Romans 3:23-25

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

 Ok, I thought I'd just look at what a few of these words mean in order to give a better understanding of these verses.

First, lets look at the words have sinned:  The Greek word is hamartano.  The general definition is to miss the mark (and so not share in the prize), (figurative) to err, especially (moral) to sin:--for your faults, offend, sin, trespass.

to miss the mark, swerve from the way.  In the NT, used metaphorically:

The definition connected with this verse in particular is ... Generally, to sin, spoken of any sin, used in an absolute sense.

So basically this is saying that we have all missed the mark, none of us has hit the bullseye, so to speak.  We've all fallen short of a perfect score, and have erred.

Second, lets look at the word glory:  Since I'm not exactly sure which part of the definition goes with this verse, I picked one that most closely fits.  Of that exalted state of blissful perfection which is the portion of those who dwell with God in heaven.  As spoken of Christ and including the idea of His royal majesty as Messiah, and of glorified saints, i.e. salvation, eternal life.

So far, I see that anything that I do to earn salvation can and will not give me what I'm looking for, because I, in my own doing, can never be perfect enough.  I fall short of God's Glory, or God's perfection.

Third, lets look at the word freely:  In the Greek this word is dorean.  This word means without a cause, freely, for naught, in vain.

We have been justified without cause, in other words, he didn't have to do it, but he did.  By His Grace...

Fourth, lets take a look at the word grace:  The Greek word for grace is charis.  Also spoken of the grace which God exercises toward us, the unmerited favour which he shows in saving us from sin.

When we look at this grace, we find that we didn't do anything to earn it.  It is unmerited favour that he shows toward us.

Fifth, lets lat a look at the word propitiation:  The Greek word for propitiation is hilasterion.  This word means "an atoning victim"

Jesus was that atoning victim.  He was the sacrificial lamb.  Through faith in His blood, we are washed clean.  We are freed from sin's hold on us.

Sixth, lets take a look at the word remission:  The Greek word for remission is paresis.  To let pass by, A letting pass, remission in the sense of overlooking, not punishing.  Used only in Romans 3:25  Paresis differs from aphesis, which implies pardon or forgiveness, i.e. not just an absence of punishment, but the removal of guilt.

Wow, so through faith in His blood we are granted remission of sins.  That means that, not only is there no punishment, but he removes the guilt of that sin from us.  We are, in a sense, truly washed clean.

Lastly, lets take a look at the word forbearance:  The Greek word for forbearance is anoche.  Self-restraint, i.e. tolerance:--forbearance.  From anecho, to bear with, suffer.  Forbearance, a holding back, delay.  In the NT, self-restraint, forbearance, patience.

Wow, I like this word.  Our sins pass through the forbearance of God.  That means he holds back, and uses self restraint, and patience.  He must have a great deal of patience.

So, Every one falls short of Gods Grace.  There is no way, in our own endeavors, that we can earn this grace that God gives as a free gift to anyone who will accept Him as their propitiation, or atoning sacrifice.  We can have remission of sin, which is much more than just a pardon, or forgiveness, or an absence of punishment, but it is also the removal of guilt.  His Blood washes away, not just the sin, but the guilt from that sin.  What Jesus did for us when he went to the Cross is more than any man can do for himself.  We need that atoning blood to wash us clean, because we are not perfect enough, nor will we ever be perfect enough to make it to heaven, and to earn the Grace of God on our own.  Jesus paid the price, all we need to do is accept Him as our atoning sacrifice, by faith, and be washed clean.  Then we are a new creation in Christ Jesus.