Jump Start # 1664

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

  I was watching some of the Olympic track and field events yesterday. The long jump and the high jump are a couple of sports that I once did in school. Our verse came to my mind, especially with the high jumpers. If they “fall short,” the bar falls and they don’t win. Coming short in a running race, a swimming event, in shot put, in pole vault means no medals. The athletes at the Olympics have gathered from around the world to not just compete, but to win. They want to go home with a medal. Falling short is not in their plans.

Our verse today, oft quoted by preachers and students of the Bible, reminds us of the terrible consequences of sin. Sin leaves us short of what God wanted and expected for us.

There are two central thoughts here:

First, all of us are in this together. All have sinned. There are few things in life that we can saw “all” have done. Not everyone has gone to college. Not everyone in the world has tasted Coke-Cola. Not everyone owns a home. Not everyone has eyesight. Not everyone has money. Not everyone has been incarcerated. Not everyone has had a job. Not everyone has been married. Not everyone has had children. Not everyone has flown on an airplane. Not everyone has been to a museum. I was watching a video this morning of questions that were asked on a college campus. Most didn’t know who won the Civil War, nor who the current Vice-President is. All of them, but me, watching, knew who Brad Pitt was married to.

However, we all have sinned. All of us. The American. The African. The European. The smart college nerd. The grease monkey who is always tinkering with cars. The cool guy. The jerk. The super star. The nobody. All of us have let God down. All of us have disobeyed Him. All of us have sinned. That puts us all in the same boat. That means we all have the same need—salvation. That is so unique. I need what the millionaire needs. I need what the movie star needs. I need what Olympic gold medal winner needs. I need what you need. We all have sinned and we all need salvation.

Second, all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. We all let God down. The very definition of sin is to “miss the mark.” I think of an archer who is trying to shoot his arrow at the bullseye. He misses. He misses the target completely. He’s not close. There is no second place with God. There is no podium standing for those who came close. It’s all or nothing. And with all of us, it is nothing. We missed. Falling short of the glory of God implies that God had a plan for us. God saw us achieving great things with Him. We missed it. We fell short. We didn’t become what God wanted. Sin disappoints God. Sin hurts God.

This discussion leads to a question, why do we sin? The answer can be complex, but it’s not, actually. We sin simply because we put ourselves in front of God. We do what we want. We do not look at consequences. The thrill of the forbidden fruit blinds us to all other things. It’s the moment. It’s the fun. It’s not thinking spiritually. It’s all about us. Maybe this is why Jesus in defining discipleship started with us. He said, “if anyone whishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Deny self is where Jesus started. Self gets in the way. We say things like, “I just don’t feel like it today…” so we don’t do anything. We say, “Why should I,” so we don’t. Deny self.  It’s not about you anymore. The universe no longer revolves around us. Science teaches us that. The Bible teaches us that spiritually. Sin problem is a self problem. Too much of self will kill the soul.

To conquer the pattern of sinning, it must start with our thinking. Jesus said out of the heart of man is what defiles a man. We say things that we shouldn’t because we first thought those thoughts. We do what we do because those actions began as thoughts. Our thoughts is the source of our attitudes and actions. Change the thoughts and you change the behavior. Often, we address the actions and find ourselves fighting these things over and over and over. They don’t stop because the mind is still producing wrong thoughts. We must fight this at the other end, in the mind.

Could that be the reason we find passages that talk about “renew” the mind; set your mind on things above; whatever is pure, let your mind dwell upon these things; let the word of Christ richly dwell within you. These expressions are dealing with the thought processes. Change the thinking and you change the behavior.

God has made us for something better than what Satan offers. The devil always offers inferior choices. We fall for them because they are easy and shinny. They catch our eye. Then the thoughts begin. Paul told the Corinthians to capture every thought for the obedience of Christ.

Everyone you meet today needs Jesus, no exception. Everyone you meet today has the same problem, whether or not they know it or will admit it. Everyone you meet today can be forgiven if they will only believe and obey Christ.

Everyone…

Roger

Jump Start # 1487

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

  Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was on last night. I sat and watched it. I watched it by myself. I have seen that so many times I can quote the lines. But last night I saw something for the first time. I saw a parallel to the church today. It was the island of misfit toys. Those goofy toys that no children loved. A train with square wheels. A squirt gun that shot jelly. A bird that couldn’t fly but swam instead. A Charlie in the box. Misfits. Unwanted. Unloved. Banned to the island of misfits. Like lepers long ago, the only thing that they had in common were that they were all misfits.

