There is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God-Rom. 3:22, 23..
What does the Bible mean by sin? Everything that goes against or neglects
God's law. And if you will bring into all the acts of every life the
reference, which really is there, to God and His will, you will not need
anything more to establish the fact that "all have sinned, and come short of
the glory of God."
Whatever other differences there are between men, there is this fundamental
similarity. Neglect-which is a breach-of the law of God pertains to all
mankind. Everything that we do ought to have reference to Him. Does
everything that we do have such reference? If not, there is a quality of
evil in it. For the very definition of sin is living to myself and
neglecting Him. He is the Center; and, if I might use a violent figure,
every planet that wrenches itself away from gravitation towards, and
revolution around, that Center, and prefers to whirl on its own axis, has
broken the law of the celestial spheres, and brought discord into the
heavenly harmony..
All men stand condemned in this respect. Now, there is no need to
exaggerate. I am not saying that all men are on the same level. I know there
are great differences in the nobleness, purity, and goodness of lives, and
Christianity has never been more unfairly represented than when good men
have, as one of them called, with St. Augustine, the virtues of godless men,
"splendid vices." But though the differences are not unimportant, the
similarity is far more important..
The pure, clean-living man, and the gentle, loving woman, though they stand
high above the sensuality of the profligate, the criminal, stand in this
respect on the same footing that they, too, have to put their hands on their
mouths, and their mouths in the dust, and cry, "Unclean!" I do not want to
exaggerate, but I am sure that if men will be honest with themselves there
is a voice that responds to the indictment when I say sadly, in the solemn
language of Scripture, "we all have sinned, and come short of the glory of
God. For there is no difference."
If you do not believe in a God, you can laugh at the old wife's notion of
"sin." If you do believe in a God, you are shut up to believe this other,
"Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned" [Ps. 51:4]. And if this universal
fad is indeed a fact, it is the gravest element in human nature. It matters
very little, in comparison, whether you and I are wise or foolish, educated
or illiterate, rich or poor, happy or miserable. All the superficial
distinctions which separate men from one another, and are all right in their
own places, dwindle away into nothing before this solemn truth, that in
every frame there is a plague spot, and that the leprosy has smitten us all..
In Celebration of Life in Him,
Dr.Jim DeBruhl, gembeaux@bellsouth.net
" Everything is wrong until God makes it right."
