Answers from church history on today's questions
What Christian writers said, from about AD 174 to 1949.
50 passages · 25 writers · 9 centuries
Writers expounding Romans 5:12-21 read it as saying that sin entered the world by one man and that death passed on all men because all have sinned. Owen and Edwards say the guilt of Adam's first sin is imputed to all, Hodge says the sin of Adam is the ground on which the sentence of death passed on all men, and Calvin says we are not condemned through imputation alone but are also guilty because our nature is vitiated in Adam. Augustine says the words mean that sin passed to all men by birth and not by imitation, and Aquinas says the apostle meant that sin entered in the way of origin and not imitation, since death reigned even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam's transgression. Barnes says in his note on verse 12 that the apostle states a simple fact and in his note on verse 14 that the apostle says not one word about imputation, and Schaff calls Augustine's exegesis untenable while holding that Paul teaches a causal connection between the sin of Adam and the sinfulness of his posterity. Calvin and Spurgeon quote Romans 5:19 on one man's disobedience making many sinners and one man's obedience making many righteous.
17 passages · 9 writers · 400s to 1900s
Augustine and Edwards read 'in whom all have sinned' or 'for that all have sinned' as saying that all sinned in Adam's first sin, and Owen reads it as the sin of Adam and our interest in it. Calvin reads 'we have all sinned' as the natural corruption that Adam's fall brought on his posterity. Aquinas reads the verse as saying that sin entered in the way of origin and not imitation.
c. 406–421 · Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on the Gospel of John (In Iohannis Evangelium Tractatus CXXIV) 49.12
When a man is born, he is born already in a state of death; for he inherits sin from Adam. Hence the apostle says: “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so that passed upon all men, wherein all have sinned.”
411–412 · Augustine of Hippo, On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants (De peccatorum meritis et remissione) 3.7.14
The apostle exclaims: “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so it passed upon all men, in which all have sinned.” Now from these words it cannot certainly be said, that Adam’s sin has injured even those who commit no sin, for the Scripture says, “In which all have sinned.” Nor, indeed, are those sins of infancy so said to be another’s, as if they did not belong to the infants at all, inasmuch as all then sinned in Adam, when in his nature, by virtue of that innate power whereby he was able to produce them, they were all as yet the one Adam; but they are called another’s, because as yet they were not living their own lives, but the life of the one man contained whatsoever was in his future posterity.
c. 419–421 · Augustine of Hippo, On Marriage and Concupiscence (De nuptiis et concupiscentia) 2.27.45
Now, there is an answer for him to all these questions given by the apostle, who censures neither the infant’s will, which is not yet matured in him for sinning, nor marriage, which, as such, has not only its institution, but its blessing also, from God; nor parents, so far as they are parents, who are united together properly and lawfully for the procreation of children; but he says, “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men for in him all have sinned.” Now, if these persons would only receive this statement with catholic hearts and ears, they would not have rebellious feelings against the grace and faith of Christ, nor would they vainly endeavour to convert to their own particular and heretical sense these very clear and manifest words of the apostle, when they assert that the purport of the passage is to this effect: that Adam was the first to sin, and that any one who wished afterwards to commit sin found an example for sinning in him; so that sin, you must know, did not pass from this one upon all men by birth, but by the imitation of this one. Whereas it is certain that if the apostle meant this imitation to be here understood, he would have said that sin had entered into the world and passed upon all men, not by one man, but rather by the devil. For of the devil it is written: “They that are on his side do imitate him.” He used the phrase “by one man,” from whom the generation of men, of course, had its beginning, in order to show us that original sin had passed upon all men by generation.
c. 420–421 · Augustine of Hippo, Against Two Letters of the Pelagians (Contra duas epistulas Pelagianorum) 4.4.7
But if “sin” cannot be understood by those words of the apostle as being that “wherein all have sinned,” because in Greek, from which the Epistle is translated, “sin” is expressed in the feminine gender, it remains that all men are understood to have sinned in that first “man,” because all men were in him when he sinned; and from him sin is derived by birth, and is not remitted save by being born again. For thus also the sainted Hilary understood what is written, “wherein all have sinned;” for he says, “wherein,” that is, in Adam, “all have sinned.” Then he adds, “It is manifest that all have sinned in Adam, as it were in the mass; for he himself was corrupted by sin, and all whom he begot were born under sin.” When he wrote this, Hilary, without any ambiguity, indicated how we should understand the words, “wherein all have sinned.”
c. 420–421 · Augustine of Hippo, Against Two Letters of the Pelagians (Contra duas epistulas Pelagianorum) 4.4.7
What, then, is the meaning of what follows, “Whereto all have sinned”? For either the apostle says that in that “one man” all have sinned of whom he had said, “By one man sin entered into the world,” or else in that “sin,” or certainly in “death.” For it need not disturb us that he said not “in which” [using the feminine form of the pronoun], but “in whom” [using the masculine] all have sinned; since “death” in the Greek language is of the masculine gender. Let them, then, choose which they will,—for either in that “man” all have sinned, and it is so said because when he sinned all were in him; or in that “sin” all have sinned, because that was the doing of all in general which all those who were born would have to derive; or it remains for them to say that in that “death” all sinned.
