Romans 5:12-21
Key verse: 5:18-19 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.[1]
A choice between failure and victory.
For this blog, we are going to concentrate on the comparison that the Bible calls Adam and Jesus, the Son of God. In Luke 3:38 Adam is called the son of God and Satan in the temptation of Jesus says, if you are the Son of God…[2] Both had unique origins, Adam was formed out of the ground by the hand of God and brought to life with the breath of God. As such, he was the image-bearer of God on earth. Jesus is God who took on humanity. One of the great theological debates is the Incarnation. How could Jesus live as fully man and fully God at the same time? The best resolution seems to be that he set aside the independent expression of his divine nature. He was completely under the leading of the Holy Spirit. For us, this means that Jesus and Adam started on equal footing, in that neither had an internal sin nature to battle in resisting temptation. We are going to examine the temptations they both faced and what we can learn from each. One is a cautionary tale, and the other shows us a path to victorious living.
Adam’s Failure: A cautionary tale.
Adam started with everything in his favor. He was created in innocence; he had communion with God, dominion over creation, and worked for fulfillment, not to exist. More than that, he had a wife created by God specifically for him as a companion. If there has ever been such a thing as a sweet life, Adam had it. There was only one test he had to pass to show his creator his love and devotion. Don’t eat of the tree in the middle of the garden. How in the world could the first man fail such a simple command? He was created in the image of God, part of which would have been a sense of morality and a knowledge of what obedience meant. What else could he want? We need to understand that without a sin nature, temptation had to come from an external source, and Satan was glad to oblige.
First, he questioned God’s Word. I love the phrasing in the King James, “Yea, hath God said?” We face this same question today. Critics claim that no two translations are the same; others tell you that if you can’t read the original languages, you must compare several translations to get God’s Word, and then you have those who advocate for their translation above all the rest. Leading the charge on the “My translation is the best and only Bible are the KJV-only proponents.” As a preacher, writer and Bible student I feel strongly about what you should use and why, but I also know that if your Bible is one of the main translations and especially one of the literal translations, your answer to the question of “Has God said?” is a resounding, YES! Then there are others who claim the Bible is just a collection of material with an uncertain origin. It certainly isn’t of divine origin. In fact, it is no more inspired than any other religious text. Just remember this is one of Satan’s favorite attacks. Keep in mind that the Bible claims divine inspiration and came from God.[3]
Second, he denied the consequences of disobedience and promised divine knowledge. Adam would become like God.[4] This mirrored Satan’s own failed attempt to overthrow God.[5] Satan declared he would ascend to heaven and be like the most high. Even today, we have people who claim that God lied to Adam and Satan told the truth. To them, that Adam didn’t immediately fall over lifeless proves that God lied. Again, the Bible deals with this. Peter points out God delays judgement because he wants to give an opportunity for everyone to come to repentance.[6] We’ll deal with the consequences after we look at the response of the first couple. Adam saw it was good for food, which appealed to the lust of the flesh; it was pleasant to look at, which appealed to the lust of the eyes; and, it was desirable to make one wise. At this point Eve ate through deception, but Adam did so in open rebellion to God’s command. The New Testament puts everything on Adam because of his open rebellion.
The result of his action would have profound consequences not only for himself, but for all of the human race. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—[7] I disagree with the doctrine that we all bear the guilt of Adam’s original transgression because I don’t believe it can be supported from scripture, I believe that man’s nature was fundamentally changed when Adam transgressed.[8] We are all sinners because we sin, and we sin because it is in our nature. We are all born spiritually dead in the sense that we are separated from the source of spiritual life. We die physically because Adam’s sin had consequences for us both spiritually and physically. In Adam, we are eternally separated from God and without hope. We didn’t even know to reach up, so God reached down.
Christ’s Victory: Our shining example
One of the hardest doctrines to understand and fully embrace is called the Hypostatic Union of Christ. A fancy term that simply means Jesus was fully God and fully man. Unlike the Greek and Roman demigods who were half god and half man, Jesus was fully both divine and human. Among conservative orthodox theologians, there is almost a fear in exploring Jesus’ humanity, and yet for this blog, we have to go down that path. One reason Jesus lived as a human, surrendering the independent expression of his divinity, was so that he could truly be tempted in all points like we are, yet he didn’t sin. This accomplished two things: first, he could be a true advocate to the Father for us, and second, he could set the example for us to follow.
