Romans chapter 5 verses 13 through 21, Adam and Christ, verse 13." For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not charged when there is no law." Here Paul is speaking about the law of Moses. He says that humans were not charged with violating the special commandments of the law before it was given. Some examples of these special laws are the dietary laws and the various regulations pertaining to hygiene, holy days, and sacrifices. Justin Martyr writes," There was no need for circumcision before Abraham.
Likewise, before Moses, there was no need to observe Sabbaths, feasts, and sacrifices." Sin is not charged when there is no law. In this statement, Paul refers to any law. As we have mentioned, all humans are imbued with natural law. So all mankind knows or should know that murder, theft, lying, homosexuality, adultery, cannibalism, dishonor of parents, blasphemy, slander, and bodily assault are wrong. As Origen points out, it was based on this natural law that Cain was charged with the sin of murder.
Likewise, because of natural law, the world before Noah was condemned for its wickedness. Similarly, Sodom and Gomorrah were punished for deviant sexual relations. Origen writes," So how can it be said that there was no sin before the law when there were sins of this type? How can we deny that sin was charged to persons when we see such acts of divine punishment?" As I have already stated many times, Paul talks about many different types of law in this letter.
Often he speaks about natural law, such as in the present passage. Theodore of Mopsuestia writes," By law here, Paul means the discernment which comes through both the natural law and the law of Moses.
For without this discernment, nobody would be able to call sin by its name, since there would be no way of knowing the difference between good and evil." Romans 5: 14." Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is the type of him who was to come." Death reigned from Adam to Moses. Origen points out that here Paul personifies death, likening it to someone who reigns over people.
Since death came into the world only because of Satan's treachery, death is not a lawful king, but a tyrant who seizes control. However, God has been working in human history to rescue man from the rule of this tyrant. God began with the patriarchs, and later He worked through the Mosaic Law. Of course, the law did not release man from death. Nevertheless, it revealed how death had come into the world. It also pointed to the full release from death through Christ.
The statement," Death reigned from Adam to Moses (meaning the law of Moses) can be interpreted in two different ways. First, it could mean that death reigned until the termination of the Mosaic Law, that is, until the coming of Christ. Both Origen and Theodoret understand Paul in this manner. Theodoret writes," He does not accuse only those who lived before the law, as some suppose. Rather, he accuses everyone equally.
For the phrase" until the law" does not mean" until the commencement of the law," but until the end of the law. At the same time, this statement," death reigned from Adam to Moses," could mean that death reigned until the institution of the law. This is how Irenaeus and Chrysostom understand Paul. Chrysostom writes," It was not transgression of the law that marred all things, but Adam's disobedience." What is the proof of this?
The fact that all died even before the law, for Paul says," Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression." Who is the type of him who was to come? The" who" in this statement refers to Adam. At first glance, it seems odd that Adam could be a type of Christ. Adam brought death to mankind. Christ brings life. What similarity is there between them? There is one similarity. In both cases, the act of one man affected all his offspring.
All who are born of Adam experience death. All who are born in Christ experience life. If they abide in Christ, Christians inherit eternal life. Theodoret writes," In the beginning, Adam by his sin became subject to the sentence of death." As a result, the whole race followed their first parent. Similarly, the Lord Christ destroyed the power of death, for he fulfilled the most perfect righteousness. Being the first to rise from the dead, he restores the race of man to life.
Romans chapter 5:15." But the gift is not like the transgression. For if many have died through the offense of one man, much more have the grace of God and the gift by the grace of one man." Jesus Christ super abounded to many, through the offense of one man. Origen writes," Through the offense of Adam, a certain entrance was created by which sin spread to all men." Or perhaps it was the death resulting from sin. Or maybe it was the condemnation resulting from sin.
On the other hand, Christ opened the way of justification through which life might gain entrance to mankind. Many have died. Why does Paul say that because of the offense of Adam, many have died, instead of saying all have died? After all, back in verse 12, Paul had said that death passed to all men. One explanation is that back in verse 12, Paul was talking about ordinary death, which affects everyone. However, in the subject verse where Paul says," Many have died," perhaps he is talking about the second death.
For example, Ambrosiaster writes," It is clear that Paul was not talking about ordinary death, which is common to us all, since everybody dies." But not everybody receives grace. Diodore writes similarly," Death does not destroy all sinners automatically, but only those who persist in their sins." By saying that many died, Paul simply shows that many turned out to be unrepentant in their sins. By opening the door to sin, Adam's offense indirectly led to many coming under the sentence of the second death.
