An early Roman church listening to the reading of Paul’s letter to them. Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
Romans 6:1-2 NIV
Grace is not a license to sin. In these two verses, the apostle Paul begins with a rhetorical question to get his readers to do a little thinking. In the previous chapter, he has discussed justification by faith; here, he’s talking about the implications of living under grace.
By asking the question “Shall we go on sinning”, Paul is pointing out a common misunderstanding in the early church — that some people felt that God’s grace opened the doors to unlimited sinning with no penalty! It was also difficult in the early church in Rome to get some common cultural ground, since those who were Jewish converts to Christianity were used to strict adherence to Mosaic law, while Gentile converts probably wanted to stick with some of their former pagan practices.
It’s not surprising that the early Roman church members were confused! They probably thought that by sinning more, they’d receive more grace. That thought totally contradicts the transformative power of grace, and Paul is pointing out that grace isn’t an excuse for sin, but a way to overcome it. Grace is supposed to lead people to be more righteous, not encourage them to sin more! This is sanctification, where we as believers are called to live more holy lives.
Paul’s reply to his rhetorical question begins with a rather emphatic phrase. The original Koine Greek phrase is μὴ γένοιτο (mē ginomai), translated as “God forbid that it should ever happen!” Paul is giving his Roman readers a taste of the serious nature of sin in the life of a believer, and giving them the message at the beginning of this devotional — grace is not a license to sin.
As part of sanctification, we who have accepted Christ are to “die to sin”. In other words, we are to break from the overwhelming power of sin as new creations in Christ, being renewed and transformed through our belief in His death and resurrection.
So, Paul asks, how can those “who have died to sin” live in sin any longer? Living in sin means continuing to go on with the habitual practice of sinning. Sadly, many modern-day Christians still live in sin. Many of the prayer requests we receive contain blatant clues that the requester has not died to sin. I obviously won’t divulge those here, but I often find myself not praying for that person’s request, but rather asking God to awaken the person to the fact that they need to repent and die to sin instead!
Paul’s question here shows just how absurd it is to continue to sin after being set free from sin’s power. The Holy Spirit empowers all believers to live righteously, and we are urged in Scripture as far back in the Bible as Leviticus 11:44 “consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.”
I’ll finish today’s devotional with this thought-provoking commentary from David Guzik of Enduring Word:
iv. From a purely natural or secular viewpoint, grace is dangerous. This is why many people don’t really teach or believe in grace and instead emphasize living by law. They believe that if you tell people that God saves and accepts them apart from what they deserve, then they will have no motive to be obedient. In their opinion, you simply can’t keep people on the straight and narrow without a threat from God hanging over their head. If they believe their position in Jesus is settled because of what Jesus did, then the motivation of holy living is gone.
Repeating for the third time in this devotional, “grace is not a license to sin”. If you profess to be a Christian and you’re still living a life filled with sin, you may be in for a serious shock when you meet your maker. Repentance and transformation should be two very important focal points in your Christian life.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that in Christ my sins are forgiven and that through His death and resurrection I have new life. He not only died for me but also with me, so that my old sinful nature is no longer my master. Help me to live by faith in the Son of God, free from the power of sin, and to let His life shine through me for Your glory. AMEN.