Romans 3:23
For all have sinned [1] [2] , and come short [3] of the glory of God; [4] [5]
- ↑ Both the Jews who had the law and the Gentiles who didn’t have the law failed to measure up to God’s glory.
- ↑ In context, Paul is comparing the Jews who have the law and the Gentiles who do not (Romans 2:14). Although the Jews have some advantages over the Gentiles (Romans 3:1), in the final analysis it makes little difference because all of us fall short of God’s glory. We all sin. We all go astray. We all need a Savior.
- ↑ To sin is to fall short of “the glorious lives God wills for us” (to quote the Message Bible). And all of us fall short.
- ↑ It is not God’s standards we fall short of, but his glory. Just as a caterpillar is unable to soar on the same level as a butterfly, we fall short of the divine life of God.
- ↑ King James Version