Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
In the writing on chapter 2 of Romans we saw the state of man before God. This verse states for all have sinned. This points us ahead to Romans 5.
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
All men who are the seed of Adam fell. All men, except one came from the seed of a man and I bet you can guess who did not come from the seed of a man. All of us have this problem of sin. All of us are affected in all our members by sin, Romans 7:23. We all sinned in Adam and all of us sin and come short of the glory of God.
Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
This is our solution. Righteousness would come by another. All were under sin, but God promised to send the Messiah, one who by His faith, would work out that righteousness that we could not. Before that faith came, before Christ obeyed unto death, we were all shut up to that faith. What is revealed to us? Faith is not revealed to us, Roman 1:17, but righteousness is revealed. It is revealed by faith. That faith that is His faith is synonymous with righteousness. That righteousness could not be revealed until it was manifested, Romans 3:21. Those before looked to this coming righteousness and we after look back upon that completed righteousness.
Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Look at this last statement in Hebrews 11. They without us should not be made perfect. Those before, all those mentioned in Hebrews 11 that were seen to have faith in God were not made perfect without those of us after Christ had come. The perfection occurred for all at one time.
Hebrews 10:10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.