Romans 5:20 says, “But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” This verse comes in the midst of Paul’s discussion of sin and grace in Romans 5, and provides a key insight into how God’s grace relates to human sin.
In the preceding verses, Paul has established that sin entered the world through Adam and brought death and condemnation to all people (Rom 5:12). He then contrasts this to the free gift of righteousness and justification that comes through Christ, which brings eternal life (Rom 5:15-17). Paul is highlighting the surpassing nature of God’s grace in Christ over the effects of Adam’s sin.
In verse 20, Paul makes an even more startling statement – he says that where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. In other words, human sin provides an opportunity for God’s grace to be magnified even more. The worse human sin and rebellion become, the more remarkable and glorious God’s grace appears in contrast.
John Stott comments on this verse: “Where sin reaches a high-water mark, grace rises even higher. When sin abounds, grace hyper-abounds. In the contest between sin and grace, grace wins hands down.”
Several important truths can be drawn from this verse:
- God’s grace is greater than all human sin. No matter how much sin abounds, God’s grace is able to overcome it. There is no limit to God’s grace or forgiveness for those who repent.
- Growth in grace is always possible. Believers should never get discouraged no matter how much they struggle with sin, because there is always more grace available in Christ.
- God redeems even the worst situations. When people’s sin is exposed or abounds, it provides an opportunity for God’s grace to shine brightly and bring redemption out of the sin.
- Contrast highlights the greatness of grace. God allows contrasts like sin abounding to help people see the greatness of His grace. The worse sin seems, the more people recognize their need for grace.
Charles Spurgeon said “Where sin abounded to its most abominable degree, grace has risen to its loftiest altitudes.” This verse reminds us that no matter how much sin abounds, whether in an individual, or in a society, or historically, God’s grace is able to redeem and overcome it.
The context of Romans 5 shows that Paul is not excusing or promoting sin – quite the opposite. The proper response to God’s abounding grace is to turn from sin and commit one’s life to righteousness (Rom 6:1-4). In response to amazing grace, Paul urges believers to offer themselves as slaves to righteousness. Sin is still utterly sinful, but where it increases, God’s grace increases even more.
1. God’s grace is limitless
Romans 5:20 highlights a key attribute of God’s grace – it is limitless. There is no sin, no person, no people group, no society that is beyond the reach of God’s grace. Even where evil and depravity seem to abound without limits, God’s grace abounds even more. His grace is able to overcome the worst of sins and transform even the most corrupt sinners.
The Old Testament shows this truth vividly through God’s gracious dealings with His people Israel. Though they were stubborn, prone to idolatry, and broke covenant with God over and over, He continued to pursue them and show them grace. Though they deserved judgment, He showed them mercy and restored them repeatedly (Nehemiah 9:16-31). Even the wickedness of nations like Nineveh did not place them outside the reach of God’s available grace (Jonah 3).
Jesus’ ministry and interactions with notorious sinners (tax collectors, prostitutes, etc.) also displayed this boundless grace. The religious leaders were appalled that Jesus would associate with such wicked people (Luke 15:1-2), but He consistently extended grace to them when they turned to Him in repentance and faith. His grace knew no limits.
Romans 5:20 assures believers that there is no limit to God’s grace or His willingness to forgive. Any sinner who approaches Him in genuine repentance and faith will experience His limitless grace. As Hebrews 4:16 says, believers can “approach the throne of grace with confidence” to find grace and mercy in their time of need.
2. Grace grows as believers mature
For believers, Romans 5:20 highlights the incredible potential for growth in God’s grace. Many Christians feel stagnant in their walk with God, as if they are not experiencing His grace and power like they wish they could. This verse provides great encouragement – no matter where you are at in your walk with Christ, there is always more grace to experience and grow in.
As believers grow and mature in Christ, God entrusts them with greater challenges which require greater grace. What once seemed an impossible trial now seems conquerable by God’s grace. What once seemed like an unconquerable sin now seems avoidable by His power. As Paul experienced in 2 Corinthians 12, God’s strength is made perfect in weakness – the weaker believers are in themselves, the more they experience the surpassing grace of Christ strengthening them.
Thisgrowth in grace comes through the ordinary Christian disciplines of Bible study, prayer, fellowship and worship. It also comes through applying oneself to serving and obeying Christ in everyday life. As believers step out in faith and experience God’s working through them, it builds their trust in His grace. Experiencing victory over temptation to sin also builds confidence in the abounding nature of grace.
