Romans 5:11-21 God's Wisdom

Paul answered the question, "How did Christ take our place on the cross?  How was such a substitution possible?"

My commentary said, "Because you and I were lost in Adam, the head of our human race, we can be saved in Christ, the Head of the new creation.  So how do we know that we are human-racially united to Adam?  We know that all men die.  But death is the result of disobeying the law.  There was no law from Adam to Moses, but men still died... What is that cause?  It can be only one thing -- the disobedience of Adam.  When Adam sinned, he ultimately died.  All of his descendants died, yet the law had not yet been given (until Moses).  Conclusion:  they died because of Adam's sin.  Romans 5:12 means 'all have sinned in Adam's sin.'  Men do not die because of their own acts of sin; otherwise, babies would not die.  Men die because they are united human-racially to Adam."

"Skeptics sometimes ask whether it was fair for God to condemn the whole world just because of one man's disobedience.  The answer, of course, is that it was not only fair, but it was also wise and gracious.  If God had tested each human being individually, the result would have been the same:  disobedience.  But even more important, by condemning the human race through one man (Adam), God was then able to save the human race through one Man (Jesus Christ)."

Father, thank You for knowing us so well and yet loving us anyway!

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford