The law came in so that the trespass would increase;The introduction of the law refers to the Mosaic Law given to Israel. Historically, this law was given at Mount Sinai, a significant event in Jewish history. The purpose of the law was to reveal sin, making people aware of their transgressions. In a cultural context, the law served as a moral and ethical guide for the Israelites, setting them apart from surrounding nations. Biblically, this aligns with
Galatians 3:19, which states that the law was added because of transgressions. Theologically, the law highlights humanity's inability to achieve righteousness on their own, pointing to the need for a Savior.
but where sin increased,
This phrase acknowledges the reality of sin's pervasive nature. Historically, as the law highlighted sin, it also revealed the depth of human depravity. The increase of sin can be seen throughout the Old Testament, where despite the law, Israel repeatedly fell into sin. This is echoed in1 Timothy 1:14, where Paul speaks of grace being more abundant than sin. Theologically, this sets the stage for understanding the magnitude of God's grace, which is not limited by the extent of human sinfulness.
grace increased all the more,
This phrase emphasizes the superabundance of God's grace. In the context of the New Testament, grace is central to the message of the Gospel. Theologically, this reflects the concept of "grace upon grace" as mentioned inJohn 1:16. The idea is that no matter how great the sin, God's grace is greater, offering redemption and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. This is a key theme in Paul's writings, underscoring the transformative power of grace that not only covers sin but also empowers believers to live righteously. This grace is a type of Christ's sacrificial atonement, fulfilling prophecies such asIsaiah 53, which speaks of the suffering servant bearing the sins of many.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Paul the ApostleThe author of the Book of Romans, Paul was a key figure in the early Christian church, known for his missionary journeys and theological writings.
2.
The LawRefers to the Mosaic Law given to the Israelites, which includes the commandments and regulations found in the first five books of the Old Testament.
3.
SinThe transgressions and moral failures of humanity, which separate people from God.
4.
GraceThe unmerited favor and love of God towards humanity, especially as manifested in the salvation offered through Jesus Christ.
5.
The Roman ChurchThe original audience of the letter, consisting of both Jewish and Gentile believers in Rome.
Teaching Points
The Purpose of the LawThe Law was given to reveal sin and make humanity aware of their need for a Savior. It acts as a mirror, showing us our shortcomings and driving us to Christ.
The Abundance of GraceGod's grace is always greater than our sin. No matter how much sin increases, God's grace is sufficient to cover and redeem it.
Living Under GraceAs believers, we are called to live in the freedom of grace, not using it as a license to sin, but as empowerment to live righteously.
The Transformative Power of GraceGrace not only forgives but also transforms. It changes our hearts and enables us to live in a way that pleases God.
The Assurance of SalvationThe increase of grace assures us that our salvation is secure in Christ, not dependent on our ability to keep the Law perfectly.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Romans 5:20?
2.How does Romans 5:20 illustrate the relationship between law and grace?
3.In what ways can we see "grace increased all the more" today?
4.How does Romans 5:20 connect to Ephesians 2:8-9 on salvation by grace?
5.What personal sins can you surrender to experience God's abundant grace?
6.How can understanding Romans 5:20 deepen your appreciation for God's mercy?
7.How does Romans 5:20 explain the relationship between sin and grace?
8.Why did God allow the law to increase sin according to Romans 5:20?
9.What does "where sin increased, grace increased all the more" mean in Romans 5:20?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Romans 5?
11.Does grace abound in all aspects of life?
12.What does "grace abounded more than sin" mean?
13.What does 'grace abounded more than sin' mean?
14.Does the law empower sin?What Does Romans 5:20 Mean
The law came inGod did not leave humanity guessing about right and wrong. At Sinai He stepped in with clear commands that mirror His holy character (Exodus 20:1-17).Romans 3:20 reminds us, “Through the law we become conscious of sin,” andGalatians 3:19 adds that it “was added because of transgressions.”
• The law functions like a floodlight. It turns on and shows every speck of dust in the room of our hearts.
• It also sets a fixed standard, so sin can be measured, not merely sensed.
• By revealing God’s righteous requirements, the law removes any notion that we can invent our own morality (Psalm 19:7-9).
so that the trespass would increaseWhen that floodlight shines, evil doesn’t disappear; it shows up in high definition. Paul testifies, “I would not have known what coveting was if the law had not said, ‘Do not covet’ … sin sprang to life and I died” (Romans 7:7-10).
