Scripture Reference: Romans 3:21-31
The Human Problem
The first point Paul makes relates to our common human problem. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In the mind of Paul, all human beings (Jew, Gentile or otherwise) have one basic problem. We are all sinners; every last one of us. The Greek verb translated sinned means to miss the mark. It is a word drawn from the athletic world which relates to the idea of a marksman’s arrow missing the target. The expression fall short is a second athletically related phrase which connotes the idea of a runner lagging or falling behind in a race.
What did Paul want to say to his readers by the employment of these two ideas? Simply, that mankind, humans, are incredibly inept, even with all our capabilities. At being morally and ethically righteous before God, we truly miss the mark and fall short. The word righteous means to live in such a way as to be morally and ethically pleasing to God.
For many years now, especially in recent years, the tendency has been to look upon people who are well-educated and culturally refined as outside the need of God’s grace and forgiveness. We have no problem looking at those at the bottom of society’s rung as in need of redemption. However, for those who through education and cultural development improve their social standing, we sometimes forget that in every person, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9). The King James Version translates it to say the heart is desperately “wicked.” It makes no difference if that heart beats in the chest of a Harvard graduate or a Harlem beggar. Both persons are in need of God’s grace and forgiveness. True righteousness is impossible apart from God’s help.
Recently, there was a story reported in social media of one of the nation’s most eminent psychiatrists who had resigned his position at Harvard Medical School after admitting he had plagiarized large sections of several articles he wrote in medical journals and textbooks. When I first read the story, I wondered how a man of his intellectual prowess, educational accomplishment, and social grace could succumb to something like plagiarism to get himself ahead in the academic world. But then, I remembered Paul’s words that we all “fall short” and “miss the mark.” We are all sinners. The human problem is the same for all humans, regardless of education or social standing.
Paul was writing about persons not unlike many today who thought they could be pleasing and acceptable to God by a meticulous obedience of all God’s laws. The Bible makes clear that, in spite of our best intentions, we fall short of God’s expectations and miss the mark of perfection. In short, we need help. Which of us would be so bold as to claim we’ve never made a mistake?
I read an illustration of a minister who was trying to make the point that we are all guilty and imperfect. After a series of rhetorical questions, he asked his congregation, “Is there any person here who would dare to claim you’ve never made a mistake . . . that you are perfect? If so, stand up!”
He scanned the congregation for any response, but of course, there was none. Just as he prepared to proceed with the message, however, one man sitting near the back stood to his feet.
Somewhat startled, the minister questioned him, “Sir, do you claim to be perfect?”
“Oh, no,” retorted the man. “I just thought someone should stand on behalf of my sister’s husband!”
We laugh about that only because it is preposterous to think that any of us are in any way perfect. There are two options open to the person who wants to be acceptable to God. Either he can set out to live a life that will be so perfectly pleasing to God that he will be rewarded with eternal life, or he may decide that is hopeless and trust himself completely to God who is able to do for him what he cannot do for himself.
To Be Continued
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 
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