A friend of mine was describing troubling symptoms of ill health as he was working on his farm. He had become tired, and he struggled to breath. At the emergency room, he was diagnosed as suffering from a massive heart attack; “the widowmaker”. Thankfully, the hospital staff didn’t treat the symptoms; they didn’t tell him to get more rest and use an inhaler; they found the cause and treated it, and thankfully restored him to health.
Paul has given us a long list of sins in Romans 1 -3; like ingratitude, idolatry, “vile impurity”, greed, sanctimonious hypocrisy…the list goes on. But now, in Romans 5:12-20, he diagnoses the real problem. These sins he has listed are symptoms of one fatal spiritual illness. The virus that brought it to us was in Adam. It is a pandemic, infecting every human being. The symptoms indicate chronic disobedience to God, resulting in a prognosis of death, judgment, and condemnation from God.
When you are distressed with your bad habits, thoughts, and words, don’t just treat the symptoms with good intentions and resolves to do better; look at the cause. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked; who can know it? As Paul diagnoses the problem – a disobedient heart – he also prescribes the cure. Sin came into the world by one man’s disobedience, and it must be weakened and finally killed by the resurrection life of the one obedient Man, resurrected and therefore able and willing to enter the human heart and change it.
Paul is pivoting here as he unfolds the gospel. He isn’t talking about Jesus the savior who died to bring forgiveness of sins; he is presenting us with Jesus the risen Lord, who enters our hearts to break the power of sin, and lead us toward a life of glorious, fulfilling obedience. Hallelujah!