23Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; 24yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.

²³Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; ²⁴yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.^[1] Romans 3:1-26 The Living Bible, Paraphrased 

What’s the use of being a Jew? Are there any special benefits for them from God? Is there any value in the Jewish circumcision ceremony? ²Yes, being a Jew has many advantages.

First of all, God trusted them with his laws so that they could know and do his will.^{a 3}True, some of them were unfaithful, but just because they broke their promises to God, does that mean God will break his promises? ⁴Of course not! Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is not. Do you remember what the book of Psalms says about this?^b That God’s words will always prove true and right, no matter who questions them.

⁵“But,” some say, “our breaking faith with God is good, our sins serve a good purpose, for people will notice how good God is when they see how bad we are. Is it fair, then, for him to punish us when our sins are helping him?” (That is the way some people talk.) ⁶God forbid! Then what kind of God would he be, to overlook sin? How could he ever condemn anyone? ⁷For he could not judge and condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty brought him glory by pointing up his honesty in contrast to my lies. ⁸If you follow through with that idea (logic) you come to this conclusion: the worse we are, the better God likes it! But the damnation of those who say such things is just. Yet some claim that this is what I preach! 

⁹Well, then, are we Jews better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all men alike are sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles. 

¹⁰As the Scriptures say,

“No one is good—no one in all the world is innocent.”^c

¹¹No one has ever really followed God’s paths or even truly wanted to.

¹²Every one has turned away; all have gone wrong. No one anywhere has kept on doing what is right; not one.

¹³Their talk is foul and filthy like the stench from an open grave.^d Their tongues are loaded with lies. Everything they say has in it the sting and poison of deadly snakes.

¹⁴Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

¹⁵They are quick to kill, hating anyone who disagrees with them.^e

¹⁶Wherever they go they leave misery and trouble behind them, ¹⁷and they have never known what it is to feel secure or enjoy God’s blessing.

¹⁸They care nothing about God nor what he thinks of them. 

¹⁹So the judgment of God lies very heavily upon the Jews, for they are responsible to keep God’s laws instead of doing all these evil things; not one of them has any excuse; in fact, all the world stands hushed and guilty before Almighty God.

²⁰Now do you see it? No one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what the law commands. For the more we know of God’s laws, the clearer it becomes that we aren’t obeying them; his laws serve only to make us see that we are sinners. 

^21-22But now God has shown us a different way to heaven^f—not by “being good enough” and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us—declare us “not guilty”—if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like. ²³Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious ideal; ²⁴yet now God declares us “not guilty” of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.

²⁵For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us. He used Christ’s blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath.^g In this way he was being entirely fair, even though he did not punish those who sinned in former times. For he was looking forward to the time when Christ would come and take away those sins. ²⁶And now in these days also he can receive sinners in this same way because Jesus took away their sins.^[2] 

HOW CAN GOD ACCEPT US?

The Problem:

We resist God.

We ignore God.

We attempt to deceive God.

We work against God’s interests.

We acknowledge God only when we are in trouble.

We consider our plans and desires before God’s.

We do not love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.

How can we hope to have an intimate relationship with God, or to go to heaven after this life if we have not or will not trust God with our eternal destiny?

 

False Solutions:	True Solution:
Deny there is a God but create our own god out of something or someone else.	Recognize the answer to our problem is faith and trust in Christ.
Live in guilt, punishing ourselves or masking the guilt behind alcohol and drugs.	Accept God’s gracious gift of forgiveness, believing in his love.
Use religion (works, church attendance, service) as a substitute for faith, loving God, and obeying him.	Realize that God is willing to declare us not guilty and that he alone can do that.
Assume or vaguely hope God will save us anyway.	Live in the freedom provided by God, enjoying the opportunity to express our thanks by obedience rather than trying to earn his acceptance.
Conclude God is too demanding and live in despair or apathy.	Humbly accept the fact that Christ’s substitution for us accomplished what we could not have done for ourselves. [3]

 3:23     All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Paul has made it clear thus far in his letter that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles when it comes to final judgment—everyone has sinned. Therefore, no one can share in the glory of God by virtue of their sinlessness. If the law measures the distance between God and his creatures, then human righteousness is our attempt to bridge that distance by our own efforts. Paul is correct—we all fall short. But what is this glory of God that we do not reach on our own? The word glory (doxes), from which we derive the word doxology, refers to the wonderful and awe-inspiring but indescribable presence of God himself. We tend to think of glory in terms of brightness, but it is certainly more than that. It is utter wholeness, completeness. Sin keeps us from the presence of God. What ought to catch our attention is the fact that our common sinfulness keeps us from reaching the place that we were created to experience. And one of the anticipations of faith in Jesus Christ is that we will share fully in the glory of God (see Romans 8:18, 29–30; Philippians 3:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:14). 

