Video Notes:

• Sin came into the world through Adam (the Fall) and the wages of sin is death. Since sin (sinful nature) was then passed down from generation to generation making all people sinners, death also came to all people. It’s important to note that sin is singular, referring to the sinful nature and the force of sin, not individual sins we commit as a result of that sinful nature. The individual resultant sins are spoken of at the end of verse 12 when it says, “because all sinned.”
• So, sin enters the world through Adam and death through Adams sin. Because of this, Adam’s new sinful nature is passed on to all his descendants. We then also sin and thus death continues to reign.
• Paul the pauses the thought and adds a parenthesis statement to explain some things. He’ll come back to his thought in verse 15 which we will discuss in the service on Sunday and verses 17 and 18 which we’ll talk about on Monday.
• Sin was in the world before the Law was given to Moses. Sin entered through Adam. However, since people didn’t have the Law, the sin isn’t considered a “transgression”, i.e. people weren’t intentionally violating (transgressing) and known Law.
• Sin is still sin, though, and death is still the wage of sin.
• Death reigned – Notice how sin and death are spoken of as powers that rule inescapably over man. There is only one who could break that reign, the one who was to come and who has all authority in heaven and on earth, Jesus Christ.
• We struggle with the idea of many being affected by the one. We, in America, are very individualistic, but other cultures around the world understand the idea of corporate effects like one person’s actions bringing shame or dishonor on their whole family or village.
• Perhaps it’s helpful to think of sin like a genetic disease that is inherited from one generation to the next, but rulership is really the more accurate way to think of it. Adam was given dominion over all the earth. He was man’s ruling representative. When that ruler sinned, it effected his whole kingdom. If a ruler goes to war, the whole kingdom goes to war. We shouldn’t forget, though, that we all sin, too, and are just as guilty as Adam. Adam may have declared war, but we all volunteered to be in the army to continue to fight that war. Thankfully, just like a ruler can place the entire kingdom at war, If a ruler brings peace, the whole kingdom lives in peace. Adam brought war, but Jesus brings peace.