Slaves to righteousness. Romans 6:15-23.

A quick jump into Romans, picking up where we left off, and I will use the Message, as it comes across like a 90 mile per hour fastball in the World Series.

Romans 6:15 MSG So, since we're out from under the old tyranny, does that mean we can live any old way we want? Since we're free in the freedom of God, can we do anything that comes to mind?

Take it easy with terminology like tyranny. God introduces the law with ten commandments. Does that seem so overwhelming? No, and not only that, but most of these commandments could be classified under the category of treat people decently.

If you were paying attention in Sunday School, then you would know that the first one says, "love the Lord your God.” If you perceive that as tyranny, then perhaps you need to rethink what is going on at this point in the history of the nation of Israel, and your own life.

Here is a short, but twisted history of "Israel."

The descendants of Jacob, with the help of the #2 man in Egypt, Joseph, also a son of Jacob, settled in Egypt. However, after the death of Joseph and a span of time, there was a regime change. The new ruler doesn't know Joseph, nor does he care, but he seems to be very aware that these Hebrew sheepherders are very large in number, and so an intentional attempt at population reduction begins. God steps in because of the cries of His people and sends them a deliverer - Moses. After a series of devastating plagues, including a night that became known as the Passover, where the firstborn son, in the unmarked homes, would die, God's people are finally allowed to leave. One of the monumental events in this migration is the parting of the Red Sea, through which Israel walked with over a million people. But, it is also the place where, once the people had crossed safely, God released the water He had been holding back, and drowned the armies of Egypt that were in close pursuit. You might think they would be thankful and worship, but that did not happen. In no time at all, they built an altar to the god Moloch, upon which they roasted their children.

God made a keen attempt to control this nonsense and to try and remove the filth of Egypt from them. He called these instructions commandments; but apparently, many of you call them tyranny.

So the implications are clear, we don't have the freedom to act any way we choose.

Alright then, how do we control ourselves? It's more like, how is God going to do that in us? I say this because I live with the reality that is called me, and I know what this body wants to do, such as act out in rage. This refresher course in what we last studied should help you understand.

“knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7 NASB)

Simply put, if you have given yourselves over to Christ by faith, you have been crucified with Him. God did this so that the effects we have to deal with because of these broken bodies, MIGHT be squelched, subdued, and conquered; and, that we would no longer be slaves to sin. Granted, if you are living a life that is out of control, you are simply a slave, following someone else's commands. I say that with a sinister snicker, as so many of you think, you make your own decisions. You don't.

So what is the grand secret to making this all work? 
If, because of your "new" relationship with Jesus, you can realize that Jesus died to sin, and you have given yourself to follow His example, then as we speak, you are dead to sin as well. Now, the practicality of all this is, you may have to remind: yourself, the enemy (Satan,) and a few of your acquaintances that you died to that junk that enslaved you for so long and that you choose not to partake any longer.

This idea of choice is marvelous and freeing. You get to choose: to not jump at every whim Satan offers; you get to choose joy; and, you get to choose to forgive and forbear the bitterness that comes when you decide to be the punisher and gatekeeper of the mental prison in which you are keeping those that offend.

Alright, this is going to sting.

Romans 6:16 NLT  Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

• “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?”

It might as well say, “what is wrong with you?” “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?”
How many things, outside of God's will, have you given yourselves over to?

• “You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”

The choice is yours.
Am I saying, that to choose poorly will send you to hell, hardly, but what kind of life will you live here on this earth? Let's get something straight here; I write to people who follow Christ. Now the reality of that statement is that you, like me, either stumbled around in the darkness, or you are there now. I am telling you, time is short, and you need to get yourselves free.

You were not called to be in bondage to anything. 

What is the very next thing Paul says?

Romans 6:17 CJB  By God's grace, you, who were once slaves to sin, obeyed from your heart the pattern of teaching to which you were exposed;

Note: this is, all and only, by God's grace.

