5:2 access. Used only twice elsewhere in the NT (Eph. 2:18; 3:12), this word always refers to the believer’s access to God through Jesus Christ. What was unthinkable to the OT Jew (cf. Ex. 19:9, 20, 21; 28:35) is now available to all who come (Jer. 32: 38, 40; Heb. 4:16; 10:19–22; cf. Matt. 27:51). stand. This refers to the permanent, secure position believers enjoy in God’s grace (cf. v. 10; 8:31–34; John 6:37; Phil. 1:6; 2 Tim. 1:12; Jude 24). hope of the glory of God. Unlike the Eng. word “hope,” the NT word contains no uncertainty; it speaks of something that is certain, but not yet realized. The believer’s ultimate destiny is to share in the very glory of God (8:29, 30; John 17:22; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil. 3:20, 21; 1 John 3:1, 2), and that hope will be realized because Christ Himself secures it (1 Tim. 1:1). Without the clear and certain promises of the Word of God, the believer would have no basis for hope (15:4; Ps. 119:81, 114; Eph. 2:12; cf. Jer. 14:8).
5:3 tribulations. A word used for pressure, like that of a press squeezing the fluid from olives or grapes. Here they are not the normal pressures of living (cf. 8:35), but the inevitable troubles that come to followers of Christ because of their relationship with Him (Matt. 5:10–12; John 15:20; 2 Cor. 4:17; 1 Thess. 3:3; 2 Tim. 3:12; 1 Pet. 4:19). Such difficulties produce rich spiritual benefits (vv. 3, 4). perseverance. Sometimes translated “patience,” this word refers to endurance, the ability to remain under tremendous weight and pressure without succumbing (15:5; Col. 1:22, 23; 2 Thess. 1:4; Rev. 14:12).
5:4 character. A better translation is “proven character.” The Gr. word simply means “proof.” It was used of testing metals to determine their purity. Here the proof is Christian character (cf. James 1:12). Christians can glory in tribulations because of what those troubles produce.
5:5 love of God…poured out. God’s love for us (cf. v. 8) has been lavishly poured out to the point of overflowing within our hearts. Paul moves from the objective aspects of our security in Christ to the internal, more subjective. God has implanted within our hearts evidence that we belong to Him in that we love the One who first loved us (1 Cor. 16:22; cf. Gal. 5:22; Eph. 3:14–19; 1 John 4:7–10). Spirit who was given. A marvelous testimony to God’s love for us (8:9, 14, 16, 17; John 7:38, 39; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; 12:13; Eph. 1:18).
5:6 without strength. Lit. “helpless.” Unregenerate sinners are spiritually dead and incapable of doing anything to help themselves (John 6:44; Eph. 2:1). in due time. At the moment God had chosen (cf. Gal. 4:4). Christ died for the ungodly. God’s love for His own is unwavering because it is not based on how lovable we are, but on the constancy of His own character; God’s supreme act of love came when we were at our most undesirable (cf. Matt. 5:46).
5:7 righteous man…good man. As uncommon as such a sacrifice is, Paul’s point is that we were neither of these persons—yet Christ sacrificed Himself for us.
5:9 Much more. What Paul is about to say is even more amazing and wonderful. justified. See note on 3:24. by His blood. Through His violent, substitutionary death. References to the blood of the Savior include the reality that He bled in His death (a necessity to fulfill the OT imagery of sacrifice), but are not limited to the fluid itself. NT writers also use the term “blood” as a graphic way to describe violent death (see Matt. 23:30, 35; 27:4–8, 24, 25; John 6:53–56; Acts 5:28; 20:26). References to the Savior’s blood are not simply pointing to the fluid, but at His death and entire atoning work (cf. 3:25; Eph. 1:7; 2:13; Col. 1:14, 20; Heb. 9:12; 10:19; 13:12; 1 Pet. 1:2, 19; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5). wrath. See note on 1:18. Christ bore the full fury of God’s wrath in the believing sinner’s place, and there is none left for him (see 8:1; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9).
5:10 saved by His life. When we were God’s enemies, Christ was able by His death to reconcile us to God. Certainly now that we are God’s children, the Savior can keep us by His living power.
5:11 reconciliation. This is between God and sinners. See notes on 2 Cor. 5:18–20.
5:12–21 In one of the most enigmatic passages in the entire book, Paul sets out to show how one man’s death can provide salvation for many. To prove his point, he uses Adam to establish the principle that it is possible for one man’s actions to inexorably affect many other people.
