The Power of the Gospel
Study Scripture Romans 1:8-17
Background Scripture Romans 1
Lesson 6 July 17, 2021
Key Verse
16. For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Romans 1: 16.
INTRODUCTION
This book of Romans is regarded as the greatest of the epistles written by Paul as it unfolds God’s method for man’s salvation. It is stated by one scholar Prof. John Knox
“Whoever is interested in Christianity most necessarily be interested in the Epistle to the Romans. History leaves him no alternative”.
Another scholar comments:
“It’s the only part of Scripture which contains a detailed and systematic exposition of the doctrines of Christianity”.
We can briefly list many involved in great spiritual revivals who credit the book of Romans with their conversion.
John Wesley a great missionary to the United States sings its praises. Augustine who many scholars regard as a foundational thinker who greatly affected the development of Christianity, traced his conversion to reading chapter 13:13-14 of this Epistle.
Luther had that position.
Paul Bunyan who wrote the Christian classic Pilgrim’s Progress had that position.
So did many others.
We are therefore looking at an extremely important Epistle which faced all kind of attacks, interpretations, and misinterpretations. It is therefore very important that you look at this Book carefully for it tells you about the Christ that Paul preached.
Some might make you think that this Epistle is a difficult one but in fact it is not difficult if you spend some time reading it carefully. But it is important that you try not to misunderstand Paul or think that he was in contradiction with the prophets of God and the other Apostles for he was not.
It is generally accepted that it was written in Corinth and the Epistle was taken to Rome by a woman by the name of Phoebe as indicated in chapter 16 verse 1.
Note that Paul was a Jewish man brought up in all the traditions of the Hebrews, skilled in the Scriptures, advanced in the Scriptures beyond his contemporaries, and he declares plainly that he was a servant of the Lord God, called by Jesus to ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles from before he was born, with what he wanted to do interrupted by God.
So it is to be expected that he was bringing “good news”, not new news, for what he was writing about had been promised before by the prophets of God in the Holy Scriptures. The news that he was bringing had been foretold in the Old Testament and so it was really old news for it concerned the Son of God the Father, Jesus Christ our Lord, made as promised of the seed of David according to the flesh, entering human existence, the human stage of His existence by birth in the fullness of time.
This Messiah, son of God preached by Paul was appointed Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness. He was Paul insists Son of God. So with both humanity and deity residing in one person the disciples while being threatened by storms in their little boat would say in amazement,
“What manner of man is this that even winds and waves obey him?”
But the apostle Paul would now say of that:
“He is the Son who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and appointed Son of God with power by virtue of the resurrection of the dead”.
So the scholars will tell us that because of this Faith obedience is therefore required given His position for
“Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.
Among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ”.
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It is generally believed because of Paul’s comments in Romans 15: 19-23, that this book was written about 55-57 A.D. to this church situated in heart of the mighty Roman Empire.
The Apostle Paul had sometimes been called the ‘misunderstood Apostle’. See 2 Peter 3:15-17. A substantial part of the New Testament has been written by Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but despite the recognition of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, people pick and choose among his teachings. Some ‘Christians’ love some of his teachings, while at the same time reject other teachings that they consider unpalatable.
Bible believers who accept the truth of the Scriptures recognize however that all of Paul’s teachings must be accepted as inspired, and therefore are to be obeyed.
Paul really did not teach anything “new”, and even if we consider some of his teachings as “new”, it must be recognized that all his teachings are entirely consistent with the Old Testament.
Some interpret the Pauline doctrines in ways that opens Paul to the criticism that he did not properly understand Jewish law or traditions.
These interpretations by some Protestant theologians are generally arrived at because of some anti-Jewish bias and thus they read specific presuppositions into the material. These interpreters often put a twist on things that make Paul sound anti- Jewish and anti-Judaism, and suggest that Judaism was a religion of works and not of grace, supposing that men could be saved by keeping the Law rather than by the grace of God.
