One of the most over-used and, in my opinion, most misquoted scriptures is Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (KJV). As humans, we often use this scripture to validate our shortcomings. At least, I know I did. Whenever I slipped and cursed, watched (and enjoyed) a steamy sex scene, or lied to get out of a tough situation, how easily those words slipped from under my tongue: “I mean, we all fall short!”. But if we break down this scripture, it is everything but a validation for unrighteousness.
The scripture is broken up into two separate but relevant phrases by a comma. (Yes, I did just get real grammatical on ya’ll!) The first one, “For all have sinned…”, notates the act of sinning being a past habitual quality, not a current reoccurring action. If someone is full from eating too much, they don’t say, “Well, we all have eaten!” They might say, “Man, I ate too much.”
The second phrase, “…come short of the glory of God” is a present state of being. Nobody is God, therefore nobody is perfect. However, the latter phrase cannot be used to justify the first phrase for this reason: they are two different tenses. Our past sin and our current fleshly body is what makes us short of God’s glory, but living a life of continuous sin is our decision. Jesus came and died for our sins so that we can be forgiven for our past sins and so that we don’t have to continually choose to fall. This is why the very next verse, Romans 3:24 reads, “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. It is through God’s grace and redemption that we can live a life free from the wages of sin and obtain eternal life. (Romans 6:23 KJV) One of Satan’s goals is to keep us in a “fallen short” state of mind, and to never realize the authority that comes with Jesus in our lives. We have to fully receive Jesus as our savior and redeemer. We can’t deny the gift of forgiveness given to us by Jesus Christ on the Cross, we must receive it with open arms!
So, now that we’ve exposed Satan, let’s deal with the elephant in the room. What areas can you see yourself using the “fallen short” mindset to excuse your own sin? Or, for my “Super Saints”, where have you used the excuse of “God is not through with me yet!” to continue doing things that displease God? If you disagree with me, tell me what you think!
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