Nevertheless, such persons suffer the second death because of their own sins and lack of repentance, not directly because Adam sinned. The grace of God super abounded to many. Here Paul uses the Greek word" pirisio," which is translated as" super abounded." Grace superabounds because it not only cancels the effects of Adam's sin, but it also forgives our own personal sins. Furthermore, grace brings us countless other blessings. Chrysostom comments," What is this that he is speaking of?
It is that sin had power to bring in death and condemnation." Yet grace not only did away with the first sin, but it also canceled those other sins that followed in its train. Furthermore, despite the countless sins committed after the sin in paradise, the matter has ended in justification for many. Chrysostom continues," Christ did not merely do the same amount of good to equal the harm of Adam. Rather, Christ did far more good and much greater good than Adam's harm.
That is why Paul does not merely mention grace, but the superabundance of grace. Through this superabundance of grace, we receive far more than just the cancellation of the effects of Adam's sin. First, we are immediately freed from punishment. Second, we are empowered to put off all sin. Next, we are born again from above, and we rise anew with the old man having been buried. Then, we are redeemed, justified, adopted, sanctified, and made brothers of the Only Begotten.
Finally, we have become joint heirs with Him and made one body with Him. No wonder Paul says grace super abounded. This is indescribably good news for Jew and Gentile alike, gift versus free gift. But the gift is not like the transgression. Many English Bibles translate the first part of this verse as follows. But the free gift is not like the offense, or with similar words. However, nowhere does Paul speak of a" free gift." The adjective" free" is not in the Greek text.
Paul uses a single word" charisma," which simply means" gift." It is the same word Paul uses when speaking of the gifts of the Spirit. Of course, by definition, every gift is normally a free gift. That is, a gift is not something we must earn or purchase. However, God does not authorize us to tamper with His scriptures by adding words the Spirit did not put in the text or that are not implicit in the Greek. Most tampering is done for theological reasons.
In the present instance, by adding the adjective" free," the translators are perhaps implying that there are no conditions or restrictions connected with the gift of salvation. However, as we have already seen, and we'll be seeing further as we go through Romans, the gift of eternal life is a conditional gift. It is conditioned on our maintaining an obedient love faith relationship with Christ after our initial salvation.
Interestingly, none of the early English Bibles used the phrase" free gift" in this verse and in other verses in Romans. The Wycliffe, Tyndale, Coverdale, Bishop's Bible, Douay-Rheims, and Geneva Bible all properly rendered charisma as gift in these verses.
It was the translators of the King James Bible who decided to add the word" free" in this verse, and in all the other verses in Romans, where we see the phrase" free gift." Inexplicably, the King James translators did not place the term" free" in italics to indicate that they had added a word that is not in the Greek text. Despite knowing that the word" free" is not in the Greek text, many modern English translations have followed the example of the King James translators by adding it.
They have done this not only in the present verse, but in verse 16, and sometimes in verse 18 of the subject chapter as well. Romans chapter 5 verse 16. And the gift is not like the result that came from the one who sinned. For the judgment came from one offense, bringing condemnation. Yet the gift affecting many offenses brings justification. As can be seen in this entire passage, Romans 5:12 through 19, Paul constantly emphasizes two themes: one man. It was the sin of one man who brought death to all mankind.
Likewise, it was the sacrifice of one man who opened the door for all mankind to receive justification. Contrast between Adam and Christ. Adam's sin brought about condemnation, death, and sin. In contrast, Christ's sacrifice brings justification, life, and righteousness. Paul repeats these same points over and over, but in slightly different language, in order to emphasize these basic truths.
Theodoret writes," Paul expresses the same thing in different ways, varying his phrase each time." He restates it again and again to explain the mystery of God's plan so that it can be more clearly seen. Concerning the subject verse 16, Origen writes," Through our one Lord Jesus Christ, grace began to reign through righteousness. Grace will reign over all those who obey Him and keep His words.
Through these things, they come to justification from many transgressions." Romans 5:17," For if by one man's offense, death reigned by that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life by one man, Jesus Christ." Theodoret writes," Because one man sinned, in the past the whole race received the punishment of death." However, now, despite all mankind having been unholy and having been transgressors, grace has brought not punishment, but the gift of
life.
The transgression of only one man established the dominion of death. That being the case, it is evident that those who receive the bountiest gifts of God will be conquerors over death. And they will share with Christ in life eternal and in the imperishable kingdom, Romans 5:18." Therefore, as by the offense of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation.
Even so, by the righteousness of one, the gift came to all men to justification of life." Once again, we come upon a situation where Paul uses all, where previously he has used many. If we read this verse carelessly, we might imagine that all humans will be saved. However, Jesus said," Narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it." Matthew 7:14. So not all men will inherit eternal life, nor does Paul state they will.
