Rom. 3:23,24 Even While Falling Short, We Are Counted Whole In Christ

SPEAKER 01 : 0:05

So Paul, after all of the description, the terrible and dour description of humanity, broken down, ruined, none righteous, no not one, all have come under the judgment of the law, is now introducing this wonderful good news that God has brought in his righteousness through Christ. And we’re looking at Romans 3, verses 21 and 22 and 23 and 4. Let’s read it. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe, for there is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. This is one of the, and what follows, by the way, several verses following, is, I think, the richest portion of the Bible anywhere. It is full of, chock full of truth and grace and mercy. I want you to notice then what we pointed out yesterday, for there is no difference. Paul says that straight after saying that the righteousness of God is upon all and on all who believe. for there is no difference. Now, again, I say to you, I ask you, what is the significance of Paul saying there is no difference after just mentioning that righteousness comes to us by faith? Well, the answer is that it is telling us that all humanity is the same. There is no difference between one human being and another in relation to God. All have fallen, all are sinners, all are under the power of sin and death, and all need to be redeemed. And they are redeemed by Christ through faith. Now, this is so significant. He says, even the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe, for there is no difference. Well, now, if you think that faith comes from your will, some people choose to believe and some people choose not to believe. If you think that, then there is a difference, isn’t there? because what makes some people believe and others not believe? Some Christians have a sort of hidden secret pride that they somehow have a better, what shall I say, take on things, understanding of things, because they have had the wisdom to believe while others are stupid enough to be in denial and not believe. If you believe that faith comes from human beings and not as a gift from God, then there is a difference between human beings. Some human beings have the wisdom and the wherewithal to have faith, and others do not. Well, that’s a strange kettle of fish, isn’t it? But If you believe that God is the giver of faith, then there is no difference between human beings or among human beings because God is the one who gives faith. Yet you say, well, why does he give faith to some and not to others? Let me tell you, my friends, the gospel will reveal, and we will slowly see this, that God will give faith ultimately to everyone. either here on earth or in the final judgment when all bow before him and make an acknowledgement that in him alone, Christ alone is their righteousness and strength. But what we have to know right now for our personal growth and faith is that there is no difference. Now look, if you’re struggling with drugs or alcohol or food issues or sex issues or gambling or work addiction, you will feel that there’s a difference between you who are addicted and others who are not. And the temptation will be to feel that you’re at a disadvantage, that you are weaker than others, that you don’t have the willpower that others have, that you had a disadvantage in you had a poor upbringing or an abusive family member or you were neglected or you were an orphan or something else or your mother died when you were young. You will have all of these temptations to believe that you are at a disadvantage. Let me tell you, there is no difference. Yes, it’s true on a social level it seems that there is, that some people have it better than others, that some people have a put-together family and you don’t, yours is split and divided, or that some have been born into wealth and others into poverty. But from God’s perspective, who is high and lifted up, the Holy One who inhabits eternity, all mankind has suppressed God. And God intends to bring each member of the human race into a corner, stuck in a corner, their resources all spent, having no way out. in order to help the human race and each one in the human race to call out to God for mercy. And that is when God brings faith to us. And so there is no difference. What you need to do if you are struggling with addiction is to give thanks to God for that addiction. I know that sounds utterly bonkers. Listen. You have bemoaned yourself all your life. One of the main ingredients of the addictive mind is self-pity. Listen to me again. One of the major ingredients of the addictive mind is self-pity. Oh, poor me. I’m a victim. I can’t help it. I’m at a disadvantage. Others have it better than I do. Stop it. Lift your heart up in faith. and say, Father, I’m going to say something crazy to you, but I know you understand it because you understand the crazies of the world. Father in heaven, I thank you that there is no difference between me and somebody else who is not an addict, and therefore I thank you for my addiction. Now when you do that, suddenly a light will go on in your head because you will realize that you are thanking God for something that you thought was a disadvantage and you now realize is an advantage. How could an addiction possibly be an advantage? because it brings you to your knees, it brings you to the end of yourself, it leads you to call out for mercy, it leads you to realize that you need God and so do we all. And by the way, when I say so do we all, I must add that really everybody in the world is addicted, because addiction is an escape from pain. Well, what pain does all the world have? The void of the soul, the empty soul, the soul that is lost on the twilight mountains, the soul that is bereft, the soul that is lonely and isolated and cold and uncovered. The point is this. Some addictions are known as addictions like drugs and alcohol and other addictions are not. Being a human being is an addictive state because we are all in a state of suppression. We are full of guilt and shame and fear, which is terribly painful, and therefore we are desperate to escape from that pain, and therefore we go into our idols, which are escapes, until God brings the good news to us about how much he loves us through his Son and has atoned for our sins and has presented Christ as our substitute and surety, and then we rush to him, opening our arms and in tears and say, oh God, please receive me. And so you see, if you want to start turning in regard to your addiction, then it is time to give it a new paradigm. And the new paradigm is that your addiction has been allowed by God. It is one of the idols that he has handed you over to in order to bring you to an end of yourself that you may call out to him. for there is no difference. O Lord, O God, there is no difference between me, an addict in my one-room apartment, and a prince on the throne, or a prince in the house of the king, who is also addicted. There is no difference. Now, what follows needs some explanation in regard to the actual wording and language. For all have sinned. Now, what does that mean? When did all sin? First of all, let me tell you that the word sinned here is in a past tense for all sinned. Not all have sinned, as it reads in the revised King James Version, but actually all sinned. And it’s, well, look, there are two past tenses in, two tenses, well, there are more than two tenses in English, but let’s talk about the present tense, I sinned, And the past tense, I sinned. And the past perfect, of course, I have sinned. But in the Greek, there is a past tense called an aorist. And it’s a past tense at a particular point of time. So this should really read, for all sinned at a particular point in time. Oh, so this is not talking about our individual sins, because our individual sins take place at different times for different people in different ages, don’t they? So what is this point of time? Well, Paul is looking at all humanity in Adam. And in Adam, all sinned at a particular point of time in the Garden of Eden when he plucked that fruit rebelliously from the tree and they shared it, Eve and her husband, and they suppressed God in order to do so. That is the sin that is being talked about here because it’s the punctiliar tense, the past tense, the aorist tense, for all sinned at a particular point in time. You and I enter the world as sinners, as under the power of sin. You remember we’ve already talked a little bit about the word under, under sin, under the law. And so when it says that we are under sin and under the law, it’s talking about Adam’s kingdom. When Adam sinned, we all went down with him, all the human race. So all sinned at a certain point of time back in the Garden of Eden. Can you imagine that? That’s hard to comprehend. But it means that we are not only sinners in our own right, but we come into the world as victims of the power of sin, under sin, under the law, in the kingdom of sin and death. So all sinned. Now the next phrase, and fall short of the glory of God, should read, and are continually falling short of the glory of God. Because the word in Greek here, the verb, is a continuous tense. So think of it, all sinned at a point of time and continually fall short of the glory of God. Now, in your own experience struggling with drugs and alcohol or whatever it may be, other addictions, you have this heavy, ponderous sense of falling short continually, don’t you? You may overcome for a day or two or a week or two, but then you fall on your face, and then you feel you’ve fallen short. But listen to the good news. And verse 24, continually being justified, declared innocent freely by his grace. Oh, the wonder of that. Even though we are continually falling short, we are being declared innocent, justified freely by the love and grace of God. Lift up your heart then, even in your failures and defeats, saying, Father, I have sinned, I repent, but I praise you also that I am still counted as if I were a righteous man or woman. And key in how it happens with Colin Cook when you get there. 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