• “You, who were once slaves to sin,”
• But you, “obeyed from your heart the pattern of teaching to which you were exposed;”

Many will say, we are free from the law, and ...”; and that is precisely how we opened this study today; however, I need to point something out, Jesus said, I have not come to do away with the law, merely fulfill it, and that is what He did.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily, I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17-18 KJV)

And the reality is, that there is not a chance that all will be fulfilled until Jesus comes roaring back on the scene as the conquering Messiah that Israel has longed for.

Are you telling me that the law is still out there, and I have to live by it? I am telling you that without thinking about it, you have been living by it, particularly if the Holy Spirit of God dwells within you.

What is the first and most important commandment, was the question asked by the scribes and Pharisees? Number one on the stone tablets, and it still stands true today,

Jesus replied, "The chief one is: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, with your whole mind, and with your whole strength. (Mark 12:29-30 Moffatt NT)

And to this very day, He desires our love and attention. This is not an oppressive thing; it is the very reason He made humankind in His image, to have a relationship with. Most people who struggle with the thought that God's desires are oppressive have usually come out of dysfunctional homes and relationships. Maybe, this should speak loudly to those of us who still have a chance to influence, in a positive manner, some young person, so that they don't have to go through recovery like I have.
Romans 6:17 and now 18 from another translation.

You were slaves to sin. But I thank God that you have become wholeheartedly obedient to the teachings which you were given. Freed from sin, you were made slaves who do what God approves of. (Romans 6:17-18 GW)

Think about that for a moment. “Freed from sin, you were made slaves who do what God approves of.” Slaves have no rights, and may only function within the parameters of their bondage, but this relationship we are in is one of freedom. Our freedom is found within the relationship, because outside, in the enemies' camp, there is nothing but death.

So let's end this study with a short speech from Paul and Eugene Peterson's "Message."

"I'm using this freedom language because it's easy to picture. You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness? As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master."(Romans 6:19-23 MSG)

While I would not use Peterson's Message as a study bible, it certainly says things in plain English at times.

Paul said to the group reading this letter, who was, by the way, primarily Jewish, I am using this language because it's easier to picture. Watch this.

“You can readily recall, can't you, how at one time the more you did just what you felt like doing—not caring about others, not caring about God—the worse your life became and the less freedom you had? And how much different is it now as you live in God's freedom, your lives healed and expansive in holiness? As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death.”

My suggestion, run to the one who loves you.

Dead to sin, alive to God. Romans 6:1-9.

So here is how Romans chapter five closes:

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21 NLT)

God brings his law to “His people”, although they were not called Israel at this point, to show them how sinful they were.

Stop here and think about this for a moment. With little to guide them or show them a way to God, who were they?

By the time Moses, as a baby, comes on the scene, most were, for all intents and purposes, Egyptians.

What if the only remaining family, that still held to the oral history – a history that takes them back to, not just Abraham but creation itself, is the one that brought Moses into the world?

Do I know this for a fact, NO, but jump forward in time a bit, to where they have barely escaped with their lives from Egypt. Soon after setting up camp, Moses does not only the impractical but the impossible, as he goes up into the mountain without food and water. Gone for forty days the people effectively declare Moses dead.
Well, since God's man has to be dead, then it must be time for a return to what we know best, and they appoint Moses brother Aaron to make the god Molech for them. Didn't I just say Moses' own family may have been the only remaining link to the oral history of these people; and what do we see? Aaron gathers gold and fashions this half man – half calf altar; a hollow cavity with outstretched arms, that they used to sacrifice children.

Read through the account that Stephen gives to the Jewish council that is about to have him stoned to death.

“But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’ So they made an idol shaped like a calf, and they sacrificed to it and celebrated over this thing they had made. Then God turned away from them and abandoned them to serve the stars of heaven as their gods! In the book of the prophets, it is written, ‘Was it to me you were bringing sacrifices and offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, Israel? No, you carried your pagan gods—the shrine of Molech, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made to worship them. So I will send you into exile as far away as Babylon.’ (Acts 7:39-43 NLT)

In his speech, he says, “you carried your pagan god's – the shrine of Moloch, the star of your god Rephan, and the images you made. ..” No one on the Jewish council disputed with Stephen over these words.