There are times that some in the church feel like those misfit toys. They feel unwanted and even unloved. They are not invited into homes. They are not included by others. The misfits are the ones that are ignored, stared at and if folks could have their way, they would be banned to the isle of misfit Christians. Some wish that “those people” would go to another congregation. Often they do. They leave feeling unloved and unwelcomed. When they leave, the rest feel a sense of relief. “Yeah, they are gone,” is a common thought.

The “misfits” feel the unwelcome message that others are sending. They are not wanted because they are not “normal” like the rest. They have had a baby out of wedlock. They have been divorced. They continue to struggle with the bottle. They can’t find a job. They seem to be just a step away from being evicted. They never finished school. They have a past. Some have criminal records. They don’t shop at the malls, but rather at Goodwill. They may seem to be high maintenance. They need a ride to services. They need some rent money. They need to talk to someone, all the time. They respond often to the invitation and are confessing failures on a regular basis. They are just not like the rest of us (oh, we think that way). Misfits.

Have you noticed how many times Jesus visited the island of misfits? The Samaritan woman had been married multiple times and was with someone that she currently wasn’t married to. Little Zacchaeus up in the tree was a social outcast. There was a woman caught in adultery. There were lepers. Even among the apostles, there was Matthew, a tax collector. Jesus was with the misfits so often, that the Pharisees charged, “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Lk 15:1). Jesus was the hero of the misfits. He came to save all mankind, even those who were misfits. I made the comment recently in a sermon, that in a large audience, it is very, very likely that there would be some that we would not invite to our home. We don’t know them well. We have little in common with them. Truth be told, we may not even like some. Yet, God is inviting each and all of us into His home. God is better than we are.

Our verse today reminds us that all of us have sinned. All of us have a past. All of us are misfits to the Lord. Instead of being cast to the island of misfits, God sends Jesus to save us. This passage reminds us that we have many things in common with everyone else.

We all have sinned. There is no one who can rise up and say that he hasn’t, other than Jesus. We are all broken. We have all disappointed God. We all have sinned. We might think, ‘my sin wasn’t as bad as your sin,’ but really, are we going there? We are in the same boat. It doesn’t matter.

We all need Jesus. All of us. The guy who is successful needs Jesus just as much as the one who is a constant failure. We all need Jesus. We all need Jesus all the time. We never get to the point where we don’t need Jesus. We never get so advanced that we “out grow” our need for Jesus. Never. Some may seem to need Jesus more than others, but that’s just an outward observation. We all need Jesus deeply.

We all have a future with God. God hasn’t given up on any of us. Although we may think some do not fit in with the rest of us, God doesn’t think that way. Jesus gave the adulterous woman another chance. Jesus gave Zacchaeus another chance. Jesus gives you another chance.

We all must be careful with our attitudes and judgmental spirits. Pointing fingers isn’t nice, nor is it the nature of Christians. Avoiding some, ignoring some, playing favorites is what the world does. The church must do better. That misfit person who is always asking the odd question in a Bible class may have a greater faith and be closer to the Lord than I am. Our smug attitudes and self righteous spirits may be the very thing that sickens the Lord. If there were such a thing as an island for misfits, we might be surprised that we would be the one exiled there. We, who believe that we have all the answers. We, who have all of our ducks lined up, nice and pretty. We, who are always on time. We, who are always there. We, who are dressed so proper. It may be we who are the true spiritual misfits and who are lacking that simple, child-like faith in the Lord.

The church, our fellowship, ought to be a haven where all are welcomed and loved. Some come bruised and beat up on the insides. They need help. They need to be loved. And in their innocent faith they may be the very ones that help the rest of us. They remind us of who Jesus loved. They remind us of who Jesus spent time with. They remind us of those that trusted Jesus, purely and openly. They remind us of what we ought to be like.

Misfits—that word should never be used within the fellowship of God’s people. The world loves that word. The world loves to ignore certain ones. The magazines, the billboards, the movies are full of beautiful people that are dressed sharp. What if you are not like that? What if you have crooked teeth? What if you have big ears? What if you can’t afford to dress sharply? What then? The world laughs at you. The world puts you down. The world makes you feel inferior. The world is vain, selfish and lacking Christ.

