Week 6

The previous week, we discussed some pretty heavy stuff. We learned from Paul that Abraham is our father by faith. That is, we are sons and daughters of Abraham, not if we descended from him physically, but if we have faith as he did. Remember, both Isaac and Ishmael descended from Abraham, yet God chose Isaac to bear the Seed. God made a promise to Abraham and he believed. Scripture tells us that this belief is what made Abraham righteous. We, too, are made righteous by our faith. This is Paul’s point.

We also saw that, contrary to what we might have thought, Abraham did not stagger at the promise of God. We usually assume that since Abraham had Ishmael by Hagar, that he was impatient with God. However, when Abraham had a child by Hagar, God had not yet revealed that the child of promise would come from Sarah.

Paul’s point in all of this is that God fulfilled His promise to Abraham in Christ. He has made Abraham a great nation because those that believe as he believed, that is, in the Seed of promise, are accounted as righteous.

What should we do with all of this? How should we respond?

Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Paul tells us what we should do with the teaching in chapter 4. First, he tells us what the result is: peace with God. Remember when Paul taught us that we are all sinners? Remember when he persuaded us that we are guilty of the same things we judge others of? Remember how depressing and dismal we were after reading the first few chapters of Romans? Here is the good news: we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ! The Roman church had already heard the Gospel. After all, Paul is writing to the church. They know about Jesus. We are receiving, along with the Romans, a deeper understanding of the faith that saves us. As Paul tells us, this understanding should lead us to “rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” This is how we respond.

Romans 5:3-5 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

To get the full impact of Paul’s words in vv. 3-5, it may be beneficial to do a quick study on Paul’s early ministry. In Acts 14, we learn about Paul and Barnabas in the city of Lystra. Paul heals a crippled man and the city attempts to worship the missionaries. Up until this point, their missionary journey has been wrought with ups and downs, yet they remain steadfast. Lest we believe Paul to be an over-zealous evangelist who doesn’t stick around long enough to be persecuted for the faith, we read in vv. 19-20 that he was stoned. Apparently, this stoning was so bad that everyone thought he was dead. For most of us, this might be the end of our missionary efforts. Although we’d probably continue in the faith, we’d be assured that God was satisfied with our service and that He certainly wouldn’t mind if we retired from the mission field. Let’s advance to v. 22: strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” We can imagine a black, blue, and bloody Paul standing before a small congregation like some creature from a horror film. Was this Paul’s swan song? No. Paul continued on in ministry; he brought the same Gospel to many other places. Now, here is a man who can say, “we also glory in tribulations…”

Paul has shifted from the tough theology of the previous chapter to a word of practical encouragement. By reading vv. 1-5, we can be assured that the faith we have in Jesus Christ is active and not passive. That is, it can transform tribulation into patience. This activity is what we call discipleship. If we listen to Paul, we understand that his tribulation is the result of love for Christ and love for His church (Phil 1:24-25). The patience that has been produced in him is the result of this tribulation. It must be understood that the bottom line of discipleship is to produce in us a heart of love.

Romans 5:6-8 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

First, Paul begins this passage by stating two points in v. 6: 1) we were without strength, and 2) we were ungodly. As he stated in previous chapters, our own strength and abilities were no strength at all. Therefore, we were ungodly. But he simply says that Christ died for the ungodly.

As if to punctuate the significance of this fact, he asks us to imagine such a transaction in our own experience. We might imagine a situation where we (or someone) might die in the stead of a good or righteous person. Our films and stories are filled with this sort of sacrifice. It is easy to imagine a less-than-perfect person deeming a better person’s life more valuable and therefore suffering in their stead. If we are honest, though, we probably wouldn’t do such a thing. Such an act is rare, which is why Paul says that is scarce or “someone would even dare” to do such a thing.

Conversely, it is much more difficult to imagine the opposite situation. Suppose you were to see a drunken and immoral man passed out on the sidewalk in a country where such an act is punishable by death. As you walk closer, the police seize him and put a pistol to his head. The officer then announces that unless one volunteers to die in his stead, he will be shot and justly punished for breaking the law. This man is ungodly. He is not like the righteous and good man we just discussed. As rare as that situation might have been, it is virtually unheard of for someone to die for this man. Such an act would not be heroic; it would be foolish. They don’t make movies about it.

This brings us to the significance of v. 8. The righteous man dies for the ungodly. Christ turns everything on its head with this single act.

We must remember that these verses are about how good Christ is and not how good we are or even need to be. Yes, our discipleship requires us to die to ourselves and consider others to be better than we are. However, we should not view this verse as a condemnation on those who, given such an opportunity as described above, opt out of dying for the ungodly man (or even good man). Again, Paul says that such an act is unheard of.

Romans 5:9-11 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

The bad news: God has a case against us. The good news: through the death of Christ, we are reconciled. Again, this is all by faith. Paul now points us to the resurrection. It may be supposed that since the work required for our salvation was accomplished by Christ’s death, there is no need to preach the resurrection. Without exploring all of the theological implications of such a suggestion, it can be stated that such is not the full Gospel, or good news. Yes, Christ’s atoning sacrifice for us was accomplished by His death, but what is even more significant to us is that because of His resurrection from the dead (i.e. His life), the good news does not stop with our reconciliation!

The Doctrine of the Two Captains

Paul has already established that men are without excuse. Because we have seen God’s eternal power and Godhead (Romans 1:20; see notes on week 2), and not given Him thanks, we are guilty. However, it is often supposed that man should not be held accountable for breaking particular laws when he is unaware of such laws. Therefore, it is said, men should not suffer damnation because he is ignorant. Very well. Let’s read on.

