#1630 Romans 6 Part 2 Do You Not Know

 

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be! 16 Do you not know that when you go on presenting yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching to which you were given over, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. 19 I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.

20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 Therefore what benefit were you then having from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit, leading to sanctification, and the end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6: 15-23 LSB

Romans 6: 15-23

Vs. 15-16 Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace - This starts off much in the same way as verses 1-14, and the answer is the same, may it never be, a reiteration for those who weren't paying attention the first time, or for those who would try to minimize this. There are stern warning in Scripture against false professors and those who would try to bring another gospel. Death entered the world through sin, and so those that cling to sin also cling to death. Listen to Jesus' words:

14If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it. 15If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—… John 14: 14-16

…21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’… Matthew 7: 21-23

Vs. 17-18 That pattern of teaching to which you were given over - Paul is reminding them of the gospel that they believed, that which explained the present state of the world and their being as under sin, fallen and deserving death. They were called out of death into life by way of that gospel which pointed to Christ as the only remedy. Paul has had to fight both sides of error, those that say it is Christ and this, a decision, a work, and then those who say you are under grace and therefore free to sin as much as you want. Both are wrong and so Paul, as any good reformer, is defending the purity of the gospel, bringing them back to the heinous idea of sin, and the glorious, undeserved gift of grace through our Lord Jesus. How can anyone who truly believes this remain a slave to sin, how can we take so lightly what our Lord gave His life atone for. It is the highest ingratitude that a man can muster, to say that he is in Christ and yet only metaphorically, that there is no change in his life and behavior. 

…7which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!… Galatians 1: 7-9

…9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.… 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

3For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5He saved us, not by the righteous deeds we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.…

…6This is the Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs with the hope of eternal life. 8This saying is trustworthy. And I want you to emphasize these things, so that those who have believed God will take care to devote themselves to good deeds. These things are excellent and profitable for the people.… Titus 3: 3-8

You became obedient (5219) (hupakouo [word study] from hupó = = agency or means, under + akoúo = physical hearing and apprehension of something with the mind) literally means to listen under with attentiveness and to respond positively to what is heard. It means to hearken or give respectful attention to.

Hupakouo is in the aorist tense which points to an action which has been completed at a definite time in the past. What time? Clearly, when they believed the life giving Gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). The Roman Christians had given wholehearted obedience to the gospel to which they had been committed, including all the doctrines Paul taught in the book of Romans. Now they possessed a new nature which enabled them to obey their new master, the Lord Jesus Christ. - PA

V. 19 Present yourselves as slaves to righteousness - They probably didn't see themselves as slaves to sin to begin with, that is truly a gift to come out of delusion. Most today see following after the flesh, after the sins they enjoy as freedom, and he has been confronting this idea as the result of a fallen nature, a broken mind, leading to no mere misunderstanding, but pure insanity. Though you have been made alive, yet you will still battle against temptation. The war last until you go home, and you find new battles every day, those of want and those of plenty. When you see yourself as strong then you often find that you are far from that. Spend much time alone in prayer, in the word of God.

John Piper explains Paul's in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh…

In other words, as humans we grope in our weakness and finiteness for language that is sufficient for great and glorious and complex realities, and have to settle for words and images that are partially helpful and partially misleading. Paul knows good and well that there were aspects of slavery that he would not want us to attribute to our relation to righteousness or to God, even though he says that we are “enslaved” to righteousness (Ro 6:18) and “enslaved” to God (Ro 6:22).

Jesus, you recall, did the same thing in John 15:15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” So there are some aspects of slavery that we should apply to our relationship to God and some that we should not. And there are some aspects of friendship that we should apply and some we should not. We judge from the context what aspect of an image we are to focus on.

Slavery in Romans 6:6, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22 does not imply mainly being forced against our will to do something. It mainly implies that our wills are enslaved. They are bound to do sin or bound to do righteousness because by nature we either see the rewards of sin or the beauty of righteousness as more attractive. So in both cases we do what we want most to do. (See full sermon Slaves to God, Sanctification, Eternal Life) - Precept Austin

…11Now these things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. 12So the one who thinks he is standing firm should be careful not to fall. 13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.… 1 Corinthians 10: 11-13

Vs. 20-21 From the things of which you are now ashamed - Non believers, false professors, and the spiritually immature still take pride in the things for which they should be ashamed. Brokenness is the most beautiful of all the flowers, and seldom seen. People can't by nature make the words from their mouth penetrate their stony hearts, though their mouths make the words and follow the patterns they have been taught, but the true professor is guttural, speaking from a new heart and a conscience that has been brought into life. More and more you see the anguish in their eyes, the desire to move away from sin, and without trying the bad tastes it leaves in their mouth. Godly sorrow is a wonderful thing, and cursed be those who would try take it away. Let the penitent mourn, as blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Let me apologize without you playing it down, for it grieves my soul.   

5At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God, 6and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens. 7From the days of our fathers to this day, our guilt has been great. Because of our iniquities, we and our kings and priests have been delivered into the hands of the kings of the earth and put to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation, as we are this day.… Ezra 9: 5-7

…7To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You. 8O LORD, we are covered with shame— our kings, our leaders, and our fathers— because we have sinned against You. 9To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, even though we have rebelled against Him… Daniel 9: 7-9

Vs. 22-23 But the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord - Grace is unmerited favor. You deserved only the wages of sin, but God provided Christ in your stead. How should that affect the way you live? Are you a slave to sin or of righteousness?

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#1629 Romans 6 Part 1 May It Never Be

 

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died has been justified from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6: 1-14 LSB

Romans 6:1-14

V. 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase - Sounds like a dumb question, but Paul has already been accused of teaching an antinomian view. All these chapters build on each other, and now Paul is going deeper into what the new birth looks like, what it means to be born again, a new creature. He is showing that our salvation doesn't end with justification, that there is also sanctification, where we are being conformed more and more to the image of Christ. It all happens when a person is genuinely saved, they are regenerated, given the gift of faith and repentance to believe that the God who justifies also sanctifies. He not only pays our debt, but He changes us from within, and we don't know everything all at once, in fact, in time and space our sanctification can seem to drag on forever. He gives us His word though, and it is there that we grow, not only in knowledge but also desire. Our new nature causes us to see more things in light of what they really are, sin, and we come to detest this in ourselves more and more as we grow. This is not just an old argument from Paul's time, but those who have reformed back to Scripture in every age have come up against this sort of apostasy that says, "I am a Christian, Jesus has paid for my sins, I said a prayer, but I don't call some things sin that He calls sin, or I know this is a sin, but I am more of a carnal Christian." There is no such doctrine as that of the carnal Christian. A lot of churches that teach that also remove unpopular Biblical teachings like church discipline and the life style and other qualifications required of those who teach, who are elders, deacons and in other forms of ministry. These are religious, but do not bare the fruit of being born again. 

…7However, if my falsehood accentuates God’s truthfulness, to the increase of His glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner? 8Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “ Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved! 9What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.… Romans 3: 7-9

More on Romans 3 Antinomianism

…12As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves! 13For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love. 14The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”… Galatians 5: 12-14

…15For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. 17Treat everyone with high regard: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.… 1 Peter 2: 15-17

…18With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error. 19They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. 20If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.… 2 Peter 2: 18-20

3Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints. 4For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed— ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5Although you are fully aware of this, I want to remind you that after Jesus had delivered His people out of the land of Egypt, He destroyed those who did not believe.… Jude 1: 3-5

V. 2 May it never be - That's a pretty straightforward answer, followed by the logic of reality, of how can we claim this to be the case yet have our actions not match our words? Where is this new creature, and how can he or she claim to have been buried in Christ's death, yet so love the things which required it? "May it never be."

