2 Righteousness Required. All guilty. (Rom. 1:19 to 3:20).

3 Righteousness via Redemption. Set forth. (Rom. 3:21-28).

4 Righteousness by Reckoning. Counted for. (Rom. 4:1-25).

5 Righteousness and Reconciliation. Peace. Access.

(Rom. 5:1-11).

Romans 3:22, picks up the thread of Romans 1:16,17 after having `proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all

under sin' (Rom. 3:9). Verses twenty two to twenty six are bounded with the thought of the righteousness of God;

in the first place, that righteousness which is imputed and which is by faith of Jesus Christ, and in the second place,

that righteousness which cannot be called in question. He must be just at the same time that He justifies, and this

rests not upon any deeds or promises made by the sinner, but rests squarely upon the `Redemption that is in Christ

Jesus' (Rom. 3:24).

While Scripture maintains in many passages the difference that exists between Jew and Gentile, there is `no

difference' so far as sin is concerned, and there is `no difference' so far as salvation is concerned (Rom. 3:22;

10:12). There is no difference for all sinned (in the past) and are coming short of the glory of God (in the present).

The Hebrew word for sin is chata, and its primitive meaning can be seen in Judges 20:16, where it speaks of men

of Benjamin who could `sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss'. The apostle was an Hebrew, and knew the

meaning of the word `sin' in the O.T. Hence he writes `come short'. We shall appreciate the definition better if we

turn aside to consider the O.T. symbol of righteousness. It is neither more nor less than `sixteen ounces to the

pound'. How many jibes have been directed to the `bloodthirsty and primitive savagery' in the law `an eye for an

eye, a tooth for a tooth'? Yet, would anyone reprimand a housewife who, at the butcher's or the grocer's, insisted

on `sixteen ounces to the pound'? Would any tell her that she was perpetuating a `bloodthirsty and savage creed'?

The simile is not fanciful, for the symbol of righteousness in the O.T. is a pair of balances, or a plumb line. Even

Shakespeare through the lips of Portia reminds us that `In the course of justice, none of us should see salvation'. If

we all have `come short', what must follow? Either we die under condemnation, or God lowers His standard and

accepts a dividend, or, to maintain unsullied righteousness, He Himself provides the Sacrifice which will honour the

law, and allow God to be just at the same time that He justifies the ungodly. Seeing it is God Who demands and

God Who supplies the `bleeding sacrifice', it amounts to blind blasphemy to throw His unspeakable gift back in His

face and accuse Him of lack of love.

What does it mean to come short of `the glory' of God? Glory in English, like the Latin gloria, includes fame,

splendour, and magnificence, but none of them fits Romans 3:23. Underlying every reference to the word `glory', if

it translates the Greek word doxa, is the idea of testing and proving, especially the testing of a metal: so the

derivatives dokimazo to try, to prove, and dokime proof or test, as in :

`The trial of your faith ... more precious than of gold ... though it be tried with fire ... found unto ... glory' (1 Pet.

Whether we are like the Pharisee, who can boast of his good deeds, or like Paul and say `TOUCHING THE

RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LAW, ... BLAMELESS', or whether we are `the chief of sinners' is a matter of degree , we

have all `come short'. Our only hope is to be found in Him; not having our own righteousness, which is of the law,

but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

To deal with the great mystery of Godliness, `God manifest in the flesh', would tax our powers to the limit, and

go beyond the scope we have in mind in this booklet, which is rather to speak to those who are either seeking