Now you might think the first religious concept we all need to learn is this: because of Adam’s sin, we have all become sinners (Romans 5:12). Paul does indeed say that about Adam, but it is clear that in his theology that’s not the most important thing. The most important thing is that the action of Jesus is bigger and stronger and better than the action of Adam: Paul insisted that the grace of God and the free gift have “much more surely … abounded” (5:15). Indeed, “just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all” (5:18). Wait, what? All? All humanity?

A lot of people don’t like that idea; they want the grace of God to be more restrictive. But I’m not making this up: it’s the text of the Bible that asserts that the action of Jesus brings justification and life to all. And because it says that, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (8:1).

But wait: doesn’t it seem like we need some condemnation? I mean, if God isn’t going to punish us for our sins, won’t people take advantage of that and continue to sin, knowing that God’s grace will abound (6:1)? Why bother to be good, if God is going to forgive us regardless? We all know people who take advantage of God’s grace, don’t we – including ourselves! Yet “you’d better be good, or God will send you to hell” is bad theology, and as our own lives demonstrate, it also turns out to be not too effective as a motivation. If we are going to learn to live a markedly Christian life, we’ll need to find another motivation.

After all, there are other motivations. For one, we can recognize that we have been baptized into the death of Christ; we are united with him in his death, and scripture promises that we shall likewise be united with him in his resurrection (6:5). For another, we can recognize that because we are in the Spirit, with the Spirit of God dwelling within us (8:9), we can now live as the children of God (8:16-17). In either case, our delight and confidence in God’s grace can draw us along, rather than our fear of punishment.

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We are your children, Heavenly Father, because you have chosen us and adopted us: not because we earned it (like Adam we have earned condemnation) but because in your mercy, Lord Jesus, that’s how you established it; and because when you come to dwell in our hearts, Spirit of Holiness, you empower us to live that way. What you have done, O God, is the most real thing there ever was. Teach us, we pray, to choose our deeds in accordance with this reality.

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