Romans 5:13
AdvancedRomans 5:13 · World English Bible (WEB)
“For until the law, sin was in the world; but sin is not charged when there is no law.”
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Overview
Sin existed before the Mosaic Law, but the Law made transgression explicit and accountable in a heightened way.
Paul is explaining that sin and death were already present in humanity before God gave the Law through Moses. Yet sin is “charged” differently when there is revealed commandment that clearly names and exposes it.
What Makes This Verse Confusing?
“The law” here refers especially to the Law given through Moses, not to the existence of all divine command or moral reality. Paul is speaking about the period from Adam to Moses, when sin was truly in the world, even though the written covenant Law had not yet been given to Israel.
The verse does not explicitly name Moses or define “law” within the sentence itself. The surrounding argument supplies the timeline: Adam, then Moses, then Christ.
This keeps the verse from being read as though there was no divine standard at all before Sinai. Sin was already real, but the Mosaic Law brought a clearer, covenantal exposure of sin.
Cultural & Historical Context
Paul wrote to believers in Rome, a church including both Jewish and Gentile Christians, where questions about the place of the Mosaic Law in God’s saving purpose were deeply important.
Romans 5 is part of Paul’s explanation of justification, Adam’s trespass, and Christ’s righteous obedience. He is showing that the reign of sin and death did not begin with Moses, and therefore the remedy must be greater than the Law.
- ✦In covenant life, a revealed commandment made guilt legally clear. Paul uses that covenantal logic to show that the Law did not create sin, but exposed and intensified humanity’s accountability before God.
Theological Insights
Sin is not merely a problem of broken rules after Moses; it is a deep human condition reaching back to Adam.
This humbles every person before God and magnifies the graceGraceGod's unmerited, unearned favor and love toward sinners. Not something we can achieve or deserve — it is the free gift at the heart of the gospel. of Christ, because we need more than instruction—we need redemptionRedemptionBeing bought back from slavery to sin by Christ's blood. Like paying a ransom to free a captive — Jesus paid the price to set us free from sin and death., life, and a new Head.
Original Language
to charge — ἐλλογάω , -ῶ (a κοινή word, elsewhere usually -έω; cf. Bl., § 22, 2), to charge to one's account, impute : Phm 18 (on parallels, cf. Deiss., LAE , 79 f., 335 f.; Milligan, NTD , 73; MM, Exp. , xii); of sin, Rom.5:13 (Cremer, 400).† (AS)
The word translated “charged” carries the idea of reckoning or putting something to one’s account. Paul is speaking in terms of accountability before God, not denying the reality of sin before the Law.
law — νόμος , -ου, ὁ (νέμω, to deal out, distribute ), [in LXX chiefly for תּוֹרָה, also for חֻקָּה, etc. ;] that which is assigned, hence, usage, custom , then law ; in NT (only in Mt, Jo, Ja, and the Lucan and Pauline bks.); __1. of law in general : Rom.3:27 5:13b; pl., of divine laws, Heb.8:10 10:16 ; ὁ ν. τ. Χριστοῦ, Gal.6:2; (τ.) ἐλευθερίας, Jas.1:25 2:12 ; βασιλικιός (Hort., in l.; Deiss., LAE , 2…
“Law” in this context points to the Mosaic Law as a revealed covenant standard. Recognizing that focus prevents the verse from being misunderstood as if no moral will of God existed before Sinai.
Lexicon & word tagging: STEP Bible (Tyndale House, STEPBible.org, CC BY 4.0)
Related Passages
Romans 4:15
parallelPaul says, “where no law is, there is no transgression.” This parallels Romans 5:13 by distinguishing sin in a general sense from transgression as violation of revealed command.
1 Corinthians 15:56
Background1 John 3:4
BackgroundGenesis 4:7-11
backgroundCain sinned before the Law of Moses was given, and God confronted him for it.
Genesis 38:10
BackgroundGenesis 38:7
BackgroundGenesis 6:5-6
backgroundBefore Moses, God saw that human wickedness was great in the earth. This shows that sin truly was “in the world” before the Mosaic Law.
Genesis 19:4
BackgroundCross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · openbible.info (CC-BY)
Key Takeaway
Romans 5:13 teaches that sin was already ruling humanity before Moses, but the Law made sin’s guilt and transgression unmistakably clear.
The Law did not create the disease; it exposed the diagnosis—and Christ alone brings the cure.“
Analysis generated on October 5, 2026 · version 2.0
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