go. It all depends on which nature you have.
Paul had already made a strong case for salvation by grace through faith. He used a comparison that illustrated just how great God’s grace is (see note 14 at Romans 5:7). Here he used another comparison to make this same point. He began making this point in this verse but inserted a parenthetical phrase in Romans 5:13-17. Therefore, to get the complete thought Paul was expressing, it helps to skip from Romans 5:12-18. He was saying that in the same way that we inherited the sin nature independently of our actions, we also inherit God’s righteous nature, not based on our actions, but through the new birth. The reasoning is that if we became sinners through what one man did, then we can also become righteous through one man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:13
(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Living Commentary—A good illustration of imputation is the way credit cards are used. When you buy something with a credit card, you haven’t paid for it. You just gave the vendor your credit information, and they bill your credit card company (impute it unto you). Then the credit card company bills you, and you pay them. So, until you’ve paid the credit card bill, you’ve only had the charge imputed unto you; it’s put on your account. You are now responsible to pay for what you got. Likewise, the Law imputed sin unto us. We became guilty and had a debt that had to be paid (Romans 6:23). But as this verse says, prior to the Law, sin wasn’t imputed unto us. It wasn’t held against us, not because we hadn’t sinned but because God didn’t impute it unto us. As the next verse (Romans 5:14) goes on to explain, this didn’t mean we got by scot-free. No! Sin had a twofold effect.
God wasn’t imputing our sins to us, but Satan was (see my note at Romans 6:16). Sin was destroying the human race even when God was merciful to us in spite of our sin. See my note at Romans 5:14. Compare this verse to Romans 7:9. Sin isn’t imputed until there is Law. So, until a child knows they are breaking God’s Law, the sin nature they are born with isn’t imputed unto them. If a child dies before they reach this place where they are knowingly breaking God’s Law (age of accountability), they would go to heaven even though they were born with a sin nature. It would not be imputed unto them (see my note at Romans 7:9).
Romans 5:13-17 is a parenthetical phrase. In Romans 5:12, Paul began likening imputed righteousness to imputed sin. He interrupted that thought to briefly explain how God dealt with man’s sin nature from the time of Adam until the time of the Law of Moses. Therefore, the point that Paul was making can be received by skipping directly from Romans 5:12-18. However, some very important information is revealed in this parenthetical phrase. Paul said that until the time the Law was given, sin was not imputed unto people. As explained in note 6 at Romans 4:3, the most-used Greek word for “impute” is “LOGIZOMAI,” an accounting term meaning that God was not entering people’s sins in the account book. In this instance, a different Greek word was used (“ELLOGEO”- used only one other time in New Testament, Philemon 18), but it has virtually the same meaning. This is a radical statement. Most people have interpreted God’s dealings with man after Adam’s sin to be immediate rejection and banishment from His presence. In other words, it was an immediate imputing of man’s sins. However, Paul was stating just the opposite. God was not holding people’s sins against them until the time that the Law of Moses was given. With this in mind, it should change the way we think about God’s dealings with man between the Fall and the giving of the Law. Adam and Eve were not driven from the Garden of Eden because God could not stand them in His presence anymore. God’s dealings with Adam and Eve and their children in Genesis 4 prove His presence was still with them. The reason He drove them from Eden is clearly stated in Genesis 3:22-23; it was to keep them from eating of the Tree of Life and living forever. Instead of this being a punitive act, it was actually an act of mercy. It would have been terrible for people to live forever in sinful bodies, subject to all the emotions and diseases that sin brings. God had a better plan through Jesus. In accordance with what Paul was revealing here, God was merciful to the first murderer (Genesis 4:9-15), even to the point of placing a mark on his forehead and promising vengeance if anyone tried to kill him. In contrast, once the Law was given, the first man to break the ordinance of the Sabbath was stoned to death for picking up sticks (Numbers 15:32-36). That doesn’t seem equitable. But the answer is that before the Law, God was not imputing people’s sins unto them as He was after the giving of the Law (see note 3 at Romans 5:14). It would appear that the Flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah