OrthodoxCatholic,

Indeed our views of the atonement are miles apart. For in the first place, I hold consistently to a vicarious substitutionary (Grk: huper) atonement, i.e., that the punishment which Christ suffered was that which belonged to those whom the Father gave Him, aka: "His people, His sheep, the elect of God, those predestinated before the foundation of the world, etc., etc...!! Again, the ransom being paid, the law requires that the captives be set free, i.e., they are not liable to judgment. So again, either Christ IS the Redeemer of all men without exception and thus Universalism is true, OR, He is the Redeemer of a remnant saved by grace, which is the biblical teaching.

Now.... I would submit to you that your understanding of Rom. 5:12ff is fatally flawed.

(1) Paul is setting for the truth of "corporate solidarity". We see two Federal Heads; Adam and Christ. Whatever is true of the head is also true of those whom that head represents. (a) Adam, being the Federal Head of the human race represented all mankind, i.e., of the flesh. The punishment put on him for his disobedience fell also upon all his progeny, i.e., of the flesh. (b) Christ being the Federal Head of all those who were elected to be made sons of the Living God, according to the spirit/Spirit share likewise in that which He merited in His death, i.e., eternal life. (Isa 53:9; 2Cor 5:21; Heb 2:10; 7:18ff; 1Pet 2:22-24). In Adam came death but in Christ comes eternal life.

(2) The "death" spoken of in 5:12 is that same death which was promised of God to Adam in consequence of his disobedience; (a) Physical death, the seed of which sprang to life the moment he ate of the fruit, (b) Spiritual death, a corruption of nature; a radical change in his disposition wherein the love for God was lost and only fear and hatred of subservience to God emerged in its place, (c) Eternal death, the terminus of the immensity of his act of transgression is meted out on that last day. And it is this "spiritual death" which all men inherit and thus exhibit is theirs in that they die in the flesh at the end of their appointed days. And it is this death to which Paul alludes and which is a judicial sentence on all who are sinners by nature:


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 . . .



The universality of death cannot be denied, especially when you admit that Adam, as the Federal Head of the entire human race, effected all without exception. The text is perspicuous in its teaching, that death is the result of sin; ALL die because ALL are sinners. The penalty of transgression is death. Those found guilty of transgression die. Thus since all die, all are guilty by virtue of their Federal Head and in addition to any personal sins which they may commit in thought, word and/or deed. As Paul also makes clear in so many other places, ALL are without a personal righteousness (Rom 3:10). ALL are born under the just wrath of God (Eph 2:1-3). That which differentiates between men is solely the discriminating mercy of God (Rom 9:10ff).


Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgression, who is a figure of him that was to come.



(3) Now, looking at the LORD Christ, as He is the Federal Head of "all, the many". As death came upon all men that are united to Adam in his transgression, so does justification come upon "all, the many" that are united to Christ in His death. But to this you balk and wrote: "The redemption of God should fit the nature of the Fall -- done for all mankind that all may obtain eternal life if they so desire.". The text simply does not say, "that all may obtain . . .", but rather:


Romans 5:16-17 (ASV) "And not as through one that sinned, [so] is the gift: for the judgment [came] of one unto condemnation, but the free gift [came] of many trespasses unto justification. For if, by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; much more shall they that receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, [even] Jesus Christ."



The analogy is fixed in that the consequences of one infallibly effects all and cannot be bifurcated. Thus "all die" and "all are justified and reign in life". As I pointed out to you before, if you are wanting to make "all" to mean "all mankind without exception", then of necessity you must also bow to Universalism, which I believe you do not wish to do. Or, you have to somehow understand the "all" to mean "all who come under the headship of another", the means of which is not synonymous between Adam and Christ. With Adam, all are joined with him by virtue of the flesh. With Christ, all are joined to Him by faith. The former is a "natural" relationship, the latter is a spiritual relationship. To this truth I made mention in another reply to you, i.e., the "Fatherhood of God" is not one of the flesh, but of the Spirit/spirit and it is not one of nature but of grace. Sinners BECOME sons of God when they are reconciled to God by grace through faith in Christ alone. Otherwise, all are born "children of wrath".


Ephesians 1:4-5, 11(ASV) ". . .even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love: having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, . . . in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;



In His Grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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