Romans 5:18 -Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
In chapter five, Paul has been comparing/contrasting the work of Adam and of Jesus. He now closes his argument by finishing the original comparison he began in verse 12 and documented in verses 13-17. 
GENERAL SUMMARY: Through one act of sin/rebellion (the original sin of Adam) all people were condemned to physical and spiritual death. Through one act of righteousness/obedience (the atonement of Christ) justification is made available to all people which results in physical resurrection and spiritual life.
DIGGING DEEPER: Paul has proven that the one trespass of Adam resulted in condemnation and eternal death for all mankind (the natural seed of the first Adam). This occurred because he was representative of the whole human race. As his physical descendants and we receive his fallen nature.
In a similar way, the one righteousness or one righteous act of Christ makes the free gift of the gospel (eternal life and all its benefits), available to all of mankind. Those who place their faith in him, both Jews and Gentiles, are his spiritual seed.
However, this doesn’t tell the full story. As Paul pointed out in verses 13-17, the actions of Adam and the actions of Christ are not equal. The righteous act of Christ is deeper, wider, fuller, bigger and richer than the sin of Adam. The action of Christ is utterly extravagant. He gives us an abundance of grace which far exceeds the sin of Adam because it not only removes the guilt of Adam’s one offence, but of ALL the sinful offences we ever have or will ever commit.
Jesus was able to make this sacrifice because he was fully human and completely perfect; no one else could have provided salvation for the whole human race.
Although he doesn’t specifically state it, Paul is once again stressing that the righteousness of Christ is freely given without works. The law, unless perfectly obeyed at all times, is of no use in justification before God. Therefore, the Jews are on equal footing with the Gentiles.
Paul also makes it very clear that it is the sacrifice of Christ which reconciles us to the Father. Only Christ could bring perfect balance between the mercy of God and the justice of God.
Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible sums up the matter perfectly:
Through the disobedience of Adam, a sentence of condemnation to death, without any promise or hope of a resurrection, passed upon all men; so, by the obedience of Christ unto death, this one grand righteous act, the sentence was so far reversed, that death shall not finally triumph, for all shall again be restored to life. Justice must have its due; and therefore all must die. The mercy of God, in Christ Jesus, shall have its due also; and therefore all shall be put into a salvable state here, and the whole human race shall be raised to life at the great day. Thus both justice and mercy are magnified; and neither is exalted at the expense of the other.
Romans 5:19 – For as by one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Adam’s disobedience opened the door to sin. Once the door was opened, the rest of mankind followed him in. By entering into sin, all of us are brought under a sentence of condemnation.
The obedience of Jesus opened a door to justification before God, salvation and all the benefits of the gospel. These are available to anyone who will enter into a relationship with Christ.
DIGGING DEEPER: As by one man’s disobedience: This verse is not a mere repetition of what has already been said. It is a clarification or an explanation. By Paul’s former statements, some might conclude that people were condemned solely due to the actions of Adam and that they had no guilt or blame of their own.
Many were made sinners: But (as we would all admit, if we are honest), that was not the case. Adam’s disobedience was the instrumental or principal cause of sin; he opened the door to sin and allowed it into the human race. But we all willingly (and eagerly in some cases) followed his example and embraced sin for ourselves.
So, in this verse Paul is affirming that all people of every generation are sinners and are thus under condemnation as the result of our own works/choices.
By one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous: Scripture tells us that the obedience of Christ was an element of the atonement:
Philippians 2:8 – And being found in human form, he [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
(See also Hebrews 10:7). Through Christ’s obedience and sacrifice, the door to justification/righteousness was opened to everyone. In order to enter in, we must willingly place our faith in Christ and become obedient to his commands. There is no other way to obtain justification/righteousness:
Acts 4:12 – And there is salvation in no one else [only Christ Jesus], for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
In fact, scripture describes our righteousness as filthy or polluted rags:
Isaiah 64:6 – We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
In other words, Jesus did what we could not do. Through his obedience, he satisfied God’s requirements of justice and provided righteousness for us.