5:12 just as…sin entered. Not a particular sin, but the inherent propensity to sin entered the human realm; men became sinners by nature. Adam passed to all his descendants the inherent sinful nature he possessed because of his first disobedience. That nature is present from the moment of conception (Ps. 51:5), making it impossible for man to live in a way that pleases God. Satan, the father of sin (1 John 3:8), first brought temptation to Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1–7). through one man. When Adam sinned, all mankind sinned in his loins (v. 18; cf. Heb. 7:7–10). Since his sin transformed his inner nature and brought spiritual death and depravity, that sinful nature would be passed on seminally to his posterity as well (Ps. 51:5). death. Adam was not originally subject to death, but through his sin it became a grim certainty for him and his posterity. Death has 3 distinct manifestations: 1) spiritual death or separation from God (cf. Eph. 2:1, 2; 4:18); 2) physical death (Heb. 9:27); and 3) eternal death (also called the second death), which includes not only eternal separation from God, but eternal torment in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11–15). because all sinned. Because all humanity existed in the loins of Adam, and have through procreation inherited his fallenness and depravity, it can be said that all sinned in him. Therefore, humans are not sinners because they sin, but rather they sin because they are sinners.
5:13 sin is not imputed. See note on 2 Cor. 5:19. Though all men were regarded as sinners (v. 12), because there was no explicit list of commands, there was no strict accounting of their specific points of violation. when there is no law. The period from Adam to Moses, when God had not yet given the Mosaic law.
5:14 Nevertheless death reigned. But even without the law, death was universal. All men from Adam to Moses were subject to death, not because of their sinful acts against the Mosaic law (which they did not yet have), but because of their own inherited sinful nature. not sinned…likeness…of Adam. Those who had no specific revelation as did Adam (Gen. 2:16, 17) or those who had the Mosaic law (cf. v. 13), but nevertheless sinned against the holiness of God, i.e., those who “sinned without law” (2:12). a type of Him…to come. Both Adam and Christ were similar in that their acts affected many others. This phrase serves as transition from the apostle’s discussion of the transference of Adam’s sin to the crediting of Christ’s righteousness.
5:15–21 In this passage Paul explores the contrasts between the condemning act of Adam and the redemptive act of Christ. They were different in their effectiveness (v. 15), their extent (v. 16), their efficacy (v. 17), their essence (vv. 18, 19), and their energy (vv. 20, 21).
5:15 many died. Paul uses the word “many” with two distinct meanings in v. 15, just as he will the word “all” in v. 18. He has already established that all men, without exception, bear the guilt of sin and are therefore subject to death (see notes on v. 12). So the “many” who die must refer to all Adam’s descendants. much more. Christ’s one act of redemption was immeasurably greater than Adam’s one act of condemnation.
5:16 the gift. Salvation by grace. the judgment…from one offense. See notes on v. 12. condemnation. The divine guilty verdict; the opposite of justification. many offenses. Adam brought upon all men the condemnation for only one offense—his willful act of disobedience. Christ, however, delivers the elect from the condemnation of many offenses. justification. See note on 3:24.
5:17 death reigned. Adam’s sin brought universal death—exactly opposite the result he expected and Satan had promised: “You will be like God” (Gen. 3:5). Christ’s sacrifice brought salvation to those who believe. gift of righteousness. See notes on 1:17 and 3:24; see also 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:8, 9. will reign in life. Unlike Adam’s act, Christ’s act has—and will—accomplish exactly what He intended (cf. Phil. 1:6), i.e., spiritual life (cf. Eph. 2:5).
5:18, 19 Summaries of the analogy of Ada
m and Christ.
5:18 condemnation. See note on v. 16. one Man’s righteous act. Not a reference to a single event, but generally to Christ’s obedience (cf. v. 19; Luke 2:49; John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38), culminating in the greatest demonstration of that obedience, death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). free gift…to all men. This cannot mean that all men will be saved; salvation is only for those who exercise faith in Jesus Christ (cf. 1:16, 17; 3:22, 28; 4:5, 13). Rather, like the word “many” in v. 15, Paul is using “all” with two different meanings for the sake of parallelism, a common practice in the Heb. OT.
