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"Planted together in the likeness of His death" (Rom. 6: 5).
"Death hath no more dominion over Him" (Rom. 6: 9).
"Whether of sin unto death, or of obedience" (Rom. 6: 16).
"The end of those things is death" (Rom. 6: 21).
"The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6: 23).
"Work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death" (Rom. 7: 5).
"I found to be unto death" (Rom. 7: 10).
"Was then that which is good made death unto me?" (Rom. 7: 13).
"Working death in me by that which is good" (Rom. 7: 13).
"Who shall deliver me from the body of this death" (Rom. 7: 24).
"Hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8: 2).
"For to be carnally minded is death" (Rom. 8: 6).
"For I am persuaded that neither death . . . . . shall be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8: 38, 39).
Here is a list of forty-six references in the short space of these three and a half
chapters; a list formidable enough in itself to establish its supreme importance without
further argument.
In Rom. 5: 12-21 we found the whole section dominated by the word "ONE". We
can now see that the entire passage is concerned with the death brought in by ONE
(Adam), and the death we die in ONE (Christ). Every additional item of truth, every turn
of expression, every modification of a word bears upon this great basic doctrine, life from
death. Service, liberty, victory, all are associated with this twofold theme.
Instead of attempting an analysis of the words and their contexts here, we feel it will
be better if we come fresh to the subject next time, and we therefore ask each reader to
have this present number of the magazine handy then, so that reference may be made to
these passages easily. We will conclude this article with a reference to the teaching of
Rom. 5: 12-14 which, till now, has been passed over in silence:--
"Wherefore, 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: For until the law sin was in the world: but
sin is not imputed where there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to
Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression,
who is the figure of Him that was to come" (Rom. 5: 12-14).
Eph ho, "for that", margin, "in whom". This phrase is variously translated
"whereon", "wherein", "wherefore", "for that", "in whom", and "whereof". It is
made up of two words, "upon" and "which". It marks "the basis, or foundation, and also
the ethical basis, the occasion or cause of an action or emotion, also the moving principle
or suggesting motive" (Dr. Bullinger's Lexicon). It does not mean "in whom"; it reasons
that if death is universal all must in some way be under the imputation of sin.
Immediately the argument takes up an objection. Sin is not imputed where there is no
law, yet sin was in the world before the law of Moses, as is witnessed by the presence of
death during all that period. Moreover death reigned over those who did not sin after the
similitude of Adam's transgression. What does this imply?
"Sinning after" sounds a little like copying Adam, but that is not the sense of the
expression. "According to" is a better rendering. The passage referred to is Hosea 6: 7,