Where Adam had everything going for him, Jesus had nothing. Luke portrays Jesus as the Son of Man and the second Adam. The Spirit led him into the wilderness and he fasted for forty days. He was as weak and unprotected as he could be. Alone, hungry, and in a desolate place. In this position Satan begins his recorded attack; for all I know, he could have been there the whole-time harassing Jesus.
The first attack is based on the lust of the flesh, and it was the most obvious. If you are the Son of God, turn these stones to bread. You’ve gone forty days without food; your body needs food. What could be the harm? Here’s the danger: sometimes it’s not the action or the item that’s the sin. It’s the motive. Jesus would have used his divine nature to satisfy his own desires. Jesus’ reply is simply to quote scripture. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. The second attack appealed to the pride of life and dealt with power and authority. Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and promised to give all of them to Jesus if he would just bow down and worship him. Again, Jesus answered with scripture, You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve. He didn’t argue; he just quoted the right scripture at the right moment. The last temptation took on the pride of life. Satan took Jesus to the top of the temple and challenged him to prove he was the Son of God by throwing himself off. If he were who he said he was, the angels wouldn’t even allow him to stub his toe. Jesus just kept on quoting scripture, You shall not tempt the Lord your God. At the end of this third attempt, Satan left, and angels came to minister to Jesus. There is an old saying that the Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.
For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.[9] Jesus showed us that just because Adam failed the test and just because it is in our nature to sin, it is not inevitable that we will sin. We have the same tools he had to overcome temptation. He had the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. We have the same tools at our disposal as well. Jesus didn’t use philosophical arguments; he didn’t use his divine nature; he willingly suffered to set an example for us.[10]
While Jesus set the example for how to succeed and resist temptation, he also knows that we will fail and fall, and that is why he gave us a promise. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.[11]
Conclusion: Victory in Jesus
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.[12] The first thing we have to remember is that we are a new creation in Jesus Christ. We have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and our old, dead spiritual self has been made alive through Christ. The next tool in our tool belt is the Bible. It is no longer a closed book of mere human wisdom; it is a living and powerful weapon to defend against the lies and deception of Satan, his worldly system and influences, and our own fleshly desires. Finally, we can put on the whole armor of God, especially the shield of faith. In short, we have faith, prayer, the Word, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to battle against the flesh and the world.
Study Questions
- Where do we face doubt about God’s Word, or its relevance in our daily lives?
- Adam failed with every advantage; Jesus succeeded with no physical advantage. What does that teach us about what is important to live a victorious Christian life?
- There would have been nothing wrong intrinsically with Jesus turning rocks into bread. The method and the motive were the problem. How can we test if we’re doing the right thing for the wrong reason?
- Jesus faced temptation while alone, hungry and physically weak. What situations make us vulnerable to temptation?
- What does it mean for us that Jesus is both our example and our merciful High Priest?
- We have faith, prayer, the Word, the armor of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as weapons against the flesh and worldly attacks. Which of these do you need to rely on more starting this week?
Bibliography
Bavinck, Herman. Reformed Dogmatics. Vol. II and III.
Barrett, C. K. From First Adam to Last: A Study in Pauline Theology.
Berkhof, Louis. Systematic Theology.
Bible, King James Version. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
Bible, New King James Version. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
Brown, Derek R., and E. Tod Twist. 1 Corinthians. Edited by John D. Barry and Douglas Mangum, Logos Research Commentaries. Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2026.
Burns, Bria. “Humanity’s Original Integrity.” In Lexham Survey of Theology, edited by Mark Ward et al. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018.
Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. II.xii.3.
Clary, Ian. “Jesus As Second Adam.” In Lexham Survey of Theology, edited by Mark Ward et al. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018.
Crowe, Brandon D. The Last Adam: A Theology of the Obedient Life of Jesus in the Gospels.
Garrett, James Leo. Systematic Theology. Vol. I.
Morgan, Robert. Romans. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.
Owen, John. “Justification.” In Works of John Owen, D.D., Vol. V, 306–371.
Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth, and John P. Galvin, eds. Systematic Theology.
[1] Romans 5:18–19 (NKJV)
[2] Luke 4:1-13
[3] 2 Tim. 3:16-17, 2 Pet. 1:20-21
[4] Gen. 3:1-7
[5] Isa 14:12-15
[6] 2 Pet. 3:9
[7] Romans 5:12 (NKJV)
[8] Ezek 18:20
[9] Hebrews 2:18 (NKJV)
[10] 1 Peter 2:21–22 (NKJV)
[11] Hebrews 2:17 (NKJV)
[12] 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
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