Did the law make people sin more or just make them realize how sinful they were?
The law did not make people sin more; it made them realize how sinful they already were. The sin problem began with Adam, and mankind inherited a sinful nature. When the law came, it could only show man how sinful he really was. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.
Les explains that Paul writes in Romans 5:20, “Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound.” On the surface this sounds quirky, as though the law caused sin to abound. Les clarifies it does not mean the law caused people to sin more; rather, the law caused people to understand how sinful they were. He illustrates that we are not sinners because we’ve broken the law; we break the law because we’re sinners. The sin problem began with Adam and has been inherited, so the very nature of mankind is sinful. When the law came in, all it could do was show man how sinful he really was, which is what Paul drives home in Romans 5. God remains greater than everything, so where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. Les also calls the singular word “sin” the old Adam or old sin nature, and says it can be used synonymously without doing violence to Scripture.
Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
More Questions
Did the law make people sin more or show them their sin?
The law did not cause people to sin more; rather, it entered to make them understand how sinful they were.
What does Paul mean by 'the law entered that the offense might abound'?
When Paul says the law entered so that the offense might abound, he means the law did not cause people to sin more; it caused people to understand how sinful they were.
How did the written Law change the way human actions relate to sin?
Once the written Law came, everything people did—even when they had seared their conscience—was undeniably breaking God's Law and therefore counted as sin.