Where Sin Abounds, Grace Super-Abounds!

“… But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,” (Romans 5:20). Many times when we sin. We feel that God is far away from us. Yes, sin does separate us from God, but because of the Cross we can now have fellowship with God.

Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more! Wow, that is amazing. in our darkest moments, God is there. When we have failed and feel emotions of guilt and shame, God is whispering, “My grace is greater!”

Many times we think that when a corporate executive or a leader sins, the news is quick to say that he, “fell from grace.” Yet according to this verse where sin abounds, grace abounds much more! When you sin, you do not fall from grace, but you fall into grace.

The book of Proverbs tells us, “For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity.” (Proverbs 24:16). A righteous man falls seven times but he gets back up. How do you see yourself today? I believe that the more we see ourselves as righteous, we will get back up when we fail. Why does a righteous man get back up? Because he knows who he is.

I believe there is an abundance of grace for us today. It is time to realize it. When we sin and we are in our darkest times, that is when God is there to pick us back up. When Adam and Eve sinned, God did not stay away from them. Instead he went after them and said, “Where are you? (Genesis 3:9). Again when Cain sinned and killed his brother, God went after him. God spoke and said, “Where is your brother?” (Genesis 4:9). Time and time throughout the Bible God’s grace abounds when we sin. Today we are under a new covenant where we are under a waterfall of forgiveness and grace.

This word for, abound is the word, “huperperisseuo” which means, “to abound beyond measure, to abound exceedingly, or to superabound.” This is two Greek words in one. The first is the word, “huper” which is where we have the English word, “hyper.” The next word is, “Pleonazo” this simply means, “abundant or to increase.” When we have the two words we can see this as, “huperperisseuo” which means, “superabounding!” The Greek scholar Kenneth Wuest has a great explanation of this verse: “where sin increased, grace superabounded, and then some on top of that.”

The light can shine in the darkest places. It can be easy to magnify sin, but God wants us to magnify His grace. Yes, you may fall, and you may make a mistake, but you have to remember to get back up. Some believe that God’s favor leaves us when we sin, yet this verse tells us that it is reverse. In our moments of weakness, God is strong. In the moments where we cannot stand, God is there to pick us back up.