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 The Gift of Righteousness
Romans 5:12-21
The Gift of Christmas
December 1, 2002
With a four year old and twin two year-olds, I am becoming very familiar with the current crop of children’s TV shows—shows like
Blue’s Clues and Bob the Builder. On some of the more educational shows, they are very creative in teaching preschoolers lessons on colors, shapes, what’s different and what’s alike.
It’s not only important for preschoolers to understand through contrast and comparison. It is a great way to help adults understand very deep concepts.
As I read Romans 5:12-21, I was struck by the contrasts and comparisons that are made—in a passage that is believed to be one of the greatest theological passages in the entire Bible. The Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul, knew that if we were going to “get it,” he had better show us contrasts and comparisons to drive home the point.
This is a great passage to transition from our previous series, “The Story of Genesis,” to our current series, “The Gift of Christmas.” In Genesis, we spent a good chunk of time seeking to understand what God wanted us to know from the creation account, especially the part about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We looked at what theologians call “The Fall,” that moment when they decided to betray their love and trust in God and defy his command to eat the forbidden fruit. We discovered a number of important facts that explains our condition as human beings. First, that “Adam,” is more than an historical figure (which he no doubt was), he is also “everyman.” In fact, the Hebrew word “adam” literally means “man,” and translators have difficulty determining when the original author meant “Adam” as the proper name, and “adam” as a term for simply “man,” or “humanity” in general. The ambiguity is not an accident—Adam is man, for in his sin in eating the forbidden fruit, we see ourselves. We all inherit the same desire to do that which we should not do. We are all sinful in our inner-most nature, and therefore, we trespass into territory that we are not supposed to go, harming ourselves and very often others around us. An honest person not only sees the evil in other people, but when they look in the mirror, he or she sees the things that they do that are ugly and selfish. That is who we are; we are all “adam.”
With this as our foundation—that sin began with the one man, Adam, and that this sin of Adam is actually our fault as well (we are all “adam,” “mankind,” or “humanity”)—we can begin to build a deep understanding of what God intends to do about this ugly reality.
And that is what Christmas represents. Of all the enduring images of Christmas, from Santa Claus to Christmas Trees to Frosty the Snowman, the most basic image of Christmas has to be that of the Christmas gift, wrapped in colorful paper and a beautiful ribbon. We understand Christmas as a time to give and to receive gifts.
And that is a good thing, for that is exactly what Christmas is all about: the giving and receiving of a wonderful gift—a gift that can eradicate the ugly reality of who we are as mankind, as humanity.
The reason this passage is in our Bibles is to teach us that our sin problem came into existence through the first “man,” Adam, but another “man,” Jesus Christ, brings with him a gift of righteousness to all who will receive him. So let’s look at the contrast and comparison of the two so that we can understand better the gift of Christmas.
Romans 5:12-14:
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned—for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 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 was a pattern of the one to come.
(Genesis 5:12-14)
At the end of verse 12, the Apostle Paul sets out to make a comparison, but stops in mid-sentence to explain something about the Law of Moses. He starts with
“Just as…” but never gets to the “…so also” to finish his comparison. His comparison must wait a minute until he explains to any Jews who might be reading this letter to the Romans that the Law was not the determiner of what was sinful and what was not
sinful—“for before the law was given, sin was in the world.” Sin is not the breaking of a command of the Law, but simply doing that which is wrong. Right and wrong are not dependent on the Jewish Law of Moses; the Jewish Law of Moses simply spells out what is already true. Adam lived way before Moses, and was guilty of sin, and therefore was subject to the consequences of sin—death. And death reigned from Adam to Moses, because people were sinning even before they had the Law.
And then a very important statement is made: “Adam was a pattern of the one to come.” That word “pattern” is the Greek word “tupos,” from which we get our word, “type.” Adam was a “type” of the coming One, the Messiah, the Christ—in that he prefigured and foreshadowed Christ. How? In this: Like Adam, who was the representative head of mankind in that what he did effected all of humanity, so the Christ when he comes will be the representative head of mankind, in that what he did will effect all of humanity.