were two notable exceptions to this. Actually, these were not exceptions. While these two acts of judgment were punitive on the individuals who received the judg- ment, they were actually acts of mercy on the human race as a whole. In the same way that a limb or organ will sometimes be sacrificed to save a life, so God had to destroy these sinners to continue His mercy on the human race. The people in Noah’s day and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were so vile that they were like a cancer that had to be killed. So, for the first 2,000 years after man’s Fall (approximate time between the Fall and the giving of the Law), God was not holding people’s sins against them. That was why Abram was not killed for marrying his half sister nor Jacob for marrying his wife’s sister (see note 3 at Romans 4:15). Therefore, we can see that God’s immediate reaction to man’s sin was mercy and not judgment. It was over 2,000 years before God began to impute people’s sins unto them, and according to Galatians 3:19 and Galatians 3:23-24, that was only a temporary way of dealing with sin until Jesus could come. Through Jesus, God is once again reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing people’s sins unto them (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Romans 5:14
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
If God was not bringing judgment upon people’s sins until the time of the Law of Moses (see note 2 at Romans 5:13), then why were people still dying? Isn’t death the wages of sin (Romans 6:23)? Why were people still dying if their sins weren’t being counted against them? Sin has a twofold effect. It is not only a transgression against God, worthy of His judgment, but it is also the inroad of Satan into our lives. Romans 6:16 says, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” If we yield to sin, we also submit ourselves to Satan, the author of that sin. This was why people were still dying even though God was not bringing His judgment on their sins. Satan was the one who had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14), and it was Satan, through sin, who was causing people to die. As sin multiplied on the earth, the life span of man decreased, not because of God’s judgment, but because of the effects of sin on the human race. Therefore, we can see that even when God doesn’t judge sin, sin is still deadly. This is why the New Testament believer should resist sin. God doesn’t bring judgment on His children for their sins (see note 11 at Romans 4:8), but Satan will. Christians don’t live holy in order to avoid God’s judgment but so that their enemy won’t have any access to them.
The people from Adam to Moses had not sinned in the same way that Adam had because they didn’t have a direct commandment to violate like Adam did. They were living under their own consciences, and that was enough to make them guilty (see note 2 at Romans 1:18). However, it was not until the time that God revealed the commandments through Moses that people once again began to violate direct commands of God (Romans 4:15).
The Greek word translated “figure” here is “TUPOS,” and it means “a type, figure, pattern” (Vine’s Expository Dictionary). Paul was saying that Adam was a type of Jesus in the sense that in the same way sin entered the world through one man, righteousness entered the world through one man, Jesus.
Romans 5:15
But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.
Living Commentary—In Romans 5:14, Paul said Adam was a like figure to Jesus. Here, in this verse, he showed the similarity but in an opposite comparison, or antithesis. See my note at Romans 5:12 about us being sinners through what Adam did, not just what we do.
Paul proceeded to make a series of comparisons about imputed righteousness through Christ being like imputed sin (see note 9 at Romans 5:21) through Adam. Paul made this comparison five times so that there should be no doubt that in the same way that all became sinners through Adam (see note 6 at Romans 5:19), all who put faith in Christ are made righteousness through Him. The religious world has basically accepted this truth of inherited sin from Adam, but this truth of inherited righteousness through the new birth is still a mystery to many. Yet Paul was saying that if one is true, then so is the other. These truths are like two sides of one coin. If you accept one truth, you have to accept the other.
These are five comparisons (Romans 5:15-19), but they are opposite comparisons. Adam’s sin brought things from good to bad, but Jesus brought things from bad to good. The results are opposite extremes, but the principle involved in both is the same. In the same way that Adam was able to pass sin (see note 9 at Romans 5:21) and its consequences on to his descendants, so Jesus is able to pass righteousness and all its benefits on to those who put faith in Him.
