Rom. 3:23  –  “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

The context of this statement actually begins back in Romans chapter one. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God to save (Rom. 1:16,17). Save from what? The affirmation of the apostle assumes we need to be saved from something. All of us. That’s where this verse enters: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

This is actually a conclusion. Rom. 3:23 is a conclusion of what is documented from Rom. 1:18 up to this point. It some detail, Paul documents the sin of both Jews and Gentiles. He speaks of ungodliness, unrighteousness, suppressing the truth, not glorifying God and futile thoughts. Into chapter two, he extends the indictment to include the Jews, who were God’s nation.

Thus the word “all.” “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Have you ever done anything wrong? An evil thought? A word spoken in anger, with malice? Ascribing a malicious motive to someone without evidence? Any form of immorality? Have you ever told a lie? Or, what about these inquiries: Do you maintain a mind filled with reverence, purity and gratitude for God all the time? Have you fallen short? Do you fall short?

If we have “all” sinned, we all need Christ? I need Him. You need Him. All of us need to know what the Bible says about responding to Him, and be certain we have and we are responding to the Savior.