Sinning confirms our status as sinners, and sin cuts us off from our holy God. Furthermore, sin leads to death (because it disqualifies us from living with God), regardless of how great or small each sin may seem. Sins are deadly, but sinners can be forgiven. There are no distinctions: we have all sinned; we all need a savior; Jesus Christ is the Savior; through faith, we can receive his salvation. 

“In order that he alone might be righteous, it was necessary for God to deliver the whole human race to death on the cross in the judgment of his wrath. The death of Jesus is the manifestation of God’s righteousness, it is the place where God has given gracious proof of his own righteousness, the place where alone the righteousness of God will dwell. By sharing in this death, we too become partakers of that righteousness.”

—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

 

3:24     Justified freely by His grace. ^NKJV

Just as there is no distinction in our fallenness, Paul writes, so there is no distinction in the source of our justification. God justifies us; he declares us “not guilty” for our sins. When a judge in a court of law declares the defendant “not guilty,” all the charges are removed from the person’s record. Legally, it is as if the person had never been accused. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From his perspective, it is as though we had never sinned. We do not have to anxiously work while hoping that in the end, we will have been good enough to meet God’s approval. Instead, God takes those who believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, justifies them, and then calls them righteous before they’ve even begun to live for him. Our righteousness before God depends entirely on him and can only be accepted as a gift from him. God by His grace assures us of our acceptance and then calls us to serve him as best we can out of sheer love for him.

Through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ^NIV

The word redemption refers to the cost paid by Christ to set sinners free from slavery to sin. Christ paid the debt we owed for violating the righteous demands of the law. In Old Testament times, a person’s debts could result in his being sold as a slave. The next of kin could redeem him (buy his freedom). Christ purchased our freedom, and the price was his own life. 

Christ has provided all that we need to stand in God’s presence as though we have never done wrong. What he did for us becomes our own when we put our faith in him.^[4] 

Guilty!

Bible Reading: Romans 2:17–29

Key Bible Verse: You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. (Romans 2:23) 

Guilt comes from failing to do what God expects. Paul continues to argue that all stand guilty before God. After describing the fate of the unbelieving, pagan Gentiles, he moves to that of the religiously privileged. Despite their knowledge of God’s will, they are guilty because they too have refused to live by their beliefs. Those of us who have grown up in Christian families are the religiously privileged of today. Paul’s condemnation applies to us if we do not live up to what we know. 

The Solution for Guilt

How can our guilt be removed? & What is one of the characteristics of trust? 

Bible Reading: Romans 3:21–31

Key Bible Verse: Now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight—not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. (Romans 3:21–22) 

Guilt can be removed through Christ; through trust wholeheartedly and believing in God’s promises. After all this bad news about our sinfulness and God’s condemnation, Paul gives the wonderful news. There is a way to be declared “not guilty”—by trusting Jesus Christ to take away our sins. Trusting means putting our confidence in Christ to forgive our sins, to make us right with God, and to empower us to live the way he taught us. God’s solution is available to all of us regardless of our background or past behavior. 

We are declared “not guilty” because of Christ. When a judge in a court of law declares the defendant “not guilty,” all the charges are removed from his record. Legally, it is as if the person had never been accused. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. From his perspective, it is as though we had never sinned.^[5] 

               

Prayer

Father God, thank You for making me righteous in Your sight. There is nothing I can ever do to earn this-- it's something You have freely offered to me because You love me. Thank You! Forgive me for all the times I have selfishly rejected You, and please show me how to live a life that honors You. In Jesus' name, Amen.   

---

^[1] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

^a 3:2  so that they could know and do his will, implied.

^b 3:4  See Psalm 51:4.

^c 3:10  See Psalm 14:3.

^d 3:13  Their talk is foul and filthy like the stench from an open grave, literally, “Their throat is an open grave.” Perhaps the meaning is “Their speech injures others.”

^e 3:15  hating anyone who disagrees with them, implied.

^f 3:21-22  God has shown us a different way to heaven, literally, “A righteousness of God has been manifested.”

^g 3:25  as the means of saving us from his wrath, literally, “to be a propitiation.”

^[2] Taylor, Kenneth Nathaniel. 1997. The Living Bible, Paraphrased. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

^[3] Barton, Bruce B., David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson. 1992. Romans. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^NKJV Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

^NIV Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version^®. NIV^®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

^[4] Barton, Bruce B., David Veerman, and Neil S. Wilson. 1992. Romans. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

^[5] Wilson, Neil S. 2000. In The Handbook of Bible Application, 268–69. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 

All Pics From YouVersion Bible App

Romans 3:23-24 NLT; For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. (bible.com)