“But the gracious gift is not like the offense. For if by the offense 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, overflow to the many.” Romans 5:15 NASB

Footsteps # 302 In Rom.5:10-21 Paul asserts that we are all lost in Adam and redeemed in Christ and that we had nothing to do with either event. What matters is what event we line up with. From v9- 17, we are awash in a sea of “much mores.”  

 If “GIFT” is A central word in Romans 5, so is the phrase “how much more”. In v9 we read that “since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him” (NIV). V10 states: “If, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life” (NIV). V15 utilises the “how much more” philosophy to emphasise the complete triumph of grace over the judgment of sin.  

Finally, in v17, Paul employs the “how much more” formula once again to contrast the superior achievements of Christ with the penalty of death, the heritage of Adam that was the subject of verses 12-14, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.”  

We have a “how much more” kind of God. In each use of the term, the apostle seeks to express the Father’s extreme love and generosity for His children. It seems that Paul is trying to tell us that God wants to do more for us than we can even imagine. He not only intends to save us from the penalty of sin but longs to give and give and give more and more to those who accept His gift through faith in Christ. The expression “Free Gift” which occurs 5 times in vs15-17 is literally a double positive – freebie freebie! That overflowing generosity concept is especially evident in the “how much more” of v17 – divine extravagance!   

Paul’s idea is clear. Not only does grace defeat sin, but we have a “how much more” kind of God who wants to fill His children’s every need. We can be thankful for the “how much more” of our God.