Are You Right with God?
Are You Right with God?
Are you right with God? That question matters more than any other question you will ever face. It is not asking whether you are a good person, or whether you are better than your neighbor, or whether you feel spiritually okay. It is asking whether you stand accepted before the God who made you and who will one day judge you.
Here is the plain answer. No one is right with God on their own. Romans 3:23 says it without softening it: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Every person has fallen short, no exceptions. But God, because He is merciful, made a way for sinners to be made right with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. That is the heart of this sermon, and it is the heart of the gospel itself.
If you have ever wondered what the Bible says about being right with God, or searched for what it means to be saved, Romans 3:23 is the place to start. It names the problem honestly. And once the problem is named, the rest of the Bible points us straight to the solution.
What Does It Mean to Be Right with God?
To be right with God means to stand before Him without guilt. It means being accepted, forgiven, and at peace with the One who holds your life in His hands. It does not mean feeling spiritually satisfied. It does not mean living a decent, moral life. It means your account is truly settled with your Maker.
Most of us naturally measure ourselves by comparison. Next to a thief, we look honest. Next to a liar, we look truthful. But God does not grade on a curve, and He does not compare us to each other. He measures every person against His own perfect holiness. Beside that light, every one of us falls short, no matter how good we look standing next to our neighbor.
This is why the real question is never, am I better than most people. The real question is, am I right with God. Those two questions sound similar, but they lead to very different answers. Only one of them matters when we finally stand before Him.
So when someone asks, are you right with God, they are really asking whether you have peace with your Creator, not whether you have a decent reputation among people. That distinction changes everything about how we think of our own souls.
What Does Romans 3:23 Say About Sin?
Romans 3:23 gives us the plain truth in one short verse: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Notice that little word, all. Not most people. Not just the obviously wicked. All. That includes kind people, religious people, hardworking people, and every person reading these words right now.
Sin is not merely a mistake or a weakness we can excuse away. Sin is rebellion against the God who made us. It is falling short of His glory, His holiness, His perfect standard. The Bible is honest about what sin brings with it. It carries a wage, and that wage is death, an eternal separation from the only true source of life and joy.
This is not meant to crush you. It is meant to help you see clearly. You cannot fix a problem you refuse to name. The Bible names sin plainly, in this one short verse, so that we can stop pretending and turn instead to the only remedy that actually works.
Many people ask what the Bible says about sin, expecting a long complicated answer. Romans 3:23 gives it in a single sentence. All have sinned. All fall short. That is the diagnosis every human heart shares, whether we admit it or not.
Why Good Works Cannot Make Us Right with God
Many people believe that if they do enough good, give enough, attend church enough, or simply live a decent life, they will be right with God in the end. It feels reasonable on the surface. But it does not match what the Bible teaches, and it does not match how guilt actually works in real life.
Think of it this way. If a man breaks the law today, obeying the law perfectly tomorrow does not erase yesterday's crime. The debt still stands on the record. In the same way, no amount of future good behavior can undo a single sin already committed in the past. Good works cannot pay a debt that guilt has already created.
This is exactly why Romans 3:23 does not say some have sinned, or most have fallen short. It says all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. If good works could fix that problem, this verse would not need to exist at all. The fact that it does exist, plainly and without exception, tells us we need something outside of ourselves.
We are often tempted to think God will simply average things out, weighing our good deeds against our bad ones. But holiness does not work by averages. One stain on a white garment is still a stain. That is why our own effort, however sincere, can never be enough to make us right with a perfectly holy God.
What Did God Do to Make Us Right with Him?
Here is the good news buried inside this hard truth. God did not leave us standing guilty with no hope. Because He is rich in mercy, He made a way for sinners to be made right with Him, not through our own effort, but through His Son.
God sent Jesus Christ to live the perfect life we could never live, and to die the death we deserved to die. On the cross, Jesus took our guilt upon Himself. The punishment that rightfully belonged to us fell on Him instead. Three days later, He rose from the grave, proving that the payment was accepted, the debt was canceled, and death itself had been defeated.
This is the meaning of the gospel. It is not a message about our performance or our religious record. It is a message about what God has already done on our behalf. Jesus Christ did not come to help good people become slightly better. He came to save sinners who had no way to save themselves.
This is also why the gospel is called good news rather than good advice. Advice tells you what to do. News tells you what has already been done. Christ has already paid the debt. The only question left is whether you will receive what He has done for you.
How Can I Know I Am Right with God?
Salvation is not something you earn. It cannot be achieved through church attendance, giving, baptism, or any religious ceremony, however sincere. It is a gift, and a gift can only be received, never earned by working for it. You do not labor for a gift. You simply reach out and accept it.
You receive this gift by turning from your sin and trusting Jesus Christ alone as your Lord and Savior. Not Christ plus your effort. Not Christ plus your good deeds. Christ alone, and nothing added to Him. This is what it means to be made right with God, to stand before Him accepted because of what Jesus has already done, not because of what you have managed to accomplish.
If you are asking whether you are right with God right now, the honest answer begins with admitting what Romans 3:23 says is true of you personally. It begins with agreeing with God rather than arguing with Him. From there, you look away from yourself entirely and look to the only One who can make things right.
Many people wonder how they can know for certain that they are saved. The answer is not a feeling you chase after. It is a fact you rest on. God's word promises that whoever trusts Christ alone is made right with Him. That promise does not shift with your emotions.
How Do I Pray to Get Right with God?
You do not need a special place, a special posture, or special words to come to God. Wherever you are right now, sitting or standing, alone or in a crowded room, you can speak to Him honestly, and He will hear you.
You might pray something like this in your own words. Lord, I know I have sinned and fallen short of Your glory. I cannot save myself no matter how hard I try. Thank You for sending Jesus to take my punishment on the cross and to rise again from the grave. I turn from my sin right now, and I trust Jesus Christ alone as my Savior and Lord. This is not a magic formula to recite. It is simply honest words spoken to a God who is truly listening.
The Bible gives us this promise about coming to God honestly. First John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." God is faithful to those who come to Him this way, and He has never once broken a promise. What matters most is not the exact wording you use, but the honest turning of your heart toward Him.
If you have prayed something like this for the first time, tell someone who knows the Lord, and begin reading the Bible, starting perhaps with the Gospel of John, to grow in what you now believe.
Will You Trust Jesus Christ Today?
Every person reading this sermon has fallen short of the glory of God. That includes you, and it includes me. Romans 3:23 leaves no room for exceptions among us. But God did not leave us without hope in our guilt. He sent His Son to pay a debt that we could never pay ourselves, no matter how long we tried.
Being right with God is not about being good enough. It never was. It is about trusting the One who was good enough on our behalf, and who offers that goodness to us freely. Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again so that sinners like us could be made right with a holy God.
Will you turn to Him today? Not tomorrow, not when life feels more convenient, not after you have cleaned yourself up first, but today, right where you are sitting or standing. Trust Jesus Christ alone as your Lord and Savior. He is willing to receive you just as you are, and He has promised never to turn away anyone who comes to Him in honest faith.