Peas in a Pod
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 NASB
All – Because we have focused our religious attention on justification by faith, we tend to read this verse as a preamble to the next one, that is, “being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.” We are more interested in the personal application of redemption than we are in our condemnation. But maybe this is a mistake. Oh, we’ll admit that “we all have sinned,” but perhaps we fail to appreciate what this really means. We rush to salvation before we have taken account of the universality of sin.
“All” is the Greek pantes. In terms of grammar, “without the article pásmay have elative (‘full’ ‘total’) or distributive significance (‘each,’ ‘whoever’ ‘whatever,’ or, in privative phrases, ‘any’ [‘without any’] or ‘none,’ ‘nothing’ [‘not any’]).”[1] In this sentence, “all” certainly means “every single one of us.” We read the words, but do we really comprehend their meaning? Do we realize that every single one of usshares the common condemnation of sin? Do we really believe that every single one of usis just as capable of all the horrors and atrocities of any other one of us? Do we really know that we are allthe same, all corrupt inside, all failures, all desperately ill, all censured, all convicted? Do we act on the basis that every single one of usis absolutely on the same ground before God regardless of all the props and pretenses we put up to protect our fragile egos from this truth? Do we really see ourselves as peas in the same pod?
I used to say that the common language of all humanity is pain. We all speak groans and cries no matter how they get verbalized. We share suffering and trauma with every other person. But we have something else in common too. We are all sinners. There is no hierarchy here, no “I’m a bit higher on the righteousness scale than you are” because my sins are more “acceptable” than yours. No, sorry! We are the same. Our actions might be different, but when it comes to the standard of God’s glory, we are all in the same peapod. Act accordingly! Stop pretending that you can’t imagine how “so-and-so” could be so cruel, indifferent, vicious, uncaring, cold-hearted, etc. You can imagine it! Just amplify your own pettiness, pretense, posturing, deceit, dishonesty and hypocrisy. You’re just like the ones you think are so reprehensible. Given the right circumstances we all act that same way. “Except for God’s grace, there go I.” You better believe it. Except for God’s grace, you are no different than any single one of the human race.
Until we come to terms with pantes (all), we will not appreciate the scope and power of grace. And we won’t really connect with the desperateness of those around us. We will act as independent convents of righteousness, pretending that somehow God picked us due to our superior (potential) status. In other words, until we come to terms with “all,” we will just keep sinning in our arrogance.
Topical Index: pantes, all, sin, Romans 3:23
[1]Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1985). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament(796). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.
Thank you for this very appropriate reminder.
Ouch. You just stepped on one of what I think are the two universal predispositions to sin: #1 being the need to believe that there is such a thing as “us and them” (foundation for all bigotry and class distinctions); with #2 being the desperate need to believe there is actually something for nothing, of course.
I personally think that both desires have to be obliterated (repented of) in the flesh before we are free of temptation, but I am finding it’s like whack-a-mole: the more layers of the onion I peel, the more there are. I find those two insane glitches at my front door every day, dressed up in ever more fancy or righteous garb. I find them masquerading as the very foundations underlying fleshly attraction to religion, too, for it seems religion – for the flesh, anyway – operates big time on comparisons of all sorts (along with all those ubiquitous pie-in-the-sky sales, of course) to keep its constituents coming back for more.
I think bigotry drives all vanity; all comparison; all fleshly temptations to ‘assess’ holiness, too, for the flesh is going to – yep – pull out the us’s and them’s yardstick to measure with!
The idea that we are all alike – all equally made in the image of God – condemns all sin against others, for research finds we have to make others “less human” in some way than ourselves before we lose our inhibition against harming those who look like us. We use bigotry, therefore, when we justify sin against those whom we then perceive as ‘other’, or, less human. I have to put you down before I can stomp on you or betray you. I think that makes us all bigots in at least some facets of our lives, for we all sin against each other. (Whoops! There is the OTHER way we are all alike!)
I guess it’s time now to get up and see how those dastardly glitches are going to want to manifest in my life today. (Whack-a-bigot-mole; whack-a-bigot-me; whack-a….)
Ouch and Amen!
This is just another example of why your readers keep coming back, and back and back. We need to read, hear and accept (inwardly and outwardly) this reminder, and many others you give us. You’re not afraid to look at the ugly side of humanity that’s in all of us.
Good morning. I got a chuckle out of your statement “we will act as independent convents of righteousness, pretending that somehow God picked us due to our superior (potential) status”. The whole idea of being “special “. Pretty funny, in a sad sort of way!
