Lonang Commentary on Romans 5

Rom. 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

God, The Great Equalizer

I am constantly struck by how thoroughly God views all people as equal. Back in the Garden, He created all men and women equal – equally in God’s image, morally capable, and personally responsible. Post-Fall, all people are equally fallen, possess a sin nature, and are by nature inclined to sin. As testified to by nature, all people are equally guilty, under the condemnation of sin, and deserving of death. As we stand before God, all people are equally unrighteous, unholy, and subject to the law of sin and death.

Then on the flip side, justification by faith in Christ after the model of Abraham is available equally to all, whether Jew or Gentile, male or female, bond or free. Here in verses 1 and 2, Paul assures us that all believers have equal peace with God, access to God’s grace, and impliedly, equal access to God Himself. For that is exactly what the tearing of the veil in the Jewish temple at Christ’s death signifies – access to God is no longer restricted to some, but has been thrown open by Jesus to everyone who believes. Mat. 27:51.

Similarly in the Church, there is no hierarchy among the spiritual gifts or offices, but all are equal before God. God places no one in authority to rule over others in the body of Christ, but all are uniformly under the headship of Christ. The Lord places no earthly church above any others, never gives superiority or exclusivity to any earthly church, and does not dictate or require any particular form of church organization.

Even in the final judgment, everyone will stand equally before God for judgment of their deeds, whether small or great. And I won’t go into the scriptural proofs here, but I sincerely doubt there will be any levels of hell,’ as all the damned will be reduced to an absolutely equal station in their torment and misery, just as those in heaven will be elevated to an absolutely equal station without preference. Whatever rewards God hands out to the righteous will not place them into any kind of hierarchy or pecking order. For God does not show partiality – isn’t that what the scriptures repeatedly teach?

Yet, everywhere you look, not just in society but most especially in churches, inequality is the universal rule. Only special people can do special things, wear special clothes, stand in special places, enter special rooms, and use special tools. Only special people can preach or teach, administer sacraments, give blessings, hear confessions, or forgive sins. Churches, along with hospitals, universities and the armed forces, are some of the most hierarchical and unequal places on earth. None of which comes back on God, but is solely attributable to the sinfulness of people.

So, let us thank God for the assurance we have in Him that regardless of the shamefully unequal way we treat people on earth, that is not how God treats us. He has given every believer an equal access directly to Him, without the need of going through any intermediary. We do not need to go through any human priest to get to God, for Christ alone is our high priest. We do not need to go through any church, ministry or institution to get to God, for the Holy Spirit dwells within each believer. We do not need to perform any ritual, sacrament, or ordinance to experience the grace of God, for He gives freely to all those who ask, and He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

In verses 3-5, Paul turns to the inevitable result of true faith in this mortal life, namely sufferings. Not all believers will suffer persecution, but all believers will inevitably see how life on earth fails to measure up to God’s standards in nearly every possible way, causing pain. Not to mention the pain that comes from simply living in a mortal body. But the pains of this life are all temporary, thank God. Ah, the hope of the resurrection, when pain will be no more!

But the lesson I take away here is the lesson of endurance – “here is a call for the faith and endurance of the saints.” Rev. 13:10. For there is much more that believers in Christ will yet need to endure. “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” Heb. 10:36. More tough times are ahead, as the world slowly, but surely, descends into chaos before the Lord returns. It is our faith that will give us the strength to endure what is coming until we attain the resurrection, not being resigned to living in despair like those who have no hope.

Rom. 5:6-11 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

God’s Perfect Timing

Remember where Paul began – with everyone being under a universal condemnation of sin, deserving of God’s righteous wrath and death – a situation existing since the Fall of Adam. So inevitably, everyone born since then is weak (verse 6) and a sinner (verse 8). But Paul also speaks of the timing of Christ’s death long after the Fall in both verses. Namely, at the right time (verse 6), and while we were still sinners (verse 8). And he seems to mean this in two senses – both personally, and historically. Which goes to the question, “Who is we (or us)?”

Personally, we can each ask, “Did Christ die for me while I was still a sinner?” How can that be, since when Jesus died, I was not yet even born, so how could I be a sinner 2,000 years ago? I answer that yes, Jesus died when I was still a sinner, and this is true for every believer. I base this on Heb. 7:9-10: “And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.” Here, the writer of Hebrews recognizes that Levi, three generations after Abraham, is considered by God to be included in the interaction between Abraham and Melchizedek.

