Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. (Rom. 5:18)

On the heels of Epiphany and Transfiguration Sunday comes the 40-day season of Lent (Sundays aren’t counted) leading to Easter. “Lent” derives from the Old English word lencten, which means “spring,” and it may be related to an earlier word meaning “long,” a nod to the days getting longer in springtime. 

In church tradition, however, Lent has nothing to do with spring: it’s about preparing for Easter, which just happens to come in the spring. Lent begins on “Ash Wednesday,” a day devoted to recognizing our sins and entering a season of repentance. We would expect the lectionary readings to mark this season by selecting texts on the subject of sin and grace, and we are not disappointed. Several upcoming lessons, especially those from Romans, deal in one way or another with the issue of human sin and divine redemption. [DD]

Modern readers may find some problematic interpretive issues in today’s text. Paul focuses much of his argument on what appears to be a literal understanding of Genesis 3. Must we read it the same fashion, just because Paul did? Many contemporary scholars and readers consider both creation accounts (Gen. 1:1-2:4a and 2:4b-25) to be symbolic stories of faith rather than historically or scientifically accurate records. Similarly, the story of “the Fall” in Genesis 3 can be appreciated as a testimony that humans have sinned from the beginning while regarding Adam and Eve as metaphorical characters rather than literal people. (For more on this, see “The Hardest Question” online). 

Jewish teaching considered each person to be responsible for his or her own choices, whether for good or evil. The prominent rabbis of Paul’s day did not accuse Adam of dooming all persons to lives of depravity. Paul, however, saw in Genesis 3 a convenient theological rationale for his argument that humans were incapable of righteousness, lost in inherited sin that could only be redeemed by Christ. Thus, Paul not only spoke of Adam as a literal person, the founder of the human race, but also the one responsible for its proclivity to sin. Readers who share that view will not be troubled by Paul’s arguments. Those who see Adam and Eve as symbolizing humankind (their names mean “human” and “life”) can look beyond Paul’s literalism and still appreciate his argument. [DD] 

Paul clearly understood the point of Genesis 3: humans have sinned from the beginning, and sin has negative consequences. Whether one regards Genesis 3 as a metaphorical faith story or as a historical narrative, the pervasiveness of human sin throughout history is affirmed, and few of us would question it. [DD]

The legacy of sin (vv. 12)

The literary structure of Rom. 5:12-21 is exceedingly complex and subject to varying interpretations. Is there a logical progression, or is Paul repeating himself? Here’s what seems to be the most likely way to understand how the passage works: Paul begins with a statement in verse 12 that he leaves open-ended, then launches into a series of parenthetical statements (vv. 13-17) before returning to his main thought in v. 18. [DD]

Paul begins his argument by saying that sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin (v. 12a). Lest we think that Paul lays all the blame at Adam’s feet, however, we note that he adds “and so death spread to all because all have sinned” (v. 12b). Paul reasons that sin entered the world through Adam, but all humans since have followed his lead. This suggests a bit of a paradox: humans seem destined to sin, but they also sin by choice. In this part of his argument, Paul stresses the innate fate of inherited sin—but in other places, such as Romans 6, he puts more stress on sin as a personal choice.

The story in Genesis 3 expresses a belief that humans have sinned from the beginning, and that we’ve been prone to try avoiding responsibility from the start. The story credits both Adam and Eve with trying to “pass the buck” and blame their sin on someone else. Adam not only blamed Eve for giving him the fruit, but he dared to indict God for putting her in his life. Eve, in turn, blamed the serpent. It’s always tempting to shuffle off our wrongdoing on someone else, but we cannot avoid personal responsibility for the choices we make. 

The gift of grace (vv. 13-17)

As mentioned above, vv. 13-17 can be read as parenthetical statements in which Paul further builds on his differentiation between Adam and Christ. He does this through an excursus on sin, death, and the law in vv. 13-14, and a series of comparisons in vv. 15-17.

In v. 13, Paul begins with an obvious statement that sin existed before the law was given to Moses. He posits, however, that sin was “not reckoned”—that is, not counted as sin—when there was no law. Perhaps Paul means that sin could not be labeled as such until it was later defined, but the effects of wrongdoing were not different: he acknowledges that “death exercised dominion from Adam to Moses” (v. 14). In a world without a written law, someone may cheat, steal, and kill without officially breaking a legal dictum—but the deathly effects of those actions are no different. 

The story in Genesis 3 is set long before the introduction of Mosaic law, but the account assumes that God had identified unacceptable behavior (Gen. 2:16-17). Other stories from the primeval history indicate that humans were held responsible for their sins long before Moses and the covenant law. Adam, Eve, and Cain all suffered consequences for their errors. The flood narratives begin with a claim that “The LORD saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). While Paul might argue that sin was not officially a “transgression” until there was a law to transgress, his purpose is to show that Israel’s possession of the law gave them an even greater responsibility for obedience.

God’s gift of grace in Christ differs from our legacy of sin in Adam, Paul says, because the gift of grace brings life, not death (v. 15). Both have widespread effects. “Many died” through Adam’s sin, but Christ’s gift of grace “abounded for the many.”

Expressing the contrast in more theological terms, Paul contends that the judgment following Adam’s sin brought condemnation, while the free gift of grace in Christ brought justification (v. 16). By participating in Adam’s legacy, we fall under condemnation due to our misbehavior. By accepting Christ’s freely offered grace, we are justified (put into a right relationship with God) despite our many sins.

In more practical terms, the legacy of Adam brings the dominion of death, but those who receive the abundant grace Christ offers may exercise dominion in life through the power of Christ (v. 17). The power of death is a fearsome thing, but it is no match for the living Christ, who offers abundant and eternal life to those who live in grace. Paul emphasizes the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness to remind the reader that Christ alone is responsible for our redemption from sin.

The importance of choice (vv. 18-19)

In v. 18, we finally come to the closure of Paul’s governing comparison. The first half of the verse repeats the thought of v. 12, and the second half finishes the comparison: “Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all.” 

On first reading, this verse (along with v. 19-21) may seem very deterministic, as if Adam made everyone sinners, and now Christ has made everyone righteous. Paul is not teaching universalism, however. He is very careful in his use of verbal tenses and moods to show that the choice of sin is an accomplished fact, while the way of righteousness is a possible path—not a forced destination. [DD]

As James R. Edwards has noted, “This is not necessarily to assert universal salvation, however. In verse 17 Paul spoke of ‘those who receive God’s grace and righteousness.’ Salvation by grace is not salvation by fiat, much less coercion. Grace is only grace where it grants the other freedom to receive—or reject—Christ’s self–sacrifice for forgiveness at the cross.” (Romans, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series [Baker Books, 2011], 152).

Paul’s message is clear. Sin came into the world as quickly as humans understood they could make choices about their behavior. Since that time, none save Christ have escaped its dominion. Whether we’re as comfortable as Paul in blaming the introduction of sin to a literal Adam, we all can acknowledge that wrongdoing is a universal phenomenon, and always has been. Now, however, though sin has persisted and increased, God’s grace has abounded. Indeed, Paul says it has “super-abounded,” adding as a prefix the Greek root of our word “super” (v. 21). Believers can be super grateful for that: those who choose to accept God’s grace need no longer fear the death that comes through sin, but may anticipate the hope of eternal life.