Romans 6:14-15 - What Does Under Grace Mean?

God's grace is His unmerited and undeserved favor that we receive after we repent of accidental sin. If there was no law then we would in fact not need God's grace (because sin equates to breaking the law).

Romans 6:14 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace.”

Does Paul say that since we are under grace we can continue in sin which is breaking the law of God? (1 John 3:4; Romans 4:15) Sadly, this is another one of many verses used by those who have been led astray by the ruler of this world to avoid loving obedience to God. Hence the very next verse is usually not quoted as it gives such a clear answer as to if we can continue in sin since we are not under the law but under grace.

Here is what Paul said in the following verse that really should require no further clarification. Romans 6:15 “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.”

And in the very next verse, (Romans 6:16) Paul states we either continue to break the law which he says is to “sin unto death” or we obey the law which is “obedience unto righteousness.”

We also find at the start of this chapter that Paul made it even clearer that we do not continue in “sin unto death” because we are under grace. These two verses are rarely quoted as they are much harder to separate and prove a lie, and so very clear that grace is not a license to continue in sin, which is breaking God's law.

Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”

And why would anyone who truly loves the Lord want to continue in the sin that nailed their loving Saviour to the cross and resulted in Him going through so much pain and suffering? And how would we be any different to the rest of the world if we did? Romans 6:23 informs us that Jesus died to redeem us from the penalty of sin which is death by taking the penalty for our sin upon Himself, not so we could continue living in sin. And Hebrews 10:26-29 states that there is no sacrifice that will cover deliberate and wilful sin despite being under the spirit of grace. Ask yourself what would happen if you were put on trial for being a Christian. Would you be found guilty or not guilty of being like Christ as a result of the way you lived your life? Jesus said in John 14:15 if we love Him then keep His Commandments.

This issue of law and grace should require no further explanation but here is just one more example to help make sure this is understood. Suppose you were stopped by a policeman for exceeding the speed limit but were hurrying to meet a real emergency. And as you give your explanation to the policeman he folds the ticket and tears it up and says, “today you are going to receive my grace and I am giving you a pardon.” Does this grace allow you to continue on your way speeding and break the law again? To the contrary, you will continue on your way being very careful not to break the law again. If only all Christians today would give the same respect to God and His grace.

Please read we are not under law but under grace for a much more detailed explanation of this passage.