Romans 3:23-25
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What's easy to miss is that "coming short" isn't just about failing to reach a standard, but about a present lack. This isn't just a past mistake, but an ongoing state of deficiency from God's glory, the honor and approval we were meant to have from Him.
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, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Paul is building his case that no one is righteous on their own merits, emphasizing that both Jews and Gentiles have failed to live up to God's standards. This verse, arriving after a detailed argument about universal sinfulness, serves as a stark summary of humanity's inherent fallen state. It lays the foundation for the subsequent explanation of God's provision for salvation through Christ.
Paul doesn't just say we are sinners, but that we have sinned. What’s the difference, and why does it matter for understanding our need for God?
When Paul writes 'all have sinned' (literally, 'all sinned'), he's pointing to a past, completed action that defines our present reality. It's not just a current state, but an event that happened. Think of it like a foundational event in history that impacts everyone, even those born later.
This foundational sin, rooted in Adam's rebellion and carried forward by each of us, establishes a universal condition. It means we can't point to any point in history before ourselves, or within ourselves, where we were not affected by sin. It’s the historical backdrop against which all human existence is set.
This isn't about individual blame in that very first moment, but about the inherited reality of a fallen world and our participation in it. We are born into a story of sin, and our lives are marked by it.
What does it mean to 'fall short of the glory of God'? It’s more than just being imperfect; it’s about a fundamental deficit.
To 'fall short of the glory of God' means to miss the intended destination, to lack what is necessary. It's like an archer aiming for the bullseye and missing the target entirely.
This 'glory of God' can be understood in a few key ways:
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Because of sin, every single person is in a state of deficiency concerning God's perfect standard. We don't measure up, and we can't on our own.
Understand the original words
hēmarton · Greek Verb
To miss the mark; to fall short of God’s standard of holiness and perfection. It is a rebellion against God's law and a corruption of human nature.
doxa · Greek Noun
The manifestation of God's presence, majesty, and character. For humans, it refers to the state of perfection originally intended for creation that was forfeited through sin.
dikaioumenoi · Greek Verb (participle)
A legal term denoting God's act of declaring a sinner righteous. It is a judicial verdict based on the finished work of Christ, not on the individual's merit or works.
charis · Greek Noun
The unmerited, favor of God toward the undeserving. It is the basis for salvation, provided freely by God's own initiative and love.
apolytrōsis · Greek Noun
The act of buying back or setting free from slavery or captivity through the payment of a price. Biblically, it refers to deliverance from the bondage of sin and its penalty via the death of Christ.
hilastērion · Greek Noun
A sacrificial term referring to the removal of wrath through the offering of a substitute. It denotes the satisfaction of God's holy justice through the blood of Christ.
anochē · Greek Noun
The patient delay of judgment or restraint of divine wrath. God demonstrates this quality by not immediately punishing sin, as seen in His historical dealings with humanity prior to the cross.
This passage describes the very first instance of humanity sinning, showing how Adam and Eve, in their desire for forbidden knowledge, 'fell short' of the intended perfection and relationship with God.
Psalm 14:1-3This Psalm directly echoes the sentiment of Romans 3:23, stating that 'no one does good, not even one' and that all have turned aside, highlighting the universal nature of sin and its consequence of falling short of God's ideal.
Ecclesiastes 7:20This verse bluntly states, 'Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins,' reinforcing the idea that universal sinfulness and imperfection are realities, making the 'falling short' a certainty for everyone.
1 John 1:8-10John emphasizes that claiming to be without sin is self-deception, and that acknowledging our sins is essential for God's forgiveness. This reinforces the foundational truth of Romans 3:23 that we all sin and, by nature, fall short.
Romans 5:12Paul explicitly links the sin of Adam to all humanity, showing how sin entered the world and, through that one man, death spread to all because all sinned. This provides the theological backdrop for why 'all have sinned' in Romans 3:23.
meyerRomans 3:23: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
Romans 3:23 . Ἥμαρτον ] The sinning of every man is presented as a historical fact of the past, whereby the sinful state is produced. The perfect would designate it as a completed subsisting fact. Calvin, moreover, properly remarks that according to Paul there is nulla justitia “nisi perfecta et absoluta,” and “si verum esset, nos partim operibus justificari, partim Dei gratia, non valeret hoc Pauli argumentum.” Luther aptl…
ellicottRomans 3:23: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
(23) All have sinned and come short. —Strictly, all sinned; the Apostle looking back upon an act done in past time under the old legal dispensation, without immediate reference to the present: he then goes on to say that the result of that act (as distinct from the act itself) continues on into the present. The result is that mankind, in a body, as he now sees them, and before they come within the range of the new Christian…
What's easy to miss is that "coming short" isn't just about failing to reach a standard, but about a present lack. This isn't just a past mistake, but an ongoing state of deficiency from God's glory, the honor and approval we were meant to have from Him.
Paul is building his case that no one is righteous on their own merits, emphasizing that both Jews and Gentiles have failed to live up to God's standards. This verse, arriving after a detailed argument about universal sinfulness, serves as a stark summary of humanity's inherent fallen state. It lays the foundation for the subsequent explanation of God's provision for salvation through Christ.
Paul is building his case that no one is righteous on their own merits, emphasizing that both Jews and Gentiles have failed to live up to God's standards. This verse, arriving after a detailed argument about universal sinfulness, serves as a stark summary of humanity's inherent fallen state. It lays the foundation for the subsequent explanation of God's provision for salvation through Christ.
"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, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to sho…" — What's easy to miss is that "coming short" isn't just about failing to reach a standard, but about a present lack. This isn't just a past mistake, but an ongoing state of deficiency from God's glory,…
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Last reviewed October 2026
