Some people think that the definition of sin is "breaking a law".  But no!  Adam, Noah and Abraham did not have the law of Moses, but they were still sinners.  Sin is rebellion and disobedience to the Word of God. The Old Testament law was added later.  It does not create sinfulness but defines the offence so that an appropriate punishment can be prescribed.  So then, the law makes sin more obvious with a known punishment which is to be feared.

There is another sense in which the law increases sin.  Once we know that something is wrong, there is an internal urge to consider doing it.  Sin is so appealing to our self-centred nature that the more we understand about it, the more we want to do it (Romans 7:7-11).  The law therefore exposes our deep inner motives to rebel against God.

By contrast, God's grace makes His righteousness look wonderfully good.  And more than that: where the law of sin used to reign and condemn people to death, the grace of Christ has a far more powerful authority (Romans 6:17-18) - not just to save from death but to give eternal life (with all its privileges) to all who trust Jesus Christ as their Lord.

This is so significant.  The grace of God is very, very large indeed.  It is far bigger than our sin, not just cancelling it out but bringing massive freedom from guilt with love and joy and peace.  Acquitted, yes!  But also received into God's family, adopted as true children, given the Holy Spirit, given an inheritance in heaven, made holy, equipped to serve in His Kingdom, supplied with all we need and enabled to worship the Creator of the universe who is our loving heavenly Father!  That is grace - we do not deserve it, we cannot earn it; it is a gift from God and the price was paid by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2).  So, let us learn to live the life to which we have been called!