…14By His power God raised the Lord from the dead, and He will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”… 1 Corinthians 6: 14-16

May it never be (15x in NAS = Luke 20:16; Ro 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11; 1 Cor 6:15; Gal 2:17; 3:21; 6:14) - Certainly not! (Amplified), By no means! (NIV), Far be the thought (Darby), Impossible!, Absurd!, Nonsense! God forbid that we should ever begin to think like that (Pritchard), What a ghastly thought! (Phillips), Perish the thought! (MacArthur)

Me genoito is the strongest Greek idiom to indicate repudiation (refusal to accept and implies a casting off or disowning as untrue, unauthorized, or unworthy of acceptance) and even conveys the idea of outraged indignation. One could translate somewhat prayerfully as “may such a thing never occur”.

Me genoito expresses "the revolting character of the rejected assertion, as well as a conviction of its falsehood. (F. Godet - Romans Commentary)

For a Christian to continue in sin, because his sins are forgiven and because grace will abound, is an abominable thought to Paul and it should also be so to all who by grace through faith in Christ are true saints or holy ones. - Precept Austin

Vs. 3-5 Who were baptized into Christ Jesus - Baptism is more than being dunked in water, that is the public act of obedience and identification. It is symbolic of what has taken place, that a sinner has come to see himself rightly, confessed himself a sinner, asked for God's forgiveness, and placed his trust in the life and deeds of another, Christ, believing that His death satisfies the wages of sin. Paul is demonstrating that if this thing is so bad, so heinous as to require God to receive the curse, as cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree, then how can we view sin in such a light way any longer, how do we continue it? Remember, if you are a child of God, then who the Lord loves he disciplines. You may struggle with sin, but at least your struggling and He won't leave you there. 

John MacArthur states the point forcefully writing that - Paul is saying that death and life are incompatible. It is impossible to be dead and alive at the same time. So a Christian can't be living in sin when he has died to it. All who come to Christ make a break with sin, a definite act that took place in the past at the moment of salvation. If someone abides in a state of sin, he is not a believer. The apostle John said, "No one who is born of God practices sin, because he is born of God" (1Jn 3:9). The person who remains in a constant state of sinfulness gives evidence that he has never left his unregenerate state." (from Romans 6:1-5 Dying to Live Part 1)

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, commenting on this verse, wrote, "Holiness starts where justification finishes; and if holiness does not start, we have the right to suspect that justification has never started (Romans, vol. 3: Eerdmans, 1961). - PA

…8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us.… 1 John 1: 8-10

Vs. 6-7 So that we would no longer be slaves to sin - Everyone is a slave, and those who are most tightly bound are those who think they aren't. People always resort to calling good evil and evil good. So, we call our sin, our chasing of corrupt passions, freedom, enlightenment, and we call those who call it sin, pent up, religious, bigoted etc. God is offering us renewed minds to see things not based upon our own want, or the soiled intellect of a fallen nature, but the way He sees it. He is offering freedom from the delusion that now enslaves you.  

…19For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. 20I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.… Galatians 2: 19-21

…13For the circumcised do not even keep the law themselves, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14But as for me, may I never boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation.… Galatians 6: 13-15

…4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 5Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.… Colossians 3: 4-6

…9Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.… Colossians 3: 9-11

Vs. 8-11 Even so, consider yourselves to be dead to sin - Walk like Christ, be worthy of the name Christian, make it obvious, people shouldn't have to take you by your word, it should be clear that there is a new person. 

John MacArthur comments that…

If the believer is to fully live out his new life in Christ, he must begin by knowing he is not what he used to be. Once the believer knows the foundational truths about his death, burial, and resurrection with Christ, and his victory over the penalty and power of sin, he is well on his way to victory in the Christian life. Doubts and fears become less and less because he knows he is dealing with a vanquished foe, a monarch who has been dethroned. The believer has been resurrected to new life and therefore has the confidence to strip away his grave clothes and live victoriously! (Dying to Live - Pt 3) - PA

Vs. 12-14 For sin shall not be master over you - Take up the fight.