The gift by grace spoken of here and in Romans 5:16 and 18 is clearly stated in Romans 5:17. It is the gift of righteousness.
Romans 5:16
And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification.
Living Commentary—In the same way that Adam’s one sin brought judgment and condemnation on all mankind, so Jesus’ free gift justified from all sin those who receive it.
Adam’s one sin produced a sin nature in all people (see note 9 at Romans 5:21) that, in turn, caused each person to commit individual acts of sin (see note 6 at Romans 5:19). However, Jesus not only dealt with the original sin that contaminated the human race, but He also dealt with each individual act of sin.
Romans 5:17
For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)
Living Commentary—The “death” spoken of in this verse is not limited to physical death. It includes that, but the wages of sin is death (see my note at Romans 6:23). Anything that comes as a result of sin is death. Shame is death. Sickness, poverty, divorce, war, and all things that came as a result of the Fall are death. There are many in the modern-day church who will say their sins are forgiven, but they don’t believe they are righteous. Yet this verse and its context are saying this gift wasn’t just salvation— forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7)—but right standing, or righteousness, with God as a gift. This is foreign to many Christians, but it is the foundation of grace reigning in our lives (Romans 5:21). Notice that we have to receive the abundance of God’s grace AND the gift of righteousness to reign in life. Receiving grace is absolutely essential, but it won’t produce us reigning until we couple it with our right standing in Christ and all the privileges that come with that.
Note 5 - This comparison is repeated again in Romans 5:21 (see note 9 at that verse).
Romans 5:18
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
Living Commentary—In the same way that all people became sinners through Adam, so the free gift of righteousness that produces justification has come unto all people through Jesus (Titus 2:11). Some might reason that everyone received the sin nature through Adam and, therefore, everyone just automatically receives a righteous nature through Christ. That is true for everyone who receives the “new birth” (see my note at John 3:3). That’s why the new birth is essential. All of us had to have the natural birth to receive the sinful nature, and only those who are born from above by putting their total faith in what Christ has done for them are recipients of the free gift of righteousness. Some have taken this verse out of its context to say that everyone, whether or not they receive salvation through faith in what Jesus did for them, is or will be saved. But in this very chapter, Paul said we have access by faith into this grace (Romans 5:2). It’s true that God’s grace that brings salvation has come to all (Titus 2:11), but it has to be received by faith (see my note at Ephesians 2:8).
Romans 5:19
For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Some people think it is our individual acts of sin that make us sinners, but that is not what Paul was saying in these verses. These scriptures clearly state that Adam’s one sin made all people sinners (see note 17 at John 8:44). It is man’s sin nature that produces sins, not their sins that produce a sin nature. Therefore, those who are trying to obtain righteousness through their actions are totally missing the point. Even if they could stop all their individual sins, they could not change the sin nature that they were born with. That’s the reason people must be born again (see note 2 at John 3:3).
These scriptures should provide the ultimate argument for righteous- ness by faith to everyone who believes the Scriptures to be inspired by God. Paul repeatedly said that believers are made righteous through faith in Christ, independently of their actions, in the same way that all were made sinners, not through their individual sins, but through Adam’s one sin.
Romans 5:20
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
Living Commentary—The Law was added. It wasn’t a part of God’s original plan (Galatians 3:19). And the purpose of the Law wasn’t to provide us something to keep, thereby earning God’s favor. It was given to make our offense even greater—not so God would hate us more, but so we would recognize how terrible our sin was; we would quit trying to be right with God through our own goodness.
