Author: The Manager of Site

Saturday, 4 May 2013

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. Romans 5:14

This verse clarifies a concept which is implicitly stated in the very first chapters of the Bible. That man sinned and death came as a result of sin. The death being spoken of here, and which will become evident by the time 5:21 is reached, is spiritual death. Adam was given a single commandment. He was told that if he broke that law, death would result, “…but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:17

Adam did in fact violate the commandment and yet he continued to live physically for a full 930  years. This implies that what God spoke of was spiritual death and this is the premise that Paul writes from. The physical death that man experiences is a result of the spiritual death that occurred. God, in His wisdom, removed access to the Tree of Life. This is recorded in Genesis 3 – “Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever…”

An eternally alive, but spiritually dead being would be a cosmic calamity. The wickedness of such a being would continue to grow throughout the ages. If man can wreak as much havoc as Hitler or Stalin did in such a few years, imagine the depths of depravity of an eternal, but fallen being!

Paul’s comment based on the previous verse is “Nevertheless” – Notwithstanding the fact that sin is not imputed where there is no law, “death reigned from Adam to Moses.” Why? Because all people are sons of Adam and have inherited his fallen state. This is true “even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam.” In other words, death reigns in all of Adam’s race even if they didn’t commit the same type of transgression as he did; the fallen state is inherited.

However and despite this sad news, we are given an introduction to Another. Paul says that Adam is “a type of Him who was to come.” The Bible is given to us to show the contrast between the two and the remedy which is found in this “second Adam.”

Life application: When Jesus said, “No one is good but One, that is, God” He was making an absolute claim. Only God is good. In order to be reconciled to Him, we must share in His goodness. The only way that this is possible is to have that state imputed to us by the merits of another perfectly good being. What is implied then is that if we are reconciled to God through Jesus, then Jesus must be God. Stand firm on the truth of the Bible, even if it is difficult to comprehend.

Lord God, despite our error and our turning away, You have restored us to You, just as You promised at the very beginning. You said that You would send One to right the wrong of Adam and He came and pitched His tent among us. What an amazing and glorious work You have wrought for Adam’s fallen sons. Great are Your ways, O God. Amen.

Friday, 3 May 2013

For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Romans 5:13

This verse is speaking about the Law of Moses. Prior to that law, there was sin in the world. This sin, as was previously noted, was introduced by Adam’s rebellion. From that moment, all born into humanity inherited Adam’s sin. Sin was at work and yet because there was no law given, sin wasn’t imputed. Does this mean that the people were guiltless? No. The reason is that they inherited Adam’s sin. Therefore, they were guilty through Adam.

In addition to this, there is the law of conscience which was explained in Romans 2. As he said there, people “show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them.” We stand guilty before God when we violate the natural laws which are instilled in our hearts.

What Paul is speaking of in 5:13 is the specific revelation of the Law of Moses. Violations of this law are not imputed to people who have not been given this law. How can someone be held guilty for a law that doesn’t exist? As Paul says, “For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.”

If a policeman came up to you and said, “You are under arrest for having a black car,” you might wonder what he’s talking about. There is no law against having a black car. However, if the legislators at the state capital passed a law which outlawed black cars, then you could be arrested for having a black car. The Law of Moses set down particular rules for a particular set of people. When they broke those laws, they were guilty before the law. Those outside of that law cannot be held guilty for such a law though.

Later in chapter 5, we will see a reason why the law was introduced. Paul elsewhere (such as in Galatians) explains other reasons for the giving of the law. In the end, the law is an important aspect of what God is doing in the stream of human existence, but it is not an end in and of itself. It only points us to something else; something which we desperately need.

Life application: There are different programs going on in the pages of the Bible which are introduced for different reasons and they may apply at certain times, but not at others. It’s important to understand when something applies and when it doesn’t. If we mix these programs inappropriately, then our understanding of God’s work becomes convoluted. The Law of Moses, which was given to Israel, is such a program. It applied at a certain time to a specific group of people. Christ Jesus fulfilled that law on our behalf. Don’t reinsert that law now that it has been fulfilled.

