Grace and sin have a complicated relationship.
In one sense, you can’t separate them. You see this in Romans 5:20-21 when Paul says:
But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Where there is sin, there will always be grace. Every time sin raises its ugly head, the grace of Jesus rises even higher like a sweeping tide and covers over it. Every sin. Every time. No matter what you do.
The problem is if you just read these two verses, you could easily conclude that grace should be proportional to sin. If the more I sin, the more grace I receive, why not sin more and receive more grace? If I can do anything I want and still be saved, why not do anything I want?
Why not continue to look at porn?
Why not continue to live selfishly?
Why not continue in my old patterns of living?
These are good questions. For an unbeliever.
Because while grace means that I can do absolutely anything I want, it also means that what I want is now being informed by grace. And not just sin.
While in one sense you can’t separate grace and sin, in another sense grace and sin should be continually growing apart from each other. Right after Romans 5:20-21, Paul goes on to say:
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?
Romans 6:1-2
For the believer who loves Jesus, grace and sin should be inversely proportional. The more grace we receive the less we should want to sin because God’s grace empowers us to live for Him. Grace will never lead you to continue doing the very thing it just rescued you from. True grace will never lead you to take it for granted by trampling on it.
Does grace mean I can do anything I want and still be a Christian?
Yes.
But it also means I won’t.
