Nov 28, 2021
Scripture Reading: Romans 3:23
As we begin to approach the Christmas season, it is important to understand the need the human race has for a Savior. The birth of Christ means little to us, personally, unless we grasp the deep and urgent need we have for what Jesus was born to do. Understanding Romans 3:23 drives us to comprehend our need for Him. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But exactly how do we describe God's glory and what does it mean to "fall short" of it? A meditation on this verse helps us to think more precisely about the glory of God and it helps us to understand the nature of sin.
In Hebrew, the word 'glory' comes from a root word meaning 'weight' or 'heaviness' (Exod 4:10; 1 Sam 4:18). When we speak of glory, we speak of a figurative heaviness … honor, splendor, worthiness, reputation, position, wealth. The glory of God in the Bible is God's essential worth and His majestic splendor on display.
A careful study of God's glory in the Bible reveals that God does everything He does to display His own glory (cf. Isa 48:9-11; Jer 13:11; Jn 12:27,28; 13:31,32; Eph 1:4-6).
And we are commanded to do everything for God's glory (cf. 1 Cor 10:31). Romans 1:22,23 says, "Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." To fall short of the glory of God is to trade it away, exchanging it for something of infinitely less value, and which we love more than Him. This is the essence of sin … the sin from which we cannot free ourselves. We desperately need a Savior.