What does Paul mean by 'shall we continue in sin that grace may abound,' and what is his answer?
Paul means grace does not give license to sin or test God's offer by seeing how much one can get away with. His answer is emphatic: God forbid! Those dead to sin through old Adam cannot live any longer therein; their liberty is never freedom to go contrary to God's Word.
Les explains that Paul still has in mind what was said in Romans 3, where he was slanderously reported as teaching that people could now do as they pleased. In Romans 6:1, Paul asks, "Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" meaning, are we to test God's offer of grace by seeing how much we can do and get away with it? Les says, of course not; Paul answers, "God forbid!" Verse 2 then asks how those who are dead to sin—dead to old Adam—can live any longer therein. The whole concept is that believers are set free and at liberty, but not at liberty to go contrary to the Word of God. Les stresses that this is where differences of opinion can arise, because something may not seem intrinsically sinful to one person but may be to another. So liberty means determining between yourself and the Lord what your behavior will be in certain areas, such as giving.
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
More Questions
What does Paul mean by 'Shall we continue in sin?' in Romans 6:1?
In Romans 6:1, Paul's question 'Shall we continue in sin?' means: shall we let old Adam have his way and reign as king just because God's grace is still greater?