Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned.” In Romans 5:12, the Apostle Paul summarizes the history of mankind with four, concise statement.
"Sin entered the world through one man"
First, Paul tells us that “sin entered the world through one man.” Though Paul doesn’t mention his name until a few verses later, Adam was “Patient Zero” the first affected in a long change of descendants. Adam was the first person to exhibit this condition the Bible calls “sin.” The epidemic of sin, the “epidemiological” investigation, points back to him.
In Genesis 1 God positively commands Adam to freely eat of any tree in the garden of Eden, including the tree of life! But prohibitively God commands Adam not to “eat from the tree of knowing good and evil.” The negative commandment triggered Adam’s curiosity. “Good and evil, what’s that?” The devil came along and preyed upon Adam’s curiosity, “Oh yea, God doesn’t want your eyes to be opened. God doesn’t think you can handle being like Him, knowing good/evil.”
It’s like when I was a kid, going to the video store. You could rent any video in the store (well almost any video). But then there was this special room, with a black curtain, and an ominous sign, “Adults Only.” “Hey dad, what’s in that room?” “Son, stay out of there, you don’t want to know.” Dad never went in there. But people seemed to go in and out of that back room unaffected. Some even seemed excited. The prohibition awakened Adam’s sin, and Adam decided ripped back the curtain.
"death through sin"
Ever hear the expression, “Curiosity killed the cat?” God warned Adam that his curiosity about evil would kill him. “You must not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” It wasn’t a threat, God was graciously warning Adam how, “sin leads to death.” But again, Satan preys upon Adam’s ignorance. “Adam, you will not surely die. . .”
Our sin condition has two components: “Gee, aren’t you curious?” and “Lighten up! No way sin is going to kill you.”
"death came to all people"
And that is how the epidemic of death broke out. Romans 5:12… sin entered the world through one man, and death came through his sin. But notice, death didn’t stop with Adam. Romans 5:12 states how “death came to all people.” In Genesis God says, “from dust you came to dust you will return.” And not just Adam, but all Adam’s offspring would return to dust! God banished Adam from the garden, and cut off Adam’s access to the tree of life.
"because all sinned"
Now a part of us cries foul here. How can we all die because of Adam? How could a just God make one pay because of another? To this Paul says, “Because. . . because all sinned.” We shouldn’t imagine that we’re any less curious, reckless, rebellious than Adam. This is exactly what Paul’s been saying across the span of four chapters! Romans 3:23, “there is no one righteous, not even one. All have sinned!”
Romans 5:13-14, “To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come.”
What Paul observes next is so important. If Adam was given one commandment and the penalty was death, what commandment did everyone else break, from the time of Adam to Moses, that they should deserve death? How could they “deserve” death, if the law hadn’t been given through Moses until thousands of years later?
Paul’s thinking here is quite profound. Regardless of what the law says, regardless of what the Bible, or some preacher or prophet or priest says, regardless of what your parents say, or what God himself says… sin unleashes the power of death. Sin doesn’t lead to death because God chose it that way. Sin leads to death because that is the fundamental nature of sin! Sin grows and grows in power, sin reigns over ever increasing parts of our lives, you give it an inch it takes a mile, to the extent that sin controls us, then masters us, then ultimately kills us (along with others too…)
Why are we so curious about things that lead to death? Why, given the choice, do we take the gamble that there will be something other than death waiting on the side of that curtain? The deceptive nature of sin is that even though death is inevitable, it isn’t always immediate. The devil taunts Adam, “you won’t surely die.” But the Bible says, “let God be proven true and every man a liar.” The wages of sin is death. The inevitable, but not always immediate result of sin, is death. Death ought awaken us!
So God gave Moses the law. Why? The law is good, why? It’s because the law doesn’t lie about sin. It exposes the reality of sin, the depth of sin, the extent of sin, the power of sin. It connects the dots. The law shows us the straight line that exists between the sin that entices us and the death that awaits us. What do people say went you point out the law? They say, “Hey bro, stop giving me a guilt trip!” But what people don’t realize is a good guilt trip can save you from death! The person who points out the law is your friend!