…11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.…

…14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness arrayed, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.… Ephesians 6: 11-16

…22I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them as my enemies. 23Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the way everlasting.… Psalm 139: 22-24

…9The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 10I, the LORD, search the heart; I examine the mind to reward a man according to his way, by what his deeds deserve. Jeremiah 17: 9-10

…9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.… Psalm 51: 9-11

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#1628 Romans 5 Part 2 DNA

 

12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned— 13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the trespass of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the gracious gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were appointed sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be appointed righteous. 20 Now the Law came in so that the transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5: 12-21 LSB

Romans 5: 12-21

Through that one man, sin came into the world. Now listen. Sin entered the world through that one man, it wasn't invented by that one man, it wasn't originated by that one man. You remember Jesus said the devil sinneth from the beginning. There was sin prior to Adam. Lucifer, that great son of the morning, that great archangel who fell because of his pride, was the first and original sinner. But sin entered the world, the cosmos of man's existence, the system of creation, as we know it, through one man. He introduced sin to mankind. He became the agent of the devil.

The wicked, vile, sinful devil tempted Adam, who became the vehicle to pass sin out of the angelic realm into the human realm. And if you read in Genesis chapter 3, you read the sad story of how first Eve sinned and then Adam sinned. Adam is held responsible because he sinned willfully and wasn't deceived and because he was the head over Eve and was given authority. God gave Adam only one prohibition. He said you can do anything you want except just don't eat of that one tree of the knowledge of good and evil, just that one exception. But you know the story: Eve ate and so did Adam, which tells you that sin is basically born out of selfishness. How selfish do you have to be when you can have everything in a perfect world except one tree and the one tree is what you've got to have?

Pride, self-centeredness, always at the heart of sin even as it was with Lucifer, who said I will be like God, I will be like the most high, I will, I will, I will, I will, and that in Isaiah 14 is recorded and that's why he sinned. Now when Adam sinned, something dramatic happened. It says, "Sin entered the world." Amazing thing took place. His sin, listen to this, brought a constitutional change into his being. He degenerated from his original creative identity and became different. Unholiness became part of the fabric of his soul.

Would you please note, it says through one man's sin, singular, not sins. Not all the acts of sin came in through Adam. He didn't invent all the acts of sin, but the principle came, the nature, the disposition, the innate corrupting element entered into the human stream. For Adam was mankind. He was all the mankind there was, along with Eve. And once the sin principle came to dwell in him, he would then pass it on to all of his procreation. Just as all the offspring of Adam have human characteristics like eyes and ears, and hands and feet, and nose and mouth and internal organs, so they have the sin principle as well.

It is passed on to progeny. The world of mankind then became corrupted. John Donne must have been musing about this reality when he wrote, "No man is an island, entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." And then he said, "Every man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." You're not an island, you cannot be isolated; you cannot be separated. Adam, acted in a solidarity. Adam was mankind. In his loins was the seed of humanity that would bring forth every human life, and when he was polluted so was everything that came out of his loins, and he produced a polluted race.

God made a very important comment on this when God identified Israel with a sign called circumcision. God said I want you to circumcise every male child on the eighth day. Why? Well, you say well, that was the sign that you were a Jew. Well, it was more than that. Why did God choose that kind of sign? Why didn't he carve an X in their wrists or whatever? Why that? Because the cutting away of that skin was a demonstration of the fact that man needed a cleansing. Something in his life and character needed to be cut away. Something needed to be removed. And why did he choose that particular thing to be removed? Because nowhere better is the sinfulness of man demonstrated than in his procreative capacity.

If you want to see the sinfulness of man at its nature-level, you see it in the fact that a man will always produce a sinner. And so circumcision was God's way of saying to people, you need radical surgery at the very, most deep level of your nature as evidenced by the fact that you can produce nothing but sinners. The whole of mankind was there in Adam when he sinned and all subsequent human history then was encapsulated at that moment. The mark of sin was made and we all bear it.

