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Romans

  1. Lesson One
    Romans as a Theological Treatise (Romans 1–6)
    22 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  2. Lesson Two
    Romans as an Occasional Letter (Romans 9–11)
    19 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  3. Lesson Three
    The Real Difference (Romans 7–8)
    19 Activities
  4. Lesson Four
    Living out the Gospel in "Rome" (Romans 12–14)
    21 Activities
    |
    5 Assessments
  5. Lesson Five
    Author and Audience (Romans 15–16)
    22 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

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Romans Author and Audience (Romans 15–16) In Front | Workbook: Original Sin in Western and Eastern Christianity, Part 1
Lesson 5, Activity 16

In Front | Workbook: Original Sin in Western and Eastern Christianity, Part 1

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Grab your Workbook Journal!

[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]

Let’s step back for a moment in our final Romans lesson to discuss one of the key Christian doctrines connected with this letter. The way Romans has been read and translated in history by its different audiences has led to the development of different views of what you probably know as the doctrine of original sin. 

Romans 5:12 has been an important verse in the history of this doctrine, and in the NIV it reads like this:

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.
Romans 5:12

The New Testament was originally written in Greek, but many early Christian thinkers were Latin speakers. They relied on Latin translations of Greek texts that impacted their thinking. Likewise, English versions of the Bible shape our understanding today. The sense of the ancient Latin translation of this verse reads like this:

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, in whom all sinned.
Romans 5:12

The Greek preposition near the end of the verse meaning “because” was mistranslated as “in whom” in early Latin Bibles. This is a minor shift in wording but a significant change in the way the verse is rendered. 

  1. What do you think makes it so significant? How might it influence the way this verse (Romans 5:12) was understood by Latin readers?