For thousands of years, sin and wickedness increased. During the days of Noah, “every thought and inclination of man’s heart was only evil all the time.” But it wasn’t just that sin increased, Paul tells us that “death reigned” from the time of Adam to time of Moses! What did God tell Cain? “If you do what it right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have/consume you, but you must master it.” Death reigned, Cain killed his brother. (Gen 4:7).
What does James tell us? “But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. Do not be deceived. . .” (James 1:14-16). At the root of death is curiosity. Temptation is curiosity. “I must explore these feelings. I must explore these craving, desires, and urges, and impulses. I must obey this intoxicating thing, perhaps God is holding out on me!”
It’s true that many died because of the trespass of one man, Adam. He was Patient Zero. He introduced the epidemic of sin and death into the human race. Genesis teaches us that because of Adam, no person is able “to reach out their hand and take from the tree of life and live forever” (Genesis 3:22).
Judgement followed Adam’s sin, and brought condemnation first to Adam, but then all people. Through Adam’s disobedience, many were made sinners. Through Adam’s sin, death reigned more immediately, more inevitably, more obviously, everywhere upon the earth. Physical death. Spiritual death. Adam’s pattern of sin (i.e. his curiosity unto death) became our pattern of sin. His sinful nature became our sinful nature. His judgement became our judgement. Romans 1:32… “although people know God’s righteous decree and that those who sin deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them!”
But along comes Jesus. Romans 5:15, “But the gift is not like the trespass.” Gift! What gift? There sin and wickedness was increasing, death was reigning. The many were dying because of the trespass of one man. But then God’s grace intervened… the gift of God appeared! Romans 5:15, “For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We cannot compare the destruction introduced into the human race by one man, Adam… with the life made available to humanity by Jesus Christ. Romans 5:16-18, “Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! 18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”
Paul is contrasting two different men, Jesus and Adam. Adam sinned. Death came. Death spread. All sinned. All mankind fell under God’s judgment, condemnation.
But then Jesus came. The life who is truly life appeared. The many were justified by the righteous act of One, whose blood was shed for our sins, and body broken. Where sin increased, grace increased all the more. Where death once reigned, it subsided, and once again life reigned. Condemnation and judgement was lifted. Through the obedience of one, the many were made righteous.
Romans 5:20-21, “The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
I love what John Stott writes about these verses. He says Paul is “compares two kinds of ‘reign’. God’s purpose is that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life. Nothing could sum up better the blessings of being in Christ than the expression ‘the reign of grace’.
“For grace forgives sins through the cross, and bestows on the sinner both righteousness and eternal life. Grace satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry with good things. Grace sanctifies sinners, shaping them into the image of Christ. Grace perseveres even with the recalcitrant, determining to complete what it has begun. And one day grace will destroy death and consummate the kingdom. So when we are convinced that ‘grace reigns’, we will remember that God’s throne is a ‘throne of grace’, and will come to it boldly to receive mercy and to find grace for every need. And all this is through Jesus Christ our Lord, that is, through his death and resurrection.”
Charles Cranfield says, “the accumulated sins and guilt of all the ages [are] answered by God’s free gift, this is the miracle of miracles, utterly beyond comprehension.”
I want to take you back one verse. Romans 5:17, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned… how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ?”
When Adam sinned, God said, “mankind must not be able to reach out and take from the tree of life and eat and live forever.” But because of Christ’s righteousness, God says, “Receive the abundant provision of my grace, receive this gift of righteousness, this offer of eternal life. Let sin and death no longer reign/control/master your fate. . . reign with me in life!”
Two destinies. Read Genesis 3:21-29. Our destiny had been lost in Adam. Read Revelation 22:1-5. Our destiny, the availability of eternal life, has been reestablished by Christ. We can once again reach out and partake of life and live forever.