Romans 3:3,24 - For all have sinned

3:23

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Every single human being has sinned. The Jews talked about “Gentile sinners”, but the Jews were also sinners. When we say something or someone is sinful we are often accused of being bigoted or judgemental, or  “haters”. This is complete nonsense. The gospel enables us to talk freely about sin, rather than ignoring the realities. For all have sinned, that includes me and you. “Fall short of the glory of God”. We were created in God’s image, if man had never sinned the world would be unbelievably different from what we see around us. We would have lived in the glory that God gave us. And, in Christ, we will enjoy the glory of God again. But the point here is that all fall short of the glory of God. The Jews were not living the life that God created them for, and neither were the Gentiles.

3:24

Having outlined how all, without distinction, are guilty and therefore by nature “objects of wrath” (Col 2:3), we now get to the solution. All “are justified by His grace as a gift”. The “all” here applies to all who have faith, as the next verse will make clear, and as did Rom 1:17 and the rest of the book! Justified means “acquitted” or “declared righteous”, it is a legal term. Our salvation in Christ is both a legal matter and an emotional or love matter. Here it is the legal side that is being focused on, though it is inherently linked with the love of God. It is a bit like the adoption of a child. For the adoption to work there are two aspects that are essential. On the one hand all the legal processes have to have been properly gone through, on the other the new parents need to love the child. Either one of these on its own is not enough for the adoption to work, it requires both. Likewise with our salvation. 

Paul also uses the concept of redemption. This is used with the idea of a slave’s freedom being bought, or his manumission. It is important here to use analogies properly. The emphasis is on the release of the slave, the winning of his freedom. It is futile and fruitless to start asking, as many have done, “to whom was the ransom paid?”. “That is in Christ Jesus”. We are free if we are in Christ. Without Christ there is no redemption.