Tag: Sin

Morning Musing: Romans 5:20-21

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“The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Every relationship has boundaries. Those boundaries exist whether we are aware of them or not. If we violate those boundaries ignorantly, we may not necessarily be intentionally at fault of anything, but we still have departed from the relationship. Knowing exactly where the boundaries are is helpful, but it also makes our transgressing them all the more problematic because now we know what we are doing. When God gave the Law He made the problem of sin even worse than it already was. But He also set the stage for even more powerfully making things right. Let’s explore this together as we finish off chapter five today.

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Morning Musing: Romans 5:18-19

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“So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Every major event of world history hinges on a single decision. We may not be able to pin down exactly when that decision was made, much less who made it, but there is always a point at which history gets set on a particular path. Paul here is talking about the two most important hinge points in human history. One resulted in everything’s being broken, the other opened the doors to their being set right again. Let’s talk about it.

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Digging in Deeper: Romans 5:15-17

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“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

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“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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Morning Musing: Romans 3:25-26

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“God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When an offense occurs, someone is responsible and someone is offended. There may be more than one responsible party, and there may be more than one offended party, but there is at least one of each. Indeed, if there is no offended party, then it wasn’t an offense. That is, it wasn’t wrong. And when this offense has occurred, it has to be made right or justice is never achieved. Today, let’s explore why God is always the ultimate offended party, and what He has done about making sure justice—His justice—is ultimately satisfied.

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