Romans 5:20 (YLT)

Passage

And law came in, that the offence might abound, and where the sin did abound, the grace did overabound,

Nearby Context

Romans 5:18 So, then, as through one offence to all men <FI>it is<Fi> to condemnation, so also through one declaration of `Righteous' <FI>it is<Fi> to all men to justification of life;

Romans 5:19 for as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners: so also through the obedience of the one, shall the many be constituted righteous.

Romans 5:20 And law came in, that the offence might abound, and where the sin did abound, the grace did overabound,

Romans 5:21 that even as the sin did reign in the death, so also the grace may reign, through righteousness, to life age-during, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "grace", "came", "offence", "might", "abound", "where", and "overabound". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "grace" and "came", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "for as through the disobedience of the..." into verse 21's "that even as the sin did reign...", so "grace" and "came" 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 "came" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.