21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…
Romans 3:21-24 ESV
Many people can quote Romans 3:23, which states, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Out of context, I’ve heard people use this verse to argue that “nobody’s perfect.” In this line of reasoning, this may seem like good news. I could imagine hearing someone trying to justify themselves, “Well, nobody’s perfect; we’re all a little messed up; I won’t judge you, and you can’t judge me–and the chances of God getting all mad at me when there are so many worse “not-perfect” people in the world seems slim! I’m just one in the crowd of messy people.” This sentiment is not good news; God can and will send non-perfect, messy people to hell. All of them. Even those seemingly lost in the shuffle with just a little dirt on their nose. No one goes unseen in the eyes of God. Reading this verse in context, it is the one-sentence summary of the BAD news that Paul laboriously expounds upon in the first three chapters. All have sinned. All fall short. All will face judgment and God’s wrath commensurate with their knowledge of the law and sin. But I promise you; there is GOOD NEWS.
We learned last week that the law speaks and finds all humanity guilty of rebelling and transgressing against a Holy God (That’s the bad news). However, the Law and the Prophets reveal some good news! The righteousness of God is available to humankind apart from the law and the works of the flesh. This justification comes solely by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. For all those who believe in the name of God’s only begotten Son Jesus Christ, and make Him Lord and Savior of their lives–trusting in Him alone through faith for salvation–Jesus’s righteousness covers and redeems them. Jesus is both the cornerstone and the plumb line to measure and perfect the temple, built out of us living stones to house the righteousness and glory of God. The real good news is that all who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him, turning away from their formerly wicked ways and pursuing the holiness of God in the power of the Holy Spirit, will be saved.