< Romans 5 >

The apostle emphasises the happy position of those who believe the gospel, a position which is only possible because of God’s love demonstrated in sacrificing his Son, for we are saved by his death and resurrection.

The word for "to or into" in Greek is 'eis' and correctly translated in "sin entered into the world", but not in "death passed upon all men". This should read, "death passed into all men", which is exactly what happened as a result of Adam's disobedience. Because of his action, sin is in our bodies from birth so we are commanded not to let this sin reign in us. (Romans 6:12)Romans 6:12XWaiting for response

In addition, the word translated 'for' is the Greek 'epi', meaning 'upon' or 'on top of'. Wrongly translating it as 'for' (because) expresses the opposite of the Spirit's meaning and has caused misunderstanding and controversy for centuries. It is true that "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed into all men", but not true that this was because "all have sinned", i.e. that Adam sinned because all men sin. But if the correct translation is made, the truth is expressed clearly and without controversy: "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed into all men, on top of that all have sinned."

"Experts" consistently translate this verse incorrectly, no doubt because they have wrong views of the atonement, but we should dismiss their misrepresentations and faithfully take the original scripture by the Spirit as the Truth of this vital first principle!

We need saving from sin and death which was introduced into the world by the disobedience of the first man, Adam. Jesus did the opposite: introducing righteousness and salvation by his obedience. Just as Adam’s sin resulted in a great many dying for ever, so Jesus’ obedience will result in a great many living for ever.

Figures of speech are common in the Bible and the apostle here uses personification to represent sin as one king and the grace of God as another. One of these kings gives death to its subjects, but the other gives life.