This type of stereotyping by Gentile theologians has had unfortunate results, and has contributed to anti-Semitism. But let me add that not all anti-Semitism can be placed at the feet of Christianity.
Nevertheless, we must be careful not to ignore context and the nature and peculiar problems of the church that Paul addressed. If one does this one would recognize that the book of Romans is not really a complete work of systematic theology, or a ‘compendium of Christian doctrine’ that tells us everything about what the gospel means.
To understand this book, just as it is with any other book, it is important to briefly examine the nature of the community in that specific church.
We know from historical records that in the first century there was a large Jewish community estimated to be between forty thousand and fifty thousand living in first century Rome. There are indications that the very active Jewish and the later Christian mission among the ‘circumcised’ had led to many Gentile proselytes and God fearers attaching themselves to the Jewish and later the Christian faith, just as in other cities.
We also know that before and following Pompey’s subjugation of Palestine in 62 B.C., many Jewish captives were brought to Rome. There were also many Jewish as well as pagan slaves in Rome. This presence of large numbers of Jewish people in the synagogues and in the Christian church explains why Peter could inaccurately be regarded as the founder of the church in Rome, and Paul’s emphasis on the importance of the gospel to both Jew and Gentile.
Paul certainly went to great lengths to show that Gentiles had been brought into the promises and Covenant made to Jews, explaining important questions relating to Jewish and Christian identity.
We know from secular records that the Jewish community was influential, but we also know that they were despised and hated by many influential people in the Roman elite. Jews had received preferential treatment from Julius Caesar and the emperor Augustus, for they had supported these men politically against Pompey.
In addition to their size the Jewish community attracted many Gentiles to Judaism. The growing size of this community would naturally lead to tensions with the Romans, who were pagans, as well as fragmentation among the different Jewish religious groupings.
It is important in looking at the Book of Romans to come to some understanding as to why Paul wrote this letter.
Some believe that Paul had a missionary purpose in view, wishing to evangelize Rome as much as possible, expanding the Gentile presence in the church. Since he regarded himself as the “Apostle to the Gentiles” he would want to ensure that as many Gentiles as possible would come to faith in Christ, something that would need the presence of an Apostle.
Others believe that Paul, as stated in Romans 15: 24 and 28, wanted to use the church there as a base for his evangelization of Spain. See Romans 15: 24. He thus told the church what he would be teaching, expecting them to therefore support his mission.
Still others believe that the book of Romans was written to explain his beliefs to the Roman congregations and to gain their support before he faced confrontation with unbelieving Jews and others in Jerusalem who disagreed with him. See Romans 15: 30. This confrontation eventually occurred and led to his Jerusalem trial and appeal to Rome.
Yet others believe the letter was written to ‘heal’ potential or real divisions among the churches in Rome. This could explain Paul’s exhortations in Romans 14: 1 and in 15: 1-7. If we realize that there were several different Christian church groups, some with a majority of Gentiles, while others had varying size of minority of Gentiles and a majority of Jews, this might make sense.
In some cases there would be conservative Jews having to coexist with Jews that had a more liberal approach to Jewish traditions and custom. This would explain Paul spending so much time explaining the character of the gospel and the nature of the promises to Israel, so that both Gentiles and the Jewish groups of varying complexions would understand what the gospel really meant, so that they would learn to better live with each other.
All of these different views have merit. It would seem therefore that Paul had several purposes in mind when he wrote this letter, and that this involved him explaining the gospel in some detail, so that both Jew and Gentile could better appreciate Christ.
It is of critical importance that some commentators point to Paul using a “diatribe” style, that is, a forceful dialogue with an imaginary interlocutor (see chapter 2: 1-5, 17-29: 4: 2: 9: 19-21; 11: 17-24). The ‘diatribe’ was not an attack against an actual opponent, but, in the context of a philosophical school, involved a critical questioning of a fellow student intended to lead him to the truth. This style attempts to criticize arrogance, and to correct pretensions.