Romans 5:12-14 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned–– (For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come…

This can be troubling so we need to take a close look at what Paul is saying.

…just as through one man sin entered the world…

Paul is talking about Adam. Adam was given a single law: don’t eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen 2:17). Adam broke that law. Thus, sin entered the world.

…and death through sin…

As God told Adam that he would surely die, Adam died.

….and thus death spread to all men…

Everyone after Adam, including Eve, have died.

…because all sinned…

Adam and Eve break man’s unity with God and pass that division to their descendants. We see this as early as Cain’s murder of Abel. This pattern of sin continues to this day.

...For until the law sin was in the world…

We know that God did not administer the Law until Moses. However, if God’s character is eternal, any action not consistent with it would be considered sin, whether man knew it or not.

…but sin is not imputed when there is no law…

Here is our stumbling block. Paul says, basically, that man is not held accountable for breaking individual laws if he is ignorant of them. It is easy to assume that all peoples before Moses were not guilty, so long as they, too, did not eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (which would have been impossible because God barred man from the Garden of Eden). Not so fast.

…Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam…

So here is a question: why did Abel die? Let’s suppose, for a moment, that Abel acted in complete accord with the character of God. That is to say, suppose Abel did not sin. After all, the only law he had received from God up unto this point was not to eat the fruit of a particular tree. We’ve already said that such a sin was impossible and unavailable. Nevertheless, he died. Lets suppose Cain had not killed him. We have no reason to assume that he would have remained alive forever. As a matter of fact, there were certainly folks who lived between Adam and Moses who were not killed. When we read the biblical account of Adam lineage, we learn that, in fact, everyone dies. This brings us to the first point of the Doctrine of the Two Captains: death is an inherited disease. We know this in our bones.

This is less a discussion about whether man should suffer death and more about the reality that man does suffer death. Remember, we are not necessarily talking about hell (that is quite another discussion altogether), just death. Let’s move on.

…who is a type of Him who was to come…

This brings us to the second point of the Doctrine of the Two Captains: in the same way, one man’s righteousness, Christ’s, results in the life of many. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Gospel of Free Grace

Romans 5:14 But the free gift is not like the offense. For if by the one man’s offense many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many.

By contrast, our second captain, Christ, offers life, not death. The principal is the same but the result is quite different. We become resentful of the fact that we must suffer death because of one man’s sin. Even though we know that we couldn’t do any better than Adam did, we still like to blame him for all of our troubles. With the Gospel of Free Grace and the Doctrine of the Two Captains, however, this is unnecessary. Just as we effortlessly inherited death, we, too, can effortlessly inherit life. This is the point Paul makes through v. 19. Let’s skip down to v. 20.

Romans 5:20-21 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The final point Paul makes in chapter 5 is in reference to the introduction of the law. Here’s the scenario: Adam and his descendants are given a single law, which they are not physically able to break and yet they still suffer death. Let’s consider such an existence. If this seems unjust to us, let’s imagine how unjust it must have seemed to them. We can assume they had some sort of funeral ritual at the time of one’s death. Surely they were not exempt from the same grief we feel when we lose a loved one. However, if we are theologically savvy, we can conjure up some explanation for death. These guys had no such explanation at their disposal. We can assume that Adam passed down an explanation of things but even then, man had to have the same resentment we have. We can imagine the rationale like this: that’s great, father Adam, but what does your disobedience have to do with us? Then one day it starts to rain and everyone drowns. Noah’s family survives and everyone starts sinning again. Enter Moses.

God give Moses the law and commandments. Now we can imagine things clicking in everyone’s heads. “Now we know exactly what displeases God; now we know why God has done all He has.” But now we have a new problem. It would have been natural to assume that man could prevent the sentence of death by obeying the law. This, of course, doesn’t happen. Again, we reiterate Paul’s point in v. 14.

Paul says that, “the law entered that the offense might abound.” Why would God do this? It sounds like God wanted us to sin. How does the introduction of the law result in grace? Paul makes it sound like the law was the answer to all of our problems. What is he talking about?

We must understand the purpose of the law. Paul expounds on this in his letter to the Galatians. Let’s use scripture to interpret scripture. Galatians 3:24 says, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The only problem the administration of the law solves is man’s ignorance of particular sins. If it is only a tutor, we learn from it what displeases God. The Jewish law and sacrificial system understands that this law cannot be kept. Thus it was necessary to offer sacrifices repeatedly. Recall our study in week 4 when the Israelites stated that, “all God says, we will do.” Then Moses sprinkles them with blood as if to reply, “no you won’t.” (see Exodus 24).

It isn’t that God wanted us to sin; He wanted us to be aware of our inability to attain the same level of holiness He possesses. We must understand, again, that God’s intention for us was freedom (as in the Garden of Eden), not bondage under the law. This is evident in the law’s late introduction in human history. What Paul means by “that the offense might abound,” is that we might be conscious of sin. When we learn the law, we are aware of our spiritual deficiencies.

As for how the law results in grace, we must return to the Doctrine of the Two Captains, which results in the Gospel of Free Grace. Sin and death reigns because of one man, Adam. Grace and life reigns because of another man, Christ. The most significant teaching we can walk away with at this point is this: just as we were not responsible for our suffering and death, neither are we responsible for our life and salvation in Jesus Christ. The more we become aware of our sin, the more grace we understand ourselves to have received. Remember when Jesus says of the sinful woman, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little (Luke 7:47).” We must be aware of the depth of our sins to be recipients of the abundance of grace granted to us through Jesus Christ.

This, of course, spawns a new question: shall we continue to sin, that grace may abound? This is exactly the question Paul anticipates the Romans will ask. In week 7, we’ll look at Paul’s response.