What makes me a sinner

In this text, we see Adam is the representative of those who are enslaved to sin and death. On the other hand, we see Christ is the representative of those who are made free to serve God in righteousness. In verse 12, Paul presents the obvious reality that sin had entered into the world.

He pinpoints the origin of this sin back to the first man that God created, Adam. The ultimate end of sin is death, and the reason all have died spiritually, and will die physically is because all have sinned. This was taught to the people of God from the start. We see examples of this in the Old Testament with the grandsons of Saul being killed for his sin against the Gibeonites in 2 Samuel Sin always affects the innocent.

People can choose their sin, but they cannot choose the extent of their consequences. The finality of all sin is death. Therefore, everyone will die; because all have sinned willingly and with delight in their fallen nature. Though this seems depressing to consider, it makes the federal headship of Christ that much more amazing which we will get to shortly. Paul explains the significance of those who sinned before Moses, who did not have the law, yet, death reigned over them as well. How is this possible one may ask?

The answer was already established in Romans 1 and 2. Sin has left a trail of death from Adam until this very day because we all sin just like our father Adam. All of us ended up in the same predicament as Adam and Eve.

One may suggest that we all sinned by choice of our independent free will; and that no one is to blame for this but ourselves. Though God holds us all accountable for our own sin, do we not see it as ironic that all of us ended up committing sin the same way Adam did? It is clear that we all have the same tendency and appeal to sin that began at birth. I have two children.

I cannot think of one time in my seven years and counting of parenting where I had to teach my children to do wrong. On the other hand, I cannot count the number of times I have had to instruct and correct both of them on how to do right.

If parents are honest with themselves, they can see their own sinful traits come out in their own children! Our children bear witness of the reality that they inherited our sin nature following the original trail of sin to our father Adam. It can be used in relation to a pattern of behavior. This was promised to Eve in Genesis immediately after the fall. As Adam would impute sin and death down to all of his descendants, Christ would also would impute righteousness and life to His.

There are 6 parallels that Paul laid out for us between the two federal heads from verses Here is the chart of the parallels in the text:. Stephen explained earlier that because of Adam, every human being that has ever lived or will ever live inherited a sin nature and because of that, we all sin. In verse 19, we see the Gospel in its full beauty, resplendent through and through with the glory of God in all His persons. In the same way that Adam represented a group of people, Christ did too.

Adam destroyed us, but Christ restored us. Adam brought death, and Christ, the true and better Adam, brought life. God gave us the law not to make us sin, because God does not cause sin, but to hold up a mirror and show us our sin.

Paul compares the law to a tutor in Galatians , by which he means that the law was meant to teach us who we are as fallen sons and daughters of Adam, unable to stop sinning on our own. No one could keep the whole law, and according to James , whoever fails to keep one part of the law may as well have broken all of it. The exacting holiness required by God is legions beyond the capability of any human fallen in Adam.

It made the filth of our fallen nature manifest to us, so it would be easier for us to understand that we were the opposite of everything God required. In this sense, the law increased the trespass. But he obeyed the Father and submitted Himself to death on a cross, made of wood that He had created. And in His act of obedience, He has thrown open the doors of heaven to all who come to Him through faith.

But what could any of this possibly mean to the lay Christian who is not a theologian or pastor? As it turns out, a lot. I will never forget the long evenings I spent in my bedroom of my college apartment, crying over my sin, certain that Christ would want nothing to do with me.

I would wince each time I was reminded that someday I would die and presumably be cast justly into hell. It was also during that season that I became interested in the Puritans, and that was where the Lord gave me some answers.

Puritan theologians such as Jonathan Edwards, John Owen, and Richard Baxter are rightfully considered giants of the faith. Jump to navigation. One of the key stops on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans Instead, there is a very particular meaning for that word.

Congregations may stumble over the term sinner, especially if they are well educated in Christian doctrine. Others do not. We may struggle with that distinction, but it is critical for engaging this passage on its own terms. Here lies the cutting edge of the passage: Jesus embraces the very people the rest of religious society rejects.

Jesus is hanging out with the prostitutes, the drug addicts, thieves, and gangsters.