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  • Writer's pictureStar Saiyan

Romans 5:18-19

There are even more differences and points of contrast between the two men. Paul noted that by one man's offense, "judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation", but by one man's righteousness, "the free gift came to all men" (5:18). Jesus is the man who provided the free gift for us even though we screwed up. Similarly, Paul also talked about how "by one man's disobedience many were made sinners", but "by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous" (5:19).


By the way, this section is also brought up in discussions on the tricky theological topic of "original sin" (sin nature from birth, possibly inherited from Adam). Different Bible translations may have different interpretations on that topic. The two parts of Romans 5:18 have similar structure in Greek. At the same time, we know that some people like the Pharisees (unfortunately) are not willing to receive God's gift of everlasting life. In particular, Romans 5:19 had a focus on "many" rather than "all" (Adam's sin have influenced many people to choose sin and made sinners very dominant, but some sinners are not directly influenced by Adam). Thus, it's heavily likely that rather than focusing on the effects, the verses talk about the opening to face condemnation or receive righteousness. Adam reaped the opening of judgment, we screwed up ourselves and don't have a good report, Jesus came in to offer His righteousness, and we have the option to receive Jesus's gift. In the end, personally, I don't agree with the doctrine of "original sin" because we are responsible for our wrongdoings (not Adam's). Thinkers Bible Studies also made an article on why the doctrine of "original sin" is not right.


With that said, no matter the view on "original sin", there are some stuff that are still clear cut. Either way, we have screwed up, but Jesus provided the way for everlasting life. Jesus will always stand in contrast to Adam. More importantly, one man can make a huge impact, and Jesus wants to impact our lives for the better. These are the bigger takeaways from the passage.

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