By grace, let's understand "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?"

Believers, God's everlasting gift of righteousness to us in Christ is not to make us free to go on sinning sprees as many who do not yet understand as well as those who feel that everyone except them is just itching to commit sin believe. Romans 5:20 says:

"Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,"

See the NLT: "God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant."

Paul preached this so much that people started falsely accusing him of preaching that it is okay to do evil since it presents an opportunity for God to show His kindness! See Paul noting the accusations against him and his fellow Grace preachers in Romans 3:

5 “But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for Him to punish us?” (This is merely a human point of view.) 6 Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would He be qualified to judge the world? 7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights His truthfulness and brings Him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned."

Peter too spoke of those who tried and are still trying to twist the gospel that Paul preached to mean what it does not in 2 Peter 3-

15 "And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction."

Religious people who were all about obeying the Law of Moses in order to get right with God accused Paul of preaching that it is okay to sin because of God's grace, just as many do concerning preachers God's grace today. Because of these accusations, Paul set things straight in Romans 6 which opens with verse 1:

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

See the NLT: "Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace?"

But even this verse is being twisted by many today!

Romans 6 opens with: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" Notice "What shall we say then?" But what shall we say to what? What was Paul referring to here?

The VOICE version says: "1 How should we respond to all of this? Is it good to persist in a life of sin so that grace may multiply even more?" But "respond to all of" what? Here goes:

The book of Romans (and the entire bible too) was not divided into chapters and verses when they were written. Bible scholars did this. Paul's letter to the Romans was one seamless letter. "All of this" in Paul's question- 1 "How should we respond to all of this? Is it good to persist in a life of sin so that grace may multiply even more?" - in Romans 6:1 refers to everything Paul wrote in the book of Romans before we get to Romans 6. Paul was saying:

"What shall we say then...?" Do all the things that I wrote in Romans 1-5 give us license to "continue in sin that grace may abound?" Do all the things I wrote including these truths-

- that: "But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are." Romans 3:21-22

- that: "26...for He himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law." Romans 3:26-28.

- that: "Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by faith." Romans 3:13

- that: "For if what God promises is to be given to those who obey the Law, then faith means nothing and God's promise is worthless." Romans 4:14. (Bear in mind that the law is not of faith)

- that: "And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

- that: "One man’s disobedience (Adam's) opened the door for all humanity to become sinners. So also one Man’s obedience (Christ's) opened the door for many to be made perfectly right with God and acceptable to Him." Romans 5:19

- that: "God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 5:20-21.

With his"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?", Paul was saying that do all these things he wrote in the previous chapters mean that we can just go and be sinning anyhow?

Romans 5:20-21 above come immediately before the misunderstood Romans 6:1. See the verses TOGETHER as they were when Paul wrote this letter (NLT):

"God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace?"

See the NKJV of Romans 6:1: "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?"

Paul was saying: "What shall we say then" to all of the things I wrote in Romans 1-5. "How should we respond to all of this?" Do all these things I have written mean that we should now go and be sinning anyhow? Does the truth that I declared : "So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law" and that "But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant" - do these things mean that we can just go and be sinning anyhow since we have grace?

Romans 6:1 is a rhetorical question based on what Paul wrote in Romans 1-5 which many religious people saw as a license to sin! Many could not understand what Paul meant by: "But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,"

Paul answered his own Spirit-inspired question to his accusers by himself in the next verses of Romans 6:

"Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?" 

Being under grace and continuing to live in sin is as impossible as jumping into the sea naked without getting wet.

See verse 15-18: "Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living."

Notice that to "obey God" is to "wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you." Paul's teaching was not "obey the law to be righteous/godly." Paul preached that to do this is to be under the curse. See Galatians 3:10- "Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the scripture says, “Whoever does not always obey everything that is written in the book of the Law is under God's curse!”"

See the gospel of Christ which he preached and which is God's word that true believers obey:

"26...for He himself is fair and just, and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

But many today pounce on this single verse - "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?"- and twist God's word to mean that Paul preached that one must obey the law in order to be godly, the very thing that Paul preached against! Why did Paul preach against this? Because this is the result according to the same Paul in Galatians 5:4-

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God's grace."

And this from the same Paul: Galatians 3:10- "Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the scripture says, “Whoever does not always obey everything that is written in the book of the Law is under God's curse!”"

These verses and many more like it were not written to unbelievers. Many were written to the Christians in Galatia who were deceived into believing that they had to obey the law in order to remain righteous/godly and attain perfection...after they believed Christ who gave His life to make us righteous and perfect in God's sight.

