Digging in Deeper: Romans 5:15-17

“But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment, resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification. If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

While he was alive, Steve Jobs was Apple. It really wasn’t possible to think of one without the other. Today, Tesla or SpaceX are Elon Musk. When you think of either of those companies, his is the first name that comes to mind. There’s a reason, after all, that Tesla dealerships and vehicles have been the recipients of violent protests recently as Musk has risen to the status of public enemy number one for the political and cultural left. There are some people who serve as representative heads of an organization. Sometimes that’s on purpose on their part. Other times it’s just how things happen to fall out. In this next part of Paul’s letter to the Roman believers, he’s talking about two people who became representative heads of something much bigger than a single organization. Let’s unpack what he’s saying together.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 5:12-14

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned. In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression. He is a type of the Coming One.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

How did sin get here? And how does it work? Does everyone sin individually, or is there such a thing as corporate guilt? An orthodox doctrine of sin is an important thing to have, but also a difficult one to clarify. It’s difficult because it involves asking some hard questions. It’s difficult because it involves answering them as well. As Paul keeps rolling forward in his exploration of the Gospel, he is next offering some important insight on an historically orthodox understanding of sin. Let’s take a look at what he has to say.

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