Romans 5:20 encourages believers to see every struggle with sin, every difficult trial, as an opportunity to grow in experiencing God’s all-sufficient grace. Where sin seems to abound, grace can abound even more.
3. God redeems the worst situations through grace
For those experiencing great hardship, Romans 5:20 provides hope that God can redeem even the most difficult situations. When people are living in the consequences of sin – whether their own or others’ – it is easy to get discouraged and wonder if anything good can come of it. This verse reminds that God excels at bringing redemption out of even the worst scenarios.
A powerful biblical example is the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50. Though his brothers sold him into slavery out of jealousy, God redeemed this horribly sinful act by raising Joseph up as second-in-command over Egypt. Through Joseph, He saved many lives from famine. God was able to work powerfully through human sin to bring about eventual good (Genesis 50:20).
The supreme example is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. As Peter said in Acts 2:23, He was handed over according to God’s predetermined plan – yet evil men put Him to death. The worst miscarriage of justice in history became the means of salvation for the world. God redeemed horrific human sin through the abounding grace shown by Christ on the cross.
For believers going through trials, Romans 5:20 is an encouragement that God is able to work powerfully through every hardship, using even evil circumstances to display His glorious grace. As Joseph said to his brothers, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Genesis 50:20).
4. Sin highlights grace
Romans 5:20 indicates that one purpose God has in allowing sin is that it highlights His grace. Without sin, grace would be meaningless. It is the backdrop of sin and evil that makes grace so shockingly beautiful.
John Piper comments on how sin and grace interact: “Grace is not grace until God takes a sinner and showers him with blessings even though he deserves hell … Grace reaches its highpoint when it triumphs over the worst kinds of evil.” Without an awareness of sin and depravity, the splendor of grace cannot be seen or appreciated.
Even in the details of life, it is the bumps and blemishes that make grace noticeable. When someone sins against you, and you show them forgiveness instead of vengeance, grace abounds. When you have every right to be bitter about a hardship, but instead experience joy in the midst of it, grace abounds. God weaves trials, pains, injustices into life – not just so that grace can overcome them, but so that grace can be seen and savored.
The worse evil and sin appear, the brighter gracious love appears by contrast. Romans 5:20 indicates that one reason God allows sin and rebellion to continue is that it serves to highlight the glory of His abounding grace.
5. Grace yields gratitude, not irresponsibility
Romans 5:20 could be misunderstood to imply that more sin yields more grace, so sinning more leads to more of God’s grace. Paul refutes this strongly in Romans 6:1-4, stating that believers have died to sin and now must live new lives of holiness. More sin only yields more grace when there is genuine repentance and a turning from sin.
Abusing Romans 5:20 by persisting in sin with the hope of increased grace would be the height of irresponsibility. As Romans 6:1 says, believers have died to sin and are freed from it. God expects and enables His children to live in increasing obedience by His grace. The proper response to surpassing grace is wholehearted gratitude and pursuit of righteousness (Romans 12:1).
Charles Spurgeon said of Romans 5:20: “This is no excuse for your sinning: it is no permission or toleration of evil … [Paul] does not say that this allows you to wander, but he designs to stop you from wandering.” Though God’s grace abounds, sin remains utterly evil and deserves God’s wrath.
Romans 5:20 is no excuse for irresponsibility but rather a prod toward responsibility. Because believers have experienced the surpassing grace of God, they are to respond by living righteously for His glory. Grace teachers what sin really is, moving Christians to hate it and turn from it.
6. Grace assures believers of security
Romans 5:20 provides great assurance of salvation and security to all who have trusted in Christ. Because God’s grace far exceeds the power of sin, believers can be confident in their eternal salvation. No matter how much they stumble and fall, God’s grace abounds even more.
The parable of the lost son illustrates this beautifully (Luke 15:11-32). Though the son sins greatly in selfishly demanding his inheritance and squandering it in sin, the father’s love compels him to run to his son when he returns. The grace he shows exceeds the sin of the son. Romans 5:20 reassures every repentant believer that God will always run to meet and restore His children when they turn back to Him.
This verse gives assurance that a true believer cannot lose his salvation. They can fall – but God’s grace abounds all the more to lift them up again as they seek Him. Jude 24-25 describes how God is able to keep His people from stumbling and present them blameless before Him with great joy. His grace ensures believer’s security.
