Romans 5:20 is one of the most stunning proclamations of God’s grace in all of Scripture. It reads:
“Now the law came in so that the trespass might increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” (Romans 5:20, NRSV)
At first glance, this verse may seem paradoxical. Why would God allow sin to increase? And what does it mean for grace to abound even more? To grasp the radical power of this passage, we must dive deeper into its meaning, particularly the astonishing way Paul describes grace in the original Greek.
What is the Meaning of Romans 5:20?
Paul writes that the law entered so that trespass (παράπτωμα, paraptōma) might increase. This doesn’t mean God delights in sin, but rather that the law exposed and magnified sin. Before the law, humanity was already entangled in sin, but the law made the depth of our condition undeniable. It was not given to fix the problem but to reveal it—to highlight our need for a greater deliverance.
And then comes the climactic statement: “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Here, Paul does something extraordinary. He uses the Greek word huperperisseuō (ὑπερπερισσεύω) for “abounded all the more.” This word is a compound of perisseuō, meaning “to abound, overflow, to be more than enough,” and the prefix huper (ὑπέρ), which means “above and beyond, to an extreme degree.”
To break it down:
- Perisseuō already means an overabundance—more than is needed.
- Huper intensifies it to a degree that is almost excessive, overflowing beyond all — in other words it’s hyper!
If Paul had merely said that grace “abounded” (perisseuō), that would have been amazing enough. But he goes further—grace doesn’t just match sin, it hyper-abounds! It doesn’t just meet the increase of sin; it utterly overwhelms it, flooding over every boundary sin could ever set.
In essence, Paul is saying: No matter how deep sin goes, grace goes deeper. No matter how high sin rises, grace rises higher. If sin spreads, grace explodes. There is no contest—grace wins, grace overwhelms, grace reigns.
This is the heart of the gospel: sin may be great, but grace is always greater.
How Do You Continue in the Grace of God?
If grace is as overwhelming and hyper-abundant as Paul describes in Romans 5:20, how do we continue in it? Is grace merely the starting point of salvation, or is it the very atmosphere in which we live?
To answer this, we must first understand what grace (charis, χάρις) truly is. The word charis in Greek carries deep and layered meaning. It signifies favor, kindness, goodwill, and gift—but it is no ordinary gift. In the Greco-Roman world, charis was used to describe a favor so extravagant that it created an unbreakable bond between the giver and the recipient. It wasn’t a mere transaction; it was relational.
In the New Testament, charis takes on an even greater depth. It is God’s freely given, unearned, and transformative power working in and through us. Grace is not just God’s kindness—it is His very life, pouring into ours. It is the movement of divine love, continually drawing us into deeper communion with Him.
So how do we continue in this grace?
1. Recognize That Grace Is Not Just a One-Time Event, But a Way of Life
Grace didn’t just save us—it sustains us. Paul declares in Romans 5:2 that we stand in grace:
“Through Him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:2)
To stand in grace means that we remain rooted in the finished work of Christ. We do not move beyond grace; we grow deeper into it. It is not something we work for—it is something we live from.
2. Yield to the Power of Grace Within You
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:10:
“But by the grace (charis) of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—yet not I, but the grace (charis) of God that was with me.”
Grace is not passive; it is active. It is God’s empowering presence at work in us. Paul labored in the gospel, but he did not do so in his own strength—he relied on the power of grace. The moment we think we must sustain ourselves, we step out of grace and into striving. Grace is God doing in us what we could never do ourselves.
3. Abide in Christ—the Fullness of Grace
John 1:16 says:
“For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”
The phrase “grace upon grace” (χάριν ἀντὶ χάριτος) can be understood as wave after wave of grace. We do not receive a single dose of grace and then move on; we are constantly supplied with more. This happens and is lived out as we abide in Christ (John 15:4-5). To abide means to rest in His life, to trust in His sufficiency, and to remain connected to Him.
Continuing in grace is not about maintaining a performance—it is about remaining in relationship. It is resting in the reality that we are fully loved, fully forgiven, and fully empowered by the One who is Himself the embodiment of grace.
Grace: A Life, Not a Ladder
Many people treat grace as a ladder they must climb, but grace is not something we ascend toward—it is the very ground we walk on. It is Christ’s life in us, always enough, always present, always super-abounding beyond every sin, weakness, or failure.
To continue in grace is to wake up every day and say: I am held. I am empowered. I am loved—not because of what I do, but because of who He is.
What Did Paul Mean When He Said, “Shall We Continue in Sin That Grace May Abound”?
