Have all people sinned?

Almost everyone is willing to agree, there's sin in the world. The daily news makes this so obvious. Sin has infected even the most minute details of our society.

For you the sins of others may victimize you in many different ways:

-- Someone passes an untrue rumor which damages your reputation.
-- A co-worker treats you unfairly, makes fun of you, or perhaps makes a nasty remark.
-- Someone might take out their anger on you, lie to you, or steal from you.
-- Worse yet, you may be brutalized, harassed, vandalized, abused or molested.

Yes, we know it to be true, "They have sinned; he has sinned, she has sinned." But the Scripture can't be used merely to judge and condemn others with their alleged sin.

There's a cartoon where the secretary, standing in the doorway of the Pastor's office is explaining why the man outside is waiting to see the Pastor. The caption is, "Says he wants to confess his neighbor's sins." But again, the Scripture is not saying, "They have sinned, or he or she has sinned", but rather, "All have sinned!"

It seems that all of us have this same need to point the finger at someone else. That has been true every since Adam blamed Eve, and Eve tried to put the blame on the serpent. Ever since then, we have blamed them all, Adam, Eve and Satan. Sin is "harmartia", missing the mark, like an archer or marksman. The mark missed is likeness to God. And none of us consistently hit it.

Remember the temptation in the Garden of Eden? Satan says, "God doesn't want you to eat of this tree because He knows that will make you like Him." Actually, it was quite the opposite. Sin ruined the "image of God" with which Adam and Eve were created. When they sinned, they "came short of the glory of God". (The glory of God is that which we could see if we could look at God, it is His "image".)

That "all have sinned" means that none can boast in their own righteousness, and none can assume a superior position - "The ground in front of the cross is level", somebody used to say; and it’s so true!

So what are we going to do with this truth from Scripture, "All have sinned"? Sooner or later we have to come to the conclusion, it means me, and it means you.

The story is told of a Pastor who was frustrated because of one man who always seemed to fall asleep during the sermon. So the Pastor devised a trick, a way he thought he could embarrass the man so as to get him to break this habit. Near the end of a sermon concerning "hell", the Pastor, in a normal voice, said to the congregation, "Any one here today who wants to go to hell" - then he raised his voice to a much louder volume - "please stand up!" Of course, this woke up the sleeping man who quickly jumped to his feet. After collecting himself for a moment, the man then looked at the Pastor and said, "Preacher, I don't know why I'm standing, but it appears that you and I are both in this boat."

The fact of the matter is, we're all in the boat - "all have sinned". We also must acknowledge that recognizing that "all have sinned" isn't the excuse we're looking for to look down on others, nor is it a reason to excuse ourselves by saying, "What could I do, I'm only a human. I sin. This is my nature" But it simply means that you and I must come to the conclusion, "I have sinned."

The understanding of your own nature brings you closer to the solution God provided for sinners, for people, that is the salvation through Jesus Christ. Admitting that you’re a sinner, and that you deserve hell, and accepting God’s solution, Jesus Christ, that is the only way to be accepted in heaven. All have sinned – all deserve to go to hell. Some accepted Jesus – they will go to heaven.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

May all of us choose Jesus and His Heaven!