1261–1264 · Thomas Aquinas, Of God and His Creatures: An Annotated Translation (With some Abridgement) of the Summa contra Gentiles 4.50
This expressly appears from the words of the Apostle: As by one man sin came into the world, and by sin death, so death passed on to all men, seeing that all have sinned (Rom. v, 12). It cannot be said that by one man sin entered into the world by way of imitation, because in that interpretation sin would have reached only to those who imitate the first man in sinning; and since by sin death came into the world, death would reach only those who sin in the likeness of the first man that sinned. But to exclude this interpretation the Apostle adds: Death reigned from Adam to Moses even over those who did not sin in the likeness of the transgression of Adam. The Apostle’s meaning therefore was not that by one man sin entered into the world in the way of imitation, but in the way of origin. Moreover, the common custom of the Church is to administer baptism to new-born children. But there would be no purpose in such administration, unless there were sin in them.
1540 · John Calvin, Commentary on Romans 5.12
Observe the order which he keeps here; for he says, that sin preceded, and that from sin death followed. There are indeed some who contend, that we are so lost through Adam’s sin, as though we perished through no fault of our own, but only, because he had sinned for us. But Paul distinctly affirms, that sin extends to all who suffer its punishment: and this he afterwards more fully declares, when subsequently he assigns a reason why all the posterity of Adam are subject to the dominion of death; and it is even this — because we have all, he says, sinned. But to sin in this case, is to become corrupt and vicious; for the natural depravity which we bring, from our mother’s womb, though it brings not forth immediately its own fruits, is yet sin before God, and deserves his vengeance: and this is that sin which they call original. For as Adam at his creation had received for us as well as for himself the gifts of God’s favor, so by falling away from the Lord, he in himself corrupted, vitiated, depraved, and ruined our nature; for having been divested of God’s likeness, he could not have generated seed but what was like himself. Hence we have all sinned; for we are all imbued with natural corruption, and so are become sinful and wicked. Frivolous then was the gloss, by which formerly the Pelagians endeavored to elude the words of Paul, and held, that sin descended by imitation from Adam to the whole human race; for Christ would in this case become only the exemplar and not the cause of righteousness.
1645 · Edward Fisher, The Marrow of Modern Divinity Part I, Chapter I
Yea, indeed; for says the apostle, (Rom 5:12), "Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned"; or, "in whom all have sinned," that is, in Adam. The very truth is, Adam by his fall threw down our whole nature headlong into the same destruction, and drowned his whole offspring in the same gulf of misery, and the reason is, because, by God's appointment, he was not to stand or fall as a single person only, but as a common public person, representing all mankind to come of him: therefore, as all that happiness, all those gifts, and endowments, which were bestowed upon him, were not bestowed upon him alone, but also upon the whole nature of man, and as that covenant which was made with him, was made with the whole of mankind; even so he by breaking covenant lost all, as well for us as for himself. As he received all for himself and us, so he lost all both for himself and us.
1677 · John Owen, The Doctrine of Justification by Faith, through the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ 18
It is hence manifest what sin it is that the apostle intends, — namely, the actual sin of Adam, — the one sin of that one common person, whilst he was so. For although the corruption and depravation of our nature does necessarily ensue thereon, in every one that is brought forth actually to the world by natural generation; yet is it the guilt of Adam’s actual sin alone that rendered them all obnoxious unto death upon the first entrance of sin into the world. So death entered by sin, — the guilt of it, obnoxiousness unto it; and that with respect unto all men universally. Death here comprises the whole punishment due unto sin, be it what it will, concerning which we need not here to dispute: “The wages of sin is death,” Rom. vi. 23, and nothing else. Whatever sin deserves in the justice of God, whatever punishment God at any time appointed or threatened unto it, it is comprised in death: “In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die the death.” This, therefore, the apostle lays down as the foundation of his discourse, and of the comparison which he intends, — namely, that in and by the actual sin of Adam, all men are made liable unto death, or unto the whole punishment due unto sin; that is, the guilt of that sin is imputed unto them. For nothing is intended by the imputation of sin unto any, but the rendering them justly obnoxious unto the punishment due unto that sin; as the not imputing of sin is the freeing of men from being subject or liable unto punishment. And this sufficiently evidences the vanity of the Pelagian gloss, that death passed upon all merely by virtue of natural propagation from him who had deserved it, without any imputation of the guilt of sin unto them; which is a contradiction unto the plain words of the apostle. For it is the guilt of sin, and not natural propagation, that he affirms to be the cause of death.
