Sin and Grace Increase

Sin and Grace

There's a true story of a very rich man who married later in life and had just one son.

Shortly after his marriage, his wife fell sick and died. His son also died within just a few years of his wife's death.

Finally, the rich man himself died, literally from a broken heart, according to historians.

There was an auction to sell off his entire estate and a lot of people came to bid on his property and belongings.

The auctioneer began by reading a clause in the will of the deceased, that the first thing to be sold would be a particular painting of this man's son.

There wasn't anything necessarily special about the painting; no one was really interested in purchasing it.

One of the maids of the rich man had known his son, and had known her master's love for him; she’d seen all the grief he had gone through, so she bid what she could on the painting.

No one outbid her; she won the painting

. The auctioneer then came up to the platform again.

He banged his gavel and announced to everyone's surprise that the auction was now closed.

He then began to read the rest of the will.

As it turned out, the rich man had written in his will that the person who bought the painting of his son would also be given the entirety of his estate.

Whoever gets the son, gets the fortune.

Romans 6:1–14 ESV

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.