Romans 3:23
The
whole of Romans chapters one and two give an account of the man whose
revelation of God is by the inner witness of his conscience and the
outer witness of nature. But we find that the verdict of God for him was
that in spite of these two witnesses, he still fell short of the
requirement of God for righteousness. Then we got to the middle of
chapter two, and discovered the man to whom the law of God had been
given, but what do we find? Again like the man of conscience and nature,
we find that the man of the law is also short of the standard of God
for righteousness.
In
Romans 2:21, we find almost the same admonition to the man of the law
as that of the man of conscience and nature, given in Romans 2:1. “Thou
therefore which teachest another, teachest not thyself? Thou that
preaches a man should not steal, doest thou steal?” Romans 2:21.
“Therefore thou are inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest;
for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou
that judgest doest the same things.” Romans 2:1
Thus
we find both men, the man of conscience and nature, and the man of the
law, coming to the same end: both have come short of the standard of God
for righteousness. By this verdict, God makes known that all men, Jews
and Gentiles, alike, have fallen short of His glory, and therefore are
all in need of a Saviour.
Toni