1677 · John Owen, The Doctrine of Justification by Faith, through the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ 18
The entrance of sin and punishment into the world was by one man; and that by one sin, as he afterwards declares: yet were they not confined unto the person of that one man, but belonged equally unto all. This the apostle expresses, inverting the order of the effect and cause. In the entrance of it he first mentions the cause or sin, and then the effect or punishment: “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;” but in the application of it unto all men, he expresses first the effect and then the cause: “Death passed on all men, for that all have sinned.” Death, on the first entrance of sin, passed on all, — that is, all men became liable and obnoxious unto it, as the punishment due to sin. All men that ever were, are, or shall be, were not then existent in their own persons; but yet were they all of them then, upon the first entrance of sin, made subject to death, or liable unto punishment. They were so by virtue of divine constitution, upon their federal existence in the one man that sinned. And actually they became obnoxious in their own persons unto the sentence of it upon their first natural existence, being born children of wrath.
c. 1714 · John Evans, Commentary on Romans 5.6-21
Sin entered into the world by Adam, for in him we all sinned. As, 1 Cor. xv. 22, in Adam all die; so here, in him all have sinned; for it is agreeable to the law of all nations that the acts of a public person be accounted theirs whom they represent; and what a whole body does every member of the same body may be said to do. Now Adam acted thus as a public person, by the sovereign ordination and appointment of God, and yet that founded upon a natural necessity; for God, as the author of nature, had made this the law of nature, that man should beget in his own likeness, and so the other creatures. In Adam therefore, as in a common receptacle, the whole nature of man was reposited, from him to flow down in a channel to his posterity; for all mankind are made of one blood (Acts xvii. 26), so that according as this nature proves through his standing or falling, before he puts it out of his hands, accordingly it is propagated from him. Adam therefore sinning and falling, the nature became guilty and corrupt, and is so derived. Thus in him all have sinned.
1757 · Jonathan Edwards, The Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended 2.4.2
As this place in general is very full and plain, so the doctrine of the corruption of nature, as derived from Adam, and also the imputation of his first sin, are both clearly taught in it. The imputation of Adam’s one transgression, is indeed most directly and frequently asserted. We are here assured, that by one man’s sin, death passed on all; all being adjudged to this punishment, as having sinned (so it is implied) in that one man’s sin. And it is repeated, over and over, that all are condemned, many are dead, many made sinners, &c. by one man’s offence, by the disobedience of one, and by one offence. And the doctrine of original depravity is also here taught, when the apostle says, “By one man sin entered into the world;” having a plain respect (as hath been shown) to that universal corruption and wickedness, as well as guilt, of which he had before largely treated.
1757 · Jonathan Edwards, The Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended 2.4.2
The passage implies, that sin became universal in the world; as the apostle had before largely shown it was; and not merely (which would be a trifling observation) that one man, who was made first, sinned first, before other men sinned; or, that it did not so happen that many men began to sin just together at the same moment. The latter part of the verse, “and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that (or, if you will, unto which) all have sinned,” shows, that in the eye of the Judge of the world, in Adam’s first sin, all sinned; not only in some sort, but all sinned so as to be exposed to that death, and final destruction, which is the proper wages of sin. The same doctrine is taught again twice over in the 14th verse. It is there observed, as a proof of this doctrine, that “death reigned over them which had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression,” i. e. by their personal act; and therefore could be exposed to death, only by deriving guilt and pollution from Adam, in consequence of his sin.
1757 · Jonathan Edwards, The Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended 2.4.1
What the apostle means by sin, in the latter part of the verse, is evident, by comparing it with the former part; the last clause being exegetical of the first. “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that (or unto which) all have sinned.” Here sin and death are so spoken of in the former and in the latter part that the same things are clearly meant by the terms in both parts. Besides, to interpret sinning, here, by falling under the suffering of death, is yet the more violent and unreasonable, because the apostle in this very place once and again distinguishes between sin and death; plainly speaking of one as the effect, and the other the cause. So in the 21st verse, “that as sin hath reigned unto death;” and in the 12th verse, ”sin entered into the world, and death by sin.’’ And this plain distinction holds through all the discourse, as between death and the offence, ver. 15. and ver. 17. . and between the offence and condemnation, ver. 18. .
