For where sin abounds grace?
Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.
Romans 5:20
In the Book of Romans, the apostle Paul said, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). Obviously, Paul was preaching the grace of God so radically that he was misunderstood and accused of telling people to sin more so that grace may abound. Of course, that was not the case.
Paul never said, “Let us sin more so that grace may abound” (and by the way, neither have I). Sin is evil, and it leads to destructive consequences. But have you noticed in today’s scripture what it is that actually causes sin to increase?
Read today’s scripture again. Paul states very clearly that the law entered so that sin might abound. What this means is that the more you preach the law, the more sin will abound. After all, the strength of sin is the law (1 Cor. 15:56). Therefore, when you see sin and you preach more of the law, you are adding wood to fire!
In saying that “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,” Paul meant this: sin does not stop God’s grace from flowing, but God’s grace will stop sin. Ask yourself which is greater, your sins or God’s grace? The answer is obvious. God’s grace is always greater!
In fact, when you read “where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” in the original Greek, it actually says that where sin abounded, grace superabounded. Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest captures this well in his translation of the verse: “where sin increased, grace superabounded, and then some on top of that.” How cool is that!
What Paul is saying is that where there is sin, where there is “a failing to hit the mark” (definition of “sin” by Thayer’s Greek Lexicon), that’s exactly where you will find God’s grace—His unmerited favor for your empowerment and victory—in superabounding measure. Isn’t that amazing?
Contrary to traditional thinking, God’s grace does not abandon you when you miss the mark. What a comfort and source of strength it is to know that His grace doesn’t leave us, but is right in the midst of our painful weaknesses, failings, and less-than-perfect situations to empower us to reign over them all!
My friend, maybe you have been struggling with a certain weakness or failing in some area of your life. It could be anger, unforgiveness, or an addiction that you can’t seem to kick. I encourage you to increase your exposure to God’s grace. Keep hearing preaching on the beauty of the person of Jesus and His finished work. Keep meditating on His love and what He has accomplished for you on the cross because grace is the only power that can stop sin in its tracks in your life.
When you fail, instead of feeling guilty and condemned, receive the superabounding grace of God that tells you that you are still righteous in Christ. It is His superabounding grace that will rescue you from that sin. Those who wallow in guilt and condemnation are the ones who have no ability to overcome their sins. Since they believe that God’s grace has departed, what hope can they have? Victory over sin comes only when people encounter the superabundance of God’s grace. It is His grace that has made sinners righteous!
Luther understood perhaps better than anyone the personal implications of Romans 5:20–21.
In Romans 5, Paul has been showing the cause and consequence of rebellion, sin, and corruption. All humanity has been born “into Adam” — heirs and perpetuators by nature of the sinful rebellion that turned the world upside down. Through Adam’s act of rebellion, all men stand under the power of sin and the corresponding judgment of death. The many “have died” because of the rebellion of “this one” (Romans 5:15).
Humanity, however, is so poisoned by sin that even the sinfulness of sin is opaque. While mankind realizes that something is amiss (Romans 1:21–32), we don’t sense the urgent severity of our dying condition. This, according to Romans 5:20, is where God’s law figures in redemptive history — shining the noonday sun of God’s revealed will into our dark lives. The law’s arrival is not the solution; it is unable in itself to improve our serious situation. In fact, it shows that sin is not simply “doing bad things.” Sin is rebellion — deliberate offense against a righteous God. The law causes us to see our sin clearly and to realize that our problem is far more serious than we thought. The law shows sin for what it is, and where it is — everywhere. Anything not done from faith is sin (Romans 14:23).
Luther’s own experience testified to the role that the knowledge of God’s law plays in highlighting human sin:
We have all had similar experiences. We read or hear a text from the Bible and realize a habit of heart that we have been cultivating is not only unhelpful, it is explicitly forbidden. Or we identify in ourselves a pattern of life described as rebellious by Scripture, seeing for the first time the depth of offense it is against a holy God. We see our sin as transgression. We are undone.
But that, praise God, is not the final word: “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that as sin reigned in death, grace might also reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:20–21).
The point is that, no matter how deep in the power of sin we have sunk, God’s grace is deeper still. The condemnation that Adam brought by rebellion, Christ has overcome by his perfect obedience (Romans 5:19). No matter how deep in the power of sin we have sunk in the rebelliousness of our lives, in Christ grace abounded all the more in order that righteousness, rather than sin (and life, rather than death) might have the final word (Romans 5:21). Luther writes,
Luther’s first published hymn captures the beautiful reality of the super-abounding grace of God. May his words from “the devil’s dungeon” deepen your rejoicing in the God of all grace this Halloween.
But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
