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. 16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 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.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
Paul compares side by side the first and the last Adam to show the fruit of the last. Though Adam is here, this section’s focus is on the last Adam and what He accomplished. The offence of the first lead to death for all whom he represented. Death passed upon all verse 12.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:12 tells us that sin passed upon all. Here the original language states this as the sin. It then tells us of the death. This was passed from the first Adam to all men. It was no different than if we were Adam. The wages of his sin was death. His sin is our sin. We inherited death as well. The sin of Adam passed to all of us.
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
David shows us that none, even those just conceived cannot escape the wages of sin. There is a contrast here. You may say the effects of sin are great. Even greater are the effects of the second Adam. Death came by one but grace by the other. The grace that came by Jesus Christ was infinitely more costly than the death that Adam had brought. The life of the Son of God brought grace. By the offence of the first Adam came condemnation to all his seed, conversely by the last Adam to His seed came justification. In the same manner, by representation these occurred. When Adam sinned, death passed. When Christ died, life passed. Sin was not imputed individually. Righteousness was not imputed individually. All were condemned at once in Adam and in the same way all were made just in Christ. Judgment came by the disobedience of Adam; righteousness came by the obedience of Christ. In the same way these imputations occurred. When Adam disobeyed God, it was as if all his posterity did just the same. When Christ obeyed God unto death, it was as if all His posterity did just the same.
We see a purpose clause in Romans 5:10. We are continuously saved by His life. Verse 19 also contains a purpose clause. These were clauses that were used to show purpose or intention. They show how one action was performed to enact a purpose. By the obedience of one, by the obedience of Christ, shall many be made righteous. That was the purpose? He obeyed so many would be made righteous. This is not pointing off into the future. If Paul meant a future righteousness, then he has gone against his previous statements. If they are made righteous in the future, then how are those who came before Christ made righteous? Paul is showing the purpose of His obedience. By that obedience His many were made righteous. It was done with a present and ongoing effect. We were justified and we are kept justified in an ongoing way. This action began at the obedience of Christ and has an ongoing effect.
These few verses in Romans show us a side-by-side comparison and explain through example the idea of imputation. Both Adam and Christ had their respective seeds. These were those who would receive the merits of their works. The merit of the disobedience of Adam was imputed to all his seed, all of humanity. The merits of Christ’s work, His obedience, was imputed to His seed. From one, sin and condemnation came. From one, righteousness and justification came. We have death from one and life from the other. How death came from one, life came from the other. Sin was imputed to all at once. Righteousness was imputed to His all at once. Christ’s work was completed. The imputations that we see here have nothing to do with the deeds of the recipients. There was nothing lacking for God to withhold the imputation of righteousness. All from the Old and New Testaments received that imputation at one time.
Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
The righteousness earned by Christ required no addition from its recipient. For God to withhold this righteousness from us is not scriptural. When Christ succeeded in His obedience the merit of that obedience was then and there imputed to all those for whom He came to save from their sins. This righteousness came by the propitiation for which Christ was set forth. It came through the faith of Christ, the contents of His gospel. It took blood to satisfy God. 2000 years ago, God the Father saw the blood of God the Son and was well pleased. Righteousness had been fulfilled and now was manifest. Faith is imparted to us today to see this righteousness. Righteousness is revealed from the body of work of Jesus Christ to our personal faith. Do not make faith a condition and mix grace with works. Do not make grace of debt. God the Father was in God the Son reconciling all things unto Himself. We took no part in the actions required to do so. We only rest in the finished work of our Savior Jesus Christ and look to Him for our righteousness.