Abounding Grace

Today we can rejoice in the superabounding grace of God!

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1)

Photo by Mike Lewis HeadSmart Media on Unsplash

The church has a long history of rejoicing in God's grace. Hymns like John Newton's Amazing Grace have been sung for generations. The chorus of Julia Johnston's well-known hymn, Grace Greater Than Our Sin, reminds us that grace is, in fact, greater than all our sins.

Indeed, Paul tells us that grace superabounds! "Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (Rom. 5:20). To put it plainly, there is more grace in God than there is sin in us. This good news led the apostle Paul to anticipate a counter-argument:

"Wait a minute, Paul! If grace truly abounds as you claim, does that mean people can do whatever they want?"

The answer is, of course, no. God forbid that we sin so that grace would abound. However, the sheer magnitude and freeness of God's grace should provoke such questions. Few have expressed this sentiment more clearly than 20th-century British minister Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

The true preaching of the gospel of salvation by grace alone always leads to the possibility of this charge being brought against it. There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace. This is a very good test of gospel preaching. If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel.

Do we sin that grace may abound? God forbid! But praise God that His grace is greater than all my sin!