Were sin abounded, Grace did much more abound

I was once acquainted with a man, a self-proclaimed “grace” believer, who used the title phrase of this article, which is the last half of verse 20, chapter 5 of Paul’s letter to the Romans, to not only justify his sinning, but to actually glory in it.

His favorite saying was, “We’ve got a lot of sinning to do, brother,  so let’s get on with it!”

Of course, this is a corruption of its meaning and flies in the face of the passage’s context, and for sure ignores what follows in chapter 6, verses 1-3:

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?

2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

The context of Romans chapters 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8  is Paul’s presentation of the doctrine of justification by faith, apart from the works of the law.  ((Romans 3:21)) Paul’s gospel. ((Romans 2:16; 16:25; 2 Tim. 2:8))  simply stated, declares that “where  no law is, there is no transgression.” (( Romans 4:15))

The statement at the end of Romans 5, “Moreover the law entered,  that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound,” is meant to point out the fact that the law came to illuminate and enumerate sin in an abundant fashion, for the purposes of leaving man–Jew, Gentile, circumcised and uncircumcised–without the excuse of saying, “I didn’t know….”

The fact that the grace of God super abounds over sin, while it is our surety that sin cannot cost us our salvation or separate us from God’s love, ((Rom. 8:38,39)) does not issue believers a license to sin, and it certainly doesn’t warrant glorying in our sins, as this man was doing and encouraging others to do.

Our apostle said,   “…God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,”  ((Gal 6:14)) not in the sin that the cross and His shed blood paid for.

Indeed,  should we not do the opposite of this? Once we are saved, are we not admonished to turn away from it and encourage other brethren to do the same?  And when we see it going on within the fellowships we are associated with,  unlike the Corinthians who allowed a man who was living in a sinful relationship with his step mother to remain in fellowship with them, we should follow the example of our apostle, and call it out and denounce it, not excuse it with a foolish statement like, “he’s got the grace to do it.”  The following passage sums up the meaning of the grace wherein we stand:

“Rom 6:14-18
For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.

18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Amen

Related articles: “License”; “Sin, where the rubber meets the road.”

Please feel free to reprint this article for distribution. All Scripture references are taken from the King James Bible.
Post Script:

Are you saved? Jesus Christ—“who knew no sin”—and his sacrificial death on the Cross, has made the way for “everyone that believeth…to be reconciled to God. History has shown that whatever peace man has achieved in the world can only be temporary. The Bible says that individual men and women can know, beyond a doubt, that they are saved and bound for heaven, and therefore have absolute and permanent peace, regardless of what is going on in the world, by trusting Jesus Christ and his death on the cross for their eternal salvation. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Have you done this? If not, why not now?