2022_07_11 Insight Post- Kim Feld

For me, Romans 3 has verses that are among the most level-setting in all scripture.

^“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” Romans 3:23, 24 (NIV).

We are all sinners and fall short of God’s glory. This is not an “us and them” kind of statement; it’s inclusive. Paul wants to remind us that God’s grace is available for everyone because everyone needs it.

One of the biggest dangers for Christians is memory loss. I don’t mean the kind that sometimes comes with age or disease processes. I’m talking about the kind that causes us to forget what we were before Jesus. When we forget what Jesus has saved us from, we feel justified in judging others we deem to be higher on the sin scale than us.

I was nine years old when I became a follower of Jesus, so I didn’t have a lot of life that God was saving me from. But even at that age, I knew that God was so much bigger than I was and so much better than anything I had ever experienced.  I wanted to know Him and to be known by Him. Sadly, the biggest sins I have committed in my life came AFTER I became a follower, not before. But because of Jesus, God still calls me His own.

I sin and fall short of God’s glory every day. I fall short, whether it comes through words, deeds, or thoughts. I don’t say that in a proud way, but in amazement. God justifies me freely through His grace, making me right with Him. Jesus did for me what I could never do on my own. His death and resurrection make me clean before a holy God.

On this side of heaven, we will continue to struggle to be a new creation in Christ. The pull of our selfish desires is strong – we want our rights and our way. We want to win. But Jesus didn’t save us to win according to the world’s standards. Instead, he saved us to live according to His standards, which often oppose the world.

You may have heard the old saying that the ground is level at the cross. Romans 3:23 confirms it. We all sin and fall short of God’s glory. But thank God that’s not the end of the story.

Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach