Letter to the Romans 5

¹ So far then we have seen that, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by faith we are judged righteous and at peace with God,

² since it is by faith and through Jesus that we have entered this state of grace in which we can boast about looking forward to God’s glory.

³ But that is not all we can boast about; we can boast about our sufferings. These sufferings bring patience, as we know,

⁴ and patience brings perseverance, and perseverance brings hope,

⁵ and this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us.

⁶ We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men.

⁷ It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die –

⁸ but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

⁹ Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger?

¹⁰ When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son?

¹¹ Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.

¹² Well then, sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned.

¹³ Sin existed in the world long before the Law was given. There was no law and so no one could be accused of the sin of ‘law-breaking’,

¹⁴ yet death reigned over all from Adam to Moses, even though their sin, unlike that of Adam, was not a matter of breaking a law. Adam prefigured the One to come,

¹⁵ but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift.

¹⁶ The results of the gift also outweigh the results of one man’s sin: for after one single fall came judgement with a verdict of condemnation, now after many falls comes grace with its verdict of acquittal.

¹⁷ If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he does not deserve, of being made righteous.

¹⁸ Again, as one man’s fall brought condemnation on everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified.

¹⁹ As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

²⁰ When law came, it was to multiply the opportunities of failing, but however great the number of sins committed, grace was even greater;

²¹ and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death, so grace will reign to bring eternal life thanks to the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.