Bible scholars: Can you explain the paradox of Romans 5:12-14?

I'm no Bible scholar.. hehe I'm a lover of Jesus. :) Romans 5:12-14 is interesting to study, if the truth may enrich our understanding of the loving heart of our Father in heaven. I was also puzzled by the expressions used in these verses, and I think the Amplified version helps me understand them better.

"Therefore, as sin came into the world through one man, and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, [no one being able to stop it or to escape its power] because all men sinned. [To be sure] sin was in the world before ever the Law was given, but sin is not charged into men's account where there is no law [to transgress]. Yet death held away from Adam to Moses [the Lawgiver], even over those who did not themselves transgress [a positive command] as Adam did. Adam was a type (prefigure) of the One Who was to come [in reverse, the former destructive, the Latter saving]." (Romans 5:14-16, Amplified)

The word "sin" means "falling short of the mark". It is used in the book of Romans as a noun in many instances, not a verb except in a few cases. So in verse 12, "sin" that came into the world through one man Adam is referring to the state of being, not the state of doing. As a noun, it doesn't mean sinful deeds and actions. It is a realm of being in sin - a state of sinfulness. As a result of Adam's disobedience, we all became sinners, apart from our sinful deeds and actions. We sin because we are sinners, before we were saved, not the other way round. :)

"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:19, NKJV)

"Sin" then is referring a realm. Once we are saved, we are cut off from this realm of sin. We are no longer slaves to sin, but slaves to righteousness. "And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness." (Romans 6:18) We have been transferred from the prison of sin to the prison of righteousness. Therefore, for us believers in Christ, while we may still fall into sin here and there, we do not live in sin nor do we live a lifestyle of sin because we have been cut off from that realm of sin.

As usual, I'm getting ahead of myself, but there is a need to establish the foundation of what it means to be in Christ (righteousness), as compared to being in Adam.

Back to verse 12 - "death through sin" because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) Verse 12 went on to say "and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned" - and the word "sinned" is a verb, referring to sinful deeds and actions. As mentioned earlier, we all sinned because we were sinners. Therefore, death spread to all men, starting with spiritual death, affecting the soul, and finally resulting in physical death. If we are not saved, we are still dead in our transgressions. (Ephesians 2:1)

Verse 13 says that "sin was in the world before ever the Law was given, but sin is not charged to men's account where there is no law [to transgress]". From the time of Adam to Moses, there is no Law, so sin is not imputed to men. It can be considered a dispensation of grace. Yet death still held away because of the sin nature in men. But you mentioned God still judged sin during this time, eg the great flood and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. I believe these two events were not the norm, because in the case of the flood, only Noah and his family were perfect (uncorrupted human stock), not that they never sinned nor made mistakes. In the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, the wickedness may have been extraordinary, that God deemed fit to destroy in order to prevent it from spreading further to other places or generations. But when viewed through the eyes of our Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry, He said to the unbelieving Jews "But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." (Matthew 11:24) It is a more serious offence in God's eyes to reject His gracious gift of salvation than wickedness, because in His estimation (in His perfect holiness and righteousness), all of us were wicked sinners, not just the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.

-----

It is noteworthy that in the case of Sodom, God said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very great, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know." (Genesis 18:20) This outcry may have come from the blood of the victims of the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, who cried out "Vengeance!" We saw that earlier on, Abel's blood cried out to God from the ground, and God had to punish his brother Cain who murdered him, in order to vindicate Abel, since Abel was a righteous man who trusted in blood sacrifice and not his own righteousness when he offered the Lord the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. (Genesis 4)

But God's heart is not in justice, but in mercy, even though He is both just and merciful. The same author who wrote "The soul who sins shall die" also wrote "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" saus the Lord God, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?" (Ezekiel 18:20-23) God takes no pleasure in the deaths of the wicked. He is also "slow to anger and abounding in mercy" (Psalm 103:8), hence it took a very long time for our longsuffering and patient God to finally decide "enough is enough" and mete out divine judgment in sending the worldwide flood (after making Methuselah the longest living man on earth at 969 years old - the flood came after he died), and in raining fire and brimstone to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (after even last-minute bargaining with Abraham and persuading Lot and his wife and daughters to leave because they were righteous by faith, not works).

