Romans 3:23 - "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Well, I am starting roughly 6 months of memorizing verses this week. My mom found a card somewhere with 26 verses, one for each letter of the alphabet. I am planning on asking my sunday school class next year or sometime in the future to memorize those verses, but I realized that I should be sure I know all of them before I ask 10 year olds to memorize all of them. I could go through it as I do it with them, memorizing the verse a week ahead, but I think I want to memorize them anyway. So, this is the first verse which I will memorize. Since I already know the verse, I want to do more than just memorize it. I will be studying it and looking up cross references, and trying to get a better understanding of the verse in general.
It sounds pretty simple, right? I mean, all it's saying is that anyone who has ever been born has sinned. But, then, what is the second part. All fall short of the glory of God? Do they not go to heaven, or just they can't be compared to God. Also, how does that affect people, and how does it affect those of us who are already saved. This verse is often used when training to lead people to Christ. The first step to solving a problem is confessing you have it, so the first step to becoming a Christian is acknowledging that you have screwed up. But, how does that affect other people who already know Christ? Check back on saturday for my thoughts on this verse, and please share your thoughts with me.
~Keri~
I want to have beautiful feet. ~ Isaiah 52:7
Also posted at www.myspace.com/kearbear4
"Do they not go to heaven, or just they can't be compared to God."
It absolutely means that we cannot go to Heaven. Because of our sin we are forever seperated from God, and no amount of good deeds can ever change that. However, because Christ, who never sinned, died and took our punishment we, through His rightouesness, can be reunited with God if we accept His gift of salvation from that fate. Hope that helps.
I agree with you that we cannot go to Heaven because of our sins. We are separated from God, yes. But, is that what this verse is saying? It says we "all ... fall short of the glory of God." So, if that means we cannot go to heaven, is heaven "the glory of God." Or, is it just saying that we are not God, and we cannot be. Both things are true. We cannot go to heaven without Christ, and we cannot become God. Maybe it does not really matter which this verse is saying, and perhaps it is saying both. I was just speculating on the meaning of that part of the verse, mainly "the glory of God."
~Keri~
I want to have beautiful feet. ~ Isaiah 52:7
dFaith, are you saying that we can go to heaven because of Jesus dying for us?
~~LM~~
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined." ~ Thoreau
Yes, His perfect sacrifice cancels our debt if we allow it to.
Personally, I take it to mean that no person can hold themself holier than another. The point is that one sin is a sin, regardless of personal magnitude. If you cheat on a test, you have sinned and now fall short of God's Glory. If you kill seven people, you have sinned and now fall short of Him. I think the passage is trying to say that a sin is a sin is a sin is a sin; no sin is less or more, only that it should be absolved by God's forgiveness of those who have accepted Him.
Sorry for the delay, but I had an unexpected essay to write, and since last week was busy, I had to spend most of Saturday planning my sunday school lesson. So, here are my thoughts...
If you take the verse in context, it helps a lot with understanding exactly the meaning. Verses 21-26 are important to this section. They are talking about righteousness through faith, and the fact that all righteousness comes from God, not from our own acts. Then, verse 23 comes in. We must have righteousness from God because we are sinners and cannot do right on our own. It goes on to say that we are justified by Christ's sacrifice, which shows God's justice.
A cross reference for this verse is actually verse 9 in the same chapter. It says "What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin." It goes on to quote Psalm 14:1-3; 53:1-3. People have always been sinners. This adds depth to the term "all." All people from the beginning of time to the end of time have been and will be sinners. That means that Christ died for all of those people, if they believe(d) in His life and death.
This is a complicated subject, but I think I must at least briefly mention my opinion on it. Jewish people believe Christ has not yet come, and look forward to his first coming, while Christians are looking for his second coming. However, the Christian faith came from the Jewish beliefs. Before Christ came, people were saved because they believed in God and waited for Christ's coming. Now, Jewish people are still looking forward to Christ's coming, and believe he will come, so God will save them in some way. I am not sure if that is true, and I don't know if there is scripture to back up that belief, but that is something I have discussed with leaders and that is what makes sense to me.
Finally, what is "the glory of God." My study bible gives a brief explanation in the foot notes.
None of us can be as great as God. No one can be worthy of praise and adoration. When Moses asked to see God's glory, God told him, "... No one may see my face and live." (Exodus 33:20). After God's glory passed in front of Moses, his face glowed for days. God is so powerful mankind cannot even look at Him. Also, it is never ending. Unlike a movie star or musician, God's glory will never "get old." Yes, people turn away from God, but there will always be millions who live for Him. No human can compare to that, except Jesus, who was God.
Although none of this is really new information to me, it is always helpful to look at the meaning behind a verse. I know that whenever I hear Romans 3:23, I won't just think "that's a verse that you are supposed to use when sharing the gospel." There is so much more meaning behind it now. Thanks for your comments and everything!
~Keri~
I want to have beautiful feet. ~ Isaiah 52:7
When I was younger, I watched this cheesy Christian kids video called Psalty the Singing Song Book. There was one song that had26 verses, one for each letter.
"I'm gonna hide God's word in my heart
It's a lamp unto my feet.
I'm gonna read God's word
everyday
It's my food my bread and meat."
Obiviously, it stuck with me. Google Psalty Kid's Praise 4 and show that to your kiddies if you wanna laugh at cheesiness and have them learn the verses. You'll learn them yourself.
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