The Epistle to the Romans Quotes
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But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. (Romans 3:21-25, KJV)
Context
This line comes from an epistle from Paul in Romans 3:23.
In his Epistle to the Romans, Paul spent a whole lot of time exploring the tension between being Jewish (which Paul was) and being Christian (which he also was). Paul agrees that Jesus has made things new, but he isn't quite ready to chuck out thousands of years of Jewish laws and traditions. After all, God still loves his chosen ones, right?
Basically, Paul is telling us here that both believers who have a Jewish background and believers who have a Gentile background are on the same footing with God. No one has an advantage. Jews might have the long-term relationship with God, but the Big Guy is also happy to welcome any former pagans into the fold, too. God will save anyone who believes in Jesus no matter what they were before they jumped on the faith train.
And why is that? Well, it's because every single person in the world has sinned. Everyone. No exceptions. That means everyone needs Jesus. Really, the big take-away here is that no one should go around bragging and shouting from the rooftops that they have some special relationship with God because of who they were before they found Jesus. God gives us all access to him. Now don't you feel silly up there on that rooftop?
Where you've heard it
This special verse is actually pretty darn true. Everyone has done bad things, so it's no lie to say that we all fall short of some standard goodness, niceness, and general human awesomeness. Oh, Paul. Always nailing the eternal human truths.
Additional Notable References:
- All Have Sinned is the name of a Christian death metal band. Yes, they exist.
- This phrase is sometimes criticized in terms of the way scandals are handled in churches. "All have sinned," sounds a bit like you're letting bad guys off lightly.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Okay, this is a little bit pretentious, because you're basically excusing bad behavior by saying everyone does it. Just because everyone does it doesn't make it cool to "borrow" your roommate's deodorant when she's not around.