The Jews would understand this corporate personality concept because they didn't think of themselves as individuals but as parts of people, tribe, and family. So, the whole of the human race in the loins of Adam is then caught in the polluting of sin. That's what Paul is saying here. He's saying in verse 12, "Through one man sin entered into the world," a pretty basic, simple point. Adam, acting as mankind, was then the solid mass of humanity and when he sinned he introduced sin into the human stream, and so that one man, by one act of disobedience, affected the whole human race. - J Mac

Vs. 12-14 Through one man sin entered the world - I hated this story as a young man, and of course, like everyone says about everything today, I thought, "how unfair, if I would have got the same chance in paradise then I would have looked around and acknowledged that I had everything I needed and then some, so I wouldn't have eaten the fruit of that one tree." So we think it's unfair of God to punish everyone because of one man's sin, yet we all sin so we don't have a leg to stand on and God doesn't owe us paradise. Yet, God, in His great mercy has also made it by One Man, Christ, His righteousness, that men can believe and be saved. This is the only part where we can see actual unfairness, and that is in the murder of the Son of God, for He was the only One without sin. "Sin is not imputed where there is no law", so from Adam to Moses we only knew that our kind fell, and the result was death, which principle was active even then. We are all dead in our trespasses and sins. We saw God punish the resulting sins that sprang forth from this original sin, that men left the natural order, and God found them to be violent and so even before Moses God destroyed the earth by water. Later, in Abraham's day, He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Sin resulted in men leaving the natural order, the foundation of civilization, the family, one man and one woman, committed to raising their children before God, they left that and men burned in lust for one another. So while the law of Moses had yet to arrive, yet men had a sense of being wronged, of murder because of what Cain did to Abel, and God's reactions to human depravity. 

…3As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. 4Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die. Ezekiel 18: 3-4

…20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. 21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5: 20-21

…13For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous. 14Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them… Romans 2: 13-15

Vs. 15-17 The gracious gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification - Everything that was done to Christ was wrong. Every transgression, from His being hunted in His childhood by Herod, being mocked and accused of healing people and casting out demons by the power of Satan. His being rejected by those of the circumcision to which He was born, the kangaroo court, the false accusations, beatings, and the cross. Don't stick your nose up in the air, don't cry about how unfair your life is. He took what He didn't deserve so that you could believe in Him and receive what you don't deserve. 

J Vernon McGee adds this thought...Now I recognize that this is a difficult section, and this is one of the most difficult passages. To simplify it, all this section means is this: one transgression plunged the race into sin; and one act of obedience and the death of Christ upon the cross makes it possible for lost man to be saved. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson) - PA

Vs. 18-21 The many will be appointed righteous - Because of Christ's obedience we have a way to be seen as righteous. We now stand corrupt, it is our inherited DNA, and why I laugh every time someone says we are evolving as a society, no, entropy works in the opposite direction, that's what we observe, that's reality. God wipes everyone off the planet except for eight people, Noah and his family, and so here is a chance to start all over again, right? Wrong, the sin principle is still there, and the obedience of man to teach his children from generation to generation about God, well that is a weak link; it is sinners producing sinners, eventually making light of what God told Adam, then Noah and so on. Within a couple generations they were building the tower of Babel, a proud monument to themselves and their disobedience. Come to the end of yourself, plead for mercy from God, and be a true parent, teaching your children the reality of sin and the reality of God's judgment on it. 

…8and placed everything under his feet.” When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. 10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.… Hebrews 2: 8-10

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#1627 Romans 5 Part 1 For A Good Man

 

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we boast in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only this, but we also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while 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. 11 And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5: 1-11 LSB

Romans 5: 1-11

V. 1 Having been justified by faith - Therefore indicates that we are flowing off of the previous chapter, and in Romans 4:25 we left off with "25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." 

