Sat, Oct 31, 2009
From Faith for Faith :: Reflections on Romans 1:16-17
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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17 ESV)
I read through this yesterday morning when I was waiting to go play basketball and was just mulling over verse 17. My rewording of the passage, “I love the gospel and will proclaim it unapologetically, because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith (everyone means all peoples from all nations not just every Jew), because in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.”
What does it mean that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith? Starters, the righteousness of God that is revealed must be Jesus. This gives some foundation to stand on. Paul says this in several ways throughout the book but the clearest would be in Romans 3 where he uses very similar language:
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law… the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified [declared righteous] by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom [Jesus] God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:21-25 ESV)
Propitiation is this idea of an exchange of one thing for another, he takes on something of mine and I take on something of his. In this passage, Jesus takes on our sin, we receive his righteousness through faith. Martin Luther calls propitiation the “great exchange.”
So the righteousness revealed is the righteousness that is given by the blood of Jesus. And it is revealed from faith? What does that mean? It is revealed to my life from the initiation of faith in my soul. When I am granted the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8) the righteousness of Jesus is revealed to the eyes of my soul as a powerful saving grace. So in salvation God’s righteousness is truly revealed, unveiled, seen. But what does it mean that it is revealed from faith for faith? For faith? God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel for faith? It is almost like faith is a benefactor of the righteousness of God that is revealed. What does that mean?
I guess to understand this these two verses must be seen as the thesis statement of the book of Romans. Paul is about to expand upon these two verses in his longest recorded discourse in Scripture. He lays out doctrinal truth for the first eleven chapters and then applies the truths of the gospel to the life of the Christian in chapters 12-15. I think what is being communicated is that the gospel and the righteousness that is revealed in it is not merely finished working at the conception of faith. Also, that the means of that righteousness never changes from faith.
It’s always faith by which we receive the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. That’s what the end of the verse says, “the righteous shall live by faith.” This is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4 which shows faith to be the humble contrast to a puffed up arrogant soul. Paul is reminding us that the righteousness of God revealed in our lives through the gospel powerfully humbles our souls because it reminds us of our weakness. In the gospel we must say that we have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. And as we are reminded of the gospel, our faith is built up because we must lean on Jesus’ righteousness. Our faith increases as the gospel is proclaimed to our souls. Have you ever noticed that? It’s incredible!
The gospel’s power lies in the revelation and receiving of God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ through the gift of faith, and the growing of that gift by the reminder that faith is the beginning and the end of our salvation. His righteousness is revealed by faith not just at the beginning but it is revealed to build up faith.
The Christian’s life and salvation is found in him and him alone, and my live should be defined by the gospel as it declares to me again the majesty and glory and grace of our God in spite of my sin. It is this message which appeals to me to give myself as living sacrifice holy and acceptable (Romans 12:2), not showing off my own worth, but praising Jesus for his worth.
By the strength that God supplies,
Sean
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I read through this yesterday morning when I was waiting to go play basketball and was just mulling over verse 17. My rewording of the passage, “I love the gospel and will proclaim it unapologetically, because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith (everyone means all peoples from all nations not just every Jew), because in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.”
What does it mean that the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith? Starters, the righteousness of God that is revealed must be Jesus. This gives some foundation to stand on. Paul says this in several ways throughout the book but the clearest would be in Romans 3 where he uses very similar language:
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law… the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified [declared righteous] by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom [Jesus] God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:21-25 ESV)
Propitiation is this idea of an exchange of one thing for another, he takes on something of mine and I take on something of his. In this passage, Jesus takes on our sin, we receive his righteousness through faith. Martin Luther calls propitiation the “great exchange.”
So the righteousness revealed is the righteousness that is given by the blood of Jesus. And it is revealed from faith? What does that mean? It is revealed to my life from the initiation of faith in my soul. When I am granted the gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8) the righteousness of Jesus is revealed to the eyes of my soul as a powerful saving grace. So in salvation God’s righteousness is truly revealed, unveiled, seen. But what does it mean that it is revealed from faith for faith? For faith? God’s righteousness is revealed in the gospel for faith? It is almost like faith is a benefactor of the righteousness of God that is revealed. What does that mean?
I guess to understand this these two verses must be seen as the thesis statement of the book of Romans. Paul is about to expand upon these two verses in his longest recorded discourse in Scripture. He lays out doctrinal truth for the first eleven chapters and then applies the truths of the gospel to the life of the Christian in chapters 12-15. I think what is being communicated is that the gospel and the righteousness that is revealed in it is not merely finished working at the conception of faith. Also, that the means of that righteousness never changes from faith.
It’s always faith by which we receive the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. That’s what the end of the verse says, “the righteous shall live by faith.” This is a quote from Habakkuk 2:4 which shows faith to be the humble contrast to a puffed up arrogant soul. Paul is reminding us that the righteousness of God revealed in our lives through the gospel powerfully humbles our souls because it reminds us of our weakness. In the gospel we must say that we have sinned and fall short of God’s glory. And as we are reminded of the gospel, our faith is built up because we must lean on Jesus’ righteousness. Our faith increases as the gospel is proclaimed to our souls. Have you ever noticed that? It’s incredible!
The gospel’s power lies in the revelation and receiving of God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ through the gift of faith, and the growing of that gift by the reminder that faith is the beginning and the end of our salvation. His righteousness is revealed by faith not just at the beginning but it is revealed to build up faith.
The Christian’s life and salvation is found in him and him alone, and my live should be defined by the gospel as it declares to me again the majesty and glory and grace of our God in spite of my sin. It is this message which appeals to me to give myself as living sacrifice holy and acceptable (Romans 12:2), not showing off my own worth, but praising Jesus for his worth.
By the strength that God supplies,
Sean
Follow Us:
VoM|Posts - http://bit.ly/19VfUP
Twitter - http://bit.ly/2jzl0v
Facebook - http://bit.ly/1zH5MI
Tumblr - http://bit.ly/KcHOz
Join Vessels of Mercy: http://bit.ly/19VfUP
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