A gift of grace.
But the gracious gift is not like Adam’s trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of this one man, it is even more certain that God’s grace, and the gift given by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ, overflowed to the many! (Romans 5:15)
Do you remember what an antonym is?
An antonym is a word opposite in meaning to another. Examples include hot and cold or happy and sad.
Our verse from Romans is an example of opposites. It tells us the worst thing that has happened to us, and the good news tells us what God has done to save us from the worse thing.
Romans 5:12 also tells us the bad news, So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, so also death spread to all people because all sinned. The terrible news is sin is the cause of all the evil that is around us and in us. It ends in death. Terrible news, but true.
There is no way we can escape sin nor the wages of sin. That is the bad news. The text says it this way, For if the many (all) died by the trespass of this one man.
But what follows next in the verse is the good news: it is even more certain that God’s grace, and the gift given by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ, overflowed to the many (all)!
During Lent, we review the passion history of our Lord Jesus. Jesus suffered and paid for each one of our sins. God forgives us. When we die, we will be in heaven. That is the good news.
When we commit a sin there is always a consequence. The good news is that even though we must endure the consequences for our sins, that doesn’t mean that we are not forgiven. God’s grace is ours as a gift given to us by faith in what Jesus has done for us. The good news of forgiveness our text says is the gift given by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ, overflowed to the many (all)!
Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, forgive my many sins. Remove the guilt I have because of sin. Fill me with the confidence that I am saved by grace through faith in Jesus not by my works but because of the gift of your grace. Amen.