Thank You Lord for the beauty of Your word. It’s a big and complicated book that I can come to again and again to find new treasures, and yet its overall message is so simple that a child can understand it – we have turned from You and yet You have reached out to us in love through Your Son to call us back to You. I accept His work; I receive Jesus. Amen.

Thursday, 2 May 2013

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—  Romans 5:12

The discourse of Romans 5:12-5:21 is extremely complicated, exceedingly delicate, and highly debated. It is given among other reasons to show the contrast between Adam and Christ and the nature of sin verses the nature of righteousness.

There are several prevalent views on the nature of man and His state before God. These go from the concept of man being totally depraved and incapable of choosing any good at all at one end, to man being born without inheriting Adam’s sin but having the consequences of sin imputed to him when he first sins during his lifetime.

Great care needs to be taken here to understand our nature and our state before God. If our view of this is faulty, then pretty much everything else that we believe about our relationship with God will be affected as well.

The Bible, from its very first pages is clear, Adam fell and through him “sin entered the world.” Adam, who was created outside of the Garden of Eden and then placed in the garden, sinned. When he did, he was cast back out of the Garden. However, before he sinned, God told him that “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Adam did in fact eat of the fruit and was cast out, but he continued to live to the age of 930. This tells us that the death God was speaking of was not physical death, but spiritual – although our physical death is also a part of our fallen state. Paul notes that through Adam’s disobedience, sin entered the world, “and death through sin.” Adam’s spiritual death was immediate and it was a consequence of his sin.

The moment that Adam spiritually died, there was a chasm placed between God and man which could not be traversed by man. In His spiritually dead state, there was nothing in his power that would allow him to become spiritually revived. Further, because Adam was in the stream of time, he couldn’t go back and undo what he had done. Time moved on and the consequences of his sin continued.

Paul now moves to the thought which is so highly displeasing to the fallen sons of Adam and which is so divisive within theological circles. He notes that Adam’s death (which was spiritual death) was a result of sin and “thus spread to all men, because all sinned.” What the Genesis account clearly shows, and which follows throughout the rest of the Old Testament, and also which necessitated the coming of Christ, is that all humans have inherited Adam’s sin. All humans are in Adam in three ways – legally, potentially, and seminally.

Legally – Adam is our federal head. He is the first man from whom all other men come. Just as the president of the United States represents its citizens, so Adam represents all who come from Adam. Paul deals with this in 1 Corinthians 15.

Potentially – It says in Genesis 5:3, 4, “When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.” We have no idea how many children Adam had. It could have been 10 or it could have been 150. All were potentially in him and all that were actually born actually came from him. In the same way, any normally functioning person could have any amount of children or no children. Every person who comes after them is potentially in them and a jillion other possible people could come from that same stream.

Seminally – Acts 17:26 says, “…and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth.” Again, in Hebrews 7 Levi is said to be in the loins of Abraham and thus he paid tithes to Melchizedek even though he wasn’t yet born, and wouldn’t come for three more generations. He was seminally in his father before he ever existed.

All of us are in Adam in these three ways and thus we all bear his sin in these ways. We are born spiritually dead. This is demonstrated by the account of Cain and Abel and what occurred during their lives. There is a sentence of condemnation hanging over our heads from the moment of our conception and it is merely waiting to be executed. Something external needs to be introduced in order for the sentence to move us from condemnation to restoration.

What this is will be analyzed in the coming verses.

Life application: We are all in Adam from the moment we are conceived. We bear Adam’s guilt. But God has sent a remedy to cure this fallen state. Are you going to trust in your own righteousness before God when you are already fallen? Or, will you trust in God’s provision to bring about restoration? Choose wisely.

