What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1 NKJV).

Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

Of course, we know that Paul’s answer is a firm “No.” It makes no sense to think that grace should motivate you to sin. But instead of rushing to that point, let’s linger a while on what Paul has said.

Jesus died for all your sins—past, present, and future. God’s grace covered them all. You are completely justified before God, with a new position in Christ, and the result is that none of your sins—past, present, and future—can jeopardize that standing. You are eternally secure, understand?

But let’s say you do continue to sin. And frankly, you will. We all do. You probably won’t finish the day without sinning in some way.

But let’s say you deliberately continue to sin. What happens then?

Grace will abound, multiply (CSB), or increase (NIV, NASB) over and above the sin.

Remember that sin entered and spread throughout the world like a virus, multiplying as the population grew, increasing with every new human being born into the world and choosing to sin, not just once or twice, but thousands of times. And when God gave the law, sins multiplied even more:

The law came along to multiply the trespass (Rom 5:20a).

So, sin was growing at an exponential rate. Was it too big a problem for God to solve? Not at all. As great a problem as sin posed, it paled in comparison to the greatness of God’s grace in Christ:

 But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more (Rom 5:20b).

Grace multiplied!

The Greek is closer to meaning it overabounded or superabounded (hypereperisseusen, cf. 2 Cor 7:4) to wash that sin away.

So, should you continue to sin, that grace may abound? Absolutely not. But if you do, then it will.

Thought for the day: When your sins keep adding, but God’s grace keeps multiplying.