In the same way, from God’s perspective, each of us was in the loins of our father Adam, and also the generation of men living at the time of the crucifixion. Thus, Jesus died not only for the generation living at the time, but also all future generations to come. For all of us, when we were born, were born weak and sinful, separated from God.

Historically, we can ask why God sent Christ to die when He did. Why not at the beginning, right after the Fall? Why not right after the flood, or after Babel? What made 2,000 years ago the right time? Gal. 4:4 says that Jesus came “when the fullness of the time came.” I take this in two primary senses. First, God wanted the nations of the earth to develop to maturity, by which I mean, develop their full predisposition to be tyrannical, evil, and manifestly wicked. Second, God wanted Israel to develop to full maturity, by which I mean, supplant the laws of God with the traditions of men, to the point when Jesus came, they would not recognize Him and reject Him.

Just as I believe when Jesus comes again, it will be because: 1) the time of the Gentiles has been fulfilled (or fully matured); 2) the kingdom of Satan will have come to full maturity (evil in the world will reach its full zenith); and 3) institutional Christianity will be exactly where institutional Judaism was 2,000 years ago – fully supplanting the laws of God with the traditions of men, apostate, and unable to recognize the true spirit of Christ. In other words, God waits until things get as bad as they can, before He intervenes with the remedy for our sinfulness. This rule applies to both Christ’s First Advent and Second Advent.

You weren’t thinking that organized Christianity was getting more godly over time, were you? “No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first.” 2 Th. 2:3.

Reconciliation and Salvation

The phrase, “much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life,” implies that reconciliation and salvation (at least in this context) are two separate things. I’m not saying that they can be obtained in separate ways, or at separate times, but simply that there are two aspects to God’s plan of redemption. The first aspect, reconciliation, means that once redeemed, we are no longer separated from God as a result of the Fall. Though born separated from Him, through Christ we are no longer strangers and aliens to God, but are adopted into His family and become fellow-heirs with Christ. The condemnation of sin that we are born into no longer has a hold on us, and we are freed from it.

The second aspect, salvation, refers in this context to being spared from the second death, or in other words, our receipt of the gift of eternal life. So that we are reconciled to God both in this mortal life, and in the next immortal life. Saved from eternal pain and suffering, although in this life even we, as believers, will endure plenty of pain and suffering and physical death. But saved from the wrath of God, which is the eternal punishment of the wicked. And ultimately, for us to dwell with Him, and Him with us, forever. This, of course, is a cause for great rejoicing, as Paul says.

Rom. 5:12-16 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

Sin, Redemption and the Law of Inheritance

If you recall, the argument made in the first two chapters was that the creation reveals an awareness of sin, and the wrath of God is justified because of that sin, for which everyone deserves eternal death. And for the Jews in particular, God’s revealed laws gave them an extra layer of knowledge confirming the laws of nature revealed in creation. For in the final analysis, the laws of nature and the laws of nature’s God distill down to the same moral standards. The evidence for which primarily consists of the testimony, as it were, of the creation. A testimony of certain universal and undeniable facts.

But now, Paul comes in with the double-whammy, which is the legal case for universal sin. Thus, even if you think (wrongly) you are not factually guilty of sin, or that creation was an inadequate revelation of sin, you stand legally guilty of sin. Lawyers like to say that when the facts are against you, argue the law. When the law is against you, argue the facts. And when both the law and the facts are against you, scream for justice. But as Paul will ably show, the demands of justice for humanity means only one thing – death. There is no escape. For as we will now see, the law is indeed against us as much as the facts.

What law? The law of inheritance, which we have already been introduced to. Remember, this law provides that for purposes of inheritance a child takes 100% from the father and 0% from the mother. Thus, notice in this discussion, and in the next section, it is never the transgression of Adam and Eve, but of Adam only. Eve was there, and she did indeed sin, but her sin is not carried down through the generations, because it is not counted. Even though she was the mother of all the living.

The argument being made, therefore, is that regardless of how you think the facts may be for you or against you, no matter how good you think you are, or whether you are as bad, evil or wicked as the next person, none of that matters. For every person since Adam is a descendant of his, and an inheritor of his fallen nature. Even those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam are under the same condemnation as he was. It’s not the nature of the sin anyone commits, but the sin nature (the fallenness) that condemns them.

