15 But the gift is not like the trespass. … 16 The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
The Joyful Certainty of Justification
Faith awakens a sense of rejoicing confidence in our acceptance of God. There is peace where fear ruled; there is hope even in difficult circumstances; there is a growing awareness of God’s love, communicated by the Holy Spirit.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Our inner experience is confirmed by objective evidence. God has “demonstrated his love for us, for while we were still in our sins, Christ died for us.
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Now that we have been brought into harmonious relationship with God (reconciled), we are sure that God will complete the saving work he has begun and preserve us from all that is destructive.
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
Righteousness
In our relationship with Jesus a “righteousness begins to possess us, bringing us new thoughts, new motives and a new way of life. By offering ourselves totally to God, to respond to his Spirit, we are released to experience a truly righteous life which reflects the very character of our Lord (Romans 6:1 – 14)
To me, the gift that is Much More means His death on the cross. God becoming a man. The Much More covers us all with all the sins imaginable. It bundles us up with many layers. For many people who do not have faith, the gospel may be Too Much to accept. For me, the More the Merrier.
