Jesus triumphed where Adam failed
Daily Scripture
Romans 5:15-21
15 But the free gift of Christ isn’t like Adam’s failure. If many people died through what one person did wrong, God’s grace is multiplied even more for many people with the gift—of the one person Jesus Christ—that comes through grace. 16 The gift isn’t like the consequences of one person’s sin. The judgment that came from one person’s sin led to punishment, but the free gift that came out of many failures led to the verdict of acquittal. 17 If death ruled because of one person’s failure, those who receive the multiplied grace and the gift of righteousness will even more certainly rule in life through the one person Jesus Christ.
18 So now the righteous requirements necessary for life are met for everyone through the righteous act of one person, just as judgment fell on everyone through the failure of one person. 19 Many people were made righteous through the obedience of one person, just as many people were made sinners through the disobedience of one person. 20 The Law stepped in to amplify the failure, but where sin increased, grace multiplied even more. 21 The result is that grace will rule through God’s righteousness, leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord, just as sin ruled in death.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
Paul dictated this letter—cf. Romans 16:22. It has the quality of “thinking aloud” more than written prose. Scholar William Barclay said, “The thought of this passage in one sentence… would be: ‘By the sin of Adam all men became sinners and were alienated from God; by the righteousness of Jesus Christ all men became righteous… restored to a right relationship with God.’ Paul said this more clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:21: ‘As by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive.’” *
- Genesis 3’s archetypal story captured the human dilemma—the first Adam chose to ignore God’s direction, go his own way, and lost innocence, which led to shame, blaming, and in the end death. Paul described Jesus as the “second Adam” in both Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15. Unlike Adam, Jesus chose to follow God’s will at all costs. How did that victory give you the choice to live a life that moves toward goodness, restored innocence and eternal life?
- Barclay also wrote, “Mankind was involved in a situation from which there was no escape; sin had [humans] in its power and there was no hope. Into this situation came Jesus Christ, and… by what he did, by what he is, by what he gives, he enabled [humans] to escape a situation… hopelessly dominated by sin.” ** When have you seen even well-meaning human efforts go all wrong? How can those examples highlight the way all of us need what Paul called “the free gift of Christ”?
Prayer
Jesus, when you saw our world broken and hurting you didn’t shrug helplessly. You defeated all our brokenness to give us light, life and hope. I praise you for doing for me, for us, what we couldn’t do for ourselves. Amen.
GPS Insights
Gwyn Thomas
Gwyn Thomas, who serves in donor relations at Resurrection, wrote today's Insights blog. A Boston native. she moved to Kansas City in 2020. Her husband Blake is a Congregational Care Pastor at Resurrection Leawood and a provisional elder in the UMC. Her favorite pastimes include pottery, hiking, frisbee, trying new restaurants, and spending time with her two children and their large orange cat, Tuna.
I haven’t lived on the East Coast now for almost 12 years, yet I still call myself an East Coaster. Some of the stereotypical traits of a New Englander are strong in me. I am very strong-willed, opinionated, I tend to speak my mind, and I may have just a tiny bit of road rage… Don’t ask my husband how big a tiny bit is.
I can’t say for certain that it’s because I grew up in New England, but I even find myself strong-willed in my faith. I am decisive and have a hard time waiting and listening for God’s direction. Sometimes I chalk it up to being a Christian for so long, that I just innately know what God would want me to do. I think we can probably all agree that when I think that way I’m getting in the way of God. The human dilemma as today’s GPS challenges us to face, of going our own way rather than following Jesus’ example of pursuing God’s plan at all costs, is not unique to New Englanders. All of us are called to put ourselves aside for God.
Jesus’ gift replaced our need to make this sacrifice ourselves, but did not eliminate the need for sacrifice. It’s important the check in with yourself, have grace for the ways we are so human that we don’t meet God’s standards, and pursue those standards anyway.
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Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* William Barclay, The Letter to the Romans (Revised Edition). Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1975, p. 78.
** Ibid., p. 82.
