The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (169 page)

4:15 the law brings wrath:
Violation of the Law brings the curses of the Mosaic covenant upon transgressors (Lev 26:1433; Deut 27:15-26). 
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4:17 I have made you:
A citation from Gen 17:5. • The passage shows that God had already made Abraham the father of nations
before
he gave him the covenant of circumcision (Gen 17:9-14). In Paul's mind, this took place back in Gen 15:5-6, when the patriarch first believed that God would make him a father. It follows that circumcision, which came
after
his fatherhood was established by faith, cannot be the sign of Abrahamic sonship.
calls into existence:
Reflects the belief that God created all things out of nothing (2 Mac 7:28) (CCC 296). 
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4:18-24
Paul sees a parallel between Christian faith and Abraham's faith. Abraham believed that God could bring new life (Isaac) from his and Sarah's dying bodies. Christians believe that God brought new life to the crucified body of Jesus by raising him from the dead. 
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4:18 So shall your descendants:
A citation from Gen 15:5. • God promised Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the sky. 
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4:19 barrenness:
The Greek is literally "death" or "deadness". 
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4:25 raised for our justification:
The Resurrection of Christ is more than a miracle and motive for faith. It is a saving event in its own right, since the dying and rising of Jesus together constitute his victory over sin and death (1 Cor 15:17-22). Baptism gives us a share is this double victory, for through it we
die
to sin and
rise
to new life with Christ (6:3-4). The death and resurrection of our souls will be followed by the death and resurrection of our bodies (8:10-11) (CCC 654-55). 
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5:1-5
The justified are endowed with theological virtues. By
faith,
they live in peace with God and have access to his grace; in
hope,
they long for the glory of God that awaits them; and through
love,
they show that the charity of the Spirit dwells in their hearts (CCC 1813). Equipped in this way, believers can become more like Christ through endurance and suffering (CCC 618).
See note on 1 Cor 13:13
. 
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5:8 God shows his love:
The dying of Christ shows us the depths of God's unconditional love for the world (1 Jn 3:16). This is all the more remarkable since the world, being "ungodly" (5:6) and "enemies" (5:10), did not deserve it (CCC 603-4). 
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5:10 shall we be saved:
Salvation can be described in terms of the past, present, and future. It is
past
with reference to Baptism, which saves us from the filth of our sins (1 Pet 3:21). It is a
present
reality when we allow grace to make us steadily more virtuous and holy (1 Cor 1:18). It is a
future
hope that we will for ever live with the Lord in glory (Heb 9:28) (CCC 169, 1026). 
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5:12-21
Paul compares and contrasts Adam and Christ. They are similar because their actions have had a great impact on the world, but dissimilar because Adam filled the world with misery and Christ redeemed the world from slavery to sin. Paul is stressing that the grace of Christ more than compensates for the damage done by Adam's rebellion (CCC 385, 388). 
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5:12 through one man:
Sin invaded the world through Adam, who allowed the temptations of his wife and the devil to overpower his commitment to God (Gen 3:1-7; Wis 2:24).
death through sin:
God warned Adam that death was the penalty for disobedience (Gen 2:17). His willful defiance in the face of this threat brought about the immediate death of his soul and the eventual death of his body (Gen 3:19).
all men sinned:
As the father of the human family, Adam turned away from God on our behalf. His rebellion was thus a representative act that not only injured himself, but dragged the entire family of man into suffering and separation from God (CCC 402-5). • The Council of Trent appealed to Rom 5:12 when it defined the doctrine of Original Sin in 1546 (Sess. 5). The doctrine holds that all descendants of Adam are born into the world in a state of spiritual death and in desperate need of salvation. The condition spreads, not by
imitation
(making the same mistake as Adam), but by
propagation
(by virtue of our genealogical link with Adam). 
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Word Study

Type
(
Rom 5:14
)