If one realizes that Paul was using a contemporary rhetorical style, one would not fall to the trap of reading passages like Romans 2 as a forceful attack against an ‘ opponent’ or as indicating that Paul intended to put forward a complete break between two supposed ‘monolithic entities’, namely “Judaism” and “Christianity”.
The diatribe passages really show Paul in a critical dialogue with his fellow Jews and his fellow Christian Jews, showing them exactly what the relationship was between this new ‘philosophical sect’ within Judaism called Christianity, and how it was related to Judaism and other variations existing within Judaism then.
It is therefore just common sense to realize that one must interpret the Book of Romans in view of the style of expressions used by Paul, as well as interpret it recognizing that it had particular emphases, and was related to the particular intentions of Paul’s mission.
Paul’s discussion of several issues must therefore be related to the circumstances he faced, as well as the particular kind of emphasis that he wanted to make, given the circumstances.
It is therefore dangerous to treat Romans as a work of general systematic theology, pulling together all aspects of Christian doctrine.
Paul was writing the gospel not only in general, but also was laying out the gospel to show “a Jewish gospel for Gentiles”, including dealing with “the strains and tensions which stemmed from those basic convictions”.
It therefore is a mistake to assume from the Book of Romans that Paul regarded Judaism as antagonistic to Christianity, or as ‘a foil to Christianity’.
If one adopts that ‘traditional’ gentile interpretation, one would end up with the mistaken idea that Christianity brought an ‘end’ to Judaism, and tried to show that it was bankrupt. Paul would then be saying that he was glad to be converted from Judaism, which was valueless, to Christianity.
In addition one would interpret that Judaism was a excellent example of religion that had gone wrong, which only valued human achievement rather than expressing gratitude and living in response to the initiative of divine grace.
In this view; law and faith, death and life, flesh and spirit characterized one religion or the other. This is nothing but stereotyping of Judaism and the Jew. It is simply not true to say that early Judaism was a religion of law in the worst sense of the word.
One writer comments:
“Early Judaism at its heart was a religion of grace: its starting point. God’s free choice of Israel and rescue from slavery; its system one which focused on repentance, atonement, and forgiveness; its emphasis on Law keeping, the appropriate response of gratitude and faithfulness on the part of the elect people………
In light of the new perspective on Paul the issues at stake in Romans receive a fresh clarity. The various themes are already sounded in the substantial elaboration of the more common introduction (Romans 1: 2-7):
- The gospel of God
- Continuous with the prophecies of the Holy Scriptures;
- Focusing on Jesus, both Son of David and Son of God;
- With his resurrection marking out a new eschatological epoch;
- And his lordship validating its outreach, not least by Paul himself, to all the Gentiles;
- Among whom the Roman believers in particular are to be counted as numbered among the elect and beloved people of God.
Hence the overarching emphasis on the gospel for Jew and Gentile (See 2:1-2), is sounded both in the initial thematic statement in Romans 1:16 and the climax of Romans 15:7-12.
Hence also the repeated emphasis is on the gospel for all –“all who believe” (Romans 1: 16; 3: 22; 4: 11; 10: 4, 11 –13).
“All injustice” (Romans 1: 18, 29)
“All under sin” (Romans 3: 9, 12, 19-20, 23; 5: 12)
“All the seed” (Romans 4:11, 16)
“All Israel” (Romans 11: 26).
The issue is not so much the universality of human need and of the gospel’s sufficiency as whether and how the gospel, Jewish in origin and in character, reaches beyond the Jewish nation to include the nations beyond (“ all”= Gentile as well as Jew, Romans 1: 18-5: 21).
And conversely, the issue is whether the gospel now drawing in Gentiles in such numbers remains a Jewish gospel and is still the gospel for the Jews (“ all”= Jew as well as Gentile, Romans 9 – 11)”.
Note that Paul makes no bones about the fact that all men are sinners, and that the gospel was provided for the salvation of all men. All the Romans were included in this.
But Paul also stresses the historic facts of the gospel, and the Jewish character of the Christian gospel.
