Romans 5:12-21 Why, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed on all men, for that all have sinned:… Note — I. THAT ALL MANKIND ARE MADE MISERABLE. This needs no proof. Sad experience in all ages confirms the truth of this assertion. II. THAT THIS MISERY CAME UPON MEN BY THE FALL. Man came not out of God's hand with the tear in his eye, or sorrow in his heart, or a burden on his back. Death never could enter the gates of the world till sin set them wide (Genesis 3). And then one sin let in the flood, and many sins followed and increased it. The first pilot dashed the ship on a rock, and then all that were in it were cast into a sea of misery. III. WHAT THAT MISERY IS. Note — 1. Man's loss by the fall. He has lost communion with God. (1) A saving interest in God as his God. Man could then call God his own God, his Friend, his Portion, being in covenant with Him. (2) Sweet and comfortable society and fellowship with God (Genesis 3:8). Thus man lost God (Ephesians 2:12), the greatest and the fountain of all other losses. Had the sun been forever darkened, it had been no such loss as this. Man is a mere nothing without God; a nothing in nature without His common presence, and a nothing in happiness without His gracious presence (Psalm 30:5; Psalm 63:3). 2. What man is brought under by the fall. (1) God's wrath (Ephesians 2:3). (2) His curse (Galatians 3:10). 3. What man is liable to in consequence. (1) In this world. (a) To all the miseries of this life. First, outward miseries, as, God's curse upon the creature for our sake (Genesis 3:17); calamities, such as sword, famine, and pestilence; miseries on men's bodies, sickness, pains, etc.; on our estates, as losses, wrongs, and oppressions; on our names, by reproach, disgrace, etc.; on our employments; on our relations. Secondly, inward spiritual miseries, as "blindness of mind" (Ephesians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 4:4), "a reprobate sense" (Romans 1:28), "strong delusions" (2 Thessalonians 2:11), "hardness of heart" (Romans 2:5), "vile affections" (Romans 1:26), fear, sorrow, and horror of conscience (Isaiah 33:14). (b) At the end of this life, man is liable to death (chap. Romans 6:23). (2) In the world to come. (a) The punishment of loss — of all the good things of this life; of all the good things which they are enjoyed here; the favourable presence and enjoyment of God and Christ (Matthew 25:41); of all the glory and blessedness above. (b) The punishment of sense. Conclusion: 1. See here the great evil of sin. 2. Woeful is the case of all who are in a state of nature. (T. Boston, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: |
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