Come Short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23)

2024-06-18

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)

Some translations replace “come short” with “fall short.” The word is translated “lack” elsewhere.

I like “come short” the best here. We were born already fallen; we fell with Adam. However, in our lives, we attempt righteousness and the glory of God in our own selves and come marvelously short. We could stand on the equator and throw stones northward, but nobody is going to hit the North Pole. We come really short! This is why we were “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). We were passive in the process; the Lord Himself justified us before Himself. He in His perfect holiness had to reach down in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to bring us to the glory of God.