5:19 made righteous. This expression probably refers to one’s legal status before God and not an actual change in character, since Paul is contrasting justification and condemnation throughout this passage, and he has not yet introduced the doctrine of sanctification (chaps. 6–8) which deals with the actual transformation of the sinner as a result of redemption.
5:20 the law entered. Cf. Gal. 3:19. Although the Mosaic law is not flawed (7:12), its presence caused man’s sin to increase (cf. 7:8–11). Thus it made men more aware of their own sinfulness and inability to keep God’s perfect standard (7:7; Gal. 3:21, 22), and it served as a tutor to drive them to Christ (Gal. 3:24).
5:21 This is the final summary of the analogy of Adam and Christ.
Romans 6
6:1—8:39 Paul moves from demonstrating the doctrine of justification, which is God’s declaring the believing sinner righteous (3:20–5:21), to demonstrating the practical ramifications of salvation on those who have been justified. He specifically discusses the doctrine of sanctification, which is God’s producing actual righteousness in the believer (6:1—8:39).
6:1–10 He begins his lesson on sanctification by arguing that in spite of their past, all whom God has justified will experience personal holiness (cf. 1 Cor. 6:9–11a; 1 Tim. 1:12, 13).
6:1 Shall we continue in sin. Because of his past Pharisaic experience, Paul was able to anticipate the major objections of his critics. He had already alluded to this criticism, that by preaching a justification based solely on the free grace of God, he was encouraging people to sin (cf. 3:5, 6, 8).
6:2 Certainly not! Lit. “may it never be!” Used 14 times in Paul’s epistles (10 in Romans: 3:4, 6, 31; 6:2, 15; 7:7, 13; 9:14; 11:1, 11), this expression is the strongest Gr. idiom for repudiating a statement, and it contains a sense of outrage that anyone would ever think the statement was true. we…died to sin. Not a reference to the believer’s ongoing daily struggle with sin, but to a one-time event completed in the past. Because we are “in Christ” (6:11; 8:1), and He died in our place (5:6–8), we are counted dead with Him. This is the fundamental premise of chap. 6, and Paul spends the remainder of the chapter explaining and supporting it.
6:3 baptized into Christ Jesus. This does not refer to water baptism. Paul is actually using the word “baptized” in a metaphorical sense, as we might in saying someone was immersed in his work, or underwent his baptism of fire when experiencing some trouble. All Christians have, by placing saving faith in Him, been spiritually immersed into the person of Christ, that is, united and identified with Him (cf. 1 Cor. 6:17; 10:2; Gal. 3:27; 1 Pet. 3:21; 1 John 1:3; see note on Acts 2:38). Certainly water baptism pictures this reality, which is the purpose—to show the transformation of the justified. into His death. This means that immersion or identification is specifically with Christ’s death and resurrection, as the apostle will explain (see 6:4–7).
6:4 buried with Him. Since we are united by faith with Him, as baptism symbolizes, His death and burial become ours. newness of life. This is true if, in Christ, we died and were buried with Him, we have also been united with Him in His resurrection. There is a new quality and character to our lives, a new principle of life. This speaks of the believer’s regeneration (cf. Ezek. 36:26; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 4:24). Whereas sin describes the old life, righteousness describes the new.
6:6 our old man. A believer’s unregenerate self. The Gr. word for “old” does not refer to something old in years but to something that is worn out and useless. Our old self died with Christ, and the life we now enjoy is a new divinely-given life that is the life of Christ Himself (cf. Gal. 2:20). We have been removed from the unregenerate self’s presence and control, so we should not follow the remaining memories of its old sinful ways as if we were still under its evil influence (see notes on Eph. 4:20–24; Gal. 5:24; Col. 3:9, 10). body of sin. Essentially synonymous with “our old man.” Paul uses the terms “body” and “flesh” to refer to sinful propensities that are intertwined with physical weaknesses and pleasures (e.g., 8:10, 11, 13, 23). Although the old self is dead, sin retains a foothold in our temporal flesh or our unredeemed humanness, with its corrupted desires (7:14–24). The believer does not have two competing natures, the old and the new; but one new nature that is still incarcerated in unredeemed flesh (see note on v. 12). But the term “flesh” is not equivalent to the physical body, which can be an instrument of holiness (v. 19; 12:1; 1 Cor. 6:20). done away. Rendered powerless or inoperative.
6:7 has died. Through his union with Christ (see note on v. 3). freed from sin. No longer under its domination and control.
