By One Man

Romans 5:18-19

               Therefore as by the offence of one judgement came upon all men to
                condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
                upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's
                disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
                many be made righteous.

Have you ever wondered what your life might be like today, if somebody you knew that passed away was still alive? Maybe its somebody who was a close friend, a family member, a teacher, a co-worker, a boss, etc. Or maybe it's someone you never really knew personally, because they died before you were born. If they were alive today, what impact, if any, would they have on your life today?

I bring this up, because I started to think about my own grandfather (His name was Leland). He had died when I was only just a baby. So, I never really got to know him myself. However, after listening to my parents and my grandmother tell me stories and facts about him and his life I can start to get a sense of who he was as a person and what it would be like if he was still around. I also found out what we both had in common.

Leland liked to listen to big band music. His favorite bandleader was Glenn Miller. Guess what! Glenn Miller is my favorite, too. Apparently, when Leland was working hard, he would stick his tongue slightly out. The same is true with me. If he was still alive today, soon enough you'd probably find us working hard on a project together with our tongues sticking out with Glenn Miller playing in the background!

So, what is the point of this? Well, I wanted to show the effect that just one person (dead or alive) can have on another person. This verse above says that by "one man's disobedience many were made sinners." This one man is, of course, referring to Adam. As Adam sinned in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3), sinned passed over the whole earth and every man, woman, and child since the fall of man are called sinners. We all have a sin nature. "For all have sinned, and have come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23)." And because of the sins we've committed, as Romans 5:18 says, "the offence of one judgement came upon all men to condemnation." Because we are sinners and have sinned against the Almighty God, we deserve condemnation. We deserve death (Rom. 6:23a).

But, thank God that is not how the verse ends! "By the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life," and "by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." This person is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the one that died on the cross for our sins. He is the one that has given us the free gift of eternal life. That gift is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ has already done all the work for us. Our sins are paid for. We were declared guilty and dead in our sin, but now once we accept Christ as our personal Savior we are delivered from the guilt of sin and even death itself. Now, as believers in Christ, we are "dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Rom. 6:11)."

There are many people, including myself, in this world that have already come to know Jesus Christ as their own personal Savior. Christ has already made a big impact on the lives of these people, especially my own life. They once were dead, but now they are made alive because of Him. However, there are still many people in the world that are still lost (dead their in sin). As Ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor. 5:20-21), it is our job to share Christ with those who still have not heard the Gospel of the Grace of God (Acts 20:24). If by one man, sin did enter this world, making everyone a sinner, and if by one man righteousness can come to all, then imagine how many people can hear the preaching of the cross (the gospel; 1 Cor. 1:18; 15:3,4) from just one person (then imagine the impact if every believer shared Christ). One person can have a great impact on many lives. He/she can bring many to the One who died for their sins. So that ultimately, many more could come to know Christ as their Savior and put their faith (trust) in Him.