We are told in Exodus 32:28, that about 3000 men, and who knows how many women, died that day. Now, how sinful was Israel in this case? Sinful enough for at least 3000 people to die by the sword.

While that paints an ugly picture, Romans 5:20,21 has a more pleasant side to it.

“ But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.”

That being said, let's look at Romans chapter six.

The NASB entitles this segment: Dead to Sin, Alive to God.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:1-2 NASB)

What a great question: “Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? Well, it makes sense; if sinning causes God's grace to become more abundant, shouldn't we just keep on sinning, maybe God will love us more? Don't be foolish; sin will get you killed, and then you are no use to anyone.

Paul answers his own question when he says,

“May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”

Did you catch that? We who are in Christ, have died to sin. If you have died to sin, then theoretically, sin no longer exists to you. Sadly, we all know sin does still exist to us, so what is Paul trying to say? If you treat sin (Sin is an old English word meaning to miss the bullseye on a target – I include this terminology because it puts this idea of sin on an everyday playing field. It is common to all of us.) as though it is dead, then perhaps you won't go out of the way to act out in sin. Try applying this concept to road rage, or having your own way – this also covers selfishness and showing mercy to others as Christ showed mercy to you.

Paul has more on this dying to sin.

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:3-7 NASB)

• “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?”
  My statement was, We who are in Christ have died to sin. Did that happen because we got baptized? I don't think so, besides, there are many who did not get baptized, and yet this idea of dying to sin applies to them as well. So then, it leans itself to a spiritual concept. Since many of us cannot seem to comprehend this from a spiritual point of view, then it has to be put it into words people can relate to, such as:
  • Christ's death on the cross.
  • His baptism in the Jordan, and in death; and that takes us to His burial.
  • Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20a. NASB "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;”
  • Having risen from the dead, Paul tells us in 1Corinthians 15:5-7, that Christ appeared to over 500 people. I point this out as it adds to the tangible evidence.
  • And although this is a little less tangible for most, His ascension into the heavens.
    Acts 1:11 is one of those places that speak of this.
    “They also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
  Sometimes, visualizing a concept causes it to become more of a reality to you.
• “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
  Paul is using the Greek word baptízō here. It is a word that carries the meanings of to saturate, and to overwhelm, but you cannot escape the fact that the word also means to immerse, submerge, and baptize. Based on this information, it is safe to assume that Paul is associating water baptism with Christ's burial. In that case, it should prompt you to think more clearly about what you are doing when you get baptized. There is an old saying that goes a bit like this, “I am deadly serious.”
  The phrase is intended to shock your thinking, as there are beneficial things that can kill you, like tractors and the edged implements that attach to them. While baptism is not going to kill you, you are putting yourself in the substitutionary state to demonstrate that you are burying the past, and rising to a new life in Christ. This life, whether you get baptized in water, or not, can, if you will let it, change everything about your life; in the Apostle Paul's case and in the lives of all the Apostles but one, it was deadly serious.
• “ For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,”
  This isn't just focused on death, Paul also focuses on Christ's resurrection. Our coming up out of the water represents such a moment of time. But here again, you probably did not grasp that concept the day you had your baptismal orientation.
  What happened that day that Jesus resurrected?
  The writer of the letter to the Hebrews goes into great detail how Christ Jesus:

• was restored to full Son-ship;
• made the heir of all things;
• now shines with the radiance of the Father;
• is the exact representation of the Father;
• upholds all things by the word of His power;
• as our high priest made purification of sins;
• has had all things put under his feet;
• and ever makes intercession for us.
• All this was done “so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.”
  Paul opened this letter to the church in Rome by introducing himself as a slave of Christ Jesus. Many years ago, the singer/entertainer Bob Dylan came out as a Christian and made an album. One of the songs went like this, you may serve the devil, or you may serve the Lord, but you are going to have to serve somebody. Just know that you don't have to be a slave to sin; however, if you are, it was most likely a choice you made.