Paul makes the curious statement, “sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses.” We know that in the absence of any law, there is no sin (sin is not counted). Nevertheless, both sin and death existed in the world before the Mosaic laws were given. The unstated, but logically necessary conclusion is this: Therefore, there was in fact a law governing mankind from Adam until Moses. What law was that? The law of nature, of course. A set of laws still in effect today.

Then comes the statement, “but the free gift is not like the trespass.” What does that mean? It means that the free gift of redemption in Christ is not governed by the law of inheritance. Adam may have been forgiven when God clothed him, but if that was the case (and it doesn’t matter if he was or wasn’t), Adam’s redemption cannot be inherited by any of his descendants. This is not new news. We have already seen that the faith of Abraham was not inherited by any of his biological descendants. How could Adam’s biological descendants be any different?

This is one of the most fundamental and basic distinctions between Israel and the Church. Many things in Israel were governed by the law of inheritance, but in the Church nothing is. Parents cannot save their children. Spiritual offices, gifts and authority can never be inherited, or passed down from one person to another. So the free gift of Christ is not like the trespass in this way as well – it cannot by any mechanism be transferred from one person to another. For anyone to avail themselves of the Gospel, they must confess their sinfulness and believe in Christ for themselves and no one else. No one can be prayed out of purgatory into heaven by someone else.

Thus, the comparison between Adam and Christ, that many died through one man’s trespass, but the grace of Jesus Christ abounded for many. In other words, “in Adam’s fall we sinned all,” it only took one act by one person at one time to condemn the world. But redemption in Christ happens one person at a time, separately for each person. Yes, Christ died “once for all,” but humanity was not all saved at that time. Individual belief is a necessary ingredient, so that God’s grace is afforded many times, as each individual comes to Christ, abounding to many.

Rom. 5:17-21 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jesus, the Last Adam

In these verses, the argument continues regarding the differences between the trespass of Adam, and the redemption in Christ, one leading to death and the other to life. But in noting these differences, there is also a striking similarity between Adam and Christ. It is significant that Paul refers to both Adam and Christ as “the one man,” implying that these two men have something important in common. So here I want to pick up on the statement in verse 14 that Adam “was a type of the one who was to come,” meaning Jesus. Paul expands on this idea in 1 Cor. 15:45: “Thus it is written, The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”

Which begs the question, “In what way is Christ similar to Adam?” That is, what makes Jesus “the last Adam,” or as some people refer to it, the Second Adam? The answer goes back to Gen. 2:7, quoted in 1 Cor. 15:45, where God made Adam from the dust of the ground, breathed into him the breath of life, and he became a living soul. In other words, Adam had no human father, rather his father was God. Similarly then, Jesus being born of a virgin meant that He also had no human father, rather His father was God.

The fact that no one else in history could make this same claim means that Jesus was only the second person ever to have God as his direct physical father, hence He is the Second Adam. By calling Jesus the Last Adam, Paul is essentially stating that no one since the birth of Christ will ever be able to make this same claim of not having a human father. In other words, in all of human history – past, present and future – Adam and Jesus are unique.

The consequences from the application of the law of inheritance to these facts are pretty straightforward. Both Adam and Christ had no sin nature when they were made flesh, and both were in fact born (or made) sinless. Further, the sin nature of Mary, the mother of Jesus, is of no account. Of course, we know that Adam’s sinless condition was very temporary, for that is what the Fall is all about. Jesus, on the other hand, was able to remain sinless through the point of death, which is why He was the only person – ever – who could possibly atone for Adam’s transgression. And why, as the scripture says, “there is salvation in no one else.” Acts 4:12.

Finally, the statement in verse 20 that “the law came in to increase the trespass” simply means that for the Jews, the giving of the Mosaic laws created a set of legal wrongs for them that the Gentiles did not have. In other words, the Gentiles only had to obey the laws of nature and God’s universal covenants through Adam and Noah, whereas the Jews had the extra burden of satisfying the additional requirements of the Mosaic laws. Nonetheless, as stated, “grace abounded all the more.” So that, in the end, Jews and Gentiles will be judged by the same standard, as Paul has already noted a couple of times.