1757 · Jonathan Edwards, The Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended 2.4.2
What has been said, may, as I humbly conceive, lead us to that which is the true scope and sense of the apostle in these three verses; which I will endeavour more briefly to represent in the following paraphrase. “The things which I have largely insisted on, viz. the evil that is in the world, the general wickedness, guilt, and ruin of mankind, and the opposite good, even justification and life, as only by Christ, lead me to observe the likeness of the manner in which they are each of them introduced. For it was by one man that the general corruption and guilt which I have spoken of, came into the world, and condemnation and death by sin: and this dreadful punishment and ruin came on all mankind by the great law of works, originally established with mankind in their first father, and by his one offence, or breach of that law; all thereby becoming sinners in God’s sight, and exposed to final destruction. Rom. v. 12. 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
1767 · John Gill, A Body of Doctrinal Divinity Chapter 10. Of the Imputation of Adam’s Sin to All his Posterity
Nor is it any objection to this truth, that Adam’s posterity were not in being when his disobedience was committed, and so could have no concern in it: but though they had not an actual being, yet they had a virtual and representative one; they were in him both seminally and federally; and “sinned in him” too (Rom. 5:12), as Levi was in the loins of Abraham, and paid tithes to Melchizedek (Heb. 7:9,10).
1938 · William R. Newell, Romans Verse-by-Verse 5
: This whole plan of salvation,—by Christ’s work, not ours, which we have been considering in Chapters Three, Four and Five, gives rise to the “therefore” which introduces this verse: Therefore [this plan of salvation of all by a single Redeemer], is on the same principle as when through [the other] one man sin entered the world; and, with it, its wages, death. Paul proceeds to emphasize that it was in that way,—that is, by one man, that death passed to all men, because when Adam sinned, all sinned. It was a federal representative act.
17 passages · 14 writers · 100s to 1900s
Irenaeus, Calvin, and Owen set one man's disobedience beside one man's obedience, and Hodge and Berkhof say that as men are condemned in Adam, believers are justified in Christ. Wesley says the many made sinners were in the loins of their first parent, the common head and representative of them all.
c. 180 · Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3.21.10
For as by one man’s disobedience sin entered, and death obtained [a place] through sin; so also by the obedience of one man, righteousness having been introduced, shall cause life to fructify in those persons who in times past were dead.
411–412 · Augustine of Hippo, On the Merits and Forgiveness of Sins, and on the Baptism of Infants (De peccatorum meritis et remissione) 1.15.19
Hence the terms “all men” and “all men.” For not they who are generated through Adam are actually the very same as those who are regenerated through Christ; but yet the language of the apostle is strictly correct, because as none partakes of carnal generation except through Adam, so no one shares in the spiritual except through Christ. For if any could be generated in the flesh, yet not by Adam; and if in like manner any could be generated in the Spirit, and not by Christ; clearly “all” could not be spoken of either in the one class or in the other.
c. 419–421 · Augustine of Hippo, On Marriage and Concupiscence (De nuptiis et concupiscentia) 2.27.46
Let these objectors tell us how it can be “by one offence unto condemnation,” unless it be that even the one original sin which has passed over unto all men is sufficient for condemnation? Whereas the free gift delivers from many offences to justification, because it not only cancels the one offence, which is derived from the primal sin, but all others also which are added in every individual man by the motion of his own will.
1559 · John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 2.1.6
There is no obscurity in the words, “As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Accordingly, the relation subsisting between the two is this, As Adam, by his ruin, involved and ruined us, so Christ, by his grace, restored us to salvation. In this clear light of truth I cannot see any need of a longer or more laborious proof. Thus, too, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, when Paul would confirm believers in the confident hope of the resurrection, he shows that the life is recovered in Christ which was lost in Adam (1 Cor. 15:22). Having already declared that all died in Adam, he now also openly testifies, that all are imbued with the taint of sin.