This sets up our “contrast and comparison” between Adam and Christ. In what ways is Adam unlike Christ, and in what ways is Adam like Christ? And what does that mean for me? And what does that mean for the meaning of Christmas?
A. The Contrasts (Romans 5:15-17)
In this section, Paul sets out to contrast Adam and Christ.
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! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
(Romans 5:15-17)
1. First, under “Adam,” we have “the trespass.” Under “Christ” we have “the gift.”
This is an interesting contrast, for we would not first think that the opposite of “trespass” would be “gift.” But it makes sense when we think about what trespassing is. A “No Trespassing” sign means that we are not supposed to tread off the path designated for us—when we do, we begin to trespass. When we do, we insist on going our own way. When we do, we insist on our own self-assertion. The opposite of self-assertion is self-sacrifice. The opposite of Adam’s trespass is Christ’s giving his life as a gift.
Self-assertion is replaced by self-sacrifice; trespass is overcome with gift. “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!”
The trespass had devastating consequences—many died because many followed suit and sinned just as Adam did, for the many were all “adam” as well—they were all humans, with the same sinful nature inherited from Adam. But God’s grace gives a gift that came from one man as well, the Son of Man, Jesus Christ!
2. Next, under “Adam,” we have “Judgment” and “Condemnation.” Under “Christ” we have “Gift” and “Justification.”
The contrast is clear: In place of judgment, Christ offers a gift.
The result of the judgment and the result of the gift are at polar opposites as well: Condemnation is replaced with Justification.
This is legal language. When one is condemned, it is like that man who this week was given the death penalty for killing those Wendy’s employees in New York City. He is guilty of a terrible sin, and he will pay the price of losing his
life—the death penalty. Whether or not you’re a proponent of the death penalty is not the point I’m trying to make—it is this: Sin should have, sin MUST have consequences, or there is no justice. Judgment of sin must bring about condemnation.
The judgment of condemnation is replaced with the gift of justification. The act by which an individual is freed from the consequences of having committed a crime is called a “Pardon.” The Constitution of the United States confers on the president the power to grant pardons for offences against the United States. Very often, presidential pardons are given at Christmas. The gift of Justification says to the condemned spiritual criminal, “You are no longer condemned—you are now declared
“Not Guilty.” Nobody can ever make you pay the price for your crime. You are seen as righteous, even though you are guilty. This is the Christmas gift.
The contrast is even more marked by the math indicated at the end of verse 16. “The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.”
That’s bad math, we think. One single trespass brought a sentence of guilt. So, we would think, many trespasses would bring about a greater sentence of guilt! The snipers in the D.C. area are not only going to have to meet their fate in Virginia, but also in Maryland. They must pay for
all the lives they ended. They deserve what’s coming to them. That’s what we should rightfully expect.
After my first bit of selfishness, my first time of blowing up and losing my temper, or my first time my gaze lingered too long on some woman at the health club, objectifying her as merely sexual thing
rather than a person with dignity, I deserved condemnation. And after year after year of doing the same despicable things, of trespassing over and over again, like those snipers, my crimes have been repeated over and over again. I REALLY deserve what’s coming to me! Condemnation is what
I should rightfully expect!
But that’s what’s so amazing about grace! Grace is amazing because it is so incredibly, overwhelmingly generous! Grace is amazing because, as the song says, “it saved a wretch like me!”—a wretch who repeatedly goes off the path, trespassing into sinful pursuits. As John Stott writes,
“The secular mind would have expected many sins to attract more judgment than one sin. But grace operates a different arithmetic.”
3. The last contrast looks like this: Under “Adam,” we see that “death reigned.” Under “Christ” we see that “we reign in life.” The contrast cannot be any more vivid! Because we are all sinful, death reigns
over us. While this certainly pertains somewhat to physical death, the main point is that because of sin, we all die spiritually. Death reigns over us. Because of our sin, not only do we dying physically, we die spiritually. But under Christ, we not only are taken out from under the reign of death, we are placed upon the throne
over life! We are not just taken out of one kingdom and placed into another, we are placed over the other!
We reign in life!
So that is the contrast between Adam and Christ.
