How would grace be more powerful than law?
20Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 5:20-21 (ESV)
In the final two verses of Romans 5, Paul addresses a potential objection to his argument about the role of the law in relation to sin and grace. Some might argue that the giving of the law through Moses should have made a positive difference in humanity’s relationship with God, perhaps even establishing Moses as another “head” of humanity, similar to Adam or Christ. However, Paul agrees that while the law does make a difference, it’s not in the way one might expect.
Paul states that “the law was added so that the trespass might increase” (v. 20). This means that when the law was given through Moses, it made sin more apparent and even more severe. People could no longer claim ignorance as an excuse for their disobedience. As Paul will later explain in Romans 7, the law can even provoke us to sin by making us aware of God’s standards and our inability to meet them. The law demonstrates that it’s not a lack of knowledge that prevents us from obeying God, but rather our own unwillingness and inability to do so. We don’t need to try harder; we need to be rescued.
However, sin, which is highlighted by the law, is not the end of the story. We are not doomed to die in our sin, as we would be if Adam were our only representative. God’s grace is far greater than human rebellion. As Paul puts it, “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (v. 20). The Greek phrase used here is even stronger, implying that grace “super-abounded” or “overflowed” in response to sin.
Why did God’s grace abound in this way? So that “grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (v. 21). In other words, God’s grace triumphs over sin and death, establishing a new reign of righteousness and life through Christ. This truth is most vividly demonstrated at the cross, where we see the worst of human sin as Jesus was crucified. Yet, even the most horrific act of sin could not thwart God’s plan of salvation. Instead, at the cross, we see grace overwhelming sin and life triumphing over death.
For those who are in Christ, the first Adam is not the final word. Jesus, the second Adam, is our perfectly obedient representative before God. In Him, we have certain hope and new life. The law, though it reveals our sin, is not our savior. It points us to our need for Christ, in whom we find grace, righteousness, and eternal life.
As believers, we can rejoice in the fact that God’s grace is more than sufficient to cover our sin and to secure our eternal future. We don’t have to live under the condemnation of the law or in fear of death. Instead, we can live in the freedom and assurance that comes from being united to Christ, our gracious and righteous head.
Take a moment to reflect on specific instances where God’s grace has overcome your sins and failures. How have you experienced the “super-abounding” grace of God in your own life?
[The ideas for this week’s materials on Romans 5:12-21 were drawn from Tim Keller’s book “Romans 1-7 for You“]
Haha! Once again, I could write an endless novel on the subject of today’s question. There are a great multitude of specific instances over the course of my life where God’s grace has overcome my sins and failures. I suppose that the most obvious would be as it pertains to my sobriety. I remember back to a time, shortly before I became a believer, that I had come to a point of complete and utter hopelessness and desperation in my addiction, (the details of which I’ve shared many times here.) I didn’t know if there really was a God, or, if there was, whether or not He cared much for me. But, I was so desperate, I prayed- and, for the first time in my life, I prayed sincerely: “God, I don’t know if You’re really there, or if You even care- but I need help!” Shortly after that a course of events was set in motion that led me to accept His offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, and, slowly but surely, my life began to change. As I look back now, nearly sixteen years later, I am overwhelmed and amazed at the way in which God has more than answered that initial prayer of a desperate, hope to die addict. In fact, He has gone far above and beyond anything I could have ever expected or imagined! I have certainly experienced many ups and downs, including many instances of sin and failure through it all, but God has remained faithful to raise me up out of the miry muck of my own making. As I said, that was sixteen years ago, and today I am just a little over eleven and a half years sober, so it hasn’t been smooth sailing the entire way. But, I can definitely say that I have seen that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” And, as Charlie pointed out, the abounding of grace does not necessarily negate the consequences of that sin, but I have seen the way in which God can and does work through even those consequences to display His grace and power in magnificent and glorious ways! The life I have today because of Him is beyond anything I ever imagined when I first cried out to Him that dark and lonely night on the streets of Santa Ana! His grace has been way more than sufficient, and continues to be “super-abounding” in my life.
I myself have shared my own story many times of how I dug my own dark hole into which I fell – a trap of my own making and in my last desperate moment when I wanted to give in and give up God picked me up and put me on a different path. I realized years later that He was actually always with me even before I knew Him or know of Him. He answered my childish prayers even before and gave me choices and each time when I chose badly because of the desire of the flesh it had gone badly for me until I desperately called out for another way.
Now I know Him and love Him and give myself onto His care and I prayed for peace and to be of used – for a purpose. He grants this too but to be honest it is not an easy path. To be part of His work is not to frolic in pleasure but to walk where there is despair and desperation and to pronounce His good news. But in such a walk we become useful and walking with Him we are not detracted by sins. It is in His presence that I can find the peace I long for.
God is always faithful and praise the Lord for the peace and hope He brings to us all.