All Have Sinned (Romans 3:22-24)

"For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."

This verse presents a classic duo: the bad news, followed by the good news.

The Bad News
The bad news is this: being a Christian doesn't mean you are suddenly perfect. No distinction means that everyone is in the same league: just because you are a Christian doesn't mean you are not a sinner.

Everyone falls short of heaven on their own: left to ourselves, there is absolutely no way we could live a good enough life to deserve heaven. That's the bad news.

The Good News
Now for the good part. While being a Christian does not mean that you are suddenly deserving of heaven on your own, being a Christian does mean that God has given an amazing gift to you. We have been justified by His grace through Christ.

We do absolutely nothing to deserve this; Christ paid for our sins so that we can go to heaven because He deserves heaven. 

What does this mean for you? 

• You are not better than other people because you are a Christian. It's hard not to be judgmental of others who are living in an obviously anti-Christian way; try your best! You are just as much a sinner as they are.
• Don't get hung up on trying to do everything perfectly, because it is humanly impossible. While you should strive to follow the Bible as much as possible, you will make mistakes. There's a reason Jesus came; you don't have to constantly beat yourself up over them.

What do you think? Do you like this verse? Do you have a verse you would like to see featured?