Paul did not say "grace abounds" where there is sin. He said: "But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,". Emphasis on "much more." God's grace "super-abounds" so our sins do not stand a chance of reigning over us.

We see an example of "But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more," in the life of Peter. Peter and Judas both committed similar sins of betraying Jesus. They both felt remorse. Judas did not receive Grace (undeserved, unmerited favour.) He tried to earn his way to righteousness by human effort at doing restitution as demanded by the law, just as is being taught in many places of worship today. But he died. The letter kills. But Peter received Grace (undeserved, unmerited favour) and the formerly cowardly reed, now filled with the Holy Spirit, publicly preached a sermon where 3,000 people got saved...in full glare of the same people that got him so fearful that he denied Jesus profusely and were still trying to kill the followers of our Saviour Jesus Christ!

God's grace super-abounds so much that sin does not stand a chance in our lives; His super-abounding Grace is akin to extinguishing a lit matchstick (our sins) with the force of a thousand fire extinguishers (abundance of Grace). If your own sins are fifty matchsticks of fire, there is super-abounding grace to extinguish and give you victory over them all. If it is an atomic bomb, there is even much more grace to give you victory over it.

Sin doesn't stand a chance in the life of the one who is under God's abundance of grace. Rather, under grace, we get to live in triumph over sin and death through Christ as it is written in Romans 5:17-

"For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

Lack, sickness, depression and all earthly ills are "death begun." In Christ, we get to live in triumph over sin and death as well as all of its symptoms. The Holy Spirit transforms us from within so much that what is on the outside cannot but align with the work of the Spirit within. 2 Corinthians 3:18.

But the opposite is what we are hearing in many of our churches. Many hold the wrong belief of the Galatians that made Paul call them "foolish" and "bewitched." Paul told them in Galatians 3-

"Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. 2 Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. 3 How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? 4 Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?"

Believer, believe right. By grace, let's not be deceived into relying on the arm of flesh (obeying the law) that will fail in order to be righteous and sin free and thus get cut off from Christ! Many are subtly being led to reject Grace for their own righteousnesses which come from "doing the right thing" of obeying the law and doing good things in order to be godly and to receive His blessings. This way seems right to most, but the letter (law) kills. Proverbs 14:12 tells us:

"There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death."

Christ's death is meaningless/in vain in the lives of those who try to get right with God by keeping the law:

"I refuse to reject the grace of God. But if a person is put right with God through the Law, it means that Christ died for nothing!"

Believer, are you being taught to re-double your own efforts at obeying the law doing works of the law in order to get rid of sin in your life and overcome death and its symptoms of lack, depression, poverty, sickness and other earthly ills? This is as USELESS as a person with cancer putting plaster on a festering sore that is as a result of the cancer within. Paul explains in Romans 8:3-4 (MSG)-

"The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us."

Believer, by grace, let go of all your human effort at obeying the law to get right with God and let Christ love you into wholeness. Believe what God's word says of us in Romans 5:9-

"And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Know that no one can ever be sin-free by human effort. We sometimes think that we are "not that bad" and that we can control ourselves when it comes to sinning. This is the height of foolishness and pride too because no sin is beneath anybody. Because of this false security in the arm of flesh that will fail, we berate other people by telling them that they should be "better than that" and impose loads that they just cannot carry on them, e.g. "You'd better stop sinning, obey the law and come to Christ or burn in hell..."

Understand that the reason why we are not committing particular sins is because we have not been tempted beyond what we can bear in those areas. The potential to commit heinous crimes is in everybody. God sees this potential and how favourable circumstances can make some people boast about their ability to obey the law or think that some sins are beneath them, just like Peter who thought he would not deny Jesus....

See the VOICE translation of Romans 5:20-

"When the law came into the picture, sin grew and grew; but wherever sin grew and spread, God’s grace was there in fuller, greater measure. No matter how much sin crept in, there was always more grace."

The law was not given for us to keep in order to be righteous by. The law was given to show up our guilt and sinfulness (Romans 3:19-20; Galatians 3:19.) The verse numbers are not there by mistake. The law gives sin dominion over those who try to obey it in order to be godly. But all who receive God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ GET TO live in triumph over sin and death through the One, Jesus Christ.

Grace super-abounds where sin increases not to make it okay for us to wallow in sins as many misunderstand but to save us from our sins. Grace is a Person. His name is Jesus Christ.

Believe Right and you will Live Right.