I heard during church service today when the gospel of grace was preached that if Abraham were to live during the time of Moses when the law or ten commandments were given, he would probably have been stoned to death. For Abraham lied about his wife Sarah twice - first to Pharaoh of Egypt, and then years later, to Abimelech king of Gerar, saying that she was his sister because he wanted to save himself from death. Yet God protected Abraham and his wife, and even caused the kings to bless and restore them with plenty more possessions than before. (Genesis 12 and 20) Why? Because Abraham's relationship with God was built purely on grace or unmerited favour. At one point, when God preached the gospel to Abraham through the stars in the night sky, he believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6) Abraham was righteous by faith, apart from his works or obedience or performance. (Romans 4:1-4) God's grace eventually transformed Abraham's heart, for he was willing to even sacrifice his own son Isaac many years later (though God stopped him from doing so).

Finally, let's look at Romans 5:14, which says "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 the type who was to come." Even though sin was not imputed to men during the time from Adam to Moses, death still reigned because of their sin nature, as mentioned earlier. They had not sinned like the way Adam did, because there was no law or stipulation given to them to abide by. During Adam's time, God gave him and his wife only one stipulation which was conditional and based on their obedience - "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." (Genesis 2:16-17) Guess what? Whenever there is a stipulation that depends on man, man will always fail because man is the weak link - not because God made him bad, but because God gave him free will and man did not have a revelation of how much God loves him (God has not yet died for him), so man is susceptible to be tempted by the devil to doubt God's love, who dropped the word "freely" in his speech to Eve, making them think that God purposely withheld from them the tree of the knowledge of good and evil for some selfish reasons.

So the final question, perhaps, is: Is it fair for God to punish us or hold us accountable for sins when in the first place, it is our ancestor who disobeyed Him and made all of us sinners by default? Well, looking at Romans 5:19, we can say, Yes! God IS unfair - but the whole picture tells us He is unfairly Good! For the first part of Romans 5:19 is actually a moot point since we don't get to choose our fathers - the second part of Romans 5:19 tells us that by Jesus' obedience (to His Father's will to go to the cross to die for our sins as the "one sacrifice for sins forever"), we are made righteous. Just as the first part sounds unfair - we were made sinners not because of anything we have done - by the same token, the second part is also unfair - we were made righteous not because of anything we have done. It has absolutely nothing to do with what we do! When we were sinners, nothing good we do can change the fact that we were still sinners and in the prison of sin. Now that we are righteous by faith in Christ, nothing bad we do can change the fact that we are still righteous and nothing good we do (whether fasting more or praying more or reading the Bible more or going to church, etc etc) can add to the finished work that Christ has accomplished for us at the cross! That's pure grace, my precious sister. :)

Thanks for the intriguing question, sister. God bless you.

In other words, sin was not judged by man pre-Mosaic Law. The Law was so that the Israelites could see from the Law that a man had sinned in a specific way and in what way he ought to be punished. Prior to the Law, only God could mete out judicial decisions. When Christ ended the Mosaic covenant, he set up the "older men" to carry out the responsibility of counseling ones and keeping the congregation clean.

To answer the second half...

Even tho we are predisposed so a sinful state, there is a difference between a mistake and deliberate sin. The congregation is supposed to be set up in such a way that spiritually qualified brothers would try to "readjust a man before he takes a false step." - Gal 6:1 However the unrepentant sinner would have to be put out of the congregation until hopefully at a later time he may come to his senses and seek out God's favor once more by changing his behaviour.

This is also where the ransom sacrifice comes in, as no one can "earn" the Kingdom through good works because we "all fall short".

I hope you keep seeking and find the narrow path!

I am not so convinced on the doctrine of original sin. For one I don't believe sin is inherited but rather a free will choice. I believe that when Adam sinned it caused us to be born with a desire to sin. So we are born addicts of sin, but still morally pure until the age of accountability.

Now as far as the law of Moses not being available at the time of Noah that is true, but the law here is referring to the conscience. Every person knows naturally what is right and wrong when they reach a certain age and so there is no excuse. However, for those that are retarded, or too young to understand then sin is not imputed unto them.

Even if original sin is correct, then people should get the cure Jesus Christ without excuse. It is like having cancer and saying I don't deserve it, and then refusing to see the doctor who can cure it.

