“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:… therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”

In this scripture Paul compared two men and the results of their lives. The comparison reveals the wonderful plan of salvation that the LORD has provided. Through one man, the human race fell into ruin. Through the other, reconciliation with God was accomplished. Those two men are Adam and Jesus.

Through Adam sin entered the world. The story is told in Genesis 3. He disobeyed the Lord’s command to not eat from the tree, which is recorded in Genesis 2:16, 17. Adam heard the Lord tell him this. But, when Eve was approached by the serpent, in Genesis 3: 2, 3, changes had been made to the command. So, she and Adam ate from the tree, disobeying God’s command. And Romans 5 makes it clear that Adam was the one who failed. Through him sin entered the world.

Ever since God gave commands to mankind, mankind has continually disobeyed God. It was true with Adam, it is true to this day. This is evidence of the sin nature that was passed from Adam and Eve to all of mankind. Sin has so impacted mankind that everything we touch is affected. No matter how well-built a building may be, it will one day be torn down and replaced. This is evidence of the sin nature. Further, our sinfulness is in the context of knowing God’s commands. Most people can quote the Ten Commandments, or at least their societies reveal the impact of the Ten Commandments on them. But, speaking of mankind, Paul wrote in Romans 1:32, “…who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” Through Adam sin entered the world.

The Lord told Adam that the penalty for eating from the tree was, “in the day that you eat from it you will be doomed to die.” Above, Paul told the Romans that through Adam’s sin, “…death (entered the world) by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned…” From the history of the human race we see that everyone will die. The ways and means of death are everywhere around us. We cannot hide from it. This is evidence of the sin nature that we all have. Even God Himself, when He came to earth, died.

Which gets us to the second person Paul Who was speaking of in Romans 5: Jesus. Paul said, “…by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” What a contrast of events. Adam’s disobedience had a result. Here we find that Jesus’ obedience also had a result.

Speaking of Jesus, Paul used the same word in Philippians 2:5-8 we read, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Obedience requires an object. And it was His Father who Jesus obeyed. This is clearly seen in the Garden of Gethsemane, “And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt… He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matthew 26:39, 42)” By the end of that day, He was obedient unto the death of the cross. But He did not die for any sin He had committed, because He knew no sin. He was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21).

So, through Adam’s disobedience many became sinners, and through Jesus’ obedience many were made righteous. Sinners made righteous! Dead made alive! Because of Jesus!

But this righteousness is not universally applied. John 1:12 tells us, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:…” And in John 3:17, 18 Jesus said, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

“…therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.”

Gone is all my debt of sin,
A great change is wrought with­in,
And to live I now be­gin,
Risen from the fall;
Yet the debt I did not pay—
Someone died for me one day,
Sweeping all the debt away—
Jesus paid it all.

Refrain

Jesus died and paid it all, yes,
On the cross of Cal­va­ry, Oh
And my sto­ny heart was melt­ed
At His dy­ing, dy­ing call;
Oh, His heart in shame was brok­en
On the tree for you and me, yes,
And the debt, the debt is can­celed,
Jesus paid it, paid it all.

Oh, I hope to please Him now,
Light of joy is on my brow,
As at His dear feet I bow,
Safe with­in His love.
Making His the debt I owed,
Freedom true He has be­stowed;
So I’m sing­ing on the road
To my home above.

Refrain

Sinner, not for me alone
Did the Son of God atone;
Your debt, too, He made His own,
On the cru­el tree.
Come to Him with all your sin;
Be as white as snow with­in;
Full sal­va­tion you may win
And re­joice with me.

Refrain (M. S. Shaffer)

“…because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”

This is the last half of the last sentence of the sermon that Paul gave at Mars Hill in Athens. And, in this verse Paul spoke of two important matters.

The first is that a day of judgment is coming. It is an appointed day that the Lord has set, and it is known only to Him. While many details of it are described in scripture, particularly in the Revelation, the day of it is not known to us. It has been nearly 2,000 years since Paul said this to the people of Athens. The passage of time may make it seem that God is not really going to judge. But the delay does not mean that at all.

According to this verse, that day of judgment will be presided over by “that Man Whom He (God) hath ordained…” From scriptures it is certain that the Man that God ordained is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said in John 5:22, 23: “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”

Revelation 19 provides some details of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verses 11-16 John wrote, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

What a spectacular event that will be. Revelation 1:7 says that every eye shall see Him. And, in Revelation 20:11-15 John wrote, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Yes, God is a God of justice. He will judge, and the day of judgment is certain. And Jesus is the Judge He has ordained.

Quoting from the above verse, the second matter of which Paul spoke is, “…whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” In the context of the promise of judgment, Paul spoke of assurance, or confidence. How can anyone have confidence before God when faced with His wrath? Especially with the words of Revelation 20 which talks about the lake of fire? The answer is that God has raised Jesus from the dead. The same One to Whom God has committed judgement has been raised from the dead! To be raised from the dead this One had to have died. Why would that happen?

God’s plan from before the creation was to provide a way to reconcile mankind to Himself. Philippians 2:5-8 reveals that Jesus came in obedience to His Father to carry out that plan. Verse 8 tells us that He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. But since He was never guilty of any sin, death could not hold Him. As Paul said it, “He has raised Him from the dead…”

Romans 5:7-9 says, “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” And so, we can have assurance in that day of judgment!

Each of us needs to realize that Jesus died for them. Each of us needs to realize that we need this kind of intervention by God. Each of us needs to see that this is a gift from God for the taking (Ephesians 2:8). If He hadn’t intervened, we would still be under His wrath, awaiting the promised coming of Jesus to earth, and certain, fearful looking for of judgment, which shall devour the adversaries in the eternal lake of fire.

’Tis not by works that we have done,
Our souls re­deemed will be;
But by the blood of God’s dear Son,
Who died on Cal­va­ry.

Refrain

By grace are ye saved,
By grace are ye saved thro’ faith,
And that not of your­selves,
It is the gift of God.
By grace are ye saved,
By grace are ye saved thro’ faith,
And that not of yourselves,
It is the gift of God.

’Tis not by works that we can do,
Our right­eous­ness is vain;
But by what Christ Him­self hath done,
Eternal life we gain.

Refrain

’Tis not by works of ours that we
Can know our sins for­giv’n;
But by the liv­ing word of Him
Who pleads for us in Heav’n.

Refrain

’Tis not our works, but Christ’s alone,
Then rest thy anx­ious soul;
For safe thou art on Him, thy rock,
While end­less ag­es roll.

Refrain (Fanny Crosby)