Bible Study: Rom 5:12-21 - Sin of Adam and the Grace of Christ
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! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 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!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 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.
20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus >Christ our Lord. - Roman 5:12-21
In the above Bible text, Paul explains the relationship between Adam and Christ. Adam was the first human being and through him, sin entered the world. As descendants of Adam, we all share in his sin and is in need of salvation. Interesting is that Paul is referring to Adam as the one through whom sin entered the world and not Eve, even it was Eve who believed the snake and convinced Adam to eat the apple. It is clear that Paul sees Adam as the one accountable even for the deed of Eve. Paul argued further that as sin entered the world through one person, so grace also enterd the world through one person, namely Christ.
Adam brought sin into our world through disobedience to Father, while Christ brought grace through obedience. Sin and grace have their origin in the unseen world and are allowed to enter the dominion of the seen world through the actions of man. Adam's disobedience created a doorway between the unseen and seen worlds and through it, sin entered to condemn all mankind. As Adam led mankind into the sin, Christ came to led mankind into grace through His obedience to Father. Unfortunately, the participation in the grace of Christ is not naturally inherited like the sin, because mankind was created with the right of free choice. Adam as the father of all mankind decided on behalf of all his descendants, but Christ needs to allow each individual to exercise his/her right of freedom and decide themselves if they want to enter into the grace of Christ.
In the Bible text, the role of the law is also discussed. Without the law, there is no sin, but Paul state that death reigned from Adam to Moses. Meaning that the law did not define the sin. Sin was already there through the deed of Adam. The law only emphasised the sin for mankind to understand it. By understanding sin, mankind will also understand the grace of Father. In this way, the grace of Father became larger and more for mankind.