Gold Tried in the Fire - Robert J. Wieland

sinned," it means that "all" would already have
suffered sin's penalty, eternal death, for "the wages
of sin is death" (see Romans 3:23; 6:23), the
second death.
The fact that we live is evidence that we have
already been reprieved. Someone else has received
our deserved "wages" and has given us life instead.
For every man, the ledger account of sin has
already been balanced, whether or not he realizes
it. God has already legally imputed to his credit the
doing and dying of Another who is righteous. This
perfect life and sinless character is the substance of
Christ's righteousness. The Bible emphatically
declares that the purely legal (or forensic)
justification was made not only for those who
believe, but for all men: "All have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God; being justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus." Romans 3:23, 24. The New
English Bible sharpens the focus: "All alike have
sinned, ... and all are justified by God's free grace
alone." He offers His grace freely to all without
distinction. If the grace is free, it cannot rest on any
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