Glorious Almighty God! When I rise in the morning, You are there. As I wander through my day, You are at my side. When I lay down again in the stillness of my thoughts, help me to contemplate all that You have done for me once again in another day of life. You faithfully carry me through each day; how much more will You carry me through to Your loving arms?Thank You for Your continued presence in my life. Amen.

Wednesday, 1 May 2013

And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5:11

Paul, adding on to the previous verse says, “And not only that…” In addition to the amazing fact that we were reconciled to God through Jesus’ death and saved by His life, we have the wondrous prospect of rejoicing in God through Him. In 5:2 we were told that we rejoice in hope of the glory of God, but in Christ we can also actually rejoice in God Himself. The reason why this can happen is because Jesus is the full expression of God. We see this in several verses in the New Testament. Two of them are cited below. The first is from Jesus’ words and the second is from Paul’s letter to the Colossians –

“He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:9

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Colossians 1:15

If we rejoice in Christ Jesus, then we are rejoicing in God through Him as well. He is the point of reconciliation between God and man and therefore the focus of our rejoicing. In this particular verse, the older King James Version uses the word “atonement” instead of “reconciliation.” This may lead the modern reader to a misunderstanding of what is meant.

The word atonement as used in the Old Testament is the means of reconciliation – the sacrifice which brings it about. This isn’t what’s intended here. Instead it is speaking about the reconciliation itself. The old English use of the word implied at-one-ment. It is the state in which we find ourselves. We are fully and completely reconciled to God because of Jesus. Great stuff.

Life application: The fact that we are reconciled to God is something that we should attempt to remember at all times. When we fall short and stumble in our walk, we should keep in mind that we are His and that we are united to Him. Therefore, it is good and proper to return our heart to Him with humility and acknowledge His presence. We are reconciled, it is a done deal, therefore let us not act in a manner which is unworthy of that state.

O God, I know that through Jesus I have full and complete restoration to You. Help me to remember this, even when I fall short and stray from Your precepts. If I can just remember this fact, then I will be more strengthened in my ability to turn back to You and press on in Your good graces. What a point of rejoicing! Thank You for Jesus. Amen.

Tuesday, 30 April 2013

For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10

“For” again begins Paul’s thought. He is reasserting and building on what was just noted. There was a time when we were enemies of God, but Christ came and reconciled us to Him. Reconciliation isn’t something that God needs from us, it is something that we need from God. We were reconciled “to” God through the death of His son. The enmity was ended and the hostility ceased.

Imagine a battle-line where there is an overwhelming attacking power facing a weak and defenseless one. There is only the expectation of complete annihilation of the weak forces; their doom is assured and they will be utterly swept away. But when the crisis was at the moment of completion, the hostilities cease and the commander of the attacking forces steps forward and lays his weapons of destruction down in the presence of the astonished defenders. He calls out, “We are offering you peace.”

This is the state we were in. There was absolutely no hope. We were on a one way avenue to destruction when God stepped in and offered us terms of peace; He offered Jesus. Now think it through… if we were enemies in this situation and He did this because of His own goodness and benevolence by offering His Son, then how “much more, having be reconciled” shall we be saved by His life.

In other words, and without muddying the waters with any other issue or verse – we are eternally saved. Why would God allow Christ to go through all of the torture of the cross, thus offering us peace and reconciliation, just to turn and condemn us after we accepted the terms? It is inconceivable and such a notion diminishes the glory, the majesty, and the reliability of the work of Christ. In Christ, there is the sure hope of eternal salvation, not eternal insecurity.

Life application: Take time today to read the theology of the church or denomination that you attend. If they teach that you can lose your salvation, you need to make new arrangements for your worship. The efficacy of the cross of Christ is complete and eternal. Why would you attend where such a glorious hope is traded for bondage and insecurity?

Heavenly Father, the battle lines were set and I was on the wrong side, ready to be crushed. But You sent terms of peace and reconciliation. Jesus stepped forward and offered Himself to end the hostilities. The greater Force took the initiative. How could I turn from such wonder and goodness? I accept the offer, I receive the peace. Thank You for Jesus. Amen.