Throughout all this Paul especially emphasized that God was righteous. See his comments in Romans 1: 17; 3: 5, 21-26; 4:1-25; 9: 30 through 10: 13. God’s righteousness showed itself throughout all of history.
God had determined to save men, and because of this commitment, he had faithfully declared Himself as the Savior and Redeemer of Israel, which included those outside of ethnic Israel.
God had always used “faith” as the human way through which God exercised His “saving righteousness”. In God’s purpose, this “saving righteousness” showed itself in the ministry of Christ, the promised Messiah. See Romans 3: 22-26; 9: 30- 10: 13.
One writer therefore observes:
“The Jewish gospel, that was also for Gentiles, always spoke about the faithfulness of God to the original promises to Israel. So Christ was a stone of stumbling to Israel, (Romans 9: 32-33), God had his own special way of dealing with the unfaithfulness of Israel, as revealed in Roman 11”.
With respect to the behavior of ethnic Israel, Paul did not simply classify Judaism as a legalistic religion which only exalted human achievement and which led to human pride. He made it clear that the Law was perfect. See Romans 3: 31; 7:7-25; 8: 3-4; 13: 8-10.
The problem with the Law was that the Jews claimed to have it, and thus, as he put it in Romans 2: 12-29, were then to believe that they had a privileged position before God, being the special elect of God.
Paul felt however that there could be no boasting that their obedience to the Law gave them a privileged status, for their focus should really have been on faith. See Romans 3: 27-31 and
4: 1-25.
One writer comments:
“It is the law as typified by Jewish works and a focus of Jewish zeal which Paul sees to have been ended by Christ, not the “Law of Righteousness” (Romans 9: 30-10:4); “the Law of sin and death”; not “the law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 8: 2-4).
Properly understood in the new light of Christ therefore what the Law calls for is not the “works” which marks off Jew from Gentile (Romans 2: 25 -29; 14:1-12), then love of neighbor (Romans 13:8-10 and 14: 13- 15:6)… it is not the Law as an expression of human achievement which Paul questions, but the Law as an expression of Jewish privilege”.
There is nothing in Paul which suggeststhat he hated Judaism, thought it inferior, and did not follow its practices. He tried at every stage to counter this distortion of his views.
It is a pity that many have interpreted Paul in such a way that Paul seemed to have been deliberately distorting true Judaism. These interpretations have left Paul open to the accusation of either not understanding Judaism or deliberately distorting it.
Paul understood Judaism thoroughly, and did not distort it. He understood the irrevocable promises to ethnic Israel, the plan of God to temporarily set aside Israel because of their unbelief, the work of the Messiah to create one new body of both Jew and Gentile in true faith and worship, and the eventual restoration of Israel, signaling blessing for all mankind.
There is therefore no truth in the interpretations that demeans Judaism, stereotypes and condemns Jews, replaces them as the elect people of God, and substitutes cult of Gentiles. Paul would have none of that. It is therefore with these considerations that we can now look at the Text, recognizing:
“That Paul sets out to explain the ‘ both Jew and Gentile’ character of the gospel and of the promises to Israel, not exclusively, but also not least, to encourage his Roman hearers to work out in the experience of everyday what the gospel and these promises must mean in practice.”
Both the Jews and the large and growing number of Gentiles in the Roman church would be immediately reminded that when they embraced Christ they had not been thrown away by God, but were the objects of the love and concern of God from the creation of the world. All nations of the world would be blessed. See Genesis 12.
The gospel of God was clearly identified by Paul as the good news concerning His Son Jesus Christ. Jesus is the focus of the gospel. He is stated to be the Son of God, of the same nature with God, equal to Him but distinct from Him.
This is what Paul’s words used in that passage means. Later Paul more explicitly said Jesus was the image of the invisible God, the exact copy and so the revealer of all that was in the divine nature. He was the Creator of all things in heaven and earth whether seen or unseen.
