God loves and wishes to save every sinner whom he condemns
God even more certainly loves the justified whom he has saved from wrath
Adam as a Symbol of Christ
Comparing Christ Who Died to Sin and for Sin, with Adam who Died through Sin (Rom 5:12-14)
Adam's sin and spiritual death symbolizes that of all mankind
"All men" includes those whose knowledge of God's law was not as direct as Adam's (cf Rom 2:14-15)
Adam is a type of Christ but in contrasts rather than similarities (Rom 5:15-19)
Adam represents sin whereas Christ represents grace
Adam represents condemnation through one sin, whereas Christ represents justification from every sin
Adam represents the reign of death, whereas Christ represents the reign of life.
Through Adam's disobedience came condemnation, whereas through Christ's obedience came justification
Adam represents many becoming sinners, whereas Christ represents many becoming righteous.
The Fitting Response to Christ's Death
With regard to law and grace (Rom 5:20 to 6:2 cf 6:14)
Because the law magnifies sin, it makes our need of God's grace obvious to us
The more that sin abounds the more grace must abound for forgiveness, but we do not use that as a pretext for sin
The believer's response (Rom 6:3-23)
Baptism is a symbol or likeness of Christ's death, and one is "baptized into Christ... baptized into his death"
The old self is crucified and buried with Christ, and a new self is raised up with Christ
One who has thus died to sin cannot continue to walk in sin but must rise to walk in newness of life
Christ died to [the world's] sin once for all, never to die again. In him and through his death, we are dead to our sin and alive to God
We are thus no longer to be slaves and instruments of sin, but under God's grace to be slaves and instruments of righteousness, justified and sanctified
Obedience to God "from the heart" (meaning by faith) is the proper response to Christ's death
The outcome of all of this is eternal life which we receive as a gift undeserved