Romans 5:15
“But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.” KJ
In this passage the Apostle Paul is specifically comparing the impact of two events: The offence (Adam’s fall in Genesis 3) and what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. He writes that both events affect mankind but the effect is different.
The King James version uses two phrases, ‘much more’ and ‘abounded’, to describe the comparison between these two events. He writes that the free gift impacts us “much more” than the offence, and the free gift “abounds to many.”
Justification surpasses Adam’s transgression in the quantity of its effects. Adam’s transgression brought universal death. The free gift of justification in God’s grace and Christ’s kindness more than repairs this in blessing. – HUDSON
God’s free gift immeasurably outweighs the transgression… – WEYMOUTH
…the free gift that comes to us through Christ far exceeds any damage done to us by Adam’s fall. – LOVETT
We can all agree on the steep price we have paid in our lives because of sin. It has impacted relationships, our dreams, our health and more. There are things we should not have said and should not have done; there are things others did to us and said to us. We try to forget about all the mistakes but some of them stay with us and might even make us gasp just at the memory of them. Some people have a list of people to avoid because of something they did to them.
And yet this verse tells us that what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross has the potential to have a greater impact on us than the effect of sin. Imagine not being defined by the mistakes we made, but instead by the goodness of God to us through Jesus Christ. Imagine that every sin is not only covered, but more than repaired. Not just evened up, but immeasurably outweighed. Imagine that what anyone ever did to you was far exceeded by what Jesus Christ did for you on the cross. It almost sounds too good to be true, but the Word of God says that this is indeed true.
Years ago, when I read this verse, the Hudson paraphrase in particular jumped out at me. More than repairs. Immediately, I realized this was not how I had pictured the impact of salvation. I knew my sins were forgiven and I knew I had a personal relationship with God, but I did not realize the full impact that was available to me because of the cross of Jesus Christ.
My mind went back to one of the biggest events in my life- my father passed away when I was 16. It happened suddenly; he had been sick for six weeks before he passed away. The minute that he died, I heard over and over in my head, “What are you going to do now? What are you going to do now?” The next few months were a difficult time and so many people wanted to encourage us but they really did not know what to say. I found myself repeating what people said; “Difficult thing to go through,” “What a terrible time for this to happen.” I had never been through anything like this before, and their words stuck with me. Every year, as I approached the anniversary of his death, I reflected back on that time in my life. I never doubted God, His call upon my life, or that He was the healer, but I had struggled in my expectation in life. Life was a struggle financially. My expectations had plummeted, all because my father passed away when I was 16. It seemed to happen at a critical time in my life.
I rehearsed the story for five years, ten years, fifteen years and more.
Twenty years later I still saw myself as the young man whose father passed away. I did not verbalize it but that identity was there, just below the surface. I saw myself as an orphan, always lacking, destined to suffer the rest of my life.
But that all changed one day. When I read that what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross “more than repairs,” “immeasurably outweighs the transgression” and “far exceeds any damage”, something inside me clicked. I was tired of being the victim. I began to say out loud, “What Jesus did for me on the cross more than repairs what I lost when my father passed away.” After twenty minutes of speaking this verse over and over, something happened. I got a revelation of Jesus Christ; it’s as if a chain inside me snapped and I was free. No longer do I see myself as the young man whose father passed away; on that day I lost that identity. I see myself as a child of God. I see that what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross is so much greater than anything else that can ever happen to me.
God has been so good to me!