Rom 5:17 "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)"
The verse just says "death reigned by one" and does not say death reigns for all inheirted Adam's sin.
Generally you seem to be right on in understanding scripture. However, I think you missed this one.
I have not read the whole thread, but in the first three pages no one had yet even determined if we have a sin nature or not. Scripture never states that we have a sin nature. It would be an impossiblity. A nature is the essence, or if we had a sin nature we would be sin. Yet sin is never described as a state of being. It is always described as an act of missing the mark. So sin itself is an act.
In the story of Adam we all seem to know that Adam sinned. But most, maybe all of you, are missing the consequence of that sin. For Adam it had two consequences. First, it spiritually separated him from God. He broke the relationship in which he was created. Man was not created to die, but to be in an eternal relationship of love with God.
In Gen 3:19 we have the judgement upon Adam and the world for that matter. That judgement was death, physical death. Man would die and return to the dust from whence he came. The world was also subjected to decay and corruption. So, Adam became a mortal being, subject to physical death. He would live a short biological existance but die. There would never be an eternal existance for man. I might add that God told Adam the solution Gen 3:15 before he told him the condemnation of death.
Now lets jump to Romans. Rom 5:12 tells us that it is death which man inherited from Adam, a mortal nature. We are all born dead, a mortal nature. It is this nature that influences or causes us to sin so easily or be sinful. Scripture says we have a sinful nature. A nature cannot sin, but it cause or influences us to sin.
To supplement this we need to go to Heb 2:14 explans why Christ became Incarnated, that is assumed our human nature. For what purpose. That through his death (bearing our mortal nature) in the flesh, He might destroy him who has the power of death. This victory over death was to release those (all of mankind) who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
Rom 5:12 states quite clearly that it is through the condemnation of Adam that death spread to all men. Which explains the fact that a baby is born mortal and is mortal at conception. Which explains why fetuses die. It is not at all due to sin. Since man is not born with a sin nature, but a mortal nature. We are born innocent, or not sinners. We need to commit a sin before we are sinners.
We do not inherit Adam's sin, nor any guilt from Adam. Adam will answer for his sin, and his own guilt. We will also answer for our sin and guilt. This is the fallacy of the doctrine of Original Sin.If the first part of the verse means we all have inherited Adam's sin, the second part of the verse must mean we all inherit the gift of righteousness. If we are all sinners in Adam then we must all be saved in Christ and you have universalism.
Then lets go to Rom 5:17. Here again it clearly states that death reigned through the act of one's man's offence.
Now, Rom 5:18, the huge THEREFORE..... Notice that judgement came to man through that one man's offense, namely condemnation (death) even so through the one righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. This is an equation that we see repeated in scripture in many places. Here it is in summary.
If all men die (physically) because of the condemnation to death through Adam, so all men will be made righteous, given life (physical) through the one Jesus Christ. This summary is also found in I Cor 15:22. It is stated in Rom 11:32, It is stated in Col 1:20 which then aligns with John 6:39. In II Cor 5:18 it is also stated, but includes the world, not just mankind. Rom 3:25 also makes the same equation.
This is NOT universalism. This has nothing directly to do with our relationship with Christ. Christ did not save our souls on the Cross.
Our personal salvation, or the relationship for which we were created, is all done through faith. We are justified by faith and saved through faith. This all became possible because man now has eternal life, an eternal existance again. The only question remaining is whether we spend that eternal existance with Christ or apart from Him.
Christ accomplished two things by His death and Resurrection. The primary one, our eternal existance was retored through His Incarnation and resurrection. All men will be raised in the last day. This redemption created the need for heaven and hell. If Christ had never come and man remained condemned to death, we would simply dissolve into dust. No need for heaven or hell.
The second work of Christ on the Cross was his sacrifice for sin. He became the perfect Lamb for the one-time sacrifice for all sin, or meaning Christ atoned for the sin of the world. Once Christ returned to heaven and sits on His throne, He becomes our High Priest, administering the sacrifice for sin. When we repent, or confess our sin, we will be forgiven our sins. Those who believe and live according to his will, reject sin, keep from sinning, so as not to separate ourselves from Christ as did Adam, and be condemned to spiritual death, also known as the Second Death.
Heaven or Hell becomes the consequence of our choice to enter into the same eternal relationship Adam enjoyed in the Garden but lost due to his sin and the condemnation or consequence of that sin, death. This is why all Christians have always believed in the resurrection of the dead. Christ raised our mortal natures to life through His Incarnation by becoming precisely like us in every respect.
Last edited by a moderator: