5:12-14 How was sin and death transmitted to the human race by Adam?
5:12-14 How was sin and death transmitted to the human race by Adam?
Humans are born with the propensity to sin because we all descend from Adam and have inherited his sin nature (CP V19 with Jer 17:9 and Ac 17:26).
Scriptures teach that sin is present in every human being from the moment of conception (CP Psa 51:5 with Ro 3:9-10, 23 and 8:8-9). Because of sin, physical death came upon mankind, and now all mankind is subject to death (CP Gen 2:16-17; 3:17-19; Ro 5:17-18; Jas 1:14-15).
God never intended humans to die but to be immortal. He set the tree of life in the Garden of Eden for Adam and Eve to eat from in order that they could live forever, but they forfeited their right to it when they sinned, and so death came upon the whole human race (CP Gen 2:8-9, 15-17; 3:17-24).
In Ro 5:12-14 Paul shows that because death was the penalty for sin, and people died during the period between Adam and Moses before the law was given, it was obvious that sin was always present in humans irrespective of the law; and even if they did not directly disobey God like Adam did, the fact they died is evidence that they sinned.
Paul's statement in V13 that sin is not imputed when there is no law, simply means that the law did not apply to those who lived before the law was given.
Paul then goes on to say that Adam was a figure or type of the One who was to come, meaning Christ. Adam was the Old Testament figure of Christ in the sense that he was the first man or head of the old creation, as Christ is the first man or head of the new creation (CP Gen 2:7 with 1Cor 15:45-49).