Romans 5:12-15
12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
This morning, I would like you to imagine that you were born in the far-off country of North Korea. As you probably know, North Korea is ruled by Kim Jong-Il. His regime rules the country with an iron fist. The people of this country have very few freedoms – the government controls virtually every activity. The only legal radio, television, and news organizations are operated by the government. The media universally praise the administration of Kim Jong-Il. It’s hard to believe that a power-hungry dictator is as kind and gracious as the news outlets say he is.
Life in North Korea is far different from life here in Canada. For every dollar North Korea spends in order to feed its people, the government spends twenty-five dollars on the military. In the late 1990’s, massive flooding and widespread droughts resulted in two million people starving to death. If you criticize the government, you’ll be sent to a re-education camp and brainwashed. You risk your life by simply making phone calls to people outside the country.
The true nature of life in North Korea is not known; in a world of instant communication, North Korea is completely cut off.
Can you imagine a place like that? How would you feel if you grew up in a place like that, or lived in that country for your entire life? Even if you had never known life outside of that country, you probably still would have the feeling that life could be better – that there’s got to be something more to life than just government-run television and a job that doesn’t even provide for your family.
The truth is: No matter what your background is, no matter where your family came from, no matter when you were born – each of us lived in a spiritual North Korea. Spiritually, you were born into a country ruled by a cruel dictator, a dictator who took everything you ever owned or wanted. This dictator shattered every one of your dreams and sucked the joy out of everything that life had to offer.
We didn’t live under a dictator named Kim Jong-Il – we lived under a cruel dictator called DEATH. That’s what Paul is telling us today in verse 14, when he says: Death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam…
In this section, Paul goes back to the beginning of time, to the first people: Adam and Eve. On the sixth day of creation, God had formed Adam out of the dust and breathed into him – and Adam became a living person. And one of the first things God said to Adam were some instructions: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
What’s interesting here is that God says this to Adam, even before God created Eve. Adam was supposed to teach Eve what God had commanded – because even though God only gave the command to Adam, it also applied to Eve. Later, Adam and Eve both broke God’s command – but God sought Adam out. Even though Eve had been the first one to eat the fruit, God held Adam accountable for their sin.
After the fall into sin, Adam and Eve’s children were born with sin – that’s what we call original sin. Every human being has inherited a sinful nature from their parents, just like a person might inherit their hair colour or eye colour. But in today’s reading from Romans, that’s not what Paul is talking about. Paul isn’t talking about original sin, the sin we receive from Adam simply because we’re human. Paul IS talking about life from God’s point of view. God holds you guilty of Adam’s sin. God holds every person guilty of Adam’s sin – because when Adam sinned, the entire human race sinned.
2 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, [because] everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given at Mount Sinai. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did.[1]
This is a very precise point that Paul is making here. In God’s courtroom, God holds us legally responsible for Adam’s sin. Even though Adam was the one who broke God’s command, God holds you accountable for that crime. Each of us has been charged with Adam’s guilt.
Well, like any lawyer, you might ask for proof. Paul lays out the proof in verse 12: Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned… Sin entered the world through Adam. Sin brought death to Adam, Eve, and every other person. The fact that people die is proof that God holds every person accountable for Adam’s sin. Death came to all people because the first person sinned. Even if you had never personally done anything wrong in your entire life, you would still die – since you are a human, God holds you accountable for the first human’s sin. That’s the point Paul is making here.
This is a striking concept! I hate the sentence of death pronounced on me & Adam. When God said to Adam, “You shall die” – he was talking to all the sons & daughters of Adam. God’s words also apply to you: You shall die, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
Ever since Adam’s sin, every person has tried to escape this sentence of death. Every person seeks some distraction from the fact that the grave stares back, waiting to take you in. Every person wants to forget the guilt of being held accountable for Adam’s sin.
Think about it. Why do we spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars a year on cable TV, internet, sporting events, hobbies, and other entertainment? It’s not because life is so boring – it’s because life can be so DREARY! Each day brings another reminder of our sin and guilt. That pain in your joints is a reminder that God will turn your body back to dust. That death of a loved one is another reminder that you cannot know or prevent your own death. At the grocery store, birthday cards for young people celebrate life: congratulations! You’re six years old! You’ve finally turned twenty! But the birthday cards for older people have a different tone, as though people have begun mourning the passing of time and the only way to deal with it is with jokes.
All this reflects the feeling that, in the hourglass of life, there’s more sand in the bottom than in the top.
“…you will surely die.” The words God spoke to Adam ring true in our lives, too. Each of us tries to forget about this death sentence, to forget about our own mortality. Living a life on earth means that we trying to escape death – and there’s no way to escape. Even more, we misuse and abuse God’s gifts as we try to forget about death – we waste time in distractions that have no lasting value. We spend money acquiring more things – because we love that feeling, that rush when we buy the latest and greatest fashion or gadget.
The sad truth is that each of us was born into this country called DEATH. Anything that we gather or collect will eventually be destroyed, whether by moth or rust or accident. Each of us was born into this country ruled by the cruel dictator called SIN, and everything we do as citizens of this country is simply our efforts to escape death. That is your personal history, your personal story. That is my story.
Have you ever heard such a sad, depressing, ugly story? And if you think to yourself a little bit – you know that I speak the truth. You can see from today’s reading that I speak the truth – and this truth reverberates in your heart like some incessant drum beat.
But thanks be to God! God entered history and changed your story – God has given you a brand-new story! God has rescued you and me from death – Jesus entered this world of death and has brought us into a world of life! Paul writes: Death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
God counts Christ’s life as YOUR life! God counts Christ’s perfection as YOUR perfection! Jesus became a human – he took on human flesh, but with one big difference: Jesus did not have a human father. Although Jesus was completely human, just like you and me, Jesus had no sin or guilt of his own!
Yet, even though Jesus had zero strikes against him – no sin or guilt of any kind – Jesus went to the cross and died. Jesus paid the penalty that we deserved – Jesus died in order to release you from your guilt and your sin. Christ’s death paid for your inherited sin; Christ’s death paid for the guilt you inherited from Adam; Christ’s death paid for everything you’ve ever done.
In other words: Jesus Christ entered this dismal, despairing country ruled by the harsh and cruel dictator. Jesus picked you up in his arms and brought you to a new land – a land of freedom and joy and happiness! You no longer have to spend your days trying to forget about the sentence of death hanging over your head – you have NO SENTENCE of death any more!
That’s what God is talking about in verse 15: But the gift –that is, life through Jesus – but the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! In other words: Every person dies because of Adam’s sin – but God’s gracious gift of life overflows to every person because of Christ’s life.
Yes, each of us will die – but through Jesus, each of us will rise to eternal life! God has released you from the power of death! That’s why the resurrection is so important! If Jesus had not risen from the dead, you would not be freed from the sentence of death that God had pronounced upon Adam and you. But – Jesus HAS risen from the dead! Jesus has given you life!
This changes EVERYTHING! It changes how we live our lives. We don’t have to walk through this world depressed and downtrodden – God has promised us LIFE, today! God has promised us life for ETERNITY! We don’t have to spend our time and energy and resources trying to forget about life, or forget about death – we can freely spend our energy worshipping God in all we do! We can daily worship God in our attitudes toward God’s blessings – viewing our time and our resources as blessings to use for God’s glory! We don’t have to be sorrowful about the passing of time – we can be confident that the God who gave us life is the God who holds our times in his hands! In fact, we can freely use our days on earth to serve God – God has only given us a limited time to glorify him on this world, and then we’ll be with him eternally.
God has given you a brand-new story – and this story displays a lively, life-giving glory! You are God’s glorious children, because you have been rescued from death and raised to life! Where death had permeated all creation and determined every person’s actions, Christ’s LIFE now permeates your life and influences your actions!
But: even though God has given you a brand-new story, don’t forget where you used to live. Don’t forget that you used to live under death and sin. There are a lot of people who are still trapped in death and sin. Every person who doesn’t believe in Jesus still lives under that cruel dictator of sin and death. Every other religion is a false map out of sin and death. Jesus is the only way that you are RESCUED from death.
Jesus has rescued every person from death – but if they don’t know about it, they’ll still die in sin! Christ’s rescue applies to every single person you see! And YOU can rescue other people from the power of sin and death just by telling them about Jesus! “Come on, come check out our church – it’s a life-changing message! If I’m wrong, you’ll just spend an hour of your time learning something about Christianity. If I’m right, you’ll have a whole new perspective on life!”
Thanks be to God, for setting us free from sin and death! Thanks be to God, for releasing us from that dreadful dictator! Thanks be to God for giving us the gracious gift of life – life with purpose now, with the promise that we will have eternal life with Jesus! Amen!
[1] From the New Living Translation (2007)
