Can We Sin Now That We Are Not Under Law But Under Grace? (Part 1)

Romans 6:15 says,

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means!”

In Romans 6:15-23, Paul continues to address the issue of sin as it relates to grace.

However, in these verses he approaches it from a different angle.

As we have seen in Romans 6:1-14, Paul approached the issue of sin and grace from the following perspective:

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?”

In Romans 6:15-23, his perspective changes to:

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?”

In Romans 6:1-14, he addresses the issue of sinning in order to get more grace.

In Romans 6:14-23, he addresses the issue of sinning because a believer is not under law, but grace.

In both sections of Romans 6, he is instructing a small group of people who view grace as an opportunity to sin.

The questions Paul asks in Romans 6:15, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?”, arise from Romans 6:14 where Paul states:

“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Paul clearly and fearless teaches that a believer is not under law but under grace.

Paul teaches that a person does not relate to God by trying to obey the Ten Commandments but relates to God by trusting in Jesus.

Never does he use the law as a moral guide for believers.

He only uses the law to guide unbelievers to an awareness of their immorality...their sin...so they will see their need for grace and come to faith in Jesus (Romans 3:19-24; 5:20-21; 7:7-25)

Once the sinful condition of a person has been exposed by the law, leading a person to receive God’s grace through faith in Jesus, the law is set aside in the life of this person and this person now relates to God by grace (all that Jesus did) not law.

Paul never watered down the gospel of grace with any religious rules or regulations.

If he did, then grace would not be grace.

He never watered down the gospel with any spiritual requirements to follow.

He never watered down the good news of grace by asking people to be devoted to, committed to, or all in for Jesus.

His emphasis was always on what Jesus had fully and freely done for all people (Romans 5:1-11).

His message was always one of faith (trusting) in the finished work of Christ (Romans 3:21-25).

It was Paul’s continued emphasis on salvation by grace (all that God did for us in Christ) through faith (trusting not trying, believing not behaving) in Jesus that caused many to accuse him of giving people a license to sin and even caused a few to view grace as a license to sin.

It was his emphasis on righteousness by grace through faith that led some to conclude that he was promoting sin as a lifestyle.

Then, as he taught that believers are not under law but under grace, a few believed it was okay to practice a lifestyle of sin.

Even though Paul was misunderstood by many different people as he communicated the undiluted truths of grace, he continued to clearly and fearlessly teach it.

He would seek to clear up any confusion on the part of his hearers who believed practicing sin was okay, since they were not under law but under grace, as he did in Romans 6.

In the next few teachings, we will look further into Romans 6:15-23 as Paul answers the questions:

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?”

CLICK HERE to read Part Two.