Romans 5:12 - Sin Enters the World

Romans 5:12 - Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

Message: Sin and death enter the world through one.

Time: The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans from the Greek city of Corinth in AD 57, just three years after the 16 year old Nero had ascended to the throne as Emperor of Rome. Persecution of Christians wouldn't begin until AD 64. The church was experiencing times of relative peace. From where he wrote, Corinth, was a hotbed of sexual immorality and idol worship.

What the Lord is Saying:

What's next? Or What is therefore their for? 
Therefore....Based upon the text and the reading, this seems to be the beginning of the final piece of the story of justification that began in Romans 3, verse 21. I have seen justification described in 3, verses 21-31. Witnesses were then brought out in Romans 4, mostly Abraham, a little David, to testify that righteousness was by faith.  Then, in Romans 5, the benefits of being declared righteous--namely peace with God, joy in tribulation, and salvation from God's wrath, have been presented by Paul in verses 1 - 11.

Therefore, what is next? Paul appears to now clarify further the problem with man. What is it about man that he needs redeemed? I need to think about what has been presented thus far. I have seen the guilt of the Gentile in Chapter 1, starting in verse 18. Paul presents someone that knew God, but rejected Him. This man began to replace God with his own gods or his own ideas or himself. Then Paul brings the Jew to the forefront in Chapter 2 for the Jew comes before God declaring his exemption from judgment because they are the chosen ones, having awesome deeds, and circumcision. However, they don't truly obey the law like they think they do. And in conclusion, Paul lets people know that everyone is guilty before God in Romans 3 to verse 20. So, naturally justification is presented.

Yet, the skeptic or the unbeliever, has in a way not been addressed. There is a condition man is in simply because he is born. What is it about man that makes him need redemption? Yes, man is an enemy of God (5:10), helpless (5:6), unrighteous (1:18), but in a way those are acts; those are attempts. I think what Paul needs to do is present the condition of man. So, this is where I think he is headed in these verses.

If there is one thing I've learned from Paul, he is thorough.

Sin entered the world through one man
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:4-11 to me presents sin coming into the world. Yes, it is true the woman took fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but God gave directions to Adam about the tree, not Eve. Even was born after the command from Adam. What is not recorded is how well Adam communicated to Eve the command from God. And in 3:9, God comes to find Adam to ask what has happened. Man is the one responsible. So, sin entered the world through one man, Adam. It is true that Eve sinned concurrently, but Adam is the one in responsibility so the guilt is really first on Adam. If it was only Eve, then Eve would have simply died, but because it is Adam, he is the beginning of the race.

Adam brought sin into the world. He opened Pandora's box.

Wayne Barber stated that there is contrast between those who are In Adam and In Christ. 

And death through sin
Bringing sin into the world now meant man would return to the ground (Genesis 3:19). From dust to dust.

Sin and death spread to all men
One the door was opened, it was ushered in to all mankind. I often think of that scary scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Ark was opened and all the people in eyesight of it were killed. One person opened it, but many were affected. It's really a sobering thing throughout history. It is something that is repeated over and over. One person starts something and many follow and many are affected.

Nobody is exempt from sin because it now lives on earth.  

What is sin? 
Falling short of any goal. It is missing the mark or standard or goal. Sin here is the Greek word hamartia and before this word is he or a definite article of the. It is "The sin." It wasn't simply that one wrongful deed entered into the world. But, instead the propensity for all people to sin. I think I could see the category or condition.

If I tried to just call this one sin, then the verse would read, "Therefore, just as through one man lying entered into the world, and death through lying, and so death spread to all men, because all lied—." It really kind of makes no sense. It's not one sin that occurred, but rather sin in its completeness. 

Promise: Death is just plain wrong. It is not right that we should die. That is not how we were created. But, we have stumbled. Jesus can save us from death.