Now, since we died with Christ, we shall also live with Him.

As we ended our last study on Romans with this:

“knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; (7) for he who has died is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:6-7 NASB)

My mind takes me to a time when I was about 12 years old. Some of the boys from church that I tried to hang out with, went down front to accept Jesus Christ as their savior, and so I joined them; however, I cannot remember a time when I did not know Him – thank you, Mom. So, let’s say that at my age currently, I have always known the Lord.

If that is the case, how did I have such a catastrophic moral failure at midlife?

Doesn’t Paul say, that he who has died is freed from sin?
He does, and so the unmistakable fact is, the prodding that we have to sin is ever-present with us. The easiest way to understand “sin” is that it is genetic, passed down from Adam, and we will NEVER, while we live in these mortal bodies, be free from the attraction of and to “sin.”

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Romans 8:10-11 NASB)

And if we are giving this an honest look, then we have to admit that Paul also struggled with this embedded sin.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. (Romans 7:18-19 NASB)

Paul explains all this as we go, but let me try to follow my train of thought.

Since I can’t escape the sin that is a part of me – short of death, then my relationship with Christ must give me another solution, and it does.

Pay attention to the phrase, “for he who has died is freed from sin.” Obviously, I did not die, Christ did, but through His human activity that took place, and because of His death and resurrection, He eliminated all spiritual penalties associated with that sin; and, as the sacrificial lamb/scapegoat, He paid for and canceled all – past, present, and future compensation for sin – things that we habitually associate with God and punishment.

Note: this action on the part of Christ does not get you off the hook with local, state, and federal laws, although there have been instances where it has. The most significant impact Jesus’ death and resurrection has is when religious zealots want to try to put sin, and the guilt associated with that sin, back on you through manipulation. Hey, if you are going to a church that does that, GET OUT and find another church.

Moving on with Romans 6:8 – We shall also live with Him.

Romans 6:8-9 NASB Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, (9) knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.

Symbolically, we died with Christ when we got baptized or believed with understanding.

In using the terminology "now if," Paul may be trying to assuage some doubts, that he has, with relationship some have demonstrated in Christ.

In my own family circle, we have one who did all the right and religious things; however, it did not stop him from cheating on his wife (several times.) Based on his actions, his fruit dies on the vine far too frequently. The Apostle John said something similar.

The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; (1 John 2:4 NASB)

And only a few paragraphs later, there is this cryptic passage.

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this, we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. (1 John 2:18-19 NASB)

Obviously, there are those in our congregations that really are not of us. But here is the problem with that, as Jesus said, we city folk can't tell a stalk of wheat from Downy Brome. Try to pull out the weed that looks very similar to wheat, and we may pull a few good stalks of wheat in the process. The details of this parable are found in Matthew 13:24-30 and I will leave you to pursue that.

There is, however, a context to Paul's statement that he makes in Romans 6:8-9, as he is referring to what he had previously stated when he said, “he who has died is freed from sin.” Spiritually, in God's eyes and the record books, this is blatantly true; if I can accept that Christ died for me, and believe - another way of saying, have faith in all that He has done for me. (That is really quite a mouth full.)

What is it that gives first Paul, and now I, the understanding that we are now free from sin? Romans 6:9

“Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death is no longer is master over Him.”

Jesus Christ is never going back on the cross. The price He paid was enough; not the kind of enough that barely gets you through, but the kind that is seen as over-achievement.

Pay attention to the words “death is no longer master over Him.” While it is true that Jesus has conquered death and it is no longer master over Him, for the time being, death, and all its ramifications, still exist. Not only that, but humans continue to sustain injury and cease to breath; and, people still have the option of choosing spiritual death over life, this essentially brings about their separation from God. If death is no longer master over Him, then death means separation from God, and no longer has control over those of us who have chosen to follow after Him - Jesus Christ.