Romans 8:35-39 further emphasizes believers’ eternal security because nothing can separate them from God’s inexhaustible grace and love. He will never forsake those He has redeemed (Hebrews 13:5). Romans 5:20 grounds this confidence in the boundless nature of God’s grace.
7. Grace came ultimately through the cross
Romans 5 must be understood in light of the cross which so vividly displayed God’s abounding grace. Sin abounded most greatly when it led to the murder of the perfect Son of God. Yet God overcame this ultimate evil through the ultimate demonstration of grace, by allowing Christ to die for sinners.
As Romans 3:25-26 says, Jesus’ sacrifice displayed God’s righteousness and grace by justifying ungodly sinners through faith in Christ. At the cross, “grace and sin abounded to their highest abounds; but grace won the day.” (Charles Spurgeon) The victory of grace was consummated at the resurrection, showing that grace conquers even death.
The amazing grace described in Romans 5 should continually lead believers back to the foot of the cross in humble thankfulness. Christians cannot understand grace fully without continually contemplating the murder of the Son of God for their salvation. There is no limit to such grace; it is indeed hyper-abounding.
The hymn “At Calvary” captures this well: “Mercy there was great, and grace was free / Pardon there was multiplied to me / There my burdened soul found liberty / At Calvary.” The cross remains the ultimate demonstration of abounding grace.
8. Grace should lead to godliness, not sin
Romans 5:20 should not be made an excuse for continuing in sin, but a motivation to pursue godliness. As Romans 6 makes clear, grace is not a license to sin but power to live righteously. Paul wants believers to grow in grace because it empowers obedience.
Titus 2:11-14 describes that the grace of God trains believers to reject ungodliness and live self-controlled, upright lives while waiting for Christ’s return. As believers grow in appreciating God’s grace, it should lead them to pursue godly living.
Peter encourages believers to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18). As they grow in grace, they will be empowered to live holy lives, as Peter urged a few verses earlier (1 Peter 1:13-16). Experiencing more of God’s grace yields more holiness, not more sin.
Romans 5:20 is not about becoming more sinful, but about God’s grace transforming sinners and empowering the pursuit of Christlikeness. Believers should examine if increased knowledge of God’s grace is yielding increased godliness and obedience in their lives.
9. God’s grace should humble believers
A deeper understanding of Romans 5:20 should cultivate great personal humility. When believers comprehend the boundless mercy and grace God has shown them while they were dead in sin (Eph 2:1-5), it should profoundly humble them.
In the parable of the unmerciful servant, Jesus warned against the evil of accepting God’s grace toward oneself and yet withholding grace from others (Matt 18:21-35). Grace always moves believers to see themselves as undeserving recipients who have been freely blessed by God.
As 1 Timothy 1:12-16 says, Paul saw himself as the foremost of sinners (v. 15) who received mercy and grace from Jesus (v. 12-14). This fueled in him not arrogance but overflowing thanksgiving to Christ (v. 12, 17). God’s surpassing grace should continually lead believers to thankful humility.
Romans 5:20 is an antidote to self-righteousness and arrogance. Believers have no grounds for feeling superiority over lost sinners – they have simply received grace upon grace from God (John 1:14-16). Recognition of lavish grace stimulates heartfelt praise and humility.
10. Grace yields joy and assurance
Romans 5:20 also yields great joy and assurance for the believer. What incredible joy to know that there is no limit to God’s grace and no sin He cannot forgive. Believers do not need to live in constant anxiety over slipping back into old sins or whether they are truly saved.
Rather, as Romans 8:1 says beautifully, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” God’s grace ensures believers will never be cut off from His love and salvation. As Romans 15:13 says, believers can overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. What relief to know God’s grace is boundless!
This assurance enables joy even in the toughest trials. Believers know that God will use every pain and injustice ultimately for their growth in grace and Christlikeness (Romans 5:3-5). Grace will have the final victory, and this hope fuels patient endurance (Romans 5:2-4). The boundless nature of grace leads to boundless joy and confidence.
Conclusion
Romans 5:20 provides a concise but powerful description of the relationship between human sin and God’s grace. No matter how much people’s sin abounds and rebels against God, His grace through Jesus Christ abounds even more. For believers, this truth provides assurance, joy, motivation to godly living, and empowerment to grow in grace. It highlights the beauty of grace against the dark backdrop of sin. And it points Christians continually back to the cross, where grace achieved its ultimate triumph.