Thus, Paul has undeniably shown that there is no salvation in the works of the law. All people (both Jew and Gentile) are guilty of sin, and all must be justified through faith in Christ.
Romans 5:20 – Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more…
GENERAL SUMMARY: At this point, Paul anticipates some questions on the part of the Jews.
They believed that the Law of Moses was the answer to their sin problem; they thought it was given to nullify the evils of sin that were introduced by Adam. If they could prove this was the case, then the law could save them and redemption through faith in Christ was unnecessary.
But if they couldn’t prove that justification came through the law, then other questions were raised: If the law was incapable of making one righteous, then what was its purpose? If the plans of God centered around Christ, why does the law exist at all? What good was it? 
Paul anticipates and addresses these questions/objections in verses 20-21. He states that the law did not diminish sin; it identified and defined it. This had the effect of increasing it. Therefore, the law could not overcome the evils of sin.
But there was no need to worry; grace was more than capable of atoning for every single sin, no matter how many there were.
DIGGING DEEPER: The law came in to increase the trespass: Before the law was given, people’s understanding of their sin may have been muddled or unclear because they were unaware of the absolute standards of righteousness. They compared their actions to the actions of others (tradition) or to their consciences which were tainted by culture and by sin.
But once the law became known, man was able to compare his actions to the divine commands of God and the differences between the two were more apparent.
In other words, sin itself did not change after the law was introduced; it just became more clearly defined, more apparent and more easily identified.
In the original Greek language, the phrase ‘came in’ means ‘entered incidentally’. The meaning is that the entrance of the law at Sinai was not the primary or essential feature of God’s divine plan of justification. It was given for a subordinate purpose – to more fully reveal and define the evil which entered the world through Adam. And that is exactly what the law did/does.
Because of the law people had a better understanding of sin – their hearts and minds were enlightened. When the law appeared, ignorance of evil disappeared.
The law pricks our hearts and consciences showing us that we are greater sinners that we thought. The increased revelation of sin highlights our need for salvation through Christ. Thus, the law leads us to Christ (you won’t seek help if you don’t realize you need it).
We might think of it this way: If you look at a star in the night sky, it looks like a tiny dot. But when you look at it through a telescope, you discover it is bigger than earth itself. So it is with sin.
If you can’t see your sin clearly, you think of it as small and insignificant. But when you examine it under the telescope of God’s righteous commands, Holy Spirit steps in and causes you to realize just how big and dreadful and overwhelming your sin really is. We call this Holy Spirit conviction.
John 16:8 – And when he [Holy Spirit] is come, he will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
This is a good thing, because Holy Spirit doesn’t leave you in that place of hopelessness and despair. He immediately leads you to salvation which can only be obtained by the terms outlined in the gospel - by faith in Jesus Christ.
But where sin increased grace abounded all the more: The law revealed the true depth and breadth of our sin, which was much greater than we ever imagined. There is no doubt that sin is big and powerful and ugly – but it is no match for grace!
Grace is the favor and mercy of God. It ‘abounds’ or is super-abundant. In other words, no matter how big our sin is, the mercy of God is bigger!
We can see God’s superabounding riches in the following ways:
- In the nature of mercy – it is the richest and sweetest of all blessings. There is nothing better than a sinner finding pardon in the sight of God. And yet, God does so much more than just mark our record as ‘paid in full’. He gives us access to his presence, he gives us peace and joy, and eventually he will glorify us in heaven.
- The method of mercy – Mercy (the forgiveness of sin and the justification of the sinner), is dispensed only in the way God prescribes – through the precious blood of Christ. It is his obedient, all sufficient sacrifice which pays our debt and restores our relationship with the Father. Our works play no role in justification.
- The abundance of mercy - Mercy abounds to us in the forgiveness of all sins, past, present and future. Secret sins, open sins, sins of commission, sins of omission, small sins and big sins - all are marked as ‘paid in full’ by the sacrifice of Christ! God’s mercy and his justice are perfectly balanced and fulfilled in Jesus.
- Mercy is perpetual - Grace pardons all sin without exception and without revocation. Because our sins are paid in full by the blood of Christ, they can never be charged to our account again. Scripture tells us that God casts our sin as far from us as the east is from the west (Psalms 103:12).