• Increased trespass is not the law’s fault; it is the heart’s reaction. The moment a line is drawn, fallen humanity steps over it (1 Corinthians 15:56).
• As sin becomes unmistakable, every mouth is silenced and the whole world stands accountable to God (Romans 3:19).
• This exposure prepares the way for the only remedy strong enough to meet the crisis—grace.
but where sin increasedHistory and personal experience confirm what Scripture states: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
• From Eden’s exile (Genesis 3:6-7) to the violence preceding the flood (Genesis 6:5), sin has expanded like a stain.
• Even Israel, with covenant privileges, repeatedly broke the law and succumbed to idolatry (Nehemiah 9:26-30).
• Humanity’s multiplying sin underscores our total inability to self-rescue (Ephesians 2:1-3).
grace increased all the moreGod’s response is not a trickle of mercy but a flood that outmatches the deluge of sin. “But the gift is not like the trespass” (Romans 5:15); “how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace … reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).
• At the cross mercy triumphed over judgment (James 2:13). Christ “became sin for us” so that we might become God’s righteousness in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
• Grace doesn’t merely cancel guilt; it overflows, creating new life (Ephesians 2:4-5) and empowerment to live righteously (Titus 2:11-12).
• Paul exults, “The grace of our Lord overflowed to me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 1:14). No sinner can out-sin that supply.
summaryRomans 5:20 teaches that God introduced the law to expose and quantify sin, making our need undeniable. As sin multiplied, God’s grace super-multiplied through Jesus Christ. The verse reassures believers that divine grace not only meets but overwhelms human rebellion, securing forgiveness and imparting power for a transformed life.
(20, 21) The Apostle had already (
Romans 5:13-14) alluded to the intervention of the Law. Now he returns to the topic, and in order to complete his historical view of the origin of sin through Adam, and its atonement through Christ, he considers what was its effect upon the former, and how that effect was met and neutralised by the latter. Mankind had already been led into sin by Adam. The Law came in to make matters still worse. It substituted conscious sin for unconscious, and so heightened its guilt. But all this is more than retrieved by grace.
(20)Entered.--A graphic metaphorical expression: "Came in to the side of" the sin already existing; "took its place," as it were, "by the side of" sin, and joined forces with it, thus greatly adding to its extent and power.
Abound.--This word should be reserved for the last of the three places in this verse in which it appears in the Authorised version. The original in the other two places is different, and has the force of "Might be multiplied," or "increased"--i.e., made more and made worse.
Verses 20, 21. -
Moreover Law entered (rather, came in
besides)
,that the trespass might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound (or, did abound
exceedingly):
that as sin reigned in death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Here
νόμος (though without the article; see under ver. 13) refers to the Mosaic Law, the purpose of which in the economy of redemption is thus intimated, so as to complete the view. It was God's purpose from the first that grace should in the end triumph over sin; but in the mean time law came in (cf.
προσετέθη in the cognate passage,
Galatians 3:19). For what end? Not in itself to accomplish the purpose, not to interfere with its accomplishment, but as an intervening dispensation to prepare for its accomplishment, by convincing of sin, and making it exceeding sinful, and so establishing the need of, and exciting a craving for, redemption. This intervening preparatory office of the Mosaic Law is set forth more at length in
Galatians 3:19-26; and the working of the principle of law to this end in the human consciousness is analyzed in ch. 7. of this Epistle.
Additional Note on ver.12The significance of the words "life" and "death," as used in St. Paul's Epistles and elsewhere, demands peculiar attention. They evidently bear a sense in many places different from that of ordinary use; and this in accordance with our Lord's own recorded language, as, for instance, in his memorable words to Martha, given in
John 11:25, 26. The following considerations may aid our comprehension of what is meant. The mysterious principle or potency of life, even in the common acceptation of the term, varies not only in degree, but in kind; and the same living organism may be at the same time alive with respect to its own mode of vitality, and dead with respect to some higher one which vivifies others. The plant, while alive with respect to its own kind of life, is dead to the higher life of sentient beings. The brute beast, while alive with respect to mere animal life, is dead, as it were, to the higher life of intelligent man. A whole world of environing influences to which the mind of man responds, so as to live in them, are to the brute as nothing; it may be said to be dead to them. Now, Scripture teaches, and we believe, that there is a spiritual sphere of things above and beyond this visible sphere, which man is capable of apprehending, being influenced by, and living a still higher life than his natural life therein. He is thus capable through the higher and diviner part of his mysterious being, called by St. Paul his
πνεῦμα (cf.
