Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
The key point Paul will make in the rest of the chapter is to show how much greater God’s grace is than our problem of sin. The “trespass” refers to Adam’s sin of disobedience to God’s one command in the garden of Eden. Somehow, Adam’s decision affected all people and brought death into the world. But God has provided a remedy for this in Jesus Christ. The grace of God offers a gift to those who believe. This gift is the cure to the disease of sin, the answer to the problem, and freedom from the slavery. This is “grace” because it comes from outside of ourselves and is an extension of God’s love for us “while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8). It is a free gift because we cannot earn it. As a gift it is offered to us to take. Faith is represented in the image of receiving the gift. It has “abounded to many.” It is offered to all people but not everyone will accept it because some people will choose in ignorance and rebellion to continue in their sin and fleshly living. The gift and the trespass are extreme opposites. The implied question behind this verse is, why would anyone choose to continue in the way of Adam and not choose Jesus?
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