A drive-by posting…
I don’t know if it’s possible to be awestruck and incredulous at the same time. While studying Romans 5:12-21 I became increasingly impressed by the notion that the payment we earn with Adam (i.e. sin & death) is less than(!) the gift we receive through Christ (i.e. righteousness & life). Or, to paraphrase Paul, the (undeserved) gift is much more than the (just) penalty. I deserve judgment but I receive much more grace. I deserve death but am given much more life. As total as death’s reign was over me, much more is my new reign in life through Christ.
But the irrational lopsidedness of this arrangement really smacks you in the face with v16:
The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.
So if 1T = condemnation, then ∞T = justification?!? That kind of math makes Common Core look logical. Cranfield sums it up well:
That one single misdeed should be answered by judgment, this is perfectly understandable: that the accumulated sins and guilt of all the ages should be answered by God’s free gift, this is the miracle of miracles, utterly beyond human comprehension.
according to Script 