None Righteous, Not Even One

Breakfast and Honesty - by Brant Hansen

I was reading the article "Breakfast and Honesty" the other day, and the author, Brant really helped me understand the idea that all are broken - all have sinned and no one is more righteous than the other. My pastor has been bringing up this topic within his messages too, saying that even within the church as more mature Christians or even young Christians, we should not approach each other in a way in which we believe we are more righteous and that we have to change the way we speak so that others who are not as mature can understand. Also, the topic of homosexuality has been brought up in the past few weeks by friends who have friends that may be struggling with it. I felt that today would be a good time to address these topics.

The Bible says that "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" in Romans 3:23 (NASB). Far too often, as Christians, we forget this. We see other people's sins and we judge them for it because we forget that we ourselves are just as broken as they are. Brant emphasized in his article that just as Rob had not chosen homosexuality, Brant himself had not chosen brokenness - yet they both had it because all sin and all are broken. I'm not saying that homosexuality is not a sin - quite the opposite. It is a sin, but it is not any worse than my own brokenness, my own struggles or even your struggles with the flesh.

Another verse in the Bible states that "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God... There is none who does good, there is not even one" Romans 3:10-12 (NASB). All are broken, none are righteous, no one is good, and none of us seek God on our own. When we realize this, we see the magnitude of Christ's sacrifice. Only Jesus Christ could take away this hopelessness of our sinful nature and our brokenness. He allows us to be whole. He allows us to seek God and have a relationship with Him. The verse Romans 3:24 gives us this hope. We are no longer trapped in our sins because we are "justified as a gift of His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus" Romans 3:24 (NASB). God gives us a free gift of grace to be redeemed through Christ Jesus so that we can be freed from our brokenness! We are no longer slaves to our sin, but are able to live for Christ now.

In light of the article, I hope and that I can approach all people in a gracious and loving way, just as it says in Colossians 4:6 (ESV), "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person". I am not above anyone in my righteousness, so my response to sin should not be in judgement, but I should respond graciously - always pointing them back to the Cross. I should not judge them, but grieve the sin and brokenness that is in all of us and show the hope that is in Christ's sacrifice for us.

We must remember that none is righteous, but through Christ we are given the free gift of grace that allows us to be free of our brokenness and sin.