Our sinful nature is gone because Jesus redeemed us

A frequently misunderstood scripture is seen in the light of God's grace and paints a beautiful picture of who we are in Him - justified and faultless.

Ever since I first read this scripture, I used it to tell myself that I needed to try harder and do more to be ‘good’. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” amounted to “Scriptural Proof” that I was still a wretched sinner. However, I now know this view is incorrect.

Read carefully, you will notice that this well-known fragment of scripture is incomplete. In fact, it is part of a larger sentence, and this sentence is in the third chapter of the book of Romans. We need to view this fragment in context. Paul was writing to the church at Rome, and explaining in Chapter 3 that in Jesus there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, and that they have both sinned and fallen short of God’s glory.

This well-known scripture continues in v24 ”... being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus ...” . Paul is saying that while both Jews and Gentiles are sinners, they are also equally justified by Gods grace. In other words, it is about faith in Jesus, not about whether you are a Jew or Gentile.

Summary: We were all sinners - once. Now that we have given our lives to Jesus, we are sinners no more - through the grace God has given freely to all of us who believed Him. We have nothing more to do to stand fully justified in His presence and love just as Jesus does - ever.