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 18a Paul repeats the essence of his original idea of verse 12 and then completes it with a conclusion in 18b. In 5:18-19 Paul completes the contrasting consequences of the actions of Adam and Christ. Verse 18 states the outcome of verse 12.
In verse 18 Paul sets forth three more contrasts:
Verse 18 completes the contrast begun in verse 12 and restates verses 16 to 17.
Adam’s disobedience constituted mankind to be sinners, but Christ’s obedience constituted some people to be legally righteous (5:19).
There is a contrast between sin and super-abundant grace (5:20-21).
18 Therefore [literally—so then], as one trespass [Adam’s original sin] led to condemnation [punishment] for all men [all those Adam represented],
The “therefore” here brings us to the conclusion of the argument from verse 12. The one trespass of Adam led to judicial condemnation for all men. This is the judicial sentence of God whereby the federal headship of Adam led to condemnation of all due to his sin. Therefore, Adam’s one trespass constitutes all persons guilty sinners subject to eternal death and liable to eternal damnation. The ground of this judgment is the solidarity of the human family in Adam.
so one act of righteousness [Christ’s death on the cross] leads to justification [forensic or imparted] and life for all men [Jesus died provisionally for all and gives “life” to those who believe, not just the elect].
There is the idea of justification as status with God, but now we come to an advance on that justification —the justification of life. This justification allows us to enter fully into the life of Christ.
There is one action and one result. The one action is Christ’s death on the cross with the one result of a right standing before God and the life that comes with it. Jesus took the imputation of our sins on the cross and brought eternal life to all.
The second “all men” does not refer to every member of the human race; although Jesus died for all provisionally, only those who accept His provision of paying for sin will have eternal life. Here it means all believing men. “Life” here is eternal life. Eternal life comes from the One who has eternal life.
PRINCIPLE:
Representative union is a corollary of federal headship.
APPLICATION:
By Adam’s one transgression his original sin was imputed to all those he represented—the human race. By one act on the cross God imputed justification to all who believe. Both Adam and Christ are federal heads representing their constituencies joined with them in union. Adam’s single sin resulted in condemnation of all; Christ’s single sacrifice resulted in right standing before God forever.
God does not impute His righteousness to all men but only to those who embrace salvation provided in Christ.
The act of “one” man determines the destiny of everyone in his lineage en mass. Adam launched the death epoch and Christ launched the eternal life epoch. The second epoch has a gift character; it counters and cancels the old epoch.
Well said. Thanks
You confuse me a bit when you say that the second all does not refer to all men, but the elect of God, but then you say that Jesus died for all men not just the elect. There seems to be a bit of a contradiction there. Can you please explain?
Philip, thanks for your comment. I changed the Scripture with explanation and one paragraph below to this:
so one act of righteousness [Christ’s death on the cross] leads to justification [forensic or imparted] and life for all men [Jesus died provisionally for all and gives “life” to those who believe, not just the elect].
…….
The second “all men” does not refer to every member of the human race; although Jesus died for all provisionally only those who accept His provision of paying for sin will have eternal life. Here it means all believing men. “Life” here is eternal life. Eternal life comes from the One who has eternal life.
Christ’s death leads to justification based on whether a person accepts that provision by faith.
I hope this clarifies the issue you raised.
Your rationalization is typical Christian rationalization, saying the passage does not mean what it clearly says. Universal Salvation is for everyone just like Adam’s Sin affected everyone. If the second all does not mean all then
why should the first one mean all. Your denial of this basic Bible truth is cognitive dissonance and leads to Satanic
doctrines.
Woodrow Nichols
Woodrow, I notice that you do not offer any exposition or exegesis for your comment—only an assertion of your opinion that this verse teaches universalism plainly (to you). Your conclusion, however, is contrary to the setting here and in Romans as a whole, as well as to the rest of God’s Word. Romans 5:1 says that justification comes by “faith” and not solely by the death of Christ for our sins. Salvation is a “gift” that should be received (Ro 5:16). Salvation comes only to those who “receive” the gift of righteousness (Ro 5:17). Not everyone receives God’s gift (Mt 23:37; 25:40-41).
The remainder of Romans makes it clear that not everyone will possess eternal life. Romans 1-2 speaks of those “without excuse” (Ro 1:20). The “wrath of God” will fall upon them (Ro 1:18). There will be those who will “perish” (Ro 2:12).
“Made righteous” does not refer to actual possession of salvation but to the idea that they are savable. That is, salvation is potential for them.
Earlier Paul argued that apart from justification by faith the world is “guilty before God” (Ro 3:19). The “wages of sin is death” (Ro 6:23). Not all of Paul’s fellow Jews will be saved (Ro 11:1f). Some will be “accursed” (Ro 9:3). The entire argument of Romans is that only those who believe will be justified (Ro 1:17; 3:21-26).
