read the passage and respond to these questions
1.  Why isn’t being “good” good enough?
2.  How would you explain to someone why we need forgiveness?
3.  Why did Jesus die? What is the connection between the cross, my sin, and God’s glorious standard?
 

“All have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard” Rom 3:23 (nlt). 

My daughter Katie’s favorite actor is Seth Green. You may know him as Scott Evil of “Austin Powers,” the computer whiz in “The Italian Job,” or as Oz in “Buffy.” Seth’s charm is that he is short. How short is short? Anyone shorter than my 5′8″ is short:  Seth is 5′4″.

When we think about “How good is good,” we use a similar standard. “Good” is “as good as me!” “Bad” begins somewhere just below my level of goodness. We usually don’t put the mark of “good” far above our own reach. It’s somewhere below us that people tend not to qualify as  “good.”

The NT word for “short” means “to come short; to not reach or qualify.” When I was a kid, I fell short.  I didn’t reach the 48″ marker that allowed me to qualify as a rider on Santa Cruz’s giant roller coaster. Kids taller than 48″ got to ride.  “It’s not fair,” I would cry! I was taller than my little brother! I was taller than kids 24, 36, or even 44 inches! But I was only 47 inches, and I could not reach the mark. I watched the “48 inchers” shoot off and roll away on the Giant Dipper.
God says, “Everyone as good as I am qualifies as good.” Jesus said, “There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Mat 19:17). Good is simple:  keep the commandments . . . every one . . . perfectly. . . then you are good.

If you are perfect now, have always been, and will always be perfect, then you are “good.” If not, you may be “gooder” than I, but you’re still not “good” because the mark is out of reach.  You sinned, and you fall short of God’s glorious standard.

“It’s not fair that no one is good enough!” That’s the thing about standards, especially “glorious” ones.  But it’s not about being fair. It’s about who measures up and who doesn’t.  Doxa, Greek meaning “glory,” refers to an opinion or estimate. All of God’s opinions are glorious.

Whoever makes the standard determines what is fair, not the “short” people. God’s opinion is that if you sin, you are a sinner; not “good.” It’s not derogatory, it’s just true. No one else measures up to God’s glorious standard, no matter who else you’re taller than or  “gooder” than.  We all fall short!
 

Prayer
Lord, help me to see my true height in your estimation, and help me to stand in Your love and glory because of what Jesus did for me.