Paul makes this point about how our relationship is in Christ, repeatedly.

Romans 8:38-39 NASB For I am convinced that neither death nor life, ... will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 15:22 NASB (22) For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ, all will be made alive.

Ephesians 2:13 NASB But now in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

I am of the belief that this information should be retaught frequently because we forget who we are, and who we belong to. Remember, YOU are in Christ and dead to this world. As one who struggles with anxiety and depression, then I am talking to me as well. 

Have you ever heard someone say, "Thanks, I needed that." Well, I needed to hear this again, and so do you.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ. Romans 5:12-21

The NIV entitles this section - Death in Adam, Life in Christ

Here is a common version of Romans 5:12.

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— (Romans 5:12 NIV)

How about another translation that is a bit more relaxed, and perhaps, easier to grasp.

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12 NLT)

[A good question to ask here is: What was Adam's understanding of death? Surely, since God made the man in His exacting image then Adam should have had a detailed copy of God's understanding as well, but we don't know that. Our presumption, although it clashes with the young earth crowd, is that Adam had to exist among the predatory dinosaurs. Since Adam named ALL the animals then that would make sense. Considering that Adam had complete dominion over the earth, then I can safely assume that Adam could suppress any behavior with a word. Since we have nothing in scripture to enhance that idea, then I have to go with the theory that the first act of violence Adam witnessed, was performed by God. Why tell someone you are will die that day, and then show them, after the fact, the death of several animals? That doesn't make much sense, does it?]

And for contrast.

Here is how it works: it was through one individual that sin entered the world, and through sin, death; and in this way, death passed through to the whole human race, inasmuch as every one sinned. (Romans 5:12 CJB)

It would seem to be common knowledge, even among the atheists, that sin came into the world through Adam. An acquaintance of mine would say, no; sin came into the world through Satan, or perhaps Eve. To think this way disregards God's power and creative ability; and, it ignores the responsibility Adam had over the earth. In other words, through the transfer of dominion, or the entitlement that God gave Adam over the earth, Adam's actions turned the Earth over to Satan.

[Having created this study and talked it over with a friend of mine, I briefly mentioned this comprehensive understanding of Adam to another small group. One lady said to me, “ Why is any of that important?” I answered with, in scripture, it's all important; and, unless you understand who and what Adam was, you will never comprehend the detail and depth of what Christ did for us.]

I have sat in teaching sessions where this passage is introduced, and Adam is labeled as treasonous.

I never really took the time to look up the word treason, but logically, I could grasp Adam's actions in this manner. Is it a game-changing school of thought? Not really, but if you don't understand the implications of Adam's actions, you may never understand why God had to have a plan of action in place – that plan of action included putting His own Son on the cross to die.

Treason, according to Webster's means: It is the offense of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owes allegiance, or of betraying the state into the hands of a foreign power. If that is the case, then Adam, certainly betrayed the planet into the hands of a foreign power, Satan.

How would I define Adam seeing as his actions were so overwhelming?

• Made in the image of God.

Wasn't Jesus made in the image of God? Most certainly. And, we are told, Jesus was the second Adam. Wasn't Jesus sinless, and therefore perfect in all His ways? Yes; can we then say that Adam was perfect, or as the Hebrew put it, GOOD?

In Genesis 1:26 we see God saying, “Let US make man in our image, according to our image...” (NASB) It would be beneficial for you to read the entire narrative, which ends with: “God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” Genesis 1:31 (NASB)

Pay attention to the phrase, very good. The word very is the Hebrew word meh-ode', which includes the terms exceedingly or greatly. Good, is the Hebrew word tob, which also means pleasant, agreeable, and excellent. So, if Adam was exceedingly excellent, could it be said, that he was perfect? Seeing as Jesus was patterned after Adam's image, then again, I can assume that Adam was perfect.

