[Romans 5] Verse 19: For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were set down as sinners, even so, through the obedience of the One the many shall be set down as righteous.

Set down as sinners—the word “sinners,” here, is not an adjective (sinful), but a substantive,—sinners. Verse 19 first sums up the doctrine of our federal guilt by Adam’s sin, then sums up our justification by Christ’s death.

The whole emphasis of verses 12 to 19 is upon the fact that the effect, whether in the case of Adam or in the case of Christ was produced by a federal head acting apart from any actions of those affected. There was a judgment held in Eden, by the righteous God, the pronouncement of which is, “unto all men to condemnation.’’ This, of course, has no reference to eternal damnation, which is a consequence of the rejection of “the Light which has come into the world”—men loving darkness rather than light “because their deeds are evil.” But it does assert a judgment of sinnerhood, by the guilt of Adam’s action, upon the whole human race.

The whole lesson of this passage is, that just as we have Christ only as our righteousness, we have Adam only as sin and death to us. (God’s Word, however, puts Adam’s act and its effect first, as a type of Christ’s work.) We repeat these things over and over, because of their importance, both for our settled peace, and also for our enjoyment of the normal, joyous Christian life.

Even so through the obedience of the One—This was our Lord’s death, as an act of obedience: 

[Vaughan (as so frequently) gives a rendering of startling accuracy concerning disobedience and obedience in verse 19: “The one (parakoees) is properly, mishearing; the other, hupakoees, submissive hearing.” Disobedience in its essence is refusal to hearken; and obedience is bowing the ear to submissive listening.]

“He became obedient unto death, yea, the death of the cross.” 

He was of course always obedient to His Father, but it cannot be too strongly emphasized that His life before the cross,—His “active obedience” as it is called, is not in any sense counted to us for righteousness. 

“I delivered to you,” 

says Paul, 

“first of all, that Christ died for our sins.” 

Before His death He was “holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from sinners.” He Himself said: 

“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” 

Do you not see that those who claim that our Lord’s righteous life under Moses’ Law is reckoned to us for our “active” righteousness; while His death in which He put away our sins, is, as they claim, the “passive” side, are really leaving you, and the Lord too, under the authority of the Law?

“Justified in (the value or power of) His blood,” and of that alone, gives the direct lie to the claim that man must have “an active righteousness” as well as “a passive righteousness.” The specious assertion is, that “inasmuch as we have all broken the Law (although God says that Gentiles were ‘without law’—and those in Christ are not under it!) and inasmuch as man cannot by his works himself recover his righteous standing, Christ, forsooth, came and kept The Law in man’s place (!); and then went to the cross and suffered the penalty of death for man’s guilt so that the result is an ‘active righteousness’ reckoned to man:—that is, Christ’s keeping The Law in man’s place; and, second, a ‘passive righteousness,’ which consists in the putting away of all guilt by the blood of Christ.”

Now, the awful thing here is the unbelief concerning man’s irrecoverable state before God. For not only must Christ’s blood be shed in expiation of our guilt; but we had to die with Christ. We were connected with the old Adam; and the old man—all we had and were in Adam, must be crucified—if we were to be “joined to Another, even to Him that was raised from the dead.” Theological teaching since the Reformation has never set forth clearly our utter end in death with Christ, at the cross.

The fatal result of this terrible error is to leave The Law as claiment over those in Christ: for, “Law has dominion over a man as long as he liveth” (7:1). Unless you are able to believe in your very heart that you died with Christ, that your old man was crucified with Him, and that you were buried, and that your history before God in Adam the first came to an utter end at Calvary, you will never get free from the claims of Law upon your conscience.

I say again, that the Law was given to neither Adam. The first Adam had life: God did not give him law whereby to get life! Not until Moses did the Law come in, and then only as an incidental thing to reveal to man his condition. The Law was not given to the first Adam, nor to the human race; but to Israel only (Deut. 4:5-8; 33:1-5; Ps. 147:19, 20). Again, the Law was not given to the Last Adam! 

“The Last Man Adam became a life-giving spirit”

: this is Christ, Risen from the dead, at God’s right hand, communicating spiritual life. Is He under law? It is only the desperate legality of man’s heart, his self-confidence, that makes him drag in the Law, and cling to the Law,—even though Christ must fulfil it for him! “Vicarious law-keeping” is Galatian heresy!

Our Lord said plainly that His work in this world was to die: 

“The Son of Man came to give His life a ransom”

; and indeed, 

“through the Eternal Spirit He offered Himself without blemish unto God.” 

True, He must be a spotless Lamb. But for what? For sacrifice! He did not touch our case, had no connection with us, until God laid our sins upon Him and made Him to become sin for us at the cross. Christ was not one of our race, “the sons of men”: He was the Seed of the woman, not the man. He was the Son of Man, indeed, for God prepared for Him a body (Ps. 40; Heb. 10), by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35). But, though He moved among sinners, He was “separated from sinners,” and had no connection with them ‘until God made Him their sin offering at the cross.

Christ Himself, Risen, is our righteousness. His earthly life under the Law is not our righteousness. We have no connection with a Christ on earth and under the Law. We are expressly told in Rom. 7:1-6, that even Jewish believers who have been under law were made dead to the Law by the Body of Christ, that they might be joined to Another, even to Him who was raised from the dead. One has beautifully said, “Christianity begins with the resurrection.”

William R. Newell

Excerpt from Romans Verse by Verse Chapter Five