Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.
—Romans 5:12
Our world is in pain, and we don’t have to look far to see it. War, disease, broken families, tragedy that strikes without warning. People have asked in every generation: what happened? What went wrong? Paul gives us the answer, and it goes all the way back to the beginning.
The first tragedy in history occurred the day Adam and Eve ate the fruit God had forbidden. In that moment, the tragedy of sin struck with full force, and evil and death entered the world. Paul says it plainly: “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin.” One act of rebellion, and the whole creation was plunged into ruin.
And the impact of that first sin is still being felt today. Sin has been passed down from generation to generation to every human being who has ever lived. We sometimes want to protest: “That’s not fair! I wasn’t in the Garden. That’s on Adam, not me!” But honestly, let’s have a little sympathy for Adam, we’ve all done plenty of sinning since we arrived. We don’t have to be taught to do wrong; it comes naturally. We sin because we are sinners by nature, children of Adam.
Here’s something worth pondering. We often say we’re made in the image of God, and at creation that was gloriously true. But Adam defaced that image when he rebelled. So, at our first birth, we are born not in the unbroken image of God but in the fallen image of Adam. That’s why we need a second birth, to be born again into the image of the second Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice, too, how sin works. When one person sins, it rarely stays contained. It almost always spills over and wounds others. Think how hard it is to name a single sin or evil that affects no one but the person who commits it. The tragedy of sin is that its ripples spread, often from one generation to the next.
But thank God, Adam is not the end of the story. Paul is setting up a glorious contrast he’ll develop in the verses ahead: where one man brought death, another Man, Jesus Christ, brings life. By His obedient life and atoning death, Jesus conquered the very thing Adam unleashed.
So here is the hope. If you are in Christ, sin no longer has to keep its iron grip on you. Yes, your life is still touched by the devastation Adam’s sin let loose into the world. But you can stand victorious over it. You can be a beacon of life and hope to others who are reeling from sin’s tragic effects.
Thank God today for the gift of salvation through His Son. And determine, by the power of the Spirit, to live in the victory He has given you.
IN ADAM, SIN AND DEATH SPREAD TO US ALL, BUT IN CHRIST, WE CAN STAND VICTORIOUS OVER IT.
