“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…”
…is not a complete sentence.
I mean, it is technically, but not in this case. It’s not even the beginning or end of a sentence, it’s literally the middle. Yet I cannot fathom how many times this poor verse has been yanked out of the middle of its own sentence just to prove the point that we are all miserably bad and can do nothing right.
Here is the full sentence, spanning three whole verses:
“22 There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
See how when you read the whole thing it actually seems to say something pretty different?
It’s interesting to me that we highlight the fact that all have sinned, but not the fact that — in the very next verse — all also get justified.
Maybe you grew up knowing this as the first step along ‘The Romans Road,’ which is basically the constructed system for salvation for the past hundred years or so, give or take. I don’t think it’s all awful or entirely wrong, but taking a verse out of the middle of a sentence so it proves YOUR point is never a great way to start a theological system.
Just the other week I was (forced) into a men’s Bible study to listen to a dude who hammered in the fact that we are all utterly sinful, cannot do anything right, and are all destined for hell, except for a small number of believers (read: Fundamentalists who believe exactly what he does). And he started with this verse.
I raised my hand and asked if he’s ever read the whole sentence.
You would think I just spat on all the men’s mothers by suggesting there could be another way to read this verse. It’s like an odd sacred cow among hyper-conservative evangelicals. Like, if you try to understand it any other way, you’re anathema to them and they may edge on using the h-word on you (heretic).
I asked if ‘all’ means all when it refers to who has sinned.
Of course they said yes.
I asked if ‘all’ means all when it refers to who God justifies.
They launched into full-on battle stations like the Gerries were bombarding their trenches.
It couldn’t mean all there, because, of course, you have to read it in context, and it’s this and that, and the thing that… and then two of them had aneurisms and one hyperventilated.
It’s weird how much we’ve come to love the angry god motif.
But it logically makes sense: If you firmly believe that God is angry, you’d be very cautious about someone coming along and misrepresenting him. And I mean that sincerely — logically, the rigid defense of who and how God is holds up. But perhaps, just maybe, we got something wrong along the way…
Myabe this verse is not actually about beating people up and telling them that they’re just pieces of crap, but when we read the whole sentence, maybe it’s about how God has already fized us up.
Like it’s saying, yah, you’re all a little wonky and everyone has screwed up, but God really wants to fix you all and has already made a way for it to happen.
Idk about you, but that sounds like good news to me.
I’m not necessarily going to exegete the entire sentence (a whole three verses!!) right now, but I just wanted to point out that I’ve read the rest of the sentence recently and it changed a lot for me.
Like, it almost sounds like God doesn’t hate us and we aren’t starting from hell and working up, but maybe there is a slightly better, slightly more beautiful story being told in the Bible than the one you’ve heard on The Romans Road.
e
100 days of blog, day 21
Funny that the men were so upset. Reading the rest of Romans 3 Paul mentions multiple times that we are justified by faith based on the finished work of Christ and not the Law – which was the whole point. Since God is the God of the Jews AND the Gentiles, and all have fallen and all need to be justified so God stepped in and did this and it must be received by faith, not by the works of the law. That whole section of Romans is Paul trying to heal the divide between the Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Rome. All are rightfully guilty, all are justified by grace, both under and apart from the law. And it must be accepted by faith.
I suppose I shouldn’t be, but I’m surprised at how many Christians ( or those who claim to be) don’t read their Bibles and if they do, don’t read it ALL in context. A relationship requires time with the one we are in relationship with – meaning talking and listening – praying and reading the Bible. Secondly, it surprises and saddens me that any of those you’ve mentioned would be so offended by someone who does. God IS Almighty and holy and has plenty of reason to be angry at evil and sin, but isn’t that why we’re so grateful that he’s patient not wanting anyone to perish and died and rose again for us to have a way into his loving and compassionate presence? How can those who embrace a “repent or you’re going to hell” mentality expect people to receive that as “good news”? For God so loved…and by the way, the verse after that is often not cited either and proves your point…”For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:17 There’s more theology to unpack in that…like the question people ask “why would God send people to hell” when it’s their choice, not his sending, but we could go on for days…thanks for another great post.
Beautiful..thanks Ethan. Sometimes we even need to be reminded the Bible was not even written to us. I mean the Bible authors were writing to a specific 1st century reader with some specific context in mind. This doesn’t make “God’s Word” less inspired…it just makes us realize that these letters were written to real people learning how to live life in a new spiritual order. Ethan, thanks for stretching my brain and my preconceived beliefs.
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