Matins Devotion: January 14, 2025

Romans 5

I find it a bit funny that, right after telling us the free gift is not like the trespass, St. Paul immediately shows how the free gift is exactly like the trespass. Adam’s sin was the trespass that brought condemnation to the word. Christ’s sacrifice is the righteous act that has brought salvation to the world. The many die because of Adam. The many will live forever because of Jesus.

But the similarity shows the difference. Paul’s point, of course, is that the righteousness of Christ is unlike the sin of Adam because it’s the inverse, because it produces the opposite of what Adam’s sin produced. And what it produces is greater. Adam’s work was temporary but Christ’s was eternal. And what a profound comfort this juxtaposition is for Christians.

How do you know Jesus died for you? Well, do you need dying for? Were you lost under the condemnation of sin? Were you under the curse of Adam? Of course. Then you can know that Jesus died for you. Because Jesus is the greater Adam. And if the lesser Adam brought condemnation for all, Jesus has won justification for all. That justification is only received through faith, which is why not all will possess it. But be at peace. There is no possibility that Jesus didn’t give His life for you. Upon Calvary, He knew your face. He knew your sins. He loved you as an individual. He saw you as someone He desired to rescue from the pit of death, from the muck of sin, from the curse of Adam. That’s what the greater Adam saw. And that’s what He did by covering you in His blood, clothing you in His righteousness, and placing into your hands the right to live forever with Him in the new garden that will never be lost.