JAN 23

Romans 5:12-21
Memorise 1 Corinthians 15:2
“and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…”

The passage in Genesis 3:1-7 can probably be described as the most tragic incident in the whole Bible, and also of the history of mankind. When Eve took of the fruit, and gave it also to Adam to eat, the whole of mankind plunged into sin. This is what theologians call the original sin.

Yet if we were to just do a cursory read of the sin that Eve committed, we might be tempted to conclude that it was not all that serious a sin. Yes, it is true that God told them not to eat of the fruit, and yet they still did; but we commit such offences all the time, don’t we? For example, your mother may have bought something nice for tomorrow’s breakfast and warned you not to eat it before then. But that evening, you may have opened the fridge to look for a snack, and in your hunger, ignored your mother’s warning and ate some of the food that she had bought. Is that such a heinous sin, serious enough to warrant the damnation of the whole human race?

We must understand the position that Adam was in as the first man created by God. He was set as the federal head, meaning to say that his actions would represent all of his descendants - all of mankind. Romans 5:12-21 explains this clearly, telling us that by the sin of one man, that is Adam, sin entered into this world. Through him, sin and the consequence of sin was passed unto all men, such that although they have not committed Adam’s actual sin, yet they are now under the same condemnation. This has happened because Adam’s first sin is judicially imputed to all men, such that we are all now born with the sin nature, and cannot help but sin.

Lest at this juncture we complain and bemoan such an ‘unfair’ arrangement, we must also realise that the same representative principle was applied on Jesus Christ, who came as our second Adam to represent us in attaining the righteousness that we do not deserve. Paul continues in Romans 5:15 to explain how Jesus Christ came by the grace of God. Just as through the sin of Adam, we were all made sinners, then likewise through the obedience of Jesus Christ, the way is open for us to be made righteous, not through any merits of our own, but only through the perfect obedience of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is nothing short of the wonderful grace of God that enables sinners such as us to have the hope of eternal life!

Thought: Is it unfair that Jesus can represent us on the cross?

Prayer: Lord I thank You for Your wonderful exceeding grace!