He says," The gift came to all men." In other words, the gift was offered to all people. However, not all people are willing to accept this gift through faith. Romans 5:19," For as by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one many will be made righteous." In each of his statements in this multi-verse passage, Paul contrasts many with many and all with all, even though the result does not always seem to fit our sense of logic.
For example, in this verse, it would seem that all were made sinners, not many. However, Origen explains Paul's terminology in this manner. It is one thing to commit a sin and another thing to be a sinner. A person is said to be a sinner who has made the desire for sin a habit. This comes from committing many transgressions. In the same manner, no one is said to be righteous because he has acted righteously once or twice. Rather, we call someone righteous who consistently acts righteously.
He practices righteousness continuously and thereby makes it a habit. Accordingly, there are times when a righteous man will do what is not lawful and thereby sin. Yet he is not labeled a sinner merely on that account, for he does not practice sin, nor has he made it a habit, 1 John 3:7. To illustrate, we do not call someone a physician just because he has bandaged a person's head wound. Nor do we call him a physician because he has applied hot water to cleanse the inflammation from someone's injury.
This is even though both of those healing treatments belong to the practice of medicine. No, we only call someone a physician if he has regularly practiced and studied the art of medicine. In short, it is one thing to commit a sin and another thing to be a sinner. We can correctly say that everyone has sinned. But not everyone is labeled a sinner. It is only the many. So all have sinned, but God does not label all as sinners. Yet someone may say, but Paul himself said he was the chief of sinners.
Origen points out, however, that when Paul wrote those words, he was not referring to his life as an apostle. Rather, he was describing his past life as the foremost persecutor of the church, traveling far and wide to arrest and imprison Christians. His hands had been guilty of righteous blood, Romans 5:20. Moreover, the law entered midway that transgression might abound. But where sin abounded, grace super abounded. The law entered midway. Here the law refers to the Mosaic Law. Why does Paul say it entered Midway?
The phrase" entered midway" translates a single Greek word. This was an obscure word, and the early Christians offer different explanations of its meaning. Theodoret understands pare sircomite to mean entered midway. That is, it came down midway between the time of Abraham and Jesus. He writes," Paul is showing that in times past, God did not leave men neglected. Instead, He gave the law to the Jews.
And by means of the Jews, He also shone forth the light of true religion on the rest of the nations." Paul appropriately said midway for Christ was the ultimate end of the promise made to the patriarch Abraham. For he says," In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." Fittingly, the law came at a point midway between Abraham and Christ. However, Chrysostom understands par I sarcoma to mean" temporarily." He comments," Paul uses this word to show that the need for the law was temporary.
It was neither eternal nor essential." When Paul explains this to the Galatians, he uses different language to show the very same thing. He says," But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith that would afterward be revealed." Galatians 3:23. That transgression might abound. Chrysostom explains this phrase as follows. By using the word that, Paul is not referring to the cause, but to the result. For the law was not given for the purpose of causing transgression to abound.
Rather, it was given to diminish and destroy transgression. But it ended up having the opposite effect. This was not due to the nature of the law, but to the laxity of those who received it. Chrysostom continues," But some will ask, why did sin abound? It is because the law gave countless commands. Since the nation of Israel violated them, transgressions became more abundant." Paul had said earlier," Sin is not charged when there is no law." Romans 5:13.
Obviously then, when God gave a multiplicity of laws through Moses, it would naturally mean that people would be charged with more sin than before. But where sin abounded, grace super abounded. As we have already discussed, grace provided many more blessings than the damage caused by sin. Therefore, the power of grace is shown to be greater than the power of sin. For grace not only destroys sin and death, but it grants us eternal life in the kingdom of God.
In fact, grace superabounded even during the period of the law. Theodoret writes," Paul says the law did not invalidate the mercy of God." Instead, it displayed the vastness of His loving kindness. The more often the Israelites sinned, the more often God displayed His mercy. Romans 5:21." So that just as sin has reigned in death, even so might grace reign through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." As Origen points out, the soul always has a ruler over it.
We have the choice of having our souls ruled over either by Christ Jesus or by death and the devil. Ambrosiaster comments," The dominion of grace is the kingdom of God, just as the rule of sin is the kingdom of the devil." Chrysostom comments," Grace not only disarms death, but it even destroys it. It entirely undoes the dominion of death, for it is the more powerful of the two. Sin had merely cast us out of our present life. In contrast, when grace came, it did not merely give us back the present life.
Rather, it gave us an immortal and eternal life. Theodoret adds," Sin presently reigns over our bodies. However, when we die, the body is freed from the power of sin. For according to the Holy Apostle, he who is dead is freed from sin, Romans 6:7. After the resurrection, our bodies will become imperishable and immortal. Grace will reign in them, for sin will no longer have any place. Grace is truly amazing, and our God is truly wonderful.