This is a question that I have encountered often: Every time grace is preached, someone always asks,
“Are you telling us we’re free to continue in sin since God is not dealing with us based on our actions?”
And guess what?
That same question appears twice in the Bible—with answers directly following.
First Mention
Romans 6:1 –
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?”
Do you know why they asked Paul that question?
It’s because of what he preached in the previous chapter—specifically the last two verses.
Romans 5:20-21 –
“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Second Mention
Romans 6:15 –
“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”
Again, Paul was asked the same question. Why?
Because of what he preached in the previous verse:
Romans 6:14 –
“For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”
Paul was preaching that we’re no longer living under the requirements of the Law but under the freedom of God’s grace.
This led people to assume Paul was saying, “You’re free to live however you want.”
But that’s not what Paul meant. He was declaring a shift in how we live under the New Covenant We are under grace, not law.
We’re not trying to please God through our own holiness. Instead, we live in the freedom of knowing God is already pleased with us through Christ.
That’s freedom, friend!
And I wonder: What do people who fight grace actually want? Do you want to please God with your holiness—or rest in what Christ has done?
Paul preached:
“Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.“
Was he promoting sin? Absolutely not. He was revealing the finished work of Jesus Christ.
If you’re asking the same question people asked Paul, then congratulations—you’re hearing the same gospel Paul preached.
Paul’s Answer to Romans 6:1
Romans 6:2 –
“By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
Paul is saying: It’s impossible to continue in sin, because we have died to it.
What Does “Died to Sin” Mean?
Before you were born again, you had a sin nature that produced sin in you.
Think of it like a tree with bad roots.
No matter how many bad fruits you pluck off, they keep growing back—because the root is corrupt.
That sin nature was the root that kept producing sinful actions.
You didn’t become a sinner because you sinned;
You sinned because you had a sin nature.
But now that you’re born again, that sin nature is dead. You no longer have that root in you.
Romans 6:6 (AFV) –
“Knowing this, that our old man was co-crucified with Him, in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, so that we might no longer be enslaved to sin.”
Galatians 5:24 (AFV) –
“But those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.”
Then Why Do We Still Sin? Because before the sin nature died, it trained our bodies to sin.
Romans 6:12–13 (ESV) –
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
Let’s break this down:
“Sin reigning in your mortal body” = sin nature ruled us before Christ.
“To make you obey its passions” = sin trained us to follow its desires.
“Your members” = body parts used as tools for sin.
Romans 7:5 (ESV) –
“For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.”
So again, the sin nature worked through our body to produce sinful actions.
But something changed. The moment you accepted Christ, that old sin nature was crucified, and a righteous nature empowered by the Spirit of God took its place.
Romans 8:10 (NIV) –
“But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness.”
So, the same body that was once used by sin is now used by the Spirit of God.
Yet we still have a body and mind that must be renewed.
That’s why Paul says:
Romans 12:2 –
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…”
Back to Romans 6:1
We can’t continue in sin—because we are no longer slaves to sin. The sinful nature is no longer our master.
Paul faced the same accusations:
Romans 3:8 (NLT) – “And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, ‘The more we sin, the better it is!’ Those who say such things deserve to be condemned.”
Galatians 5:13 (NLT) – “You have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.”
Jude 1:4 (NLT) – “They have twisted the grace of our God into a license to live immorally.”
We cannot continue in sin because the root that produced sin—the sin nature—is gone.
Now, we are under grace, which empowers right living.
Titus 2:11–12 (ESV) –
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.”
So, does grace give people a license to sin?
Absolutely not.
Grace trains us to live holy lives.
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