Adam and Christ

¹² Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin came death. So this is why all people must die—because all people have sinned. ¹³ Sin was in the world before the Law of Moses. But God does not consider people guilty of sin if there is no law.

¹⁸ So that one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, Christ did something so good that it makes all people right with God. And that brings them true life. ¹⁹ One man disobeyed God and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God and many will be made right. ²⁰ The law was brought in so that more people would sin the way Adam did. But where sin increased, there was even more of God’s grace. ²¹ Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave us more of his grace so that grace could rule by making us right with him. And this brings us eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

¹³ You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God gave you new life together with Christ. He forgave all our sins. ¹⁴ Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross.