“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
- Romans 3:23
Simply put, the problem that you and I have is that God is good, and we are not.
If God is supremely good, then He must be supremely opposed to that which is evil. And that's exactly the claim made in Scripture (and exactly why we've got such a huge problem). You see, perfection doesn't operate on a sliding scale. If our Creator really is holy and perfect, then even if we were to commit only one sin amidst a million years of otherwise righteous acts, that single sin would be enough to convict us and separate us from Him. This was proved through the sin of Adam (Genesis 3), and if Adam (and all of creation for that matter) fell as a result of a single sin...
...then what hope do you and I have?
...then what hope do you and I have?
When we sin, we need to realize that this is an assault against God himself, not against some law that is outside of Him. This is because there is unity between who God is and what God does. When we sin, we are seeking to cast Him from His throne, in order to take on the “divine prerogative” that belongs to Him alone. To do this is to to claim Godhood for ourselves... because it involves making ourselves the measure of our environment, as we claim autonomy over some part of His creation.
Now, in Romans 3:23, Paul equates sin with “falling short” of God’s glory. What does this mean?
Well, among other things, this means that our “Plan B” is not equal to God’s “Plan A,” and when we sin, we need to recognize this. However, many folks believe that one can love God and yet discard His agenda. The thinking here is that “Well, we’re only human, and God is a hip guy, and He’ll understand if His people have to adapt our faith to fit our circumstances.” This leads us to see sin NOT as an assault against His throne, but merely as “another path” or “another choice.”
Well, among other things, this means that our “Plan B” is not equal to God’s “Plan A,” and when we sin, we need to recognize this. However, many folks believe that one can love God and yet discard His agenda. The thinking here is that “Well, we’re only human, and God is a hip guy, and He’ll understand if His people have to adapt our faith to fit our circumstances.” This leads us to see sin NOT as an assault against His throne, but merely as “another path” or “another choice.”
Well, if that were true, and God was the least bit ambivalent toward our sins, then how can we explain what happened to Adam in Genesis 3?
For that matter, how can we explain the cross?
For that matter, how can we explain the cross?
Again, to fall short of the glory of God is a serious problem. By why is that a problem? Well, it is a problem because of what the penalty is for such an act, as we’ll see in our next Verse, Romans 6:23.