• Both Adam and Eve, in a spiritual state, not unlike the angels, had dominion over everything that moved and breathed upon the earth. Genesis 1:26 CJB 

The Amplified Bible says the man had “complete authority;”

The Contemporary English Version states that the man was like us (God.)

The English Standard translation tells us, that man had dominion over everything.

And finally, the NLT says, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.”

• And finally, he was human.

But that did not happen until Genesis 2:7 NASB

"Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being."

Since Paul is making a point about the contrasts between the first and second Adam, then there have to be similarities, doesn't there? But we will cover those similarities momentarily.

What is the point of defining Adam, seeing as I was told this is unimportant?

To prove a point: That God is perfect and beyond sin, and yet can have the capability of introducing a tree of knowledge of good and evil without it affecting His own nature and character; that Adam was perfect, no less than Jesus was – made in the image of the Father; and, that Adam was God's representative here on this earth. I could think of Adam as the key holder, and as such he gave the entire earth away. [For those who can't handle that idea, why did Satan say to Jesus, here are all the kingdoms of the earth and I will give them to you if you follow me. That kind of statement does not work unless it is true, and Jesus never argued the validity of the statement.]

Back to studying.

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

Imputed means = charged to the account of.

Do you realize that this applies to Adam and Eve as well?

Think about the process that sin applied in taking down Adam. Eve was first deceived, but Adam, standing within arm's length of her, and certainly within earshot of the serpent that was talking to her, did nothing to stop what was about to happen. What did I point out earlier? That the spiritual creation of humankind was in God's image, and that they had control and dominion over the earth and every breathing thing on it; this includes this serpent. And yet, what did Adam do? Nothing.

What was one of the first pieces of evidence that we had of this sin applying to man's actions?

So truly, our first example was Adam and Eve but we are hard-pressed to see an immediate action against them. Another more dominant example came when Cain got angry that God would not accept his sacrifice of vegetables. Read this in Genesis 4: 4-7, where God says to Cain,

If you are doing what is good, shouldn't you hold your head high? And if you don't do what is good, sin is crouching at the door— it wants you, but you can rule over it." (Genesis 4:7 CJB)

Unlike with Adam's sin, Cain's sin seems to be in our faces, as Able is struck violently in the head with a rock and buried, as though no one will find out. We also see Cain holding a bizarre conversation with God about people seeking to kill him, and his fleeing to a city called Nod.

One could argue that sin only got its foot in the door through Adam's transgression, but even without sin being an integral part of their makeup, it got him. You see, sin is deeply embedded in selfish desire and Adam chose to satisfy his own curious and immediate need that day.

Lacking any law, such as the tablets of stone given to Moses, was sin imputed to Adam?

Not just sin, but the corruption of all humanity from that day forward, as we all attribute and hold Adam responsible for this corrupted body we walk around in. Having been caught doesn't “ the law” demand a penalty? Yes, and death was demanded - and Adam eventually died, in several different ways.

Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. (Romans 5:14 NASB)

If there was a penalty, then there had to be a law, right? If that was the case, what was the law?

Adam only had one demand placed upon him, don't eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, in the center of the garden – for when you do, you will surely die. Adam, knowing that something will change drastically, did nothing to shut up the serpent; did nothing to stop his woman from partaking, and then did it himself. So, yes, there was a “law.”

Now, consider the word law for a moment. It is the Hebrew word nom'-os and has several unexpected alternate meanings: law (through the idea of prescriptive usage. That which is assigned); or, the observance of which is approved of God. So do these ideas fit the parameters by which Adam was supposed to live? Absolutely.

But how was the SIN being imputed? Perhaps it was not - for God does not lie, and surprisingly, we don't see Cain being burnt up by lightning or some other hideous and painful death. This train of thought blows holes in many of the teachings that conveniently don't hold tightly to scripture, insisting that Adam belongs in hell. Sadly, even with NO imputation of sin, there was no escaping the immediate penalty, death and Abel experienced that truth. Sadly, death reigned over Abel, and what did he do wrong, nothing, except be Cain's brother?

