Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
What is this verse talking about? Who does it impact? What is interesting is that we have a strong tendency to think we are good enough for God before we are Christians, and then we think we are not good enough for God when we are saved. Isn’t that what happens? Ask your friends whether or not they are going to heaven and most of them will say “Yes, I am a good person.” But what does the Bible say about their lives? The Bible says that they have already fallen short of the glory of God. There is no hope for them.
Let’s back up and take a look at this verse.
Romans 3:20 “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in His sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”
What does justified mean?
Explain: Justified
1. To show (an act, claim, statement, etc.) to be just or right.
2. Theology - to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit.
What does it mean that since through the law there is now knowledge of sin? Stay with me on this one, it is pretty easy to get confused. Look at it this way:
Cookie Analogy: If your parents leave cookies out on the table and leave the house, they are fair game aren’t they? Let’s say that you take a few and eat them. No harm done. They were good! But, if they tell you not to touch those cookies because they are for their neighbors, they are off limits. You would feel bad (Or at least you should) taking them and eating them because this time you know that they were not meant for you. You were taking them from your neighbors. You were sinning. In the same way the Law showed people their sin and they could not overcome it and become just or right in God’s sight.
The Law, Ten Commandments, show how our sinful nature is not able to become holy apart from God. Our minds cannot go even a day without sinning against God. You have probably heard this before, but what does it mean when it says “Do not kill”? Of course, we are not supposed to murder. Jesus took it a step further and said that whoever harbors hate in his heart is already guilty of committing murder.
Mat 5:20-22: For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. ’But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.
Looking at all these verses definitely shows us a weakness in our plan to be “Good people”. We can’t. There is no way to be acceptable before God until we have been cleansed by Him. You may ask, “But what if I only sin a little bit?” Ok, think with me for a moment. You are a glass of milk. A nice, tall, refreshing glass of milk (Or whatever you like). Then you just put a small amount of poop into the glass. Mmmmm! You wouldn’t touch it! In the same way, little sins are still enough to disqualify us from the presence of God. But there is some good news:
Romans 3:24 “And are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,”
We are justified by the redemption that is in Christ. There is not anything we can do, we simply have to rely on Christ to cleanse us and he will. He dumps out that nasty poop milk and gets us a new cup. One that is overflowing. It is a gift!
There are two things that I want you to take away from this tonight. First, if you are a not a Christian, you have no hope of becoming good enough one day for God. He does not accept anything we can give Him. Second, if you are a Christian, you have nothing to worry about! Satan often tries to distract us and make us focus on our sin, but if you are in Christ, that sin is already forgiven! We do not need to be held back by it. Our remorse for it is real, but the freedom and love of Christ does not leave. This is true for everyone, if you sin (Which you will) you can immediately turn to God and find safety and security in Him. He will not turn you away. Keep that on your mind as you go through this week.
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