Sometimes I approach God with a bag of tokens that I have accumulated by cooperating with him. “You should do this for me because of all I’ve been through or all I’ve done”. We don’t really say it out loud but truth be told it’s there! I guess it would be part of the entitlement mindset! When Jeremiah saw the Lord he exclaimed “ depart from me for I am a man of unclean lips”. Everything shifted.
I had a funny experience with God yesterday. I was driving to work and I was talking to/with him and I said to him, “if you were here in person, like literally in the seat next to me, what would you say to me?” Hoping of course that he would tell me something brilliant, because I was one of the more astute. He replied actually quite quickly and said “I would tell you to slow down“. I got quite a laugh out of that and felt very connected to him because I realized it wasn’t all spiritual and stuff but practical. Sometimes we get hyper spiritual when the whole time God is in the nitty-gritty of our lives and wants to be a part of our daily functioning. I know this brings God right down to earth but isn’t that where he wants to walk with us, today?!
Just some crazy old thoughts …. blessings on all. Thanks for the word, Skip.
Whats the old saying? Oh yes — ‘there go I’
Sugar Ray, you make me think that” here I go again ” means two steps back one step forward, understanding of our foundation of sin, then if Christ really took it away, then aren’t we free, or are we?
It depends on how we define free/freedom.. For me it means I’m free to be responsible. Shalom
Salvation may be free, but it is still conditional just like the rest of the covenant: it is conditional upon our repentance. There is sin I still don’t know about in my life (yep, y’all, there still is!). I am not free from that sin until I repent for it, but I can’t repent until I see it. Does that mean that I am not saved? Depends. If I repent and am contrite for all I KNOW about, Christ’s righteousness covers the rest, but Hebrews says that does not work for what it calls “deliberate sin”; or, sin I know about. Freedom FROM SIN – which is what freedom is – you are right, Brett, is only possible if I have repented for it. If an alcoholic, say, comes to Christ and repents for everything but keeps on drinking, he is still not free “to be responsible” in that place, is he?
I think freedom requires our continuing participation. Not only that, we can lose our freedom in any place we pick sin up again. Christ cannot take something away against my will, nor can He force me to leave it alone, either. True repentance is where I choose to let Him take it away, but also learn to resist picking it up again.
I think you are right, Brett, that we are not free unless Christ takes it away. I can quit drinking by will of flesh, but then I am into management: that addiction just morphs on over into something else. Only Christ can set me free from the compulsion of sin, which He can do only if I bring it to Him in repentance.
But I think Sugar Ray is right, too. If I laid that bottle in Christ’s hand yesterday, I still have to resist picking it up again today. Freedom; or, salvation, may be a done deal in heaven, but FOR ME it is a present progressive mutual action between heaven and myself. If I am truly free to be responsible, then that freedom must include the ability to refuse that responsibility, which is the freedom to choose to return to slavery and lose that freedom again. (If that last sentence didn’t make any sense, y’all, it’s not my fault: I think evil cannot be described because it doesn’t make any sense in the first place!)
I love you guys.
Shocked at myself!
Choices I made in my life left no question about Scripture’s pointed words:
“the heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.”
I did not need to be convinced of this. I did, however, need much convincing
that there was a cure. Sin gripped me like gravity. Darkness was my middle name.
It’s knowing and acknowledging this life of depravation beyond a shadow of a doubt
that cues God for His work to begin in us. I believe we’re all wired like the prodigal son.
Life convinces us we must be able to change. The crucible is reached when we WANT to change.
Here’s where He touches us and the drawing begins. Unexplainable “realities” churn within us.
His light overwhelms us. His love beguiles us. And we realize He actually forgives us!
That’s enough to cure a deceitful heart. And we actually can become NEW peas in a pod!
Couldn’t resist your NEW peas in a pod!! Loved it. When I was little and it was time to pick peas,the new or spring peas were the best. They were sweet,beautiful green color,juicy and a lovely aroma of freshness,and full of nutrients. I always ate more than I shucked!! If you picked too late or went back and picked what you missed you had peas that were bitter,pale in comparison and had no flavor or woody they were overly mature and it was given to the animals. Maybe it comes down to what pea pod you want to be in. Thanks Rich it brought back a wonderful memory.
WE will never see God until we desire look at what He wants to show us. Whether it is common (fallen) or set apart . Some of us say we play hide and seek but actually only hide…….avoidance………where is the relationship in that? Also the pees in a pod is a co-incidence for me as I just saw a marvelous contraption to shell pees that squeezes them out of the pod to become individual pees free to move around from the constraint of living in a green cocoon….mmmm Blessings to all. FJ