For All Sinned
A Sermon on Romans 5:12-21
Originally preached Feb. 28, 1958
Scripture
12Wherefore, 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. 14Nevertheless death …
Sermon Description
The Bible tells that all humans are guilty of sin. In this sermon on Romans 5:12–21 “For All Sinned”, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones dives deeper into this truth to discover the magnitude of what this actually means. He begins by showing through Scripture that sin goes all the way back to the first sin of Adam. Death, the punishment of sin, was passed to all generations through the first act of sin by Adam. He points out how this means sin and its consequences were evident even before the law was given. Adam’s sin was imputed to all humanity from the very beginning, causing all to be guilty of sin. However, Dr. Lloyd-Jones does not stop there and instead goes on to show the parallel between the relationship with Adam and the relationship with Jesus. The same way that Adam imputed sin to humanity through his actions, Jesus likewise imputed His righteousness to them. Just as one offense brought death to all humanity, so also Jesus’s one act of obedience put all offenses aside in forgiveness. He concludes by showing the beauty of the justification Jesus brought in light of this parallel.
Sermon Breakdown
- Sin entered the world through Adam, and death came through sin. Death spread to all people because all sinned.
- A better translation of Romans 5:12 is “because all sinned” rather than “for that all have sinned.” This refers to a specific historical act of sin by Adam.
- Verses 13-14 explain verse 12. Before the law was given, sin was in the world, though not counted as transgression. Still, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin like Adam.
- The passage compares Adam and Christ. We are in Adam and Christ in the same way. What is true of one is true of the other.
- Verse 15: Through one man’s offense, many died. This shows we were somehow in Adam’s sin.
- Verse 16: One man’s sin led to condemnation. The free gift led to justification from many sins.
- Verse 17: One man’s sin brought death. One man, Christ, brings life.
- Verses 18-19: One man’s sin brought condemnation. One man’s righteousness brought justification. By one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.
- “Made sinners” means “constituted sinners” or “regarded as sinners.” We were made sinners through Adam’s disobedience, just as we are made righteous through Christ’s obedience.
- Adam’s sin is imputed to us, just as Christ’s righteousness is imputed to believers. We die because of Adam’s sin, which we are held guilty of.
- We do not understand how this works, but we accept it because Scripture teaches it. We accept mysteries like the Trinity, Christ’s natures, and atonement.
- When Adam sinned, all sinned. This is why death spread to all. We were in Adam. Now believers are in Christ.
The Book of Romans
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.