There is a Bible verse often used in evangelism to convince a person of their sin and subsequent need for salvation.

"For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, bold added).

While this verse is completely true, it's not really the best verse to use in evangelism. The problem with using this verse to lead someone to Christ is that it doesn't hit the real problem. Using this verse to convince someone he (or she) is a sinner in need of a Savior gives the impression the problem is all about what a person has "done." It leads a person to believe he has a problem and is condemned by God because he "has sinned."

Our basic problem is not what we have done. Remember, God does not look on the outward appearances. His concern is not with what we have done. God looks at the heart, the very core of who we are (1 Samuel 16:7). Our sinful actions are the natural outflow of our sinful hearts. Our problem has existed from our birth, before we ever committed a single sinful act. Our problem is "who" we are before we come to salvation in Christ. Our sinning does not make us sinners. We sin because we ARE sinners. In the very core of our being, that's who we are before Christ comes into our lives.

If we believe we have to be saved because of something we have "done", then this belief sets us up to believe that for God to accept us, we have to start doing the right things. And for Him to continue accepting us, we have to continue doing all the right things. Our identity in Christ won't be all that important to us. The focus of our lives will be making sure we are doing all the right things in order to please God. Do you see how believing wrongly about why we were once unacceptable to God impacts what we believe about how we stay accepted by God?

Let's look at the first half of Romans 5:19.

"For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners..."

Because of the disobedience of Adam, we were all "MADE TO BE SINNERS." When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, it changed the very nature of every descendant following in his genetic line. Everyone born of an earthly father since Adam inherited the sinful nature that came into Adam the moment he sinned. All humans were "made to be sinners" at that point. We were all born with an inherent sin nature - a natural bent toward sinning.

That's why it is so important for God to not only forgive our "sins" (acts), but also to change who we are. It's not just that I had done wrong. I WAS wrong.

"For the wages of sin is death..." (Romans 6:23).

Now if we were all born sinners and if the wages of sin is death, then we were all born destined to be under a death sentence. The only thing you and I had to do to be controlled by our sin, and then be condemned by the law against it, was to be born!!

Why do you suppose Jesus told Nicodemus, "You must be BORN AGAIN"? (John 3:7, emphasis added). It was because his birth had caused the problem. Therefore, the only way Nicodemus could be saved from eternal death was to be "reborn." The same is true for us. We were originally born of Adam and into sin, resulting in death. We must be "reborn" of God and into righteousness, resulting in life.