By using His earthly name Jesus, which itself is a name of Deity, and combining this with the term Christ, or the Anointed one,
Paul summarizes the great doctrine of God, for Jesus Christ was here identified as the Savior of the people because He was so anointed by God. He is Lord of His people because He had graciously redeemed them.
This then was the message, the promise of the ages had been fulfilled, and the truths spoken of by the prophets had come to pass. Israel’s savior was Jesus Christ our Lord. The savior of the Gentiles was also Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul would now salutes all the brethren that are in Rome without distinction, both Jew and Gentile. He does not exclude any of the brethren. He calls them all ‘beloved of God’, in the church because of the favor, pleasure and will of God. God had loved them before they were born and because of this had brought all the blessings of grace to them.
They were not born saints, by a work of the flesh, but were called to be saints. Note that ‘saints’ are literally “holy ones”, that is, people separated to God and devoted to God. They are a community consecrated to God and thus separated from the world.
Paul can therefore call for the goodness of God to be bestowed on them, as the favor and love of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit had been drawn to them.
THE TEXT.
Verse 8. Paul now begins a prayer of Thanksgiving for the faith of the people of the church which had shown itself in the missionary activity in which they had been engaged. We should remember that Rome, the center of the massive and most powerful Roman Empire, was a city of slaves, filled with greed and lusts and violence. The political maneuverings and exercise of naked power was extraordinary.
All kinds of social wrongs existed and so the Apostle had to remind them to speak about the important things, speak of man’s sin, man’s guilt, man’s condemnation. The Cross of Jesus Christ with His death, His burial, and His resurrection and hope of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to find in a established the kingdom of God and the Earth should be their focus. Since they were, as it were, at the center of the earth, with people from all over the world visiting Rome, they had exercised their influence on the people in such a way which brought praise and honor to God. They were certainly diligent in taking the important messages from God to the people.
By specifically stating that he thanked “my” God he was complimenting the brethren for also working for the same God. He thanked “my” God through Jesus Christ, thus stating the mediation of Christ, for our access to the Father comes through Christ alone. It is because of Christ that our prayer and our worship are acceptable to God the Father. So we must approach God in the name of Christ, for He is the ‘ground of our acceptance’.
Paul thanked God because their faith was such that it brought attention to God, for they did not hide their faith, but publicly professed it at all times. They showed others by words and deeds that God was the true God and worthy of worship.
Note the three things for which the Apostle Paul congratulated the Roman Christians.
First, in verses 6-7 he had said that these Roman Christians were saints, they were called and so they are dearly beloved by God what given them grace and peace.
Second, it was the faith of the Roman Christians that was being talked about. It was the vitality of their faith that was being talked about, not the amount of money or the amount of things that they had.
Third, they had among them exercise of spiritual gifts and Paul wanted to strengthen.part of the Christian life.
Verse 9. Paul therefore made it known to them that he constantly interceded for them. He constantly remembered them in his prayer, thanking God for their conversion and their faith. He took a solemn oath to distinguish his God from all false gods, and show that with the spirit he had served his God and Jesus Christ, working to spread his gospel with all of his spirit, despite what stress and pressure it put on him.
Verse 10. Paul had submitted himself to the will of God, and therefore he constantly requested God that he be given the opportunity in his providence to be able to visit the capital.
Clearly at this time Paul was not sure that God would allow him to go to Rome. But this was his long held desire, and he hoped that God would favorably order events so that his wish could be met. But note how he subordinated his will to the divine will, praying constantly that God would hear his prayer and remove the obstacles preventing him from visiting Rome.
Verse 11. Paul was anxious to visit the Christians in Rome, however not to experience the pleasures of the capital city of the world, for those things of the world were not of great value in his sight.
Rather he wished to see the brethren to bring whatever spiritual light, comfort, or knowledge that he had, so that they could profit from this. He wanted them to be in a safer, fixed condition which would result in their increased confidence in the gospel, and in their increased strength in faith. He wanted the Romans to be strengthened on the inside so that they could do even more work on the outside.
