What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Parallel translations
- WEB What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but under grace? May it never be!
- BSB What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!
- NKJV What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!
- NASB What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the Law but under grace? Far from it!
- NLT Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Being under grace is no excuse to sin; Paul emphatically rejects the idea. Grace frees us from sin, not for it.
Overview
Paul anticipates a misuse of his teaching and answers it with his strongest denial, 'May it never be!' The logic that grace permits sin fundamentally misunderstands what grace does. The remainder of the chapter shows that grace transfers us into the service of righteousness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Titus 2:11–14For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
- Eph 2:8–10For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
- Rom 6:1–2What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
- 2 Cor 7:1Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Jude 1:4For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 1 Cor 9:20–21And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
- Gal 2:17–18But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
- Rom 3:9What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Paul unfolds the gospel in full: Christ our righteousness received by faith, the second Adam in whom many are made righteous, in whose death and resurrection we are buried and raised.
How Romans 6:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.