Romans 5:15 (LSB)

Passage

But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

Nearby Context

Romans 5:13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the trespass of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

Romans 5:15 But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many.

Romans 5:16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the gracious gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification.

Romans 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "grace", "gracious", "gift", "like", "transgression", "died", and "much". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "grace" and "gracious", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses..." into verse 16's "And the gift is not like that...", so "grace" and "gracious" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "grace" and "gracious" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.