Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— (...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 5:12-14 (NKJV)
Evil is everywhere. From sins as great as murder to sins as small as a white lie, evil has manifested itself in many ways. Watch the news, and you will see countless examples. It’s the inescapable truth; sin is real and reigns in the world.
In the first half Romans 5, Paul explains how we were trapped in our sin, that no would die in our place because we didn’t deserve it, yet while we were enemies of God, Jesus chose to do what no else would or could: pay the price of our sin so that we could be forgiven of all our wickedness and have joy in knowing God personally.
So that brings us to Paul’s paragraph proof of the Christian’s new life. Paul adds to his previous thought of reconciliation by going back to the starting point: the origin of our sin, which made it impossible to know God. Sin is in the world because Adam sinned, and because of his sin, he received death, separation from God, resulting in everyone to also experience that death. However, there is hope. Verse 14 ends with “who is a type of Him who was to come.” Just as Adam caused all humanity to be in a damning mess by being the first of many to sin, someone would come and reverse this curse, but who is that? We will discover this next week.
In the meantime, I want you to examine yourself. What sins are in your own life? Pray and quiet yourself before the Lord and see what He reveals to you! Ask for forgiveness and for help to live a life more pleasing to God. Thank Him for His mercy. As you find yourself being honest with God, He will give you His peace and grace, especially as we continue to learn in the coming weeks the truth about reconciliation with God and freedom from sin!
COMMITTING TO GOD’S GRACE AND LOVE, Jeremiah Yonemura
