No License to Sin

Based upon our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we have been changed from sin to righteousness. Let us consider our text found in Romans 6:15, which states, “What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”

The premise of this verse is that God’s grace, or His unmerited favor, does not give us permission to continue in sin after being made free from sin. Paul asks the question, “Shall we sin?” He raises this question on the basis that we are no longer under the law, but now under grace. Romans 5:20–21 states, “Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The thought here is that the law entered so that the offense might abound. It did not originate sin, but it revealed sin as an offense against God. It did not save from sin, but exposed sin in all its awful character. Yet God’s grace proves to be greater than all man’s sin. Where sin abounded, God’s grace at Calvary abounded much more.

Now that the reign of sin, which inflicted death on all men, has been ended, grace reigns through righteousness, giving eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Notice that grace reigns through righteousness. All the demands of God’s holiness have been met, and the penalty of the law has been paid. Therefore, God can now grant eternal life to all who come pleading the merits of Christ, their Substitute.

Therefore, since God has:

• Erased our sin debt

• Wiped out the stain of sin

• Passed over our sin

We have no license to sin, but rather we have a license to live in the righteousness of God. We must live like we have been changed. A changed life as a Christian requires a change in the way you think.