What is the meaning of Romans 5:18? So then Paul is drawing a careful conclusion that flows out of Romans 5:12-17. Everything he has said about Adam and Christ now lands in a single sentence. By starting with “So then,” he asks us to connect the dots: • We have two representative heads—Adam and Jesus (Romans 5:14). • What each head does has sweeping consequences for everyone united to him (1 Corinthians 15:22). • The gospel hinges on grasping this parallel. just as one trespass “One trespass” points to Adam’s single act of disobedience in the garden (Genesis 3:6). It was: • Specific—an historical event, not a myth (Romans 5:12). • Personal—Adam knowingly crossed the clear command of God (Genesis 2:17). • Representative—Adam stood for the entire human race; when he fell, we fell with him (Psalm 51:5). brought condemnation for all men The result of Adam’s sin is universal condemnation. Scripture states: • “The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation” (Romans 5:16). • All people are now “children of wrath” by nature (Ephesians 2:3). • Outside Christ, humanity is “already condemned” (John 3:18). Condemnation here is a legal verdict—guilty before a holy God, deserving death (Romans 6:23). so also one act of righteousness The “one act” refers to Christ’s obedient life climaxing in His sacrificial death and victorious resurrection (Philippians 2:8). Key facets: • Jesus perfectly obeyed every requirement of God’s law (Hebrews 4:15). • On the cross He “bore our sins in His body” (1 Peter 2:24). • His resurrection proved the Father accepted that obedience (Romans 4:25). Unlike Adam’s trespass, Christ’s act is wholly righteous, sufficient to reverse the curse. brought justification and life for all men Justification is God’s legal declaration that a sinner is righteous because Christ’s righteousness is credited to him (Romans 3:24). This justification: • Brings “life” now and forever (John 5:24; 1 John 5:11-12). • Is received “through faith in Jesus Christ” (Romans 3:22). • Is offered to all people without distinction (1 Timothy 2:5-6), though effective only for those who believe (Romans 10:9-10). The same scope of humanity ruined in Adam is the scope to whom salvation is genuinely offered in Christ. summary Romans 5:18 sets Adam and Christ side by side. Adam’s single trespass ushered every human being into guilt and death; Christ’s single, triumphant act of obedience opens the door to justification and life. The verse invites us to see both the depth of our need and the grandeur of God’s grace: in Christ, the guilty are declared righteous and the dead are made alive. |
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