 

Christ didn't die for a show, not for a sweet story, not because we were so loveable, no, quite the opposite, He chose to love us while we were sinners, and because He is holy, He did not put away justice but instead paid the price. It is mind boggling because the One receiving the injustice is Christ, the innocent One. So this justification is received by faith which we saw before is a gift from God, not because you were clever and figured something out. This faith gives us the power to believe that we have been justified not by our own works but because of the worthiness of Jesus, the One Who had to take on human flesh, because it was man who sinned, but who also had to be God, because it is God Who was the offended, and Who is eternally opposed to sin. So the object of your faith is Christ, believing that yes, I am a sinner, and yes, the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord because He was the sacrifice that was found expectable by the Father. Being justified means you are now in good standing with God because of Christ, and the evidence of this is that the Holy Spirit will work in you, convicting you of sin, bringing you to repentance, and being more and more conformed to the image of Christ.  

Haldane explains that "It is not by faith, abstractly considered, that we are justified, nor even by faith in everything that God reveals. It is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even this phrase itself, namely, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, is still elliptical, and supposes the knowledge of what is to be believed with respect to Christ. It is not believing in His existence, but believing on Him as revealed in the Scriptures, in His person and work. In the same manner as we have the phrase, “justified by faith,” we have the phrase, justified by the blood of Christ. As, in the former case, faith implies its object, so, in the latter, it is implied that we are justified by faith in the blood of Christ. The blood of Christ justifies by being the object of belief and of trust. (An Exposition on the Epistle to the Romans)

True faith that saves one's soul includes at least three main elements (1) firm persuasion or firm conviction, (2) a surrender to that truth and (3) a conduct emanating from that surrender. In sum, faith shows itself genuine by a changed life. (Click here for W E Vine's similar definition of faith) - PA

V. 2 Into this grace in which we stand - Remember, grace is unmerited favor, you can either believe in yourself, your own personal goodness, or believe in Christ, Who God accepts. 

…23so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. 24Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life. 25Truly, truly, I tell you, the hour is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.… John 5: 23-25

1Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, and in which you stand firm. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,… 1 Corinthians 15: 1-3

Hodge explains that...

There is a joyful confidence expressed in these words, an assurance of ultimate salvation, which is the appropriate effect of justification. We are authorized and bound to feel sure that having been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, we will certainly be saved. This confidence is the only fitting response to the merit of his sacrifice and the sincerity of God’s love. It is not founded on ourselves or on the preposterous idea that we deserve the favor of God or the equally preposterous idea that we have in ourselves strength to persevere in faith or obedience. Our confidence is solely on the merit of Christ and the free and infinite love of God.

Although this assurance is the legitimate result of reconciliation, and its absence is evidence of weakness, in this, as in other respects, the actual state of the believer generally falls far short of the ideal. He always lives below his privileges and goes limping and stumbling when he should rise up with the wings of the eagle. But it is important for him to know that assurance is not an unbecoming presumption, but a privilege and duty. (Commentary on Romans) - PA

Vs. 3-5 We boast in our afflictions - There is a dangerous teaching now that attaches itself to Christian vocabulary, and it can be seen in Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, and charismatic circles especially, that teaches men that Christianity is a pyramid system, a means to prosperity. Joel Osteen is one apostate that comes to mind, writing books like "your best life now", and this is in no way my best life, no matter how good things may get here, my best life is in eternity with Christ. If this is your best life I feel sorry for you. Many of the prosperity teachers assume that people are suffering more than others because they lack "faith", see, a word from the Bible, but do they get it right? Remember Job, he was a man that loved God and that God said there was no one like him on the earth, but Satan asked to be able to hurt him to test this, and God allowed it. When Job had lost almost everything his own wife told him to curse God and die, but Job praised God sitting in the dirt covered in boils, having lost his children, his wealth, almost everything. Job's friends assumed his terrible state was because of some hidden sin, yet he was in better standing with God than them. It was the same with Paul when the "super apostles" tried sell their version of this nonsense back then. 

10Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. 12I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need.… Philippians 4: 10-12

V. 6 For while we were still weak - It wasn't our strength, but Christ's willingness to die.

…5“Do you not know what they are?” replied the angel. “No, my lord,” I answered. 6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts. 7What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a plain. Then he will bring forth the capstone accompanied by shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ ”… Zechariah 4: 5-7

Vs. 7-8 While we were yet sinners Christ died for us - It pains me that I have made so light of my sin when I think about how futile it is. As if I know more than God, or see a better way than the One Who created everything that I understand so little of. I marvel at this because the apostle Paul is right, rarely will one die for a righteous man, and the Scripture is clear, there is none righteous, not even one. God, Who is infinitely opposed to sin, comes and dies for sinners. I have been in the corporate world for a long time now, and most people won't even stand up for someone that we consider good by our standards. God only owed us death in order for justice to prevail, yet He offers His Son in my place. In the place of someone who deserved to die according the standard of the One Who made and therefore owns everything, Christ came. If you aren't moved by that then you have a really low view of God, no comprehension of holiness, and a delusional, high opinion of your own goodness. You are in complete opposition to what God claims is reality, but Who is He compared to your genius? 

12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are My friends if you do what I command you.… John 15: 12-14

Vs. 9-11 We boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ - I take no pride in myself but in God, and what He has done for me and through me.

Spurgeon comments...

OUR text begins with these words, “And not only so.” It is the second time in which they occur in the chapter (Ro 5:3), I might almost have said the third, for a similar expression is used in another verse. The apostle had been mentioning very great and amazing privileges; he had gone from great benefits to yet greater; he had advanced, I might say, from silver to gold, and from gold to the priceless crystal; and when he had reached the highest point that we could have thought to be conceivable, he adds, “And not only so.” There is always in Christian privilege a yet beyond. The ancient mariners spoke of the pillars of Hercules and the Ultima Thule, and they supposed that when once their sails had whitened the sea in that direction they had come to the end of the universe and could go no further; but, more venturous prows forced their way to a new world, and proved that the former boundaries were imaginary. Even so we may have concluded in the early days of our Christian experience that we never could be happier, that we never could enjoy greater privileges, that there could not be greater treasures than we had discovered; but even at this present we have pushed far beyond our young attainments, and are preparing for yet more far-reaching endeavours. We have not yet attained. Far be it from us to imagine that we are or have all that the Lord intends. Let us not sit down contented with the notion that the gospel contains no more, for rest assured, to him who is able to follow after it there are whole worlds of privilege yet to be discovered. We are only at the foot of the mountain as yet. We may take for our motto the words, “Higher, higher, higher,” and may soar aloft again and again on eagles’ wings, for heaven is higher than our loftiest flight. At the end of all we have known and experienced there may be written, “And not only so.” A nobler future allures us, a higher line of spiritual things invites us; let us by faith and patience press forward to it. The borders of Immanuel’s land have yielded us choice fruit, but the inner valleys are rich with Eshcol clusters, and the brooks in the heart of the country overflow with milk and honey.

The present passage indicates a high attainment in spiritual life, when the soul learns not only to rejoice in salvation—which is an early experience, or to rejoice in tribulation—which is a far riper fruit, but advances even beyond that, and learns to make her joy, her glory, and her boast in God, in God alone. “And not only so, but we joy in God.” There is the point of elevated experience of which the apostle speaks with such confident familiarity. It certainly touches the confines of heaven, if it be not altogether heaven. This is the joy of angels and of spirits purified from all stain; they joy in God. Yet this is an attainment possible to us here. I might confine my thoughts to that subject, but it might be for profit if I use the text in another way, embracing that thought and making it the main topic of discourse, but taking a somewhat wider range. My text seems to me to describe the progress of a soul towards God. There is the first step visible in it, though somewhat in shadow and rather implied than expressed. The second step is very clear; it is “receiving the atonement,” or more correctly “the reconciliation.” The third step shines in a yet brighter light; having received the reconciliation, “we joy in God” and so we complete our fellowship with Him, and ascend to an elevation which, if it be not in heaven, lies on the confines of it. (Amen, let it be so for every reader of Romans 5 dear Lord. Amen) (Romans 5:11 Joy in a Reconciled God - Pdf) - PA

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