Romans 5: Law, Grace, and the New Covenant

by | Posted May 10th at 8:55am

Here is a detailed, verse-by-verse exposition of Romans 5, exegesis on law versus grace and the new covenant, along with related theological insights:

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

• “Therefore” signals the transition from the doctrinal foundation in chapters 1–4 to the practical and experiential blessings of justification. Justification by faith brings peace with God, ending enmity caused by sin. This peace is not earned but received through faith in Christ’s work, highlighting grace over law.

Romans 5:2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

• Access to grace means believers stand firm in a state of unmerited favour. This grace is the new covenant reality—no longer under law’s condemnation but empowered by Spirit-enabled grace, providing hope and joy despite tribulation.

Romans 5:3-5 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

• These verses describe the transformative process of sanctification, where suffering produces perseverance and hope. This process is by grace through the Spirit, not law, evidencing the internal work of the new covenant (God writing His law on hearts).

Romans 5:6-8 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

• The death of Christ for the ungodly is the ultimate demonstration of grace. This is the expiatory sacrifice that pays the penalty Adam’s disobedience incurred, restoring what Adam robbed from God and man-obedience and life.

Romans 5:9-11 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

• Justification by Christ’s blood secures salvation from God’s wrath. Through Christ’s atonement, believers are reconciled to God, a key feature of the new covenant where peace and restored relationship replace condemnation.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.

• Adam’s one offence brought sin and death to all humanity. Adam was the representative head who broke God’s law, causing imputation of guilt to all. This sets the stage for Christ as the second Adam who rectifies this.

Romans 5:13-14 …for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

• Sin existed before the Mosaic law, but the law made sin’s nature clearer and increased its recognition. The law’s role was to multiply sin’s awareness, but it could not save — this is where grace superabounds.

Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

• The free gift of grace through Christ far outweighs Adam’s offence.  Christ’s sacrifice is an expiatory offering that restores and superabounds in grace, bringing righteousness and life to many.

Romans 5:16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

• Unlike Adam’s sin, which brought condemnation, Christ’s gift brings justification despite many sins. This reveals the superiority of grace over law — where law condemns, grace justifies.

Romans 5:17 For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

• Death reigned through Adam’s offence, but believers reign in life through Christ’s abundant grace and righteousness. This righteousness is the divine property of Christ imputed to believers, fulfilling the law’s demands perfectly.

Romans 5:18-19 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

• The parallel between Adam and Christ is explicit: Adam’s disobedience brought condemnation; Christ’s obedience brings justification and life. This underscores this as the heart of the new covenant-restoration and righteousness through Christ’s obedience.

Romans 5:20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more…

• The law increased the awareness and multiplication of sin, but grace superabounded beyond sin’s increase. The law acts like a mirror revealing sin but cannot save, whereas grace delivers and restores through Christ and the Spirit.

Romans 5:21 …so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

• Sin’s reign leads to death; grace reigns through righteousness to eternal life. This righteousness is Christ’s, imputed and applied by the Spirit under the new covenant, guaranteeing eternal life and victory over sin’s dominion.

Summary of the exegesis on Law vs. Grace and the New Covenant in Romans 5

• Adam’s sin represents the breaking of God’s law, bringing condemnation and death to all humanity by imputation.

• Christ as the last Adam provides an expiatory sacrifice that pays the debt Adam owed, not only restoring what was lost but superabounding in grace.

• The Mosaic law reveals and multiplies sin but cannot save or empower obedience; it acts as a mirror exposing human failure.

• Grace through Christ is a free gift that justifies many despite their offenses, providing righteousness that meets the law’s demands perfectly.

• The new covenant internalizes God’s law by writing it on believers’ hearts, enabling obedience by the Spirit rather than external legalism.

• Believers stand in grace, justified by faith, reconciled to God, and empowered by the Spirit to live righteously, reigning in life rather than death.

• Where sin multiplied, grace superabounded, showing the overwhelming power of God’s redemptive work in Christ beyond the law’s condemnation.

This exposition aligns with the broader Pauline theology in Romans, the contrast between law and grace, the representative roles of Adam and Christ, and the transformative reality of the new covenant. It underscores that grace does not abolish the law but fulfills and surpasses it by enabling true righteousness and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Article posted by Glen R. Jackman, founder of GraceProclaimed.org

Glen has optimized his eldership role to teach the full scope of the New Covenant of Jesus Christ without boundaries.
You can read his testimony.