1677 · John Owen, The Doctrine of Justification by Faith, through the Imputation of the Righteousness of Christ 12
It is his ordinance, that as “through the offence of one many are dead,” so “disgrace, and the gift of grace, through one man, Christ Jesus, has abounded unto many;” and “as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men unto condemnation, so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all unto the righteousness of life;” and “by the obedience of one many are made righteous;” as the apostle argues, Rom. v. For “God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,” chap. viii. 3, 4; for he was “the end of the law” (the whole end of it), “for righteousness unto them that do believe,” chap. x. 4. This is the appointment of the wisdom, righteousness, and grace of God, that the whole righteousness and obedience of Christ should be accepted as our complete righteousness before him, imputed unto us by his grace, and applied unto us or made ours through believing; and, consequently, unto all that believe. And if the actual sin of Adam be imputed unto us all, who derive our nature from him, unto condemnation, though he sinned not in our circumstances and relations, is it strange that the actual obedience of Christ should be imputed unto them who derive a spiritual nature from him, unto the justification of life?
c. 1714 · John Evans, Commentary on Romans 5.6-21
It is but the guilt of one single offence of Adam's that is laid to our charge: The judgment was ex henos eis katakrima, by one, that is, by one offence, v. 16, 17, Margin. But from Jesus Christ we receive and derive an abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness. The stream of grace and righteousness is deeper and broader than the stream of guilt; for this righteousness does not only take away the guilt of that one offence, but of many other offences, even of all.
1754 · John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on Romans 5.19
As by the disobedience of one man many (that is, all men) were constituted sinners - Being then in the loins of their first parent, the common head and representative of them all.
1767 · John Gill, A Body of Doctrinal Divinity Chapter 10. Of the Imputation of Adam’s Sin to All his Posterity
It remains that the posterity of Adam are only “made” sinners through the imputation of his disobedience to them. And this imputation is not to be considered in a moral sense, as the action of a man committed by himself, whether good or bad, is condemned and reckoned unto him as his own, whether in a way of praise or dispraise; as the zealous good work of Phinehas in slaying two persons in the very act of sin, was “counted unto him for righteousness”; that is, was judged, reckoned, and esteemed a righteous, worthy, and commendable action; but in a “forensic”, judicial, and legal sense; as when one man’s debts are in a legal way placed to the account of another, as if they were his, though not personally contracted by him. An instance of this we have in the apostle Paul, who said to Philemon, concerning Onesimus; “If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee anything”, ellogei, “let it be imputed to me”, or placed to and put on my account. And thus the posterity of Adam are made sinners by Adam’s disobedience, that being imputed to them, and put to their account, as if it had been committed by them personally, though it was not.
1871 · Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 2 (Part II, Anthropology; Part III, Soteriology, chapters I-XIV) 2.8.13
Paul does argue, in Rom. v. 12-20, to prove that as in our justification the righteousness on the ground of which we are accepted is not subjectively ours, but the righteousness of another, even Christ; so the primary ground of our condemnation to death is the sin of Adam, something outside of ourselves, and not personally ours. But it is to be borne in mind that the death of which he speaks in accordance with the uniform usage of Scripture, in such connections, is the death of a man; a death appropriate to his nature as a moral being formed in the image of God. The death threatened to Adam was not the mere dissolution of his body, but spiritual death, the loss of the life of God.
1871 · David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on Romans 5.19
Second, The significant word twice rendered made, does not signify to work a change upon a person or thing, but to constitute or ordain, as will be seen from all the places where it is used. Here, accordingly, it is intended to express that judicial act which holds men, in virtue of their connection with Adam, as sinners; and, in connection with Christ, as righteous. Third, The change of tense from the past to the future—"as through Adam we were made sinners, so through Christ we shall be made righteous"—delightfully expresses the enduring character of the act, and of the economy to which such acts belong, in contrast with the for-ever-past ruin of believers in Adam.
1872 · Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 3 (Part III, chapters XV-XX; Part IV, Eschatology) 3.17.6
The former, he says, was a type of the latter. There is an analogy between our relation to Adam and our relation to Christ. We are so united to Adam that his first transgression was the ground of the sentence of condemnation being passed on all mankind, and on account of that condemnation we derive from him a corrupt nature so that all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation, come into the world in a state of spiritual death. In like manner we are so united to Christ, when we believe, that his obedience is the ground on which a sentence of justification passes upon all thus in Him, and in consequence of that sentence they derive from Him a new, holy, divine, and imperishable principle of spiritual life.
1893 · Robert Rainy, The Expositor's Bible: The Epistle to the Philippians Chapter XII. The Righteousness of Faith
In the latter part of Romans v. we have set before us two counter conceptions: the one of sin and condemnation, deriving from Adam, antecedent to the personal action and offence of those who descend from him; the other of free gift unto justification, following from the righteousness or obedience of Christ, this being a gift of grace abounding unto many. In either case the Apostle sees arising from one a relation which pertains to many, and which brings forth its results to them: on the one hand, sin and death; on the other, righteousness and life. In both cases a common relation is recognised, under which individuals are found existing; and in either case it traces up to the one—to Adam or to Christ.
