We’re counting down the top ten Bible verses of all time, as determined by researchers with very large brains who analyze how often each verse is referenced.
Here’s VERSE #5:
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
(Romans 3:23)
Everybody sins and falls short of God’s glory. You. Me. Your pastor. Billy Graham. Mother Teresa. The Apostle Paul. EVERYBODY.
It’s ROMANS-O-RAMA here on GUWG, where all week long we’re digging into one of the Bible’s most revolutionary books.
Today, we’ll start with this verse:
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Everybody sins and falls short of God’s glory. You. Me. Your pastor. Billy Graham. Mother Teresa. The Apostle Paul. EVERYBODY.
It’s SHEEPISHNESS WEEK here on GUWG where all week long we’re looking at sheep-ish verses from the Bible.
As we discussed yesterday, in the Bible us peeps are compared to sheep more often than any other animal. Unfortunately – like us – sheep just ain’t that smart and tend to get into all kinds of trouble when they wander off on their own.
Here’s a great verse to memorize (it even rhymes):
The Bible is packed with intriguing questions, many of them from God himself.
What was God’s first question? It came right after man’s first sin. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, realized they were naked and then tried to hide from God.
What did God do in response? He asked a simple question:
Where are you?
What if God asked you that question right now? How would you respond? Are you following Him? Or are you stumbling around on your own? Is God enough for you? Or do you long for forbidden fruit? Are you at peace? Or are you ashamed of something you’ve done? Are you open and honest with God? Or is there something you’re trying to hide?
God already knows all of our deepest, darkest thoughts and all of our ugliest, nastiest actions. But He still loves us more than we could ever imagine.
Turn from your sin.
Run back to God.
Never ever leave His side.
It’s really that simple.
Without Jesus, you’re dead. With Jesus, you’re alive.
Or, put another way, Jesus doesn’t have any dead friends.
Here’s what the Bible says:
As for you,
you were dead
in your transgressions and sins,
in which you used to live
when you followed the ways of this world
and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air,
the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
All of us also lived among them at one time,
gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature
and following its desires and thoughts.
Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
(Ephesians 2:1-3)
We were all there. You, me, Mother Teresa, Billy Graham, the Apostle Paul. Every single one of us. If that were the end of the story, it would be pretty tragic and depressing. But it’s not. Here’s what comes next:
But because of his great love for us,
God, who is rich in mercy,
made us alive with Christ,
even when we were dead in our transgressions –
it is by grace you have been saved.
(Ephesians 2:4-5)
So what are us “alive” people supposed to do?
The Bible makes that clear, too. It calls us “God’s workmanship” — other translations say “masterpiece” — “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)
We’re God’s walking and talking masterpieces. Let’s live like that today and get out there and do some good.
Here’s this week’s Proverb . . .
When words are many, sin is not absent,
but he who holds his tongue is wise.
(Proverbs 10:19)
I think I’ll heed that advice right now. ‘Nuf said.
We’re counting down the top ten Bible verses of all time, based on an exhaustive study conducted by research scientists with very large brains (and apparently a lot of time on their hands) who determined how often each verse appears in print.
Here’s this week’s verse. Memorize it. Chew on it. Wrestle with it.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
(Romans 3:23)
After you’re done wrestling, click here for the antidote to our sin problem.
