Romans 5:12-21 is one of Calvinists’ favorite passages. It is the passage that they usually refer to first when trying to defend their theory of hereditary sin, that is, that man is born a sinner by inheriting Adam’s sin at birth. Admittedly, Romans 5:12-21 is the one passage that sounds like it backs up their theory; however, that is only true on the surface. When one studies the passage in its context, as well as, the overall teaching of the Bible, it becomes clear that Calvinists misapply the passage to suit their doctrine. In this article, I want to take a few minutes to examine Romans 5:12-21.
Paul’s only concern in the second half of Romans 5 is to show that while death was introduced by Adam, life has been introduced by Christ. Everything that was introduced by Adam in the Garden of Eden has been taken away by Christ. This is so because the grace that can be discovered in Christ is greater than the sin that was introduced by Adam. That is the basic teaching of this passage. Now, let us look at the text.
Ver. 12: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”
There has been a lot of discussion about what kind of death Paul is talking about here, spiritual or physical. It seems clear to me that it is spiritual death because Paul said that sin was the cause of it. He tells us that death passed upon all men, not because Adam sinned, but because “all have sinned.” So, sin is the cause of this death. While it is true that Adam’s sin resulted in the physical death of all men because it caused mankind to lose access to the Tree of Life, it is not true that physical death is the result of one’s personal sin. If that were the case, infants would never die because they do not sin. Thus, the death under consideration is spiritual, not physical. When Paul says that all have sinned, he is going back to the beginning. Thus, he continues…
Ver. 13: “For sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law.”
The fact that sin was in the world before the Law was given tells us that man has always been under law, for, as Paul states, “sin is not counted where there is no law.” So, death has reigned ever since Adam and Eve failed to keep the command of God. This is so, not because Adam sinned, but because all have sinned.
Ver. 14: “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.”
There are two interesting things that Paul states here. First, many who sinned after Adam did not sin as Adam sinned. Adam violated a direct and positive command of God, while others were guilty of violating the moral law that God had in place. Here is the interesting thing. If Paul was teaching, as Calvinists do, that man simply inherited Adam’s sin, then their sin would have been the same as Adam’s. If I inherited Adam’s sin, my sin is not only like Adam’s sin, it is the exact sin he committed, something that Paul’s language denies.
Next, Paul indicates that Adam was a type of Christ. How is Adam a type of Christ? The typology is more antithetical than it is comparable. The only thing they have in common in Romans five is that they both introduced something into the world — Adam introduced sin, and Christ introduced justification from sin. Adam introduced death, but Christ introduced life from the dead, and, in doing so, demonstrated the superiority of grace over sin.
Vers. 15-17: “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. 16 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. 17 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.”
One sin brings condemnation, showing the strength of sin. However, the grace of God takes care of all transgressions resulting in justification. There has never been a sin committed that the grace of God could not overcome. Which then is more powerful, sin or God’s grace? The obvious answer is the grace of God. This is the primary thought of Paul in this section. The language is sometimes difficult because Paul does not deal with how one becomes a sinner or how one is justified. His only concern is showing that grace is greater than sin. Yes, one sin brought condemnation, however, grace can take care of all sin that is committed, and nullify the death that comes as a result.
Vers. 18-19: “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 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.”
We must realize that there are conditions that lead to a person being condemned or justified which are not stated by Paul in this text. The thing to remember, though, is that whatever is true concerning spiritual death, must also be true concerning justification unto life. They are both either unconditional or conditional. Now, Paul said that one act led to justification. Are there any conditions? Of course! One must obey the gospel (Romans 1:16). Paul also said that by one’s disobedience, many were condemned. Now remember, if there are conditions to justification, then there are conditions to condemnation too, and there is no doubt that there are conditions to the justification Paul refers to here. If one denies this, he is forced to accept universal salvation, something even Calvinists deny. Now, again, since there is an unstated condition regarding the righteousness Paul describes, that is, the condition of faith, there is a condition to the condemnation too, and that condition is personal sin.
Vers. 20-21: “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The statement “to increase the trespass” points more to the awareness of sin produced by the Law than to the purpose of the Law. In other words, the Law was brought in to expose sin. Now, wherever sin increases, the grace of God abounds more. So the more sin reigns in producing death, the more grace reigns in producing life. The point is grace defeats sin every time, so the more sin there is, the more grace works and is therefore proven to be the greater of the two. It was grace that provided a sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 1:1-10). It was grace that provided the blood that washes away sin (1 Peter 1:18-19). It was grace that provided the resurrection of Christ for our justification (Romans 4:25). Why was grace needed for these things? It was needed because of the existence of sin. Were it not for sin, the greatness of God’s grace would never have been realized for it would not have been necessary. As it stands, the increase of sin has revealed the true worth and power of grace. This is the real point of Paul in this passage. He is not teaching that we are created sinners, and to teach such is to misapply the passage.