What is the “one act of righteousness”?

Explanation:

Paul writes that one act of righteousness leads to righteousness and life. We can detect that the one act of righteousness is likely Christ’s one act of dying on the cross based on the context. Paul is comparing Christ’s one act with Adam’s one act of disobedience.³By one action, specifically eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, humans were condemned. Similarly, by one action humans are justified. Given that one action of Adam led to condemnation, we expect Paul to have in mind one action of Christ leading to justification. The one action of Christ that leads to justification is his death on the cross, which breaks the power of sin (Romans 6:9).⁴

Counterargument:

There is an important problem with this argument. In Romans 6:9 Paul does not say that Christ’s death on the cross breaks the power of sin, but that the resurrection does. Thus, we can agree that Paul is contrasting the one action of Adam that leads to condemnation with the one action of Christ that leads to righteousness. The question is which one action of Christ does Paul have in mind? This argument contends based on Romans 6:9 that it is Christ’s death that breaks the power, so Christ’s death on the cross is the one action that leads to righteousness. Unfortunately, Romans 6:9 is not about Christ’s death but his resurrection. In particular, Paul writes, We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. In other words, the resurrection is the one action that breaks the dominion of death and sin.

Response to counterargument:

This counterargument is fair, but not strong for two reasons. First, the resurrection should not be considered the one act of Christ because God the Father is the one who raised Jesus from the dead. Paul has in mind the action of Christ that leads to righteousness, so the resurrection is ruled out. Further, while it is fair that Romans 6:9 has to do with the resurrection, when we continue reading, we learn in Romans 6:10 that by dying, Christ died to sin once for all. In other words, there is a connection between Romans 6:9–10, where Paul is explaining that by dying on the cross, Jesus dies to sin, which results in God raising him from the dead and freeing us from the dominion of death. So it is Jesus’ one action of dying on the cross that results in the resurrection and the defeat of death. Thus, it is the one action of death on the cross that leads to righteousness.

Explanation:

In Romans 5:19 Paul expands on Romans 5:18 by stating that through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, and through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. So it is the obedience of Christ that Paul has in mind when he refers to Christ’s one act.⁵ Further, there is a prominent passage from Paul in his letter to the Philippians where he refers to Christ’s obedience unto death (Philippians 2:8).⁶ Thus, when Paul refers to Christ’s one act, since he characterizes it as an act of obedience in Romans 5:19, which we know from Philippians 2:8 has to do with his obedience to death on the cross, the one act of righteousness is Christ’s death on the cross.

Counterargument:

While Paul might have in mind obedience and his letter to the Philippians when he refers to Christ’s one act, Philippians 2:5–8 has to do with Christ’s entire life of obedience, not just his death on the cross. We learn in Philippians 2:5–8 that Christ emptied himself, took on the form of a servant, was found in human likeness, humbled himself, and became obedient until death. In other words, Christ’s whole life was a life of obedience, which began with his taking the form of humanity and ended with his death on the cross. Thus, the one act of obedience is Christ’s entire life.

Response to counterargument:

While Philippians 2:5–8 has in mind Christ’s whole earthly ministry, when Paul refers to Christ’s obedience in Philippians 2:8, he specifically notes Christ’s obedience unto death. Of course, the argument here is that Christ’s one act of obedience is his one act of righteousness, which Paul associates in Philippians 2:8 with his obedience unto death. So while Philippians 2:5–8 is about Christ’s whole human existence as self-sacrifice, when he refers to Christ’s obedience, he has in mind his obedience unto death. So Christ’s one righteous act, which is an act of obedience, is his death on the cross.

It is difficult to find a weakness in this because Paul characterizes the act of Christ as one. If Paul would have referred to Christ’s righteous act or acts, we might infer that he has his whole life in mind. But Paul specifically refers to Christ’s one righteous act, which he characterizes as obedience (Romans 5:19), implying his death on the cross.

Explanation:

When Paul refers to Christ’s one act of righteousness, he likely has in mind Christ’s entire life. We can detect this because Paul compares Christ’s one act of righteousness with an act of obedience in Romans 5:19, and we know from the Gospels that Christ was obedient to God throughout his life. In particular, Luke 2:49 teaches that Jesus explained to his parents at the age of twelve that he had to prioritize his Father’s business. Likewise, Jesus himself explains that his purpose on earth was to do his Father’s will (John 4:34; John 5:30; Matthew 26:29, Matthew 26:42).⁷ Thus, we know that Jesus’ entire life was an act of obedience to the Father. So when Paul refers to Christ’s one righteous act, he has in mind Christ’s entire life of obedience to the Father.

Counterargument:

While it is true that the Gospels teach that Jesus was obedient to the Father throughout his life, this is not relevant to Paul’s statement that Christ’s one act of righteousness leads to righteousness. To understand what Paul means we need to consider the immediate context, and the immediate context suggests that Paul has in mind that Christ’s one act is his death on the cross. We can detect this because Paul is specifically contrasting the one act of Adam, which was a distinct act committed in time and space, with the act of Jesus Christ. Further, Paul has already alluded to the fact that the one act of Jesus Christ is his sacrifice for sin (Romans 3:24–26).⁸ So Paul has in mind the one act of Christ, his sacrifice on the cross.

Explanation:

To understand what Paul means when he refers to Christ’s one act of righteousness, it is important to notice that it leads to righteousness for all. That implies that the one act satisfies God’s demand for justice, but also that Christ fulfills the demands of the law. Of course, Christ’s death on the cross satisfies God’s demand for justice, and we know that Christ fulfills the demands of the law by living a life of sinless obedience. Thus, Christ’s one act of righteousness is his whole life, which leads to righteousness for all.⁹

Counterargument:

Paul does not say that Christ’s one act has to do with fulfilling the demands of the law. Rather, he simply says that the one righteous act leads to righteousness and life. Further, he does not refer to Jesus fulfilling the law in these sections. Rather, he is focused on Christ’s one sacrifice for sin (Romans 3:24–26), which leads to justification for all who believe in him. Of course, it might be that Jesus fulfills the law, and that fulfilling the law is important to righteousness in some sense, but this does not seem to be on Paul’s mind in this section.

This view is right that Christ’s whole life was an act of obedience, but it overlooks the immediate context and grammar of this section. For the immediate context and grammar all point to Paul having in mind one discrete act in time and space.

Explanation:

Paul in Romans 5:18 means not one act of righteousness but one sentence of justification.¹⁰ In other words, Paul is saying that one sentence of justification leads to righteousness. We can detect that this is Paul’s meaning because he uses the same term (δικαιώμα) in Romans 5:16 where it means justification. It is unlikely that Paul would use the same term twice with a different meaning in proximity, so he likely means one sentence of justification in Romans 5:18.¹¹

Counterargument:

The problem here is that the same word can have multiple meanings depending on the context, so we need to use the context to determine the meaning. In the case of δικαιώμα, it can be used for justification or righteous act, so we need to consider the context to understand what Paul means.¹² Added to this, we have reason from the context to think that Paul would use the term δικαιώμα to refer to one righteous act, for such a meaning is more congruent with the fact that Paul contrasts this one δικαιώμα with the one act of Adam. Further, δικαιώμα is a fitting choice in this context because it allows Paul to use a sequence of terms that end with -μα.¹³ For Paul writes that Adam’s trespass leads to κατάκρι-μα (condemnation) and the one δικαιώ-μα (righteous act) leads to righteousness.

This view does not suit the fact that Paul refers to the one δικαιώμα in Romans 5:19 as an act of obedience. For how is one justifying sentence an act of obedience.