Romans 5:12-21. Denying the mortality of the human soul throws a monkey wrench into the machinery of Paul’s argument in Romans 5. Paul says that death has resulted from Adam’s transgression, and that the death penalty has passed on to all other human beings. If death is not real, then Paul’s premise cannot be established. If death is merely an illusion — something that is actually a blessing in disguise which frees humanity from the bondage of materiality — then what of the sin that caused death? Is it unreal as well? Paul compares the death penalty with the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ by grace. But if we all possess eternal life already, what did Christ’s death bring us? Take the error of innate immortality away from the picture, and Paul’s words make sense. Death has indeed reigned since the sin of Adam. A planet littered with tombstones is proof of that reign. The promise of true eternal life through resurrection is God’s free gift of grace to overrule that reign. One empty tomb is proof of that promise.
LORD, may we trust in Christ’s death to overrule our own.
