In this context, 'sin is not imputed when there is no law' means God did not charge individual acts of disobedience as violations of a stated law before the written law was given.
Romans 5:13 says that until the law, sin was in the world, but it was not imputed because there was no law. Les Feldick explains that from Adam to Moses people were not faced with a tree and a forbidden fruit as Adam was; they went by conscience. Yet death still reigned because sin and death had entered through Adam.
Romans 5:13 — This verse directly states that until the law, sin was in the world but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Romans 5:14 — Shows that even without a stated law, death reigned from Adam to Moses, connecting the question to Adam's role.
The Bible states that sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and death through sin, so death passed upon all men because all have sinned (Romans 5:12). Romans 5:13 then says that until the law sin was in the world, 'but sin is not imputed when there is no law.' Romans 5:14 continues, 'Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression.'
Les Feldick reads Romans 5:12-14 and points out that before the law, sin was in the world, but it was not imputed because there was no law. He explains that those living from Adam to Moses were not faced with a tree and a forbidden fruit as Adam and Eve were. They were not under a stated command like the one in the Garden. Les emphasizes that from Adam to the flood—roughly 1,600 years—there was no written law and no formal system of worship. Man simply had right and wrong on his conscience. Then around 1500 BC, Moses came down from Mount Sinai and introduced the law to Israel. When the written law arrived, man could no longer rely only on conscience. The law showed that everything he was doing, even after searing his conscience, was breaking God's law. Les says the law entered so that the offense might abound—not to make sin worse, but to reveal how sinful man really is. He also stresses that the whole sin problem began with Adam, because we have inherited his sin nature.
Though individuals from Adam to Moses were not charged under a stated law, death still reigned as a king over them. Romans 5:14 says death reigned even over those who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression. Les explains that death came with sin because Adam's sin brought death into the world, and all men have sinned because of Adam.
Les teaches that until the written law appeared, man could only go by conscience. When Moses introduced the law to Israel around 1500 BC, the law entered so that the offense might abound. Paul says 'by the law is the knowledge of sin,' and Les explains that the law didn't make sin worse but showed man how sinful he really was.
Adam and Eve were faced with a tree and a forbidden fruit, so Adam's disobedience was a direct transgression of a specific command. Those living from Adam to Moses had not sinned after that similitude; they did not have a stated law to violate. Still, death reigned over them, and Les notes they went by conscience rather than written law.
Les says that for approximately the first 1,600 years from Adam to the flood, there was no written law and no formal system of worship. Man simply had right and wrong on his conscience.
Adam's Sin Brought Death to All
Les explains that because Adam sinned, all men have sinned and death passed upon all men, establishing the problem behind Romans 5.
No Written Law Before the Flood
Les teaches that for roughly 1,600 years from Adam to the flood there was no written law and no formal system of worship; man went by conscience.
The Law Entered to Reveal Sin
Les explains that until the written law appeared, man could only go by conscience, but when the law came, breaking God's law became undeniable sin.
Sin Not Imputed Without a Stated Law
Les shows that those from Adam to Moses were not faced with a tree and a forbidden fruit as Adam was, so their sin was not imputed against a stated law.
The Law Shows Man's Sinfulness
Les teaches that the law could not fix the inherited sin problem; it only showed how sinful man really is, and where sin abounded grace abounded more.
Not Under Law but Under Grace — What Romans 6:14 Really Means
And there was no hanky-panky under the law because it was demanding and it was severe to the extremes. You know the illustration I would like to give? If someone under the law, before they of course degenerated it, but when they were under the true law of Moses, if they picked up sticks on the Sabbath day, what was the result? Death, see? No ifs, ands, buts. They were out of there.
By the Law Is the Knowledge of Sin
Les reads Romans 3:19-20 and emphasizes that by the law is the knowledge of sin, connecting the law's purpose to defining sin.
Why the Law Can't Save You — Romans 7:5-14 Explained
Whereas old Adam did nothing but generate sins, plural, that became fruit unto death, the flip side now is that we are delivered from the law, and we commented on this in the last program, that being dead wherein we were held, that is under old Adam and under the curse, that now we should serve in newness of spirit, under the control of the Holy Spirit, under the control of the Word of God, under …
Romans 5:13: For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Directly answers the question: sin was in the world before the law, but it was not charged or imputed without a law.
Romans 5:14: Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Explains that even without a stated law, death still reigned from Adam to Moses.
Romans 5:12: Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Shows that sin and death entered through Adam, establishing the basis for universal sin.
Romans 5:20: Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
Reveals why the law was given—so that the offense might abound and sin be seen clearly.
Romans 3:20: Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Shows the law's purpose is to produce knowledge of sin.
It means God did not count individual sins as violations of a law before a written law existed. Sin was still present because of Adam, but there was no formal law to define each act as a specific transgression.
Yes, Romans 5:13 says sin was in the world until the law. Everyone after Adam has the Adamic sin nature, so all have sinned. It simply was not imputed because there was no law.
Les Feldick teaches that before the written law, man went by conscience. There was no written law and no formal system of worship from Adam until the flood.
Watch the Teaching: Why Did Adam's Sin Affect All of Us? Romans 5:10-14