After Paul makes the astonishing claim in Romans 5:20 that grace hyper-abounds beyond sin, he anticipates a natural objection. If grace increases where sin abounds, then wouldn’t it make sense to continue in sin so that grace may abound even more? Paul addresses this head-on in Romans 6:1-2:
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:1-2, ESV)
The phrase “shall we continue in sin” uses the Greek word epimenō (ἐπιμένω), meaning to remain, to persist, or to abide. Paul is not talking about occasional failures—he is addressing the idea of deliberately choosing a lifestyle of sin under the pretense that grace will simply cover it.
His response is emphatic: By no means! (Greek: mē genoito, μὴ γένοιτο), which is the strongest negation in Greek, roughly meaning, Absolutely not! Unthinkable!
But why? If grace is limitless, why does Paul reject this idea so forcefully? The answer is found in the transformative power of grace itself.
Grace Is Not a License—It Is Liberation
Paul’s reasoning is not based on fear or law, but on a profound reality: we have died to sin.
When Christ died, we died with Him. When He rose, we rose with Him into newness of life (Romans 6:3-4). Grace is not just about covering sin—it is about breaking sin’s power.
- Sin is not something we are meant to manage—it is something we have been set free from.
- Grace does not just forgive us—it transforms us from the inside out.
- We do not continue in sin because sin no longer defines us.
To live under grace is to live in the reality of our union with Christ. We are not trying to earn our righteousness, nor are we abusing grace as an excuse to sin. Instead, we are living from the truth that we are new creations, empowered by the very life of Christ.
Grace: The Victory of Christ in Us
This is where the Christus Victor reality shines through. Sin is not just an individual failure; it is a power that once enslaved humanity. But through His death and resurrection, Jesus has triumphed over sin, death, and the devil (Colossians 2:15). To continue in sin as though nothing has changed is to deny the victory of Christ.
Paul is not afraid that grace will make people careless about sin. On the contrary, he knows that true grace—God’s transforming power—leads to freedom. Those who truly grasp grace do not desire to remain in sin, because they see it for what it is: a defeated enemy.
Living in the Overflow of Grace
Romans 5:20 reveals the breathtaking truth that grace always outpaces sin. But this does not mean we take sin lightly—it means we take grace seriously. Grace is not a flimsy excuse; it is the power of God at work in us, changing us from glory to glory.
To live in grace is to live in Christ—to walk in His victory, to stand in His love, and to rest in the reality that we are forever His. Grace is not just a doctrine; it is the very heartbeat of the gospel. It is the triumph of Jesus over sin and death, and it is the invitation to live fully alive in Him.
So let us continue in grace, not as those trying to manipulate it, but as those transformed by it. Where sin once reigned, grace now overflows. And grace will have the final word.
Recommended GAN TV Host Teachings
Don Keathley: Big Jesus Equals Big Grace
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Matthew Heister: The Kingdom is For Everyone Grace Refresher Part 1 through 4
Brandon Vaughn: What is Grace?
Biblical and Theological Sources:
- Greek Lexicons and Word Studies:
- Strong’s Concordance – Provides definitions and breakdowns of Greek words such as charis (G5485) and huperperisseuō (G5248).
- Thayer’s Greek Lexicon – Offers detailed meanings of grace (charis) and how it is used in the New Testament.
- BDAG (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich Lexicon) – A leading scholarly Greek lexicon that explores deeper semantic nuances of charis and perisseuō.
- Commentaries on Romans:
- Douglas Moo, The Epistle to the Romans (New International Commentary on the New Testament, NICNT) – Offers in-depth exegesis on Romans 5:20 and grace. {Purchase HERE}
- N.T. Wright, Paul and the Faithfulness of God – Discusses Paul’s theology of grace and its implications in Romans. {Purchase HERE}
- John Stott, The Message of Romans – Explores the contrast between law, sin, and grace in Romans 5-6.
- Patristic and Historical Sources:
- St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Romans – Emphasizes the transforming power of grace beyond mere forgiveness. {Learn more HERE}
- Augustine, On Grace and Free Will – Addresses the nature of divine grace in the context of sin.
- Athanasius, On the Incarnation – Lays the foundation for grace as God’s active work in restoring humanity. {Purchase HERE}
- Systematic Theology & Theological Works:
- Karl Barth, The Epistle to the Romans – Discusses Paul’s radical view of grace surpassing sin. {Purchase HERE}
- Jürgen Moltmann, The Crucified God – Relates grace to the Christus Victor model of the atonement.
- T.F. Torrance, The Mediation of Christ – Explores grace in relation to union with Christ. {Purchase HERE}