1) Well, in this case it is quite simple: you are failing to understand the difference between "law" or "a law" and "The Law" - that is, the Law of Moses.

"sin is not imputed when there is no law"

Yet, Adam and Eve had a law - don't eat that fruit! It was not "The Law" - but it was *a* law that they violated and which, therefore, caused sin to be "imputed." This passage does *not* demand "The Law" for the imputation of sin, only "law".

2) If we are born with the sin nature of Adam, then how are we held accountable for sins when we're doing what our ancestor Adam pre-disposed us to?

? How not? So, you're asking why we're responsible for the sins we commit, even though it is in our nature to commit sin? Simple: because every sin is the result of a choice. Predisposition does not release someone from responsibility. Why would you think that it would?

Example: if I were predisposed to have sex with every attractive woman I see - whether or not she is agreeable - does that mean that I am not responsible for rape? And yet - don't most of us guys possess the very predisposition mentioned? Predisposition is no excuse for committing sin.

Jim, http://www.bible-reviews.com/

The answer I believe is found earlier in Romans. Romans 2:12-15 is the key. Romans 2:15 states that the conscience bears witness to the sin of man. Before the law was given man had conscience and he still did not do right.

Romans 1:2-25 says that man did not want to honor or glorify God even though they knew him. The entire creation bears witness that there is a God.

When the law was given, it showed humanity even more fully that they were sinfully and needed God to save them. Now man had no excuse. He sinned when there was no law, and he sinned when there was law.

In regards to your 2nd question on how we can be judged you might be better served by reading the short article listed as my first source. It does a much better job of explaining the answer rather than me trying to paraphrase it.

If you are curious, I would also suggest you look up the Berean Bible Society. They have a free newsletter and are a great resource on learning more about the Christian faith. I have a link to their articles as my 2nd source.

I hope this helps answer your questions.

The Law of Sin and Death was the first law God ever laid down for mankind.

It applied to Adam and Eve in Eden. It is directly related to he effects of original sin, and all of mankind's flaws, and it has applied to all of mankind, right up until the present day.

Loosely explained, the Law of Sin and Death says:

"If you turn away from God, and whore after Satan ... you die."

That would easily provide the legal basis for the flood, as well as most everything else God did prior to Moses' receipt of the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai.

http://www.askmeaboutgod.org/passionfinawebl/Passi...

I'm in a bit of a rush so I'll only answer this bit...

>>Can you explain more clearly what the Apostle Paul meant by these words: "For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law"?<<

On reading the whole chapter I believe Paul is saying that while we were under the law we were judged according to the law but now that we are under grace and justified by the blood of Jesus..

Rom 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

and

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

Rom 5:11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

sin is not attributed to us (Christians) any longer as it was under the law.

How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? The whole human race is in Adam as one body of one man. By this "unity of the human race" all people are implicated in Adam's sin, as all are implicated in Christ's justice. Still, the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we do know by Revelation that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a "personal sin", but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state. It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. And that is why original sin is called "sin", only in an analogical sense: It is a sin "contracted" and not "committed" - a state and not an act.

Well, I'm not a scholar, but I study the Bible. This passage is known as the "Golden Chain of Redemption." He foreknew those He predestined. That is an active verb in the Greek. That means that it is not saying God passively looked down the corridors of time and knew what people would do beforehand. It means He actively and intimately foreknew those whom He would save. And predestined means simply as it says, namely He arranged and determined beforehand that the elect would know Christ.

I hope this translation helps with the first Question." Breaking of the mosaic laws, you see was in the world long before the mosaic laws. I suppose, technically speaking, it was not a breaking of the mosaic laws as the mosaic laws did not yet exist."--verse 13. As for the second Question? Adam was given one law to obey. He broke that law. His decendants as him would have done the same certainly. One could also look as one's own personal original sin as when one refused to listen to another who knew. God told them, eat that fruit and you shall certainly die. They did not die immediately yet they certainly did die. I recall my granny saying do not eat those little green apples or you will get a bad belly ache. I ate one and no belly ache. I ate five and no belly ache. I ate my fill and pretty soon a horrid belly ache. Perhaps we shall be ready to return to the garden of eden when we can learn to listen to God.

Adam had the command "Dont partake of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil" and he disobeyed that-that was the whole house of cards there-knowing the Law is only a more precise knowledge of good and evil