They were obviously faithful and hard-working people, but they could benefit from Paul’s ministering.
Verse 12. Paul now states that his visit would do them good, but that was not all he aimed for. He too would benefit from the visit, for Paul would be refreshed by their faith and be encouraged also by their strengthening.
Of course we must understand that when the messengers of God use their spiritual gifts in the service of others, they themselves are blessed and comforted by God. When they see that the people agree with the doctrine of God, and show this in their lives, they are particularly blessed and comforted. The faith of the messengers increase with the faith of those to whom they minister. One writer comments: one writer advises:
“That is what makes a congregation strong, the exercise of spiritual gifts in its midst. When Paul says, “I want to impart to you some spiritual gift”, he does it mean that he has all the gifts in a bag and he goes around like an ecclesiastical Santa Claus doling them out to people where ever he goes. It doesn’t mean that. Impart really means “share with you”. It isn’t something Paul gives to them; only the Holy Spirit can give spiritual gifts.
Paul wants to share with them the gifts God has given. He wants to minister to them, as they are expected to minister to him with the spiritual gifts that they have; thus they will be mutually strengthened by one another’s faith.
That is how God wants the church to function-the saints ministering to each other, building up one another by their faith and sharing and exercising the gifts God has given them”.
Verses 13-14. Paul now addresses the church as his brothers, and opened up his mind to them. He tells them that his desire to come to them was not a new or lately developed desire. It was something that he had determined to do a long time ago, but circumstances had prevented him from coming to them.
He wanted to give profit to them, to convert the sinners he would encounter, and edify the saints, by preaching the gospel to everyone with whom he could come into contact. He would go everywhere and speak to everyone if by so doing he could benefit them and save souls. He was ready to work in every place and under every condition.
We should remember what an apostle is. He told us that he was called by God to call people from among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. So the apostle established is to call people out.
He had the remedy and so he was under constant awareness that he had to tell people about the release that they desperately needed. He was therefore single-minded and was fully engaged both body and soul in this work.
So consider the position that you are in. If you have a cure for cancer would you keep it quiet or would you be under constant mental pressure pressure to help others to be cured.
You have the secret of life and you should be prepared to share it. Scripture says in many places that you have an obligation to preach the gospel and be servants and witnesses to the grace of God. Not only that Scriptures tell us that this desire Is implanted in the heart of every believer to manifest the desire that others come to understand the grace that God has made available.
Verse 15. Paul therefore declared that he was eager to reach all the nations that he could reach and he included the Christians in Rome among those that God intended to change. Note however that these Christians in Rome were already Christians and so the gospel that Paul wanted to get to them was about what God wanted to show them so that they would be enabled to become whole persons.
Verse 16. This verse begins with a “for” and this explains why Paul is ready to go on his mission of being an apostle to the Gentiles. “For” tells us that is not ashamed and that is why he is ready. He knows that he will face the most intelligent people and the most wise people on earth for they lived in the greatest city on the face of the earth at that time. He knows that in Rome they would have content for the gospel of Jesus Christ for he has already told us that for the Corinthians who are perishing the word of the cross was foolishness. No one wanted to hear about a crucified carpenter and and executed Galilean.
But Paul knew better and therefore. Paul was eager to take the message of the gospel everywhere, because he knew that it was the only thing that could save men from destruction.
There were risks involved in taking the gospel to men, for men would not be pleased, and the ‘wise men’ of the world would regard it as a shame and as a reproach. Men would not believe that God would expose Himself to the shame of emptying Himself, be abused by men, and finally be killed in a shameful and painful way.
“To be put to shame” was not simply a matter of moral disgrace and a blow to one’s pride. It really had to do mostly with having a hope or expectation disappointed, proving that your confidence was misplaced. See Psalm 119: 6 and Isaiah 54: 4.
Paul is here insisting that he had based his entire life and work on the truth of the gospel, and he was sure that the trust he had placed in it would be completely warranted. He therefore had complete confidence in the gospel, because it was God’s way.
