The free gift of grace

28Jun
For if the many died through the one man's (Adam's) trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. And the free gift is not like the effect of the one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brings justification. If, because of the one man's trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.  
-Romans 5:15-17



I love Paul when he talks like this. He was trained under the great rabbi Gamaliel, in the art of "diatribe" or rabbinic debating. Then he became a lawyer, and was on his way to being a member of the Sanhedrin, if I'm not mistaken. But before that could happen, Paul met the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus, and was briefly blinded by the great truth of what Jesus did for him, and for us all.


That's what Paul is expressing here. As he contrasts Adam and Jesus, the contrasting use of the word "dominion" jumps out at us. The words "abounded' and "abundance" pile up the power of what he's saying. He uses constructions like "If A, then much more surely B!" It's all directed to the minds of Romans, who loved good oratory; and it's all about grace, that incredible gift.


Edith Hamilton, the esteemed Greek scholar, once wrote, "there are four great authors of tragedy, and three of them are Greek". In the same writing she said "But there is no tragedy in Christianity." What she implied was that for Christians, there is always, ultimately, a happy ending. The grace Paul is extolling here is the reason for that.  


In his disputatious, lawyerly language, Paul is giving us all the best news we'll ever hear.


Musical Reflection - Amazing Grace - Mahalia Jackson


Gracious God, we give you thanks for the life, conversion and teaching of St. Paul. Help us to transform our best gifts to bring about your kingdom. In the name of Christ, Amen.

Grace

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