What is the meaning of Romans 3:23? For all have sinned The statement sweeps every person into the same category—no exceptions. • Romans 3:10–12 underscores the point: “There is no one righteous, not even one.” • Ecclesiastes 7:20 reminds us that “Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” • Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all like sheep have gone astray,” reinforcing that sin is the common human condition. • Even those who try their hardest discover, as James 2:10 notes, that stumbling at one point of God’s law makes one “guilty of all.” Because Scripture is accurate and literal, we take God at His word: every human—past, present, future—stands guilty. and fall short Sin is not just a tally of wrong actions; it creates a gap we cannot bridge. • Romans 5:12 explains that “sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin,” so falling short is both moral and relational. • Isaiah 59:2 tells us “your iniquities have separated you from your God,” describing a real barrier. • Psalm 130:3 concedes, “If You, O LORD, kept a record of iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?”—no one measures up. • Galatians 3:22 adds that “Scripture has imprisoned all things under sin,” emphasizing the inability to reach God’s standard by human effort. of the glory of God God’s glory is His perfect, radiant character and the destiny for which humans were created. Falling short means we miss that purpose. • Genesis 1:26–27 shows humanity made in God’s image, designed to reflect His glory. • Romans 1:23 describes how people “exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images,” illustrating how sin redirects worship. • 2 Corinthians 4:6 speaks of “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,” revealing where true glory is seen. • Revelation 21:23 depicts the New Jerusalem where “the glory of God gives it light,” pointing to the ultimate restoration believers long for. summary Romans 3:23 lays out a universal problem: every one of us has sinned, therefore every one of us falls short of God’s radiant standard. That shortfall is not a minor slip but a total inability to reach God’s glory on our own. Recognizing this truth prepares the heart for the good news that follows—God, through Christ, bridges the gap we never could. |
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