Paul was writing to Jewish Christians who had mistakenly thought that faith in Christ alone was not enough to produce justification. They thought one also had to fulfill a minimum standard of holiness by complying with certain commands of the Old Testament Law. That’s what occasioned Paul’s whole teaching on justification by faith. Paul had so conclusively proven justification by faith in Christ alone that he knew the legalistic Jews were wondering, “So, what was the purpose of the Law?” He stated that purpose in this verse. The Law was given to make sin increase, or super-abound (“abound” - “PLEONAZO” - “to do, make or be more, i.e. increase…to superabound” [Strong’s Concordance]). As explained in note 4 at Romans 3:19, the purpose of the Law was not to strengthen us in our battle against sin but to strengthen sin in its battle against us. Sin had already beaten us; we didn’t know it. The Law brought that realization to us so that we would quit trusting in ourselves and call out to God for salvation. So the Law made sin and all its devastating effects abound, but God’s grace abounded even more. The Law gave sin so much dominion against us that the grace of God is the only way out.
Romans 5:21
That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
Living Commentary—Sin reigned unto death through or by the Law. Once the Law is removed, sin can’t reign. Even so, grace reigns unto eternal life through righteousness. If we don’t receive the righteousness of Jesus as a gift (Romans 3:25), then we won’t experience the eternal life He came to bring.
The sin that is being spoken of here is not the individual acts of sin that we commit but rather the propensity for sin itself. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “propensity” as “an innate inclination; tendency.” It is this inherited inclination to sin that Paul was speaking of. The word “sin” is used forty-five times in the book of Romans (Romans 3:9, 20; 4:8; 5:12-13, 20-21; 6:1-2, 6-7, 10-18, 20, 22-23; 7:7-9, 11, 13-14 17, 20, 23, 25; 8:2-3, 10; and 14:23). The plural, “sins,” is used four times , Romans 3:25 4:7, 7:5, and 11:27). Of this total of forty-nine times that “sin” or “sins” is used in Romans, these two English words come from three Greek words. One of these Greek words, “HAMAR- TEMA,” is only used once, in Romans 3:25, and only three other times in all the New Testament (Mark 3:28, 4:12; and 1 Corinthians 6:18). Of the remaining forty-eight times, the Greek word “HAMARTIA” was used forty-seven times and “HAMARTANO” just once (Romans 6:15). This is very significant because the Greek word HAMARTIA is a noun, while HAMARTANO is a verb. A noun denotes a person, place, or thing, while a verb describes the action of a noun. Therefore, in all but one instance in the book of Romans, the words “sin” and “sins” describe man’s tendency toward sin and not the individual acts of sins themselves. If you think of the word “sin” in these chapters as denoting the act of sin, you will miss what Paul was saying. As believers, our fight is not against individual acts of sin but against the inner tendency to sin. If the propensity to sin can be broken, then the actions of sin will cease. Our individual acts of sin are only an expression or indication of how well we are doing in our war against this condition of the heart that causes us to sin. Romans 5:12 says that this propensity to sin (or what many call the “sin nature”) entered the world through Adam. It is this sin nature that caused us to sin, not our individual acts of sin that gave us a sin nature (see note 17 at John 8:44, note 6 at Romans 5:19, and note 3 at Romans 7:9). At salvation, the “old man” (Romans 6:6), or sin nature, died, but the tendency to sin remained through the thoughts and emotions that the “old man” left behind. Christians no longer have a sin nature that compels them to sin; they are simply dealing with the renewing of their minds.
Sin (see note 9 at this verse) ruled like a king (the Greek word for “reigned” in Romans 5:17 was also translated “king”) through condemnation (Romans 5:16) to bring death upon everyone. Condemnation is like the general of sin that enforced its power. Likewise, now God’s grace rules like a king through righteousness to bring all who are in Christ into eternal life. Righteousness is the general of grace who defends us against all the wiles of the devil. Sin would ultimately bring death to all people whether they were condemned or not (Romans 6:23). But to those who are guilt-ridden and condemned over their sins, sin has a particularly devastating effect. Likewise, those who put faith in Christ will ultimately experience God’s eternal life. But those who understand righteousness as a gift to be received and not a wage to be earned are the ones who reign like kings, over sin and all its effects, in this life. Remove guilt or condemnation, and sin loses its strength to rule (1 Corinthians 15:56). Remove the knowledge of righteousness by faith, and grace loses its power to release eternal life in our daily lives.