Many passages of Scripture speak of the eternal destiny of the lost such as Ro 20:11-15.
Note Romans use of the word “all” (πᾶς). The 70 occurrences of πᾶς in Romans fall into three categories:
a. All as denoting every single component of the group (without exception). An example is Romans 3:19. In 14:11–12 we find, “for it is written, ‘As I live says the Lord, every (πᾶν) knee shall bow to me and every (πᾶσα) tongue shall give praise to God.’ So each (ἕκαστος) of us will give an account of himself to God.” And 14:23 states, “But he who has doubts is condemned, if he eats, because he does not act from faith; for whatever (πᾶν) does not proceed from faith is sin.”
b. All as denoting every manner or kind. For example, in Romans 1:18 Paul writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed against all (πᾶσαν) ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth.” In Romans 1:29 we find, “They [those whom God has given up to improper conduct] were filled with all manner (πάσῃ) of wickedness, evil, covetousness, malice.” Likewise Romans 8:28 says, “We know that in everything (πάντα) God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.”
c. All as denoting all men (without distinction). For instance, Romans 1:16 reads, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone (παντί) who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (see also, 4:11–12). In 2:9 we find, “there will be tribulation and distress for every (πᾶσαν) human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek” (see also 2:10). In 3:9 Paul asserts, “What then? Are Jews any better off? No, not at all; for I have already charged that all (πάντας) men, both Jews and Greeks, are under the power of sin” (Ro 3:12, 22–23). And in Romans 4:16 we read, “That is why it depends upon faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all (παντί) his descendants—not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, for he is the father of us all (πάντων).”
It is clear that Paul uses πᾶς in a variety of ways. It does not always mean “everyone/everything without exception.” In fact, he has explicitly modified it many times with the mention of Jew and Gentile in order to clarify his intention (Ro 1:16; 2:9; 3:9, 29; cf. 4:11–12).
“All men without distinction” as opposed to “all men without exception” may be found in a look at the use of πᾶς plus ἄνθρωπος throughout Biblical Greek. The combination of πᾶς with ἄνθρωπος occurs 75+ times in the LXX and an additional 26 times in the NT. Although there is no precisely or rigidly defined usage pattern, and it may go too far to suggest that some grammatical or lexical “rule” is at work, the general tendency seems to be to denote “all men without exception” with the singular forms of πᾶς + ἂνθρωπος.
I have as many if not more scriptures that support my view. I am saved by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We differ on belief only. See my “There is No Difference: the Eternal Temple of Antinomian Universalism. There is plenty of exposition and exegesis in that article that proves my case. Your doctrine of inerrancy is a doctrine of devils that denies the Truth of the Bible, i.e., that it endlessly contradicts itself. There is wisdom in not denying that fact. Moreover, every time you twist the scriptures to show there are only “apparent” contradictions you end up in another lie of Satan. My article shows the doctrine of antinomian universalism: Salvation is by the Faith of Jesus Christ only. The Ten Commandments were nailed to the cross. I’m wasting no more time on you. Proverbs 26:4. Obviously, I was unsuccessful with verse 5.
Woodrow, you have no idea how much documentation I have for what I believe. As usual with cults, they make many assertions as you did in your last blog without documentation, exegesis or background information. The totality of your argument is to assert that we are wrong without substantiation. You follow the pure cult modality.
I truly enjoy the work and dedication you have put into your bible study and it has been very useful in my study of Romans. I do have a question though and would like to pick your brain on it. You make the statement on Romans 5:18 ,”Jesus died provisionally for all and gives “life” to those who believe, not just the elect”. I have been studying the theology of T.U.L.I.P, and where I am having most of my trouble with this is how the ideas of Unconditional Election (Sovereign Election) and Limited Atonement come together and the major implications they carry. Mostly I am trying to figure out the idea of either Christ died for everyone (meaning he died for even those who do not accept his gift) or he died for his elect (those he has chosen through his sovereignty). It has been my understanding that there is no distinction between those who believe in Christ and his Elect. However, this brings me to my question, why did you make this distinction in your study?
Zachary, I believe in the concept of unlimited atonement. This does not mean that everyone will become a believer, but that Christ did the provisional work on the cross necessary to pay for sins. A person does not go to hell because they sin; they go to hell because of rejecting the one who paid for their sin (2 Cor. 5.14-15; Titus 2.11; Heb. 2.9; 2 Pet. 2.1; 1 Tim. 4.10; 1 Tim. 2:6; 1 John 2.2; Romans 3.25; John 12:32; 3:16; Acts 17:30; Acts 16.31; 1 Tim. 4.10).
You may want to look at this article that shows how God’s will and Human will interface: https://versebyversecommentary.com/articles/doctrine/concursus/gods-decree-and-free-will/