Roman Road #1: All Have Sinned
Key Verse: Romans 3:23
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Key Idea: The Bible says that all of us are guilty sinners before a righteous God. It makes it clear that no one is “good enough” to go to Heaven.
Let’s kick things off with a massive question: If you were to pass away tonight, would you go to heaven?
Now, you might be thinking, “Surely there are tons of paths and different religions that lead to heaven, right? Wouldn’t an awesome Mastermind like God have a super creative plan with more than just one way?”
That’s a really cool thought, but here’s the twist: it might not be the best place to start. Tucked away behind all those questions about getting into Heaven is a hidden idea:
“Humans can totally be good enough to get to Heaven.”
Most people, even those who call themselves Christian, would probably answer that big question like this:
“Well, yeah! I’m a pretty decent person. I love God, and He knows I’m trying my absolute best to be good.”
Or maybe…
“If anyone’s gonna make it, I think I will! I’m really trying my hardest to be good. Sure, some people are better than me, but a lot are way worse! So I guess I’m about average. I’m sure I’ll breeze through those pearly gates!”
Now, this whole “Good-People-Go-To-Heaven” system sounds pretty sweet on the surface! Check out these awesome “advantages”:
- It sounds totally fair: Good things happen to good people, and bad things happen to bad people. Simple!
- “I’ll get to go to heaven because I’m basically good!” Score!
- It motivates me to be good! Who doesn’t want to be a better person?
- It all seems super consistent: A good God, a good place, and good people!
It makes so much sense that people just gobble it up without even thinking! But hold up! There are some seriously big problems with this idea – way more problems than advantages! Let’s dive in:
The “Good Enough” Dilemma
- No Clear Standard of What’s Good and Bad!
“Well, we all have our own conscience to tell us what’s right and wrong! All we need to do is listen!” It’s like Jiminy Cricket sang to Pinocchio, “Let your conscience be your guide!”
Your conscience is an amazing thing, for sure! Paul explains it like this:
“…their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them” (Rom 2:15).
But here’s the bummer: our conscience is kind of like a weight scale with an adjustable “zero” point. You could set it to negative ten and celebrate how much weight you “lost” over the weekend! Our conscience can get twisted and adjusted so easily by different beliefs and moral codes. If your conscience isn’t calibrated just right, it’s not super helpful. What good is a compass that doesn’t point North?
So, is “being good enough” based on a sliding scale? If so, who’s holding the scale, and who’s doing the sliding? Is it like a school grading system? Like, 70% and above is good, and below 70% is bad? What about those who are right on the 70% line? Do they get a do-over? Is there a grading curve available? And again, who’s the grader?!
Everyone, every group, and every religion sets its own standard. Out of ten different countries, you could find 100 different moral codes!
Major wars have been fought over what people thought was right and wrong, and they were willing to die for it! “God is on our side!” “No, God is on our side!” So, is God schizophrenic now?
So many people say Christianity is unfair. But let’s think about how unfair the “good-people-go-to-heaven” plan really is:
Imagine showing up for your first day of college. The teacher says, “Okay class, there’s going to be one test at the end of the school year. You either pass or fail. But there are no books, and I can’t tell you what the test is about.” What would those students even do?!
Or it’s like an employer who just hired someone and then explains there will be an evaluation at the end of three months. But they won’t give the new employee any job description or even a hint about what they’ll be evaluated on. Talk about zero job security!
Or picture a race where all the runners show up. The starting line is crystal clear, but there’s no track to follow, no one’s decided how long they should run, and there’s no finish line! When the gun fires, what are those runners going to do?
God’s Standard: Out of Reach!
Shouldn’t God be super clear about telling all of us exactly how “good enough” is good enough for Him? Well, some folks, especially those who feel they’re Christians, will say God did give us that info: He gave us the Bible! But there’s a serious snag with that line of thinking.
The Old Testament does give us the Ten Commandments and many, many more for a grand total of 613 laws! In the New Testament, Jesus took some of those laws and made them even more intense. Here’s an example:
Matthew 5:21-22 You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder,” and “Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.” But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, “Raca [empty head]!” shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, “You fool!” shall be in danger of hell fire.
Here’s the kicker: the Bible never tells us that by keeping those laws we’ll be good enough for heaven! In fact, in both books where the commandments are listed (Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5), there’s nothing even said about going to Heaven!
The Bible makes it super clear that no one can ever be “good enough.” God’s standard of rightness and goodness is way, way, way out of our reach!
Romans 3:10-12 “There is none righteous, no, not one… There is none who does good, no, not one.”
“But,” some might ask, “what about the good stuff we try to do? Doesn’t that count for something?” Well, yes, it “counts” – it counts as “filthy rags”! Ouch!
Isaiah 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags…
The Final Nail in the Coffin
Finally, the Bible really hammers in the final nail. It says that if someone kept every single law and only broke one commandment, then in God’s eyes, that person becomes guilty of all the commandments!
James 2:10-11 (NLT) For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
The end result? We all end up in the same boat!
Romans 3:19 “…that EVERY MOUTH may be stopped, and ALL THE WORLD may become guilty before God.”
And Romans 3:23 totally sums it up:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
But do not despair! Good News of the Gospel is coming!