The gospel was about God’s son, for God had provided His Son to bring salvation to everyone who believed, whether Jew or Gentile. There was simply no other way that man could be saved. God had brought the ‘righteousness of God’ to man, and in so doing there was life when there was faith.
Without this “righteousness of God”, found only in Christ the revelation of God, there could be no salvation. Man could never be acceptable to God without righteousness, and that could only be found by sinners when they came to Christ.
Therefore Paul was not ashamed of preaching the gospel for he knew that the gospel was powerful and that it was from God. It was through this gospel that God bring salvation. This is not something that man put together, but it was the means by which God had determined that man be delivered from sin and death.
Anyone who does not believe that there is a need for righteousness, that God the Father demands righteousness, and does not believe that men all are sinners and cannot in themselves face God and be found acceptable, will never have faith, and will therefore not believe.
The gospel therefore declares and reveals that salvation can only be found in the perfect person of Christ. It therefore is the means used to direct and encourage souls to lay hold on Him.
Verse 17. The righteousness of God, that is the nature of God, is revealed by how He administered His promises and His justice. This is very different from the ‘righteousness of men’. It shows the concern that God had for sinning man, and the way that He has provided for man to obtain life. It is not a way that demands that we bear a heavy burden. He bore that for us, and He has provided everything possible for us to live simply by faith in Him.
The power of God is unique for it has the kind of power in it that brings the man from spiritual death to possessing spiritual life. It involves the working of God the Father through the saving work of Jesus Christ. That work gives us a righteousness acceptable to God and so sin is thereby canceled at the present time and in the future time.
It is most important therefore that we remember that we do not have any righteousness. Any righteousness that you think you have are as filthy rags. We have nothing. We stand naked before God’s judgment. The only good works that God recognizes are those works that proceed out of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for it is those works that are designed to promote the glory of God.
He has provided the examples for us in the Scriptures, showing us the men of faith in different generations. All had to learn to live by faith in God.
All just men must learn to live the spiritual life, to depend on God for holiness, to constantly commune with God, and to find peace and joy in God alone. The just man has learned to live only by his faith, which sustains him when all the impossible to handle storms of life come all around him.
We must understand that many hearing this exposition from the apostle Paul would be quite shocked to learn that a person was justified by faith and not by the work of the law.. This is something that sinners naturally do not like for that idea attacks their own self-righteousness. We do not want to hear that we are lost and we must be born again.
So the apostle insists that this righteousness that we have to have comes to us by faith and not by the works of the law. It is a gift from God and so it is something we cannot earn. So Paul will insist that it is written, “The just shall live by faith”.
CONCLUSION
This passage tells us how the ministers of Christ must be.
First, they must be absolutely under the control of, and totally dedicated to Jesus.
Second, they must be separated to the gospel and seek always to bring everyone to faith in Christ.
Third, they must seek to bring all men, without exception, to Christ, the wise and foolish, the rich and the poor, the boorish and the refined.
Fourth, they must behave as if they understand that all men are the same in the sight of God.
Fifth, they must have a tremendous desire to help all faithful people and faithful churches, not to lord it over them, but to rejoice with them and bring strength and encouragement to them.
Sixth, the gospel of Christ is a message from Heaven. It is not new, but fulfills the Old Testament promises, that in Christ alone they would have salvation. He would bring grace and favor to all men from all nations. He is the righteousness provided by God to justify all those who believe on Him.
Seventh, Christ is always associated with God the Father, and Christ is the channel of all grace from God to men. We should understand clearly who God the Father is.
Eight, all salvation depends on faith in the gift that God has provided. This is not just faith, but faith in the gift of God.
Ninth, when there is real Christian fellowship, everyone benefits. The greatest of the saints as well as the humblest of the servants provide profit to each other. God has made salvation easy for man, and therefore man has no excuse. There is no reason for man not to accept the gift that God has provided, a gift which is the only means of justification and salvation. This the only gift that will bring righteousness.