1894 · Handley C. G. Moule, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (The Expositor's Bible) 14
But however, the record does connect, for man, the fact of death with the fact of sin, offence, transgression. And the fact of death is universal, and so has been from the first. And thus it includes generations most remote from the knowledge of a revealed code. And it includes individuals most incapable of a conscious act of transgression such as Adam's was; it includes the heathen, and the infant, and the imbecile. Therefore wherever there is human nature, since Adam fell, there is sin, in its form of guilt. And therefore, in some sense which perhaps only the supreme Theologian Himself fully knows, but which we can follow a little way, all men offended in the First Man—so favourably conditioned, so gently tested. The guilt contracted by him is possessed also by them.
1894 · Handley C. G. Moule, The Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans (The Expositor's Bible) 14
The statement of this paragraph, that the many were "constituted sinners by the disobedience of the one," what is it? It is the Scripture expression, and in some guarded sense the Scripture explanation, of a consciousness deep as the awakened soul of man; that I, a member of this homogeneous race, made in God's image, not only have sinned, but have been a sinful being from my first personal beginning; and that I ought not to be so, and ought never to have been so.
1907 · Augustus Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology Chapter III. Sin, Or Man's State Of Apostasy
The Scriptures teach that the transgression of our first parents constituted their posterity sinners (Rom. 5:19—“through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners”), so that Adam's sin is imputed, reckoned, or charged to every member of the race of which he was the germ and head (Rom. 5:16—“the judgment came of one [offence] unto condemnation”). It is because of Adam's sin that we are born depraved and subject to God's penal inflictions (Rom. 5:12—“through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin”; Eph. 2:3—“by nature children of wrath”). Two questions demand answer,—first, how we can be responsible for a depraved nature which we did not personally and consciously originate; and, secondly, how God can justly charge to our account the sin of the first father of the race. These questions are substantially the same, and the Scriptures intimate the true answer to the problem when they declare that “in Adam all die” (1 Cor. 15:22) and “that death passed unto all men, for that all sinned” when “through one man sin entered into the world” (Rom. 5:12). In other words, Adam's sin is the cause and ground of the depravity, guilt, and condemnation of all his posterity, simply because Adam and his posterity are one, and, by virtue of their organic unity, the sin of Adam is the sin of the race.
1910 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 56 (1910) 3198
The angels did not sin representatively—they sinned personally and individually—and, therefore, there is no hope of their restoration, but they are "reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." But men sinned representatively, and this is a happy circumstance for us, "for as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous." As we fell through one representative, it was consistent with the principles upon which God was governing mankind that He should allow us to rise by another Representative!
1949 · Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology 2.2.1
God adjudges all men to be guilty sinners in Adam, just as He adjudges all believers to be righteous in Jesus Christ. That is what Paul means, when he says: "So then as through one trespass the judgment came unto all men to condemnation; even so through one act of righteousness the free gift came unto all men to justification of life. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one shall the many be made righteous," Rom. 5:18,19.
16 passages · 14 writers · 300s to 1900s
Hodge argues from verses 13 and 14 that men died before the law of Moses was given and that some die who have never committed a personal sin, so the ground of the penalty lies in the sin of their first parent. Cyril says the doom of death uttered against Adam reached Moses and those after him though they had not committed the like sins as Adam, and Jerome says all men under Moses were bound by the sentence passed on Adam's sin. Wesley reads those who had not sinned like Adam as infants and as others who had not sinned against an express law, and Calvin prefers to refer the verse to those who sinned without the law, with infants included.
c. 348–351 · Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures (Catecheses ad illuminandos 1-18) 15.31
Did men then die up to that time, and did none die any more after Moses, or after the Law has there been no more death among men? Well then, thou seest that the word “unto” is not to limit time; but that Paul rather signified this,—“And yet, though Moses was a righteous and wonderful man, nevertheless the doom of death, which was uttered against Adam, reached even unto him, and them that came after him; and this, though they had not committed the like sins as Adam, by his disobedience in eating of the tree.”
c. 370–419 · Jerome, Letters 39.4
I cannot adequately extol the mysteries of Scripture, nor sufficiently admire the spiritual meaning conveyed in its most simple words. We are told, for instance, that lamentation was made for Moses; yet when the funeral of Joshua is described no mention at all is made of weeping. The reason, of course, is that under Moses—that is under the old Law—all men were bound by the sentence passed on Adam’s sin, and when they descended into hell were rightly accompanied with tears. For, as the apostle says, “death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned.” But under Jesus, that is, under the Gospel of Christ, who has unlocked for us the gate of paradise, death is accompanied, not with sorrow, but with joy.
