Steadfast, Immovable, Abounding

First installment of the Romans Road series

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

Romans 3:23

As human beings, we live in a world of comparison. Whether positively or negatively, we are notorious for judging ourselves and our actions based on the people we see around us. For some, this can be a way of reassuring ourselves that at least we aren’t “as bad as them.” Perhaps we might not word it quite so succinctly, but if dwelling on other people’s sins makes us feel better about ourselves, then we are definitely in the wrong. On the other hand, we can also easily fall into the trap of wishing we were more like other believers. “If only I could pray like him,” “if only I could lead people to the Lord like her,” “if only I had an amazing testimony to share like he does.” We’ve probably all had thoughts like these before. But when we do this – when we use other fallen individuals as our standard to either justify or condemn ourselves – we are neglecting the one who always speaks truth, because He defines it.

What does it really mean to “fall short of the glory of God”? Revelation 4:11 says, “‘Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.’” The glory of our God is eternal, inconceivable, and incomparable. Before Him “all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isaiah 64:6). We, along with the rest of creation, were created to worship and glorify the Lord. When we fall short of God’s glory, we fall short of His plan for our life, we fall short of His holiness, we fall short of the love that characterizes followers of Christ. And when we compare ourselves to other imperfect human beings, we are like children arguing over who can reach closer to the stars.

It’s overwhelmingly obvious to all of us that something is drastically wrong with the world. Believers and nonbelievers alike experience pain, fear, death, war, natural disasters…everything that comes along with living in a world that has fallen far from Eden. But instead of turning to our Maker to fill the void in our hearts, humanity has refused to acknowledge the existence of sin and chooses instead to point an accusing finger at anything but ourselves. Why? Because acknowledging sin means to acknowledge the God who defines right and wrong. And acknowledging Him means accepting our inability to be like Him. Deuteronomy 32:18 says, “‘You neglected the Rock who begot you, and forgot the God who gave you birth.’” For all of history, the world has searched for things to fill the hole which sin has eaten away: money, pleasures, busyness, health, even so-called “kindness.” Yet all these things will always fall so short of the glory of God and the glory of a life lived for Him. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world.”

Whether we have grown up in church or never heard the name of Jesus, we all must start at the same point—the point of recognizing our helplessness and hopelessness without a Savior. There’s a reason why Romans 3:23 is considered the first step of the Romans Road. Unless we will admit that we are empty, broken, and completely unable to deal with our sin, we will see no need for a redeeming sacrifice to take the punishment for that sin. Paul writes in Romans 7:18-20, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.” Christ is not waiting to simply enhance our old lives and tweak the parts which are out of tune with His character. No, He must have all of us or none at all. He wants to tear down the work of sin in our lives and start fresh upon the foundation of Himself.

Never use other human beings as a reference point by which to judge yourself. You could be as “good” as the most moral person to have ever existed (excluding one) and would still deserve eternal separation from God. You could be as “bad” as the cruelest dictator you can think of and would still not be out of reach of God’s salvation. This should bring us to a point of great humility and great peace—there is nothing we can do to earn God’s love and there is nothing we can do to lose it. So next time you’re tempted to compare yourself to the people around you – whether to condemn or excuse yourself – remember that the ground is always level at the cross.