I agree with
journeyman .
“All” is a pronoun which points to a noun. (That’s what pronouns do lol). In this case, it is pointing to two nations. First is the Jewish nation and second is the gentile nation. This, “All” does not point to Bob, Joe or Sue. It points to the nations they belong to.
To journeymans point, not “all” within these groups are “sinners”. To be a sinner, one must commit a transgression against a known law. If “all” in this verse points to a newborn child just moments old, then you will need to provide the commandment which was broken.
Furthermore, later in this chapter Paul says that “All” will be saved. How then are we to understand that? Do we also understand All on a personal level, or a national level?
"All will be saved" is, no doubt, one of those interesting Scriptures in the Bible that could very well be true.
Much of Scripture is a reflection of other Scripture, which is why I try to see the face value meaning, as well as the Mysterious Plan of God (that Paul discusses in Ephesians and Colossians). I rarely take the simple view of Scripture, but do my best to focus on the bigger picture.
And this is the case regarding "all men." Sure, I will concede that these words were written to specific people, but they are also a reflection of the bigger picture which Romans 5 explains perfectly.
Romans 5:12, 15, 17-21 NLT - 12 "When Adam sinned,
sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so
death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. ... 15 But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam,
brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. ... 17 For
the sin of this one man, Adam,
caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes,
Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because
one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. 20 God's law was given so that
all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God's wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as
sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
There are many passages that outline the Curse of the Lord, but for now I'll stick with the Romans 5 passages above. We know, with total certainty, that the Curse of physical death applies to even newborns, for all people will die. This Curse of physical death is not up for debate, for the death ratio is one per person.
The other element of the Curse is Spiritual Death. Hence, we need a Redeemer for both physical death as well as Spiritual Death. And this is the Purpose of Christ, to give eyesight to those who are blind, ears to those who are deaf, and legs for Spiritual Walking.
Galatians 3:13 NLT - "But
Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."
Colossians 2:11, 13 NLT - "When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision--the cutting away of your sinful nature. ... 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins."
Above, was/is Paul referring to physical life? Of course not, for the Colossians 2:9-15 Scripture set is not referring to things physical, but things that are Spiritual. We were dead because of Sarx, the Sinful State of a person. The footnotes from the NIV regarding this Greek word, Sarx, is as follows:
Rom 09:08 NKJV -
"That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed." -
NIV Footnotes: "In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8."