1 Thessalonians 5:23,
Ὑμῶν τὸ πνεῦμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τὸ σῶμα), when in touch with the Divine
πνεῦμα. For man to be in vital correspondence with his spiritual environments is spiritual life; to be out of correspondence with them is spiritual death. And so, as the plant is dead to sentient life, though alive in its own life; or as the brute may be said to be dead to the higher life of man, though alive in mere animal life; so man may be dead as to
spiritual life, though alive as to
psychical life; and thus "dead while he liveth" (cf.
1 Corinthians 2:14, "The natural man (
ψυχικὸςἄνθρωπος) receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." In other words, he is dead to them). Further, this spiritual life, unlike the psychical life, is ever spoken of as
eternal. For it consists in intercommunion of man's immortal part with the spiritual sphere of things which is eternal. Nor does natural death interrupt it; for it is not dependent for its continuance, as is psychical life, on environments from which we are severed by the body's death, but on such as are eternal. Thus, too, we see how it is that eternal life is regarded, not as one that will have its commencement after death, but as one to be enjoyed at present, and to which we are to rise in Christ even now. This idea is notably expressed in our Lord's words above referred to: "I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he that believeth in me, though he die, yet shall he live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die" (
John 11:25, 26). Doubtless we are bidden to look forward to a fulness and perfection of the eternal life, of which our present enjoyment of it is but an earnest, in the
σῶμα πνευματικόν (
1 Corinthians 15:44) in store for us hereafter - cf. "Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet manifested what we shall be," etc. (
1 John 3:2) - but still this is regarded as but the consummation of a life already begun. On the other hand, whatever penal consequences of a state of spiritual death may be spoken of as in store hereafter for the wicked, it is regarded as being itself but the continuance of a state of death in which they are before they pass away (cf.
Revelation 22:11). In
Romans 5:12, etc., to which this note refers, the above view of what is often meant by "death" ought to be kept before us. For, though the apostle seems evidently to be speaking of the natural death that comes to all, he must be taken as regarding it as but the symbol and evidence of the sway of that spiritual death to which all men are now, in their fallen nature, liable. The thoughts embodied in the above note have been derived from, or suggested by, 'Natural Law in the Spiritual World,' by Henry Drummond, F.R.S.E., F.G.S. (Hodder and Stoughton: 1888).
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
[The] LawΝόμος(Nomos)Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3551:From a primary nemo; law, genitive case, specially, (including the volume); also of the Gospel), or figuratively.was givenπαρεισῆλθεν(pareisēlthen)Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 3922:From para and eiserchomai; to come in alongside, i.e. Supervene additionally or steathily.so thatἵνα(hina)Conjunction
Strong's 2443:In order that, so that. Probably from the same as the former part of heautou; in order that.theτὸ(to)Article - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.trespassπαράπτωμα(paraptōma)Noun - Nominative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3900:A falling away, lapse, slip, false step, trespass, sin. From parapipto; a side-slip, i.e. error or transgression.would increase;πλεονάσῃ(pleonasē)Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4121:From pleion; to do, make or be more, i.e. Increase; by extension, to superabound.butδὲ(de)Conjunction
Strong's 1161:A primary particle; but, and, etc.whereοὗ(hou)Adverb
Strong's 3757:Where, whither, when, in what place. Genitive case of hos as adverb; at which place, i.e. Where.sinἁμαρτία(hamartia)Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 266:From hamartano; a sin.increased,ἐπλεόνασεν(epleonasen)Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4121:From pleion; to do, make or be more, i.e. Increase; by extension, to superabound.graceχάρις(charis)Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 5485:From chairo; graciousness, of manner or act.increased all the more,ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν(hypereperisseusen)Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 5248:(a) intrans: I abound exceedingly, (b) dep: I overflow. From huper and perisseuo; to super-abound.
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NT Letters: Romans 5:20 The law came in besides that (Rom. Ro) 
