Jeremiah 31:30 KJV, “But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.”
Romans 5:12 Exegesis
1. Some have hijacked Romans chapter 5, beginning at verse 12, falsely promoting the Original Sin heresy. One cult that does this identifies themselves as Calvinist or Reformed theologians. It is time to put this wishful thinking behind us and look more closely at these verses without a predetermined agenda.
2. Romans 5:12-17 KJV, "12 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: 13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. 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, [Yahoshua the] 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, [Yahoshua the] Christ.)"
3.a. Romans 5 KJV, verse "12 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:”. The one man spoken of is the first man Adam. Adam sinned when he ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:17 KJV, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Genesis 3:6 KJV, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
3.b. Verse 12, "and death by sin;". Sin brought death into the world. Romans 6:23 KJV, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through [Yahoshua the] Christ our Lord."
3.c. Verse 12, "and so death passed upon all men,". This phrase in verse 12 is extremely important and cannot be glossed over. It is death that was passed upon all men, not sin. Many die due to the sin of others. It does not mean that they are guilty of sin, it merely means they suffered the consequences of someone else's sin.
There are many examples, both Biblical and empirical, of those who suffer death because of the sin of others. Numbers 16:32 gives one example. Korah and those who followed him sinned against Yahowah. They and their families died by being swallowed up in a sink hole. Not every single member of their families could be guilty of this sin, especially their little children, verse 27, yet they suffered the same penalty and death as their fathers did.
3.d. Verse 12, "for that all have sinned:". Those who strive to follow a god of their own making, with their own determination and will, with their own intellect and imagination will hang their hat on this phrase and say, "See there it is, all have sinned because of Adam's sin." They will further reason, that since some (such as infants) have had no opportunity to sin, then to be part of the "all" then they must have inherited Adam's sin.
What does "for that" really mean? One solid, word for word, translation (the Interlinear Bible by Jay P. Green, Sr.) has translated Strong's 1909 epi επι to mean inasmuch. Inasmuch means insofar or to the extent that. In other words, a more clear translation for this phrase would be: inasmuch as all sinned. The meaning of "inasmuch as all sinned" leaves the door wide open for sinners and those who have not sinned to be part of the "all". This interpretation is compatible with the nature of the God of the Scriptures. One Scripture example is Romans 5:19 KJV, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
Let me rephrase the meaning of "for that”. Look at the meaning of “for that”, which is insomuch. Let us use this adverb in reference to a family of circus acrobats. In this family of people some have attained to a skill level that they can be used to entertain in the circus, some have not but are maturing and practicing so that they too will one day be able to entertain in the circus. Enters the owner and manager of the circus and says, “Inasmuch of you are ready to perform, tomorrow be ready under the big tent at 2 PM. We will have a full audience.” Or, "[T]o the extent that you are ready to perform, tomorrow be ready under the big tent at 2 PM." Did the owner mean for the entire family to perform? No, not at all. He meant for those family members who were practiced and matured to perform, but not the others. And so it is "for that all have sinned”. Death passed onto all of them, but only some had sinned.
But we have not even talked about the Greek word pas πας, which was translated as “all”. Pas can mean all, but it can also mean whosoever and any.
Now let us look at this newly translated phrase: “inasmuch any have sinned”. This phrase is compatible with the God I know. He will not eternally condemn any or whosoever or anyone who has not sinned. But then this is the main thrust of our looking at verse 12. We are looking at those who sinned and cause physical death for themselves and for others. But they do not cause the second death (eternal torment) to fall on others, only on themselves.
Who are those who have not sinned? Infants who have not attained to the awareness of sin by their lack of maturity and lack of intellectual development are incapable of committing a sin. Deuteronomy 1:39 KJV, “Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.” Infants are not guilty of Adam's sin. Infants who have not attained to the age of accountability are not guilty of committing any sin. God does not condemn the innocent to hell. If allowed to grow and mature, surely all will sin, but until that first personal sin is counted against him, the infant is sinless.
Look at 2 Samuel 12:23 KJV, “But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” A newly born child obviously went to be with God, because David knew he would one day again, be with that child of his.
4. Romans 5 KJV, verse “13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.” As we learned in verse 12, sin brought physical death into the world. But sin is not imputed when there is no law. In other words, the judgment of the second death does not come upon these men, even though the first death did, until the law condemns them.
5. Romans 5 KJV, verse “14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.” Verse 14 sums up the information given in verses 12 and 13. Physical death did indeed reign from Adam, the first transgressor, until Moses, the law giver. Death reigned even over those who had not sinned.
6. Romans 5 KJV, verse “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, [Yahoshua the] Christ, hath abounded unto many.” So, if death was brought into the world through one man, Adam, then how much more the gift of grace (life) has been given to many because of Yahoshua the Christ. Logically, if one man can bring death, then so can one man bring life. And what a man it was that brought life: The God-man, only one of a kind, Yahoshua the Christ and no other.
7. Romans 5 KJV, verse “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.” This gift of life was given not just for Adam’s sin, but for “many offences”. It was given for all sin.
8. Romans 5 KJV, verse “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, [Yahoshua the] Christ.)” Did I introduce the word “life” too soon in the discussion a few paragraphs ago? Well, here it is, plainly spelled out. Physical death reigned by one man Adam and life reigned by Yahoshua the Christ.
9. This begs the question, why have some, as I mentioned at the beginning, hijacked these verses and turned our loving, caring, and just Father, into an arbitrary and capricious god, who punishes those who have not sinned? The best answer I can give is to explain again that many study the Bible and try to learn about God without entering through the gate, which is Yahoshua the Christ. They do this in their own strength, their own volition, their own intelligence, and even in their own sincerity, but they will not do it by the shed Blood of Christ, nor by His Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit guiding them, they cannot understand Who God really is no matter how hard they try. Without the Holy Spirit they cannot discern the Bible properly.
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