Are You Being Accused Of Giving People A License To Sin? (Romans 6:1)

Romans 6:1 says,

“What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?”

To properly interpret and understand Romans 6, it is critical to understand Romans 1-5.

Romans 6 is a continuation of Romans 5 and contains answers to several hypothetical questions Paul asks as follow up questions from Romans 5.

The questions Paul posed in Romans 6, and answers he gives to each question, were probably typical questions he was asked and answers he gave as he shared the good news of grace.

In Romans 5, Paul teaches the law (Ten Commandments) was given to increase sin, and the more sin increased, the more grace increased (Romans 5:20).

He also teaches in Romans 6 that we are not under law, but under grace.

Therefore, Paul poses two major questions:

Question #1: “Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1)

Question #2: “Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace?” (Romans 6:15)

In Romans 6, Paul answers these two questions.

Romans 6 is Paul’s response to those who may be contemplating using grace as a license to sin.

Paul was often misunderstood as giving people a license to sin when he taught the good news of grace.

He was also misrepresented by those who slandered him by accusing him of watering down the gospel with too much grace, resulting in people using grace as a license to sin.

Both those who misunderstood him and those who misrepresented him were wrong in their conclusions about Paul’s message of grace (grace is really Jesus’ message that he gave Paul - Acts 20:24).

The truth is that unless those claiming to preach the gospel can be misunderstood and misrepresented as giving people a license to sin, then they are not communicating the biblical gospel message as made plain in Romans.

They are the ones who are watering down the gospel with their own thoughts, opinions, and random verses taken out of context.

So, if you are being misunderstood by some and misrepresented by others as giving people a license to sin, then be encouraged...you are preaching the gospel of grace from Romans just as Paul did. You can rest assured...no legalist will ever be misunderstood and misrepresented as giving people a license to sin.