And if you have receive God’s abundant provision of grace--the gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ, you have switched from being “under Adam” to being “under Christ!” All that is true of being in a relationship with God through Christ, eternal life, abundant life, purpose and meaning in life, true lasting joy in life, the power to get through the struggles in life—they are yours when you receive the gift of Christmas, because death no longer reigns over you, you reign over life! Because Christ reigns over life,
because you are now under Christ!
Have you received the gift of Christmas? Have you looked into the mirror and realized who you are under Adam, a human who is sinful and judged to condemnation? Have you accepted the gift of righteousness that only comes through faith in the Christ of Christmas?
B. The Comparisons (Romans 5:18-19)
After the contrasts have been made, Paul picks up the “just as, so also” comparison that he started back in verse 12 but never finished. Look at verses 18 and 19.
Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
(Romans 5:18-19)
There are two “just as”
clauses, followed by two “so also”
clauses, thus the comparison. They are parallel, trying to drive home the point. Paul contrasts what the two DID, and the RESULT of what they did.
1. The comparison of what they did.
Adam committed one act of “trespass”
(v. 18), of “disobedience” (v. 19). Christ committed one act of
“righteousness” (v. 18), of
“obedience” (v.19). Where Adam turned away from God and violated his command, Christ turned toward his Father and continually did his will. The singular act of trespass on Adam’s part is the eating of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6). What is the singular act of righteousness on Christ’s part? It was his dying on the cross!
“And being found in appearance as a man, he (Christ) humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8)
2. The comparison of the results of what they did.
Adam’s act resulted in condemnation because everyone is a sinner. Christ’s act resulted in the wonderful work of “justification” which allows anyone to be made righteous.
This is that legal language again. One of my New Testament professors, Dr. Douglas Moo, is one of today’s foremost experts on the book of Romans, having written two of today’s leading commentaries on the book. He writes,
“Because of Adam’s sin, ‘the many’ were ‘appointed to’ or ‘inaugurated into’ a state of sinfulness; and because of Christ’s obedience, the many ‘were appointed to’ a status of righteousness (i.e., they were justified.)”
In other words, if you are under Adam, you remain in a state of sinfulness, with the condemnation from God that this deserves. But if you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior from this state of sinfulness, he will appoint you to a status of righteousness. He will give you the gift of being justified.
Justification is a heavy theological word that means that since you and I are helpless in our sinful state to do anything about our state and the consequences of what we do because of our sinful state, God steps in and says, “Here is my Son, Jesus Christ. He did an incredible thing for you! Listen to this! He died on the cross as payment for your sinfulness! And since your payment has been payed, if you will trust this act for yourself personally, I will declare that you are NOT GUILTY! Not only that, but once you receive this gift of righteousness, I will begin to work in your heart to make you in reality what I have declared you to be. I will not only DECLARE you righteous, I will MAKE you righteous! But the key first step is FAITH. Believe this for yourself—in other words, accept the gift of Christmas: my Son, willingly dying on the cross as the perfect act of righteousness, so that those who were condemned can instead be justified.”
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-11, KJV)
The "good tidings"
that the angel announced that night is not just that a baby was born, but who that baby was. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” For unto you (yes YOU!) is born a SAVIOR! The one who will save us from the terrible predicament we have been in since Adam. This is the source of Christmas joy! Not just the one who wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, but the one who some 30-odd years later will have his head wrapped in a crown of thorns and nailed on a cross.
C. Grace overcame sin, eternal life overcomes death (Romans 5:20-21)
The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord. (Romans 5:20-21).
Again, the most enduring image of Christmas is the giving of gifts. And, this Christmas, I want you to know that there is a gift that God has given a world that each year increases its trespasses. Where sin increased, grace increases all the more. And the gift is not rescinded.
What is the gift of Christmas? It is the gift of righteousness. But this gift of being declared righteous has with it a tremendous benefit:
ETERNAL LIFE. This year, do not take for granted the gift that God so graciously has given to you personally. As you open all the wonderful gifts you will give and receive this Christmas, take time to thank God for the most precious gift of all.
And if you have never actually opened the gift of righteousness from God, if that gift is still unopened under your tree, this year won’t you open it with your faith?
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