Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
This verse is a very well known verse in scripture, it is one of the most commonly used verse in evangelism, used to show people that they are indeed sinners. While this is very important, since there is no need of salvation if you have not sinned, we often fall short in explaining just what sin is. We live in a culture that thinks nothing of sin, a culture that uses sin in advertisements, entertainment, and even every day life. You can no longer walk into the grocery store, much less turn on the television without being assaulted by the sight, sound, and feeling of sin. Immodesty, sexual innuendo, blasphemy and pride, are just a few of the sins that are so blatantly portrayed all around us all the time. We live in a culture that is no longer shamed by sin, my generation as a rule has forgotten how to blush.
So when we say that all have sinned, people do not feel horrified by the thought that they have offended a holy God, but instead they feel vindicated that they are not the only ones that are sinning, in fact every one is. To say that you have sinned basically means that you have broken a law, and on the outset that doesn't sound to bad, until you understand that it is God's law that you have broken. Even then this doesn't phase many people because they don't understand who God is, but when you understand how infinite God's goodness and mercy and love and holiness is, it brings the idea of sin to a whole other level. If we sin against a king, our punishment needs to be relative to how worthy the king was and consequently how offensive our crime was. When we sin against a God that is infinitely worthy, that means that we are guilty of an infinite crime and therefore worthy of infinite punishment.
Secondly, the verse says that we have all come short of God's glory. Once again the common response is "Well of course I have I'm just a man and he is God". What needs to be explained is that in order to get into heaven we are required to meet God's standard of glory. So then we have two options, either we must become a god and live a perfect life or else we must get in on the repute of another who is worthy. This is why Jesus Christ had to live and die as he did, had he lived a sinless life and then simply ascended into heaven we couldn't get in because no payment would have been give for our sin. Had he lived anyway short of Godly perfection his death would have meant nothing. So this verse provides the necessary preamble to any evangelistic message, but it means nothing unless the people see sin as heinous as it is, and the dire consequences for coming short of God's glory.
Any sin is nothing short of spitting in God's face, there is no excuse in the fact that everyone does it, coming short of his glory is a automatic exemption from heaven. As the hymn says " Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace." If you turn to Jesus for salvation he cannot not only pay your sin debt, but he can restore you positionally to God's glory.
This verse is a very well known verse in scripture, it is one of the most commonly used verse in evangelism, used to show people that they are indeed sinners. While this is very important, since there is no need of salvation if you have not sinned, we often fall short in explaining just what sin is. We live in a culture that thinks nothing of sin, a culture that uses sin in advertisements, entertainment, and even every day life. You can no longer walk into the grocery store, much less turn on the television without being assaulted by the sight, sound, and feeling of sin. Immodesty, sexual innuendo, blasphemy and pride, are just a few of the sins that are so blatantly portrayed all around us all the time. We live in a culture that is no longer shamed by sin, my generation as a rule has forgotten how to blush.
So when we say that all have sinned, people do not feel horrified by the thought that they have offended a holy God, but instead they feel vindicated that they are not the only ones that are sinning, in fact every one is. To say that you have sinned basically means that you have broken a law, and on the outset that doesn't sound to bad, until you understand that it is God's law that you have broken. Even then this doesn't phase many people because they don't understand who God is, but when you understand how infinite God's goodness and mercy and love and holiness is, it brings the idea of sin to a whole other level. If we sin against a king, our punishment needs to be relative to how worthy the king was and consequently how offensive our crime was. When we sin against a God that is infinitely worthy, that means that we are guilty of an infinite crime and therefore worthy of infinite punishment.
Secondly, the verse says that we have all come short of God's glory. Once again the common response is "Well of course I have I'm just a man and he is God". What needs to be explained is that in order to get into heaven we are required to meet God's standard of glory. So then we have two options, either we must become a god and live a perfect life or else we must get in on the repute of another who is worthy. This is why Jesus Christ had to live and die as he did, had he lived a sinless life and then simply ascended into heaven we couldn't get in because no payment would have been give for our sin. Had he lived anyway short of Godly perfection his death would have meant nothing. So this verse provides the necessary preamble to any evangelistic message, but it means nothing unless the people see sin as heinous as it is, and the dire consequences for coming short of God's glory.
Any sin is nothing short of spitting in God's face, there is no excuse in the fact that everyone does it, coming short of his glory is a automatic exemption from heaven. As the hymn says " Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace." If you turn to Jesus for salvation he cannot not only pay your sin debt, but he can restore you positionally to God's glory.
"people do not feel horrified by the thought that they have offended a holy God, but instead they feel vindicated that they are not the only ones that are sinning"
ReplyDeleteSay it over and over again my brother! How you hit it right on the head...