The church shouldn’t be like that. It may be that some among us ought to ask God to forgive us for the way we have treated others. It may be that we need to start opening our hearts and our homes to all those who confess Christ as the Lord. It may be that we stop trying to make some “normal” and appreciate their love for the Lord. It may be that we recognize that we may be the true misfits.

There was a sign on church that read, “God loves you and we are trying our best!” Maybe we can try a bit harder. Maybe we can show it a bit more.

Oh, I love Rudolph. What a great lesson. I wonder what I can learn from Frosty the snow man?

Roger

Jump Start # 472 

Romans  3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” 

  Romans is Paul’s thesis on salvation. It’s complicated, powerful, and revealing. It’s a must read for all who are interested in God.

  Our verse today, is one of several that identifies our condition and state before God. It’s a short statement that tells us several things.

  First, God has a plan and purpose for you. He made you, wired you and blessed you. You are a special package from Heaven. Sin changes that. The definition of the Greek word for sin means to “miss the mark.” It’s like shooting arrows at a target. God intends for you to fly straight into the bulls eye. Sin messes with the aim. It causes us to miss the target. We end up not as God intended nor planned. This is not how God made you. This is not what He had planned for you. Sin causes you to “fall short of the glory of God.”

  Second, all have sinned. Sin is something you choose. It’s not like red hair and blue eyes that you are born with. Not only did I have that but my hair was very wavy with a cow lick or two in it. I would have never chosen that. It’s just the way I came. Sin is not like that. You may inherit your mamma’s nose, or your dad’s ears, but you don’t inherit sin. This is a major theological divide in the religious community. It’s a huge point, both with us and with God. Am I a sinner because of someone of am I a sinner because of me? You made me a sinner? Birth or my choices? Ezekiel 18, James 1 and other places show that sin is a choice not a gene that is inherited. Why then do we sin? It’s easy, we tend to take the easy way. It’s definitely popular. Sin has always been “in.” It’s what we sin all around us. When you stand in a mud puddle it’s hard to be clean.

  We are responsible for what we have done. That’s Romans. That’s the Gospels. That’s why we need to do something for our salvation.

  This passage also shows us that all have sinned, except Jesus. That unites us with every human that is capable of understanding and making choices. That means the rich Wall Street guy and I have something in common. Our lifestyles may be very different, but we are both sinners. The well known star athlete and I have something in common, we are both sinners. His diet, exercise routine and strength is totally different than mine, but we are connected. The Hollywood starlet…the bum on the street corner…the Mexican drug lord…the President…the high school teacher…the neighbor…the cousin…the guy at church…you see, we may seem so different in so many ways, but there is one that connects us all and that is we all have sinned.

  We all need the same thing– salvation in Jesus Christ. There is not one of us that does not need Jesus. Some won’t admit it, some don’t realize it, but we all have the same need—we need Jesus. We need His love. We need His grace. We need His lordship to guide us. We need His law to lead us. We need His help. We need Him to define our lives. We need Jesus. Every reader of this Jump Start is connected in this way. You need Jesus, as well as I do. None of us can say Biblically, “well, I certainly don’t need Jesus.”

  Grasping this connection helps us. Everyone needs the gospel. Everyone needs to know about Jesus. Everyone needs to grow in Jesus. Everyone needs to develop a heart like Jesus. We are all in the same boat. There is no “class warfare” when it comes to salvation.

  Imagine, every car you pass today is driven by someone who needs Jesus. Every adult you see today, is someone who needs Jesus. Some have Jesus. It shows. Some are so sweet that you might think, they don’t need Jesus, but they do. Some are so mean, it’s easy to assume that even Jesus wouldn’t want them, but He does. Everyone on TV that you see today, needs Jesus. Everyone you read about in the newspaper today needs Jesus.

  This is the message of Romans—we need Jesus. There is only one way to help everyone else, and it begins by helping ourselves. We must walk with Jesus, obey Jesus, love Jesus and be filled with His word. It starts with us. From that, share the message to all who will listen.

  God only sees us in one of two ways, those in Jesus and those not. He doesn’t focus upon the school we graduated from, the degree we have, the salary level we are at, the neighborhood we live in, the type of car we drive, the width of our TV screen…those things mean a lot to us, but not to God. Only, are you in Jesus or not?

  That answer will be the basis of the choices you make today, the places you go, the attitudes you carry and where you spend eternity. In Jesus or not…

  Remember, today we are one day closer to Heaven.

Roger