Contrast between Adam and Christ: death vis-à-vis grace (v.15); condemnation vis-à-vis justification (v.16); dominion of death vis-à-vis dominion of life (v.17).

• Universal impact of two humans-one distorts and opens door for estrangement from God and death; the other’s obedience leads to restoration.

• Paul Achtmeier:

One of the problems in an airport is knowing where to get the flight that will bring you to the right destination. The choice of which plane to board determines where one will end up! That is also true for our fate as humans beings, only here the choices are two: belong to the humanity whose destination is determined by Adam or belong to the humanity whose destination is determined by Christ.

Lenten season truth #1-Sin is systemic and pervasive; impacts all humanity, holds us captive. Sin is one distortion we can’t overcome. We cannot redeem ourselves, says Paul, because we lack power. So Lent is a time for self-examination, not just confession of personal faults.

• Lenten season truth #2-“He breaks the power of canceled sin and sets the prisoner free!” Paul announces that Christ has ushered in a new spring season of liberating, life-giving, grace-abounding reality that transforms and triumphs over our past.

• Lenten self-evaluation happens within the larger context of God’s redemptive work in Christ. Our journey does not end in the wilderness, but ends at Easter.

Begin with the notion that one can impact many. For example, in medieval Europe, infected rats impacted millions, wiping out entire towns and cities. Or what about the virus that infects one person and through that one infects thousands?

• Move to Paul’s explanation of how sin arrives in human society-same idea of a rat running into our global village and contaminating everyone. Hold up the bleak picture of how our bent toward evil has distorted God’s Peaceable Kingdom-economically, racially, ecologically, etc.

• Shift to antidote: In Paul’s theological system, Jesus is the antidote for restoration. Through him we are saved-saved from having to give in to our human bent toward selfishness and self-centeredness, toward violence, toward un-love and un-grace.

• Have a good story, personal experience that might help us to think about the new possibility for living at a higher level? Might be a great way to bring closure to your thoughts.