c. 386–398 · John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistle to the Romans 10
Why in that, as the former became to those who were sprung from him, although they had not eaten of the tree, the cause of that death which by his eating was introduced; thus also did Christ become to those sprung from Him, even though they had not wrought righteousness, the Provider of that righteousness which through His Cross He graciously bestowed on us all. For this reason, at every turn he keeps to the “one,” and is continually bringing it before us, when he says, “As by one man sin entered into the world”—and, “If through the offence of one many be dead:” and, “Not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift;” and, “The judgment was by one to condemnation:” and again, “If by one (or, the one) man’s offence death reigned by one;” and “Therefore as by the offence of one.” And again, “As by one man’s disobedience many (or, the many) were made sinners.” And so he letteth not go of the one, that when the Jew says to thee, How came it, that by the well-doing of this one Person, Christ, the world was saved? thou mightest be able to say to him, How by the disobedience of this one person, Adam, came it to be condemned?
1540 · John Calvin, Commentary on Romans 5.14
Though this passage is commonly understood of infants, who being guilty of no actual sin, die through original sin, I yet prefer to regard it as referring to all those who sinned without the law; for this verse is to be connected with the preceding clause, which says, that those who were without the law did not impute sin to themselves. Hence they sinned not after the similitude of Adam’s transgression; for they had not, like him, the will of God made known to them by a certain oracle: for the Lord had forbidden Adam to touch the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; but to them he had given no command besides the testimony of conscience. The Apostle then intended to imply, that it did not happen through the difference between Adam and his posterity that they were exempt from condemnation. Infants are at the same time included in their number.
1679 · Thomas Manton, Works, vol. III A Practical Exposition Upon the Firty-third Chapter of Isaiah, The Sixth Verse
All men are sinners as they partake of Adam’s guilt in being descended of him. As they sprang from him, they were in him as in a common person, and sinned in him; as Levi paid tithes in Abraham, as aforesaid, Heb. vii. 9. To be sure, sin and death came upon him and upon all: Rom. v. 12, ‘Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, so that death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.’ If death, as is visible, then sin, even upon children: ver. 14, ‘Death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression.’ Otherwise the apostle’s reason would not be good and cogent, and there would be a punishment without a guilt: but ubi poena, ibi culpa. Yea, Rom. v. 19, ‘For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.’ Made sinners is meant sensu forensi, in a law or court sense, by the imputation of Adam’s guilt, as appeareth by the opposition. In short, those things are said to be imputed to us which are reckoned ours to all intents and purposes, as much as if they were our own. As another man’s debt, taken on upon my score and account, is really and truly mine: so Adam’s disobedience, and Christ’s righteousness are imputed to all those whom they represented.
1754 · John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on Romans 5.14
Even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression - Even over infants who had never sinned, as Adam did, in their own persons; and over others who had not, like him, sinned against an express law. Who is the figure of him that was to come - Each of them being a public person, and a federal head of mankind.
1757 · Jonathan Edwards, The Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended 2.4.1
It is altogether inconsistent with the apostle’s scope, and the import of what he says, to suppose that the death of which he here speaks, as coming on mankind by Adam’s sin, comes not as a punishment, but only as a favour. It quite makes void the opposition, in which the apostle sets the consequences of Adam’s sin, and the consequences of the grace and righteousness of Christ. They are set in opposition to each other, as opposite effects, arising from opposite causes, throughout the paragraph: one, as the just consequence of an offence; the other, a free gift, Rom. v. 15-18.
1834 · Editor's note in Barnes's Notes, Notes on the Bible: Romans 5.15
Notwithstanding of the efforts that are made to exclude the doctrine of imputation from this chapter, the full and varied manner in which the apostle expresses it, cannot be evaded. "Through the offence of one many be dead" - "the judgment was by one to condemnation" - "By one man's offence death reigned by one" - "By the offence of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation" - "By one man's disobedience, many were made sinners," etc. It is vain to tell us, as our author does" under each of these clauses respectively, that the apostle simply states the fact, that the sin of Adam has involved the race in condemnation, without adverting to the manner; for Paul does more than state the fact. He intimates that we are involved in condemnation in a way that bears a certain analogy to the manner in which we become righteous.
1834 · Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible: Romans 5.12
The apostle here evidently is not discussing the doctrine of original sin, but he is stating a simple fact, intelligible to all: "The first man violated the Law of God, and, in this way, sin was introduced among human beings." In this fact - this general, simple declaration - there is no mystery. And death by sin - Death was the consequence of sin; or was introduced because man sinned. This is a simple statement of an obvious and well-known fact.
1834 · Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible: Romans 5.14
Not that the sin of Adam was imputed, but that they were personally guilty, and transgressors. For this is the only point to which the argument tends. The apostle here says not one word about imputation. He does not even refer to infants by name; nor does he here introduce at all the doctrine of imputation. All this is mere philosophy introduced to explain difficulties; but whether true or false, whether the theory explains or embarrasses the subject, it is not needful here to inquire. (3) the very expression here is against the supposition that infants are intended. One form of the doctrine of imputation as held by Edwards, Starter, etc. has been that there was a constituted oneness or personal identity between Adam and his posterity; and that his sin was regarded as truly and properly theirs; and they as personally blameworthy or ill-deserving for it, in the same manner as a man at 40 is answerable for his crime committed at 20. If this doctrine be true, then it is certain that they not only had "sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression," but had committed the very identical sin, and that they were answerable for it as their own. But this doctrine is now abandoned by all or nearly all who profess to be Calvinists; and as the apostle expressly says that they had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, it cannot be intended here.
1834 · Editor's note in Barnes's Notes, Notes on the Bible: Romans 5.12
His body and his mind bear on them the marks of a blighting curse. It is impossible on any theory to deny this. And why is man thus visited? Can the righteous God punish where there is no guilt? We must take one side or other of the alternative, that God inflicts punishment without guilt, or that Adam's sin is imputed to his posterity. If we take the latter branch of the alternative, we are furnished with the ground of the divine procedure, and freed from many difficulties that press upon the opposite view.
1866 · Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3: Nicene and Post-Nicene Christianity, A.D. 311-600 9.155
The exegesis of Augustine, and his doctrine of a personal fall, as it were, of all men in Adam, are therefore doubtless untenable. On the other hand, Paul unquestionably teaches in this passage a causal connection between sin and death, and also a causal connection between the sin of Adam and the sinfulness of his posterity, therefore original sin. The proof of this is found in the whole parallel between Adam and Christ, and their representative relation to mankind (Comp. 1 Cor. xv. 45 ff.), and especially in the pavnte” h]marton, but not in the ejf j w| as translated by the Vulgate and Augustine.
1871 · Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 2 (Part II, Anthropology; Part III, Soteriology, chapters I-XIV) 2.8.9
It was by one man, He says, that sin and death passed upon all men; because all sinned. They sinned through, or in, that one man. His sin was the sin of all in virtue of the union between them and him. The proof of this doctrine is contained in verses thirteen and fourteen. The Apostle argues thus: Punishment supposes sin; sin supposes law; for sin is not imputed where there is no law. All men are punished; they are all subject to penal evils. They are, therefore, all chargeable with sin, and consequently are all guilty of violation of law. That law cannot be the law of Moses, for men died (i.e., were subject to the penalty of the law) before that law was given. It cannot be the law as written on the heart; for those die who have never committed any personal sin. There are penal evils, therefore, which come upon all mankind prior to anything in their state or conduct to merit such infliction. The ground of that infliction must therefore be sought out of themselves, i.e., in the sin of their first parent.
1871 · David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on Romans 5.14
Infants (say some), who being guiltless of actual sin, may be said not to have sinned in the way that Adam did [Augustine, Beza, Hodge]. But why should infants be specially connected with the period "from Adam to Moses," since they die alike in every period? And if the apostle meant to express here the death of infants, why has he done it so enigmatically? Besides, the death of infants is comprehended in the universal mortality on account of the first sin, so emphatically expressed in Ro 5:12; what need then to specify it here? and why, if not necessary, should we presume it to be meant here, unless the language unmistakably point to it—which it certainly does not?
1907 · Augustus Hopkins Strong, Systematic Theology Chapter III. Sin, Or Man's State Of Apostasy
Death, the penalty of sin, is visited even upon those who have never exercised a personal and conscious choice (Rom. 5:12-14). This text implies that (a) Sin exists in the case of infants prior to moral consciousness, and therefore in the nature, as distinguished from the personal activity. (b) Since infants die, this visitation of the penalty of sin upon them marks the ill-desert of that nature which contains in itself, though undeveloped, the germs of actual transgression. (c) It is therefore certain that a sinful, guilty, and condemnable nature belongs to all mankind. Rom. 5:12-14—“Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin; and so death passed unto all men, for that all sinned:—for until the law sin was in the world; but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression”—that is, over those who, like infants, had never personally and consciously sinned.
1914 · Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume 60 (1914) 3413
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. Children died who had not actually sinned, themselves, but died because of Adam's sin.
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