Romans 5:16

16 And [shall] not as by one that has sinned [be] the gift? For the judgment [was] of one to condemnation, but the act of favour, of many offences unto justification.

Romans 5:16 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 5:16

And not as [it was] by one that sinned, [so is] the gift,
&c.] The apostle goes on with the dissimilitude between the effects of Adam's sin, and Christ's righteousness:

for the judgment was by one to condemnation;
by "judgment" is meant, not the judgment of God, or the judiciary sentence pronounced by God on Adam and his posterity for sin; but the guilt of the one man's sin, which is imputed to all men to condemnation, on account of which the sentence of condemnation passed on all men; the law transgressed, became a ministration of condemnation to them:

but the free gift is of many offences unto justification;
the righteousness of Christ, which stands opposed to the guilt of Adam's sin, being imputed to all his offspring, is to the justification of them; and that not only from the guilt of that particular offence, but from many other offences, even all their actual sins and transgressions, of every sort; which is another instance of the exuberance, or abounding of the grace of God, in the righteousness of Christ, not only over the sin of the one man, but also over the sins of many, even all the elect of God; for the last clause may be also thus rendered, "the free gift is of the offences of many, unto justification".

Romans 5:16 In-Context

14 but death reigned from Adam until Moses, even upon those who had not sinned in the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is [the] figure of him to come.

15 But [shall] not the act of favour [be] as the offence? For if by the offence of one the many have died, much rather has the grace of God, and the free gift in grace, which [is] by the one man Jesus Christ, abounded unto the many.

16 And [shall] not as by one that has sinned [be] the gift? For the judgment [was] of one to condemnation, but the act of favour, of many offences unto justification.

17 For if by the offence of the one death reigned by the one, much rather shall those who receive the abundance of grace, and of the free gift of righteousness, reign in life by the one Jesus Christ:)

18 so then as [it was] by one offence towards all men to condemnation, so by one righteousness towards all men for justification of life.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or 'And not as by one that sinned [is] the gift.' I would add that I have translated the Greek words, dorema as 'gift,' charisma as 'act of favour,' and dorea as 'free gift.' This will distinguish them.
• [b]. That is, had its foundation in, was grounded on, one single thing or act.
• [c]. Dikaioma; or 'judicial righteousness.' Here the Greek is more exact than English perhaps allows. It is the state of accomplished subsisting righteousness before God, in which justification places us. The word dikaiosis, 'justification,' in ver. 18 and ch. 4.25 is the act of justifying. In English we must use justification for both. I cannot say 'righteousness;' that might be practical. In ch. 4.25 the doing of it was in view, 'for our justifying;' not, as some read, 'because we are justified,' which could only be said in connection with faith, whereas 'for our justifying' is the effect future to the rising again.