Romans 1:16-17 (ESV)
[16] For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God
for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
[17] For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it
is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. The gospel is the Good
News of salvation by God’s grace through faith in the fact that God will accept
us, forgive us, and make us whole because of Jesus death and resurrection. Paul
is not ashamed if that truth because the gospel is the power of God for
salvation. It is not the power of God for salvation to those who walk according
to the Law. It is not the power of God to those who keep God’s commands, or who
live faithfully. It is the power of God for salvation to those who believe. It does
not matter whether you are Jew or Gentile. Social standing does not matter. Ethnicity
does not matter. Elsewhere Paul will argue that gender does not matter. What
matters is faith.
That is further emphasized in verse seventeen when he
writes, “In it (that is, in the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith for faith.” Some translations read “from faith to faith.” It is
literally “out of faith into faith.” Some will ask, “But aren’t we supposed to
obey God?” Yes. God’s righteousness is revealed through the gospel. But that
righteousness starts in faith and continues in faith. It is out of faith and
into faith.
I fear that some are so intent on proving their salvation, or
retaining their salvation, or validating their salvation that they lose sight
of the truth that salvation begins in faith. Salvation continues in faith. Salvation
is maintained, retained, and validated in faith. I’m not trying to get into the
question of whether one can lose salvation. I simply want to point out the
truth that the righteousness of God is attributed to us by faith and that the
righteousness of God is developed in us and lived out by us by faith. The
gospel in out of faith and into faith.
Obedience flows out of faith, not the other way around. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation for any who will believe. He is not ashamed of the gospel because it is not for only one ethnicity. It is not only for those who are particularly self-controlled and disciplined. It is not for those who are good enough. The gospel is for all who believe. Believing results in God attributing his righteousness to us. Believing results in his righteousness growing in us. The gospel is out of faith and into faith. Trust him!
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