Romans 3:22b-23
For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
This is a very common verse that most Christians have heard at least a dozen times, but from this repetition, I think we've somewhat lost and forgotten the meaning. This verse is saying that NOBODY is good; only God Himself. It means that there is literally nobody that you will every meet that's a good person. Now, I can already hear the opposition to this radical statement, "But wait! Just because somebody has sinned doesn't mean they're really not good deep down. After all, nobodies perfect." I think that this idea comes from a misunderstanding of how serious even "little" sins are.
When we sin, what we are really doing is telling God, "Forget you, I've found something better." When we sin, we're not just letting Him down; when we sin, we are making a peace treaty with the Devil. It isn't a mild action, it is a declaration of war against God! God has every right to utterly destroy His enemies; He would be perfectly justified to annihilate them. Even just "little sins" deserve God's wrath and punishment because they're more than just offensive to Him; they're rebellion against His authority. If the idea of rebellion against the creator and sustainer of the universe doesn't scare you, you should take some time to really think about it; He wouldn't even have to put effort into destroying us if He wanted to.
Because all sins make us rebels against our Maker, and everyone has sinned, there is no distinction; all have sinned and missed the mark. Knowing this should do two things for us:
1. It should make us even more amazed that God has saved us. Even for God to save the best of us is awe striking because even the best of us were rebels and even now continue to rebel against the King.
2. It should make us realize that we are by no means better than anyone else, and we deserve God's love no more than a mass murderer. When we realize that we at one time were rebels and enemies against the King and deserved to be punished eternally, we can look with love on those who we think are "so much worse." Don't get me wrong, rebelling against God is a damnable action, and anyone who is not a servant of Christ will be eternally punished, but when we look at people and are tempted to say, "Look how bad they are," let's remember that we were no better when Jesus showed love to us; just like them, we were rebels headed for the fire.
For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
This is a very common verse that most Christians have heard at least a dozen times, but from this repetition, I think we've somewhat lost and forgotten the meaning. This verse is saying that NOBODY is good; only God Himself. It means that there is literally nobody that you will every meet that's a good person. Now, I can already hear the opposition to this radical statement, "But wait! Just because somebody has sinned doesn't mean they're really not good deep down. After all, nobodies perfect." I think that this idea comes from a misunderstanding of how serious even "little" sins are.
When we sin, what we are really doing is telling God, "Forget you, I've found something better." When we sin, we're not just letting Him down; when we sin, we are making a peace treaty with the Devil. It isn't a mild action, it is a declaration of war against God! God has every right to utterly destroy His enemies; He would be perfectly justified to annihilate them. Even just "little sins" deserve God's wrath and punishment because they're more than just offensive to Him; they're rebellion against His authority. If the idea of rebellion against the creator and sustainer of the universe doesn't scare you, you should take some time to really think about it; He wouldn't even have to put effort into destroying us if He wanted to.
Because all sins make us rebels against our Maker, and everyone has sinned, there is no distinction; all have sinned and missed the mark. Knowing this should do two things for us:
1. It should make us even more amazed that God has saved us. Even for God to save the best of us is awe striking because even the best of us were rebels and even now continue to rebel against the King.
2. It should make us realize that we are by no means better than anyone else, and we deserve God's love no more than a mass murderer. When we realize that we at one time were rebels and enemies against the King and deserved to be punished eternally, we can look with love on those who we think are "so much worse." Don't get me wrong, rebelling against God is a damnable action, and anyone who is not a servant of Christ will be eternally punished, but when we look at people and are tempted to say, "Look how bad they are," let's remember that we were no better when Jesus showed love to us; just like them, we were rebels headed for the fire.