Where did the need for justification by faith begin?
The need for justification by faith began in the Garden of Eden when Adam fell. Through one man Adam, sin entered the world and death came with sin, so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned. This brought the human race into a dilemma of sin and spiritual death, requiring justification by faith.
Les explains that the need for justification by faith and faith alone began back in the Garden when Adam fell and death came with sin. Because of that fall, the human race is faced with the dilemma that we are not only sinners but also in a circumstance of death. Spiritual death has already taken place—we are born dead. Physically, every human being will approach it someday. Paul comes to the conclusion in the passage beginning at verse 12: by one man Adam sin entered into the world, and death came with sin, so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned. The two become synonymous. Until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned as a king from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression—they were not faced with a tree and a forbidden fruit. So the need for justification by faith is rooted in Adam's fall and the universal condition of sin and death.