Romans 5:14 goes on to say, this death even reigned over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam.

Remember how I went into great detail about Adam, for the purpose of demonstrating the authority and power he yielded; and, at the same time contrasting him with, Jesus, the second Adam – come from God. Doesn't a conversation like this tell you that there was so much more going on here in Adam's actions, than any mere flannel board bible story could convey?

Romans 5: 14 ends with, Adam, a type of Him who was to come. What does the word type mean?

From Webster's the word type means “1. The mark of something; an emblem; that which represents something else. 2. A sign; a symbol; a figure of something to come; as Abraham's sacrifice and the paschal lamb (the sacrificial passover lamb,) were types of Christ.” [Italics mine.]

Both of these examples: the Abrahamic sacrifice and the paschal/Passover lamb was representative of the blood that covered our sin, the payment of death made on our behalf by Christ, and, the protective covering that we are afforded through our relationship and faith in Him. (We previously covered how Christ saves us from the wrath of God through Him.)

Since Adam was a symbol of Christ, and he failed, then how did he represent Christ Jesus?

• He came from God, and so did Jesus.

• Adam was not born of man, and neither was Jesus. Keep in mind that WE have this sin motivation built into us. Neither Jesus, nor Adam had sin driving them. Wait a minute. Adam failed, and so did Satan/Lucifer, and yet, Jesus did not, and we are told that He was tempted in every way, just as we are. What's the difference? We are driven to sin, and they were not. One gave in to the temptation, and the other did not.

Take a moment to ingest this slowly.

Romans 5:16 CJB No, the free gift is not like what resulted from one man's sinning; for from one sinner came judgment that brought condemnation, but the free gift came after many offenses and brought acquittal.

• “ No, the free gift is not like what resulted from one man's sinning;”

• “ for from one sinner came judgment that brought condemnation;”

• “but the free gift came after many offenses and brought acquittal.”

For if, because of the offense of one man, death ruled through that one man; how much more will those receiving the overflowing grace, that is, the gift of being considered righteous, rule in life through the one man Yeshua the Messiah! (Romans 5:17 CJB)

Because of one man we are subject to death, how much MORE will those receiving the overflowing grace … I can't say this any better than this translation puts it. Christ Jesus, through His death and resurrection, but perhaps Eugene Peterson's Message can.

If death got the upper hand through one man's wrongdoing, can you imagine the breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right, that the one man Jesus Christ provides?
(Romans 5:17 MSG)

Note the words, “those who grasp with both hands this wildly extravagant life- gift.” How have you received Him?

Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. (Romans 5:18 NLT)

Whether we sinned or not?

I know, it's impossible not to sin. Simply falling short in some area of your life or relationship with people or God would qualify as missing the mark; and we, if unprotected, would be under condemnation. Wait a minute. If we ARE ALL under condemnation, then wouldn't WE ALL be destined to hell? Fortunately, a serious read of the Bible demonstrates that not all go to hell. As a matter of fact, it is only those who choose to reject Christ Jesus that go to hell.

What else does Romans 5:18 say? “but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.”

Clearly, not everyone chooses to enjoy this new life.
So how do I perceive what happened here? Jesus' choice to choose the cross brought life to everyone, but something else must happen, you must accept that this was done on your behalf and put your trust in Him.

Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. (Romans 5:19 NLT)

A key phrase in Romans 5:19 proves my point, “one person obeyed God,” and because He obeyed, many will be made righteous. Now it is our turn to follow His lead and obey Him.

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.
(Romans 5:20 NLT)

• “God's law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were.”

• “But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.”

So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:21 NLT)

Death is still in our faces, BUT, so is LIFE. We can't stop this body from dying, but our souls can live eternally with Christ in Glory. Why? Because through Jesus grace RULES, whether you see it or not, and because of Christ Jesus WE have right standing with God, and that, gives us eternal life when we put our faith in Him.