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 people, because all sinned—
13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where 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 is 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!
Jesus Reversed Adam’s Curse
All it takes is one. One person can ruin a good thing for everybody else. When I was in elementary school it was football cards. You could bring your collection in, compare them with your friends, trade them if you wanted to. But one upper grader takes advantage of the younger kids and trades a fistful of worthless cards for one that actually has value and now no one can have cards at school anymore.
Every generation has its own example, and it’s not limited to elementary school. One person shoplifts and now no one can wear a backpack in the store. [Another example]
It’s so unfair! Why should we be punished for something someone else did? How could one person ruin a good thing for everyone else? Well, that’s just what Paul says Adam did to us: “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people…” Because of what Adam did maybe 10,000 years ago you and I suffer to this day. How is that fair?
God gave Adam one command. He said, “You can eat fruit from all the trees in the entire world except for one,” and what did Adam do? He ate fruit from that one tree. He heard a specific, explicit, direct command from God and deliberately, knowingly, willfully rebelled against it. This was no accident. Adam didn’t forget. He wasn’t in a desperate situation where he needed to eat and this was the only food available. Adam knew God’s command, he knew the consequences and he ate anyway.
God had warned him, “You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die,” and that’s what happened. After Adam disobeyed God, God said to Adam, “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Because Adam sinned, he was going to die.
Death was not part of God’s original plan. Death only came into this world because of Adam’s disobedience. And doesn’t it just about drive you crazy thinking about what might have been? If he had just obeyed that one command, we could still be in the Garden of Eden without aging bodies or dying relatives. He took a good thing and ruined it for the rest of us.
Adam wasn’t the only one who would die because of his sin. Now, everyone else who ever lives will die too. Just read Genesis Chapter 5 once and you’ll hear a repeated refrain like a death knell at a funeral: “Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died… Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then died.. and then he died… and then he died… and then he died.”
Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, including you. Death is your inheritance too, and you can thank Adam for it.
It doesn’t sound fair, does it? It sounds like we’re getting punished for what Adam did, but it’s not quite that simple. In Romans Chapter 5 Paul is explaining 2 kinds of sin. The first is what we call “original” sin, i.e. the sin that we inherit from our parents. Just like you inherited certain physical and personality traits from your parents – your hair color, your height, your sense of humor – you also inherited their sinful nature. So, right from the get-go, from the moment you’re born you have sinful desires.
But it’s more than just that. We don’t just inherit sin from our parents. We commit plenty of sins entirely on our own. That’s why Paul finishes his sentence: “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned…”
You may not have heard God’s voice the way that Adam did, but you’ve heard his Word. You have the written testimony of his 10 Commandments. There’s no excuse for the trespasses of your heart or mind or mouth – the anger, bitterness, resentment you feel toward others; the way you can backstab, betray and give people a bad name; the carelessness and selfishness that puts your needs ahead of others’; the envy, greed and lust that spring up in an instant.
We’re fooling ourselves if we think that Adam is the only reason for sin in this world. He just bears the unfortunate distinction of being first, i.e. the one who introduced sin to this world. We are just as guilty as he ever was. That’s why the curse still stands. That’s why death still reigns, because there is still sin in this world and sin in our hearts.
Adam took a good thing and ruined it for everyone. But the gift is not like the trespass, and in Jesus, God reversed the curse. Paul explains, “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!”
Paul compares Jesus to Adam because just like with Adam one moment in Jesus’ life made a universal difference for all mankind. The moment Adam bit into that fruit, this world was filled with sin and death. But the moment that Jesus died, the curse was reversed. One sin brought death and condemnation for the whole world, but one sacrifice brought life and salvation to everyone who believes. And so, while Jesus may be similar to Adam, he is so much better.
We understand how one person can ruin a good thing for everyone else. I had a part-time job cleaning up a banquet hall in college and they used to let us go behind the bar and serve ourselves free fountain drinks. It was great, until one of my co-workers abused our boss’s generosity and drained the root beer barrel. After that, there was no free pop ever again. And I get it. All it takes is one person to ruin a good thing.
But how much would it take to regain that employer’s trust, to get back in his good graces? How many flawless shifts would it take? How many months or years without a single incident? It may never happen again, even with the best-behaved crew. But Jesus, living in a sinful world like this one, with sinners like you and me who add up trespass after trespass day after day – Jesus did enough to reverse the curse.
A couple verses after our text for today, Paul says, “One righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people… through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” Jesus is that one man. His righteous obedience saved us.
Jesus wasn’t born with original sin like you and I were, because he is more than just a human. He is perfectly, entirely God too. Jesus didn’t commit any actual sins in his life either. He was righteous in every way. He was able to do what Adam could not; he obeyed every command God gave him, but, more than that, he sacrificed himself, suffering the consequences of our sin so that the curse could be reversed for us.
Sometimes we speak of Jesus’ sacrifice as God’s Great Exchange and we can think of it in terms of basic Bible math. On the one hand, God demands that we be holy and have no sin. If we were able to do that we would live forever. On the other hand, God sees that we are not holy and we do have sin on our record, which means that we deserve death. But when Jesus suffered the death that we deserve without a sin to his name, he exchanged his holiness for our sin, i.e. his perfect obedience for our disobedience. And, as a result, we receive what he has earned – eternal life at our Father’s side in heaven.
That’s the reversal that Paul talks about in Romans 5. We who were destined to death for our original and actual sin can now look forward to eternal life because of Jesus’ blood and righteousness. It’s not fair – we deserve to be punished for our sin; Jesus did not deserve to die for it – but God’s grace is a free gift that overflows to sinners who believe.
Adam ruined this world and God could have ended it right then and there, but instead he made a promise to send a Savior. We continue to commit sin in our lives today, but God fulfilled his promise and Jesus has come to reverse the curse. He has given you his righteousness. He has forgiven your sins. He has opened heaven to people who should have gone to hell, and it’s all thanks to Jesus.
God loved you so much that he exchanged his Son for you. Jesus endured your punishment so that you can live with God. No matter who you are or what you’ve done, rejoice that Jesus has reversed the curse; he has stopped you from hurtling into eternal death in hell and he has blessed you with eternal life and salvation in his name. The curse cannot hurt you anymore. You have life through Jesus Christ our Lord. To him be all praise and honor and glory, forever and ever. Amen.