Typos
(Gk.): "figure", "example", or "pattern". The word is used twice in Romans and 13 times in the rest of the NT. In general, a type is an impression or stamp made when an instrument strikes an object and leaves a mark that resembles the instrument. The NT uses the term is various ways and contexts. It can describe the nail prints in the hands of Jesus (Jn 20:25), a pattern of catechetical teaching (Rom 6:17), and examples of holiness displayed in the lives of believers (Phil 3:17; 1 Thess 1:7; Tit 2:7). In biblical theology, a type is a person, place, thing, event, or institution in Scripture that points to a future mystery. Romans 5:14 is a classic example: Paul shows that Adam, who shaped the destiny of man for the worst, was a type of Christ, who reverses the tragic effects of sin by his righteousness. Adam thus showed us in advance how the saving work of Jesus, the new Adam, would affect the entire world. Paul likewise interprets the experiences of Israel in the wilderness as warnings or types of the Church's experiences in the world (1 Cor 10:1-6). Peter sees the biblical flood as a prophetic type of Baptism (1 Pet 3:21) (CCC 128-30).

5:14 Yet death reigned:
Death was the covenant curse set before Adam (Gen 2:17) and Moses (Deut 30:19). Although no positive law threatening death was issued during the centuries that intervened, men and women continued to suffer and die. This shows that the sin of Adam had a lasting and devastating effect on the world quite apart from the behavior of his first descendants (CCC 396). • Just as all who descend from Adam inherit death, though they do not eat from the tree themselves, so all who are joined to Christ inherit righteousness, though they do nothing to produce it themselves (St. John Chrysostom,
Homilies on Romans
10). 
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5:19 made righteous:
The essence of justification, which takes effect when God imparts the gift of righteousness to the believer (5:17; Phil 3:9). See word study:
Justified
at 2:13. 
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5:20 to increase the trespass:
The Torah aggravated the problem of sin because it defined the boundaries of wrongdoing (7:7) but could not restrain Israel from crossing them (7:12-24). The purpose was to induce Israel to acknowledge its weakness and cry out for divine help. • The Law was given that grace might be sought; grace was given that the Law might be kept (St. Augustine,
On the Spirit and the Letter
34). 
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6:1-23
Paul addresses a potential misunderstanding: If our sins let loose a flood of divine grace (5:20), then why not continue in sin to unleash ever more grace? Such logic betrays the very purpose of grace, which is to forgive us of past sins and to assist us in avoiding future ones. For Paul, our liberty in Christ is not a license to sin (Gal 5:13). 
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6:2 By no means!:
A strenuous objection voiced often in Romans (3:4, 31; 6:15; 7:7; 9:14; 11:1).
died to sin:
The baptized are freed from the bondage of guilt and so die to their former life apart from Christ. 
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6:4 by baptism into death:
Baptism joins us to Christ crucified and risen, so that united with his death, our sins are put to death, and united with his rising, our souls are filled with life (4:25). Paul is alluding to the liturgy of Baptism, where the recipient is submerged in water as a body is buried in a grave, only to rise again to a new life with God (CCC 537, 628, 1214). 
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6:6 our former man:
The expression "old man" is used elsewhere in Eph 4:22 and Col 3:9.
crucified with him:
Paul makes a personal comment to this effect at Gal 2:20. 
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6:7 is freed from sin:
Literally, "is justified from sin" (CCC 1990). See word study:
Justified
at 2:13. 
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6:9 never die again:
Because Christ destroyed death by his own death, his risen humanity is for ever victorious over death (CCC 1085). 
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6:12 Let not sin . . . reign:
Sin is like a tyrant that orders our members into actions of wickedness. This enemy is to be fought, renounced, and subdued through the Spirit (8:13). 
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6:14 under grace:
The new position of the believer, who can master the urges of sin with the assistance of God. This inward strength to suppress our fallen inclinations was a grace not yet available to Israel living under the yoke of the Law (7:18). 
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