Romans 5:12-14
The “wherefore” that starts the 12th verse is Paul’s way of picking back up where he left off two chapters earlier. In Romans 3, he was in the midst of showing the universality of sin (“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”; 3:23), and then he branched off for a couple of chapters to give an extensive look at justification and its results. Having returned to the topic of sin, he will not show why it is universal and what its effects will be.
Adam’s sin brought moral ruin upon the human race. Because of his sin in Eden, death comes upon us all, no exceptions. We have all sinned because of Adam’s sin, which was passed on to all of us and birthed in our hearts (Psalms 51:5). Even though we may never commit the same sin that Adam did, we are still seen as sinner’s because of the fall of our first father (Romans 5:14).
Death is not a result of the Law, for men were dying from Adam until Moses, long before the Law was given. Death is a result of sin, while sin exists whether there is Law or not. When there is no Law, men still fail because they have the seed of sin in their heart, due to the fall of Adam. However, when there is no Law, man’s sins are not counted against him, for there was no Law for him to transgress (Romans 5:13). This means that sin is a real, tangible thing that exists without the presence of Law; as it is a breach against the holiness of God. If man is never given Law, he will fail, but he will be free from the condemnation of breaking a Law, thus he will never become trapped by that particular failure. From Adam to Moses, men were sinning, but God did not put it on their account.
If the believer lives under grace and not law, which Paul declares that we do (Romans 6:14), then the believer is free from the imputation of sin and condemnation as well (Romans 4:8; 8:1). This does not guarantee that the saint will never sin again, but it does free the saint from the mastery of sin. This is why Paul told Corinth to “Awake to righteousness, and sin not” (1 Corinthians 15:34), for he knew that if they would wake up to how righteous that they are in Christ, their sins would cease.
Insert Law into the life of a believer and you will have a revival of sin in their lifestyle (Romans 7:9). The reason that this is true is that the Law has always been given to exploit man’s inability to save himself. When Law enters, it enters with a single purpose: to cause sin to abound (Romans 5:20). It was never intended to lead men to Christ, but rather it was to lead men until Christ could come to justify them by faith. The italicized words “to bring us” in Galatians 3:24 has led us astray, because they make the verse say that the Law will lead someone to Jesus. Italicized words were added by the translators. Without those words the verse clearly shows us that Law was all we had to live by until Christ came, but now that faith is come, “we are no longer under a schoolmaster” (Galatians 3:25).
Fear not saint; removal of the Law will not cause an explosion of sin in your life or in anyone else’s for that matter. Replace the Law of works with the grace of God, and this alone will teach you how to live (Titus 2:11, 12). In the meantime, rejoice that there is non-imputation of sins for you because of the New Covenant. Jesus paid it all!
The “wherefore” that starts the 12th verse is Paul’s way of picking back up where he left off two chapters earlier. In Romans 3, he was in the midst of showing the universality of sin (“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”; 3:23), and then he branched off for a couple of chapters to give an extensive look at justification and its results. Having returned to the topic of sin, he will not show why it is universal and what its effects will be.
Adam’s sin brought moral ruin upon the human race. Because of his sin in Eden, death comes upon us all, no exceptions. We have all sinned because of Adam’s sin, which was passed on to all of us and birthed in our hearts (Psalms 51:5). Even though we may never commit the same sin that Adam did, we are still seen as sinner’s because of the fall of our first father (Romans 5:14).
Death is not a result of the Law, for men were dying from Adam until Moses, long before the Law was given. Death is a result of sin, while sin exists whether there is Law or not. When there is no Law, men still fail because they have the seed of sin in their heart, due to the fall of Adam. However, when there is no Law, man’s sins are not counted against him, for there was no Law for him to transgress (Romans 5:13). This means that sin is a real, tangible thing that exists without the presence of Law; as it is a breach against the holiness of God. If man is never given Law, he will fail, but he will be free from the condemnation of breaking a Law, thus he will never become trapped by that particular failure. From Adam to Moses, men were sinning, but God did not put it on their account.
If the believer lives under grace and not law, which Paul declares that we do (Romans 6:14), then the believer is free from the imputation of sin and condemnation as well (Romans 4:8; 8:1). This does not guarantee that the saint will never sin again, but it does free the saint from the mastery of sin. This is why Paul told Corinth to “Awake to righteousness, and sin not” (1 Corinthians 15:34), for he knew that if they would wake up to how righteous that they are in Christ, their sins would cease.
Insert Law into the life of a believer and you will have a revival of sin in their lifestyle (Romans 7:9). The reason that this is true is that the Law has always been given to exploit man’s inability to save himself. When Law enters, it enters with a single purpose: to cause sin to abound (Romans 5:20). It was never intended to lead men to Christ, but rather it was to lead men until Christ could come to justify them by faith. The italicized words “to bring us” in Galatians 3:24 has led us astray, because they make the verse say that the Law will lead someone to Jesus. Italicized words were added by the translators. Without those words the verse clearly shows us that Law was all we had to live by until Christ came, but now that faith is come, “we are no longer under a schoolmaster” (Galatians 3:25).
Fear not saint; removal of the Law will not cause an explosion of sin in your life or in anyone else’s for that matter. Replace the Law of works with the grace of God, and this alone will teach you how to live (Titus 2:11, 12). In the meantime, rejoice that there is non-imputation of sins for you because of the New Covenant. Jesus paid it all!