- Mercy brings us the ministry of Holy Spirit – The ministry of Holy Spirit is one of the abundance of blessings included in grace. Once he enters our hearts, he never leaves; he is constantly at work. He assists in conforming us to the image of Christ, he bestows gifts and graces into our lives, he seals us for the day of redemption and he prepares us to receive the exceedingly great weight of glory that will be ours in heaven.
Psalm 130:7 - Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is abundant redemption.
Clearly, our faith can rejoice and triumph in the thought that were sin abounded, grace did much more abound!
Romans 5:21 - … so that as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
GENERAL SUMMARY: Sin prevailed over all of mankind bringing both physical and spiritual death. Now Christ, who has dominion over death, prevails. He brings resurrection from the dead and eternal life. 
DIGGING DEEPER: As sin reigned in death: Sin is a powerful thing. It has the ability to ensnare us through our lustful desires. It has the means to obstruct and hinder that which is good. It has the power to captivate or enslave us in evil. And, as Paul remarks here, it has an authoritative, ruling power - until the plan of God’s salvation unfolded in Jesus Christ, death reigned over mankind without exception.
Grace also reigns through righteousness: But there is hope for mankind. The grip of death has been broken. Grace (salvation and all of its benefits) now reigns in the lives of all those who are justified in Christ.
However, it should be noted that there is a difference of opinion among scholars about the reign of grace.
Some scholars believe Paul is referring to the grace which flows from the heart of God. Those who hold this view believe that grace reigns in all aspects of man’s salvation through righteousness. This belief is consistent with God’s mercy and justice both being perfectly fulfilled through the work of Christ.
John 1:17 – For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.
Others believe Paul is referring to the grace which is found in the hearts of saved/converted saints, where it reigns/has dominion in our lives and it leads us to true holiness. This grace will reign in our lives until it is perfected in glory and results in eternal life.
Regardless of which opinion you hold, grace reigns!
Leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord: Once again Paul draws a comparison: Sin results in death, but the result of God’s plan of justification is eternal life. The gospel overcomes any and all sin; grace is more than sufficient to meet all the evils of this world and to lead us to salvation.
The bottom line is that our salvation and our victory over sin/death cannot be attributed to any merit or works on our part. We cannot obtain it by keeping the law. It comes solely by the grace of God, the work of Christ and the wooing of Holy Spirit.
Thus, Paul concludes that eternal life is only possible through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I Corinthians 15:26 – The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
Although we are still impacted by sin and death, both cease to reign the moment we turn to Christ and both will be defeated at the end of this age.
Let me offer you some encouragement and strength:
Today’s post talks a lot about God’s mercy. We have discovered that God’s mercy is extravagantly rich and super abundant. We receive it because of God’s love and compassion, not because we deserve it.
In the book of Luke, Jesus gives us a parable that exemplifies mercy. It’s called the Good Samaritan. The parable is shocking because Jews (the victim) and Samaritans (the man who showed mercy) absolutely despised each other; it would be unheard of for one to show mercy to the other at all. But the Samaritan didn’t only show minimal mercy, he was generously merciful.
At the end of the parable Jesus tells the lawyer to go out into the world and show the same generous, undeserving mercy to others:
Luke 10:37 – And he [the lawyer] said, “He that showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said unto him, “Go, and do you likewise.”
As servants of Jesus, we are under a command to show mercy to others, even those who don’t deserve it. This shouldn’t be too difficult when we remember how undeserving we are of the mercy God has shown towards us.
Let’s make a special effort this week to show the abundant mercy of God to someone in need.
Let me offer you some relief:
In today’s post, we noted that Jesus did what we could not do – he made atonement for our sin and justified us before God.
Aren’t you relieved that we’re not under a system of works? Can you imagine what it would be like to constantly worry about doing enough good things to counteract all the evil you’ve done? Can you imagine the stress of making a mistake? Aren’t you relieved that the blood of Christ is able to forgive all your past, present and future sins?
What a relief! The grace of God is amazing!