6:8 we shall also live with Him. The context suggests that Paul means not only that believers will live in the presence of Christ for eternity, but also that all who have died with Christ, which is true of all believers, will live a life here that is fully consistent with His holiness.
6:9 dominion. Mastery, control, or domination. Cf. vv. 11, 12.
6:10 He died to sin. Christ died to sin in two senses: 1) in regard to sin’s penalty—He met its legal demands upon the sinner; and 2) in regard to sin’s power—forever breaking its power over those who belong to Him. And His death will never need repeating (Heb. 7:26, 27; 9:12, 28; 10:10; cf. 1 Pet. 3:18). Paul’s point is that believers have died to sin in the same way. He lives to God. For God’s glory.
6:11–14 Paul addresses the logical conclusion of his readers: If the old self is dead, why is there continually a struggle with sin and how can the new self become dominant (see also 7:1–25)? His exhortation is contained in 2 key words: “reckon” (vv. 11b, 12) and “present” (vv. 13, 14).
6:11 Likewise. This implies the importance of his readers’ knowing what he just explained. Without that foundation, what he is about to teach will not make sense. Scripture always identifies knowledge as the foundation for one’s practice (cf. Col. 3:10). reckon. While it simply means to count or number something, it was often used metaphorically to refer to having an absolute, unreserved confidence in what one’s mind knows to be true—the kind of heartfelt confidence that affects his actions and decisions. Paul is not referring to mind games in which we trick ourselves into thinking a certain way. Rather he is urging us to embrace by faith what God has revealed to be true. dead…to sin. See vv. 2–7. in Christ. Paul’s favorite expression of our union with Christ. This is its first occurrence in Romans (cf. Eph. 1:3–14).
6:12 mortal body. The only remaining repository where sin finds the believer vulnerable. The brain and its thinking processes are part of the body and thus tempt our souls with its sinful lusts (see note on v. 6; cf. 8:22, 23; 1 Cor. 15:53; 1 Pet. 2:9–11).
6:13 present. Refers to a decision of the will. Before sin can have power over a believer, it must first pass through his will (cf. Phil. 2:12, 13). your members. The parts of the physical body, the headquarters from which sin operates in the believer (7:18, 22–25; cf. 12:1; 1 Cor. 9:27). instruments of unrighteousness. Tools for accomplishing that which violates God’s holy will and law.
6:14 sin shall not have dominion. Sin must be able to exercise control in our bodies or Paul’s admonition becomes unnecessary (v. 13). But sin does not have to reign there; so the apostle expresses his confidence that those who are Christ’s will not allow it to. not under law but under grace. This does not mean God has abrogated His moral law (3:31; cf. Matt. 5:17–19). The law is good, holy, and righteous (7:12; cf. 1 Tim. 1:8), but it cannot be kept, so it curses.
Since it cannot assist anyone to keep God’s moral standard (cf. 7:7–11), it can only show the standard and thus rebuke and condemn those who fail to keep it. But the believer is no longer under the law as a condition of acceptance with God—an impossible condition to meet and one designed only to show man his sinfulness (see notes on 3:19, 20; cf. Gal. 3:10–13)—but under grace, which enables him to truly fulfill the law’s righteous requirements (7:6; 8:3, 4). Chapter 7 is Paul’s complete commentary on this crucial expression.
6:15–23 This section continues Paul’s discussion of sanctification by reminding his readers of their past slavery to sin and their new slavery to righteousness. He wants them to live in submission to their new master, Jesus Christ, and not to be entangled again with the sins that characterized their old life, sins which no longer have any claim over them.
6:15 Shall we sin. Cf. 3:5, 6, 8; 6:1. not under law but under grace. See note on v. 14.
6:17 form of doctrine…delivered. In the Gk. “form” is a word for a mold such as a craftsman would use to cast molten metal. Paul’s point is that God pours His new children into the mold of divine truth (12:2; cf. Titus 2:1). New believers have an innate and compelling desire to know and obey God’s Word (1 Pet. 2:2).
6:18 having been set free. See note on v. 2. slaves of righteousness. See v. 16.
6:19 human terms…weakness of your flesh. Paul’s use of the master/slave analogy was an accommodation to their humanness and their difficulty in grasping divine truth. your members. See note on v. 13. more lawlessness. Like a vicious animal, sin’s appetite only grows when it is fed (Gen. 4:7).
The MacArthur Study Bible, NKJV Page 566