\\INTRODUCTION TO ROMANS 5\\

The Apostle having clearly stated, and fully proved the doctrine of
justification by the righteousness of faith, proceeds to observe the
comfortable fruits and effects of this great blessing, known and
enjoyed by the believer; as also the source and spring of it, the
love of God, which appears in the death of Christ, in the room and
stead of his people, which is the foundation on which it stands; and
likewise gives an illustration of this benefit, by comparing the two
heads, Adam and Christ, together. The first fruit and effect of
justification, as a benefit perceived and enjoyed by faith, is peace
with God through Christ, \\#Ro 5:1\\. The next is access through the
Mediator to the throne of grace, where justified ones stand with a
holy boldness and confidence, and the third is a cheerful hope of
eternal glory, \\#Ro 5:2\\, yea, such not only have joy in the hope of
what is to come, but glory even in present afflictions; which
prevents an objection that might be made to the above mentioned
fruits and effects of justification, taken from the tribulations
which saints are exercised with: and what occasions glorying even in
these, is the sanctified use, or happy produce of afflictions, these
being the means of exercising and increasing patience; by means of
which a larger experience of divine things is gained; and through
that, hope is confirmed, and all influenced by a plenteous discovery
of the love of God to the soul, by the Spirit, \\#Ro 5:4,5\\, an
instance of which love is given, \\#Ro 5:6\\, in Christ's dying for men;
which love is enhanced by the character and condition of the persons
for whom Christ died, being ungodly, and without strength; and by
the time of it, being due time: then follows a further illustration
of this love, by comparing it with what instances of love are to be
found among men, \\#Ro 5:7\\, by which it appears to be unparalleled;
since scarcely for a righteous man, peradventure for a good man, one
would die, yet no man dies for the ungodly, as Christ did: hence as
his, so his Father's love is highly commended, by giving him up to
death for persons while in such a state and condition, and under
such a character, \\#Ro 5:8\\, and justification now springing from this
love, and being founded on the death of Christ, hence follow a
security from wrath to come, \\#Ro 5:9\\, a certainty of salvation,
\\#Ro 5:10\\, which is strongly argued from the different characters those
Christ died for bear, before and after reconciliation, and from the
death to the life of Christ, \\#Ro 5:10\\, and also a rejoicing and
glorying: in God through Christ, full expiation being made by his
blood for sin, and this received by faith, \\#Ro 5:11\\, and then the
apostle proceeds to compare the two heads, Adam and Christ,
together; the design of which is to show the largeness and freeness
of the love and grace of God; how righteousness for justification
comes by Christ; and how the persons, before described as sinners
and ungodly, came to be in such a condition; and that is through the
sin of the first man, in whom they all were, and in whom they all
sinned and died, \\#Ro 5:12\\, wherefore there must be a law before the
law of Moses, or there could have been no sin, \\#Ro 5:13\\, but that
sin was in being, and was reckoned and imputed to the posterity of
Adam, is clear from this single instance, death's power even over
infants, from the times of Adam to Moses, \\#Ro 5:14\\ who therefore
must be a public head, representing all his posterity; so that they
were involved in the guilt of his sin, which brought death upon
them; and in this he was a type of Christ, as is asserted in the
same verse; that so as Adam was but one, and by one sin of his
conveyed death to all his seed; so Christ, the Mediator, is but one,
and by his one obedience conveys righteousness and, life to all his
seed: and yet in some things there is a dissimilitude; sin and
death, through the first man, are conveyed in a natural way to his
offspring, but righteousness and life from Christ in a way of grace,
\\#Ro 5:15\\, It was one offence of Adam's, which brought condemnation
and death upon all his posterity; but the righteousness of Christ is
not only a justification of his seed from that one offence, but from
all others, \\#Ro 5:16\\, the one is unto death, the other unto life;
and greater is the efficacy in the one to quicken, than in the other
to kill, \\#Ro 5:17\\, where a repetition is made of what is said in
\\#Ro 5:15\\, with an explanation, and the similitude between the two heads
is clearly expressed, \\#Ro 5:18\\, where condemnation on account of the
sin of Adam, and justification through the righteousness of Christ,
are opposed to each other; and both as extending to the whole of
their several respective offspring, condemnation through Adam's
offence to all his natural seed, and justification of life through
Christ's righteousness to all his spiritual seed; which is still
more fitly and clearly expressed in \\#Ro 5:19\\, where the way and
manner in which the one become sinners, and the other righteous, is
plainly directed to; that it is, by the imputation of Adam's
disobedience to the one, and by the imputation of Christ's
righteousness to the other: in \\#Ro 5:20\\, an objection is obviated,
which might be formed thus; if justification is by the grace of God,
and through the obedience and righteousness of Christ, then the law
is of no use; what purpose does that serve? what occasion was there
for its entrance? The apostle replies, that though justification is
not by it, yet a good end is answered by its entrance; for hereby
sin is more known to be what it is, both original and actual; and
the grace of God appears more abundant in justification from it, and
in the pardon of it; and this grace is further illustrated in
\\#Ro 5:21\\, by comparing sin and grace together, and the different
effects of their empire over the sons of men; the one reigning unto
death, the other reigning through righteousness to eternal life by
Christ.