Reviewed, edited and approved by Jeff Robb. Scripture is quoted from the King James Version.
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Key passage: Romans 1:16-17 (KJV)
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. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Reflection
Paul had not yet been to Rome when he wrote this letter. But he longed to go, and near the beginning he explains why. He was ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also, he tells them. Then he writes the two verses that sum up the whole letter.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Rome was the capital of the most powerful empire in the world. A message about a crucified Jewish teacher could easily have looked foolish there. Paul writes elsewhere that Christ crucified was unto the Greeks foolishness. But Paul is not ashamed.
Why? For it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. The gospel isn't just good advice or a set of ideas. It's the power of God. And it's for every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. No one is too far outside for it to reach.
Then verse seventeen. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
That last line is a quotation from the prophet Habakkuk. It's quoted again in Galatians and in Hebrews. It is one of the great themes of the Bible.
To be just is to be right with God. And the question every heart eventually asks is, how can I be right with God? Paul's answer, worked out through the rest of Romans, is that we are not made right by our own goodness. We are made right by faith in Christ. His righteousness, given to us as a gift and received by faith.
And the just shall live by faith. Faith isn't only how the Christian life starts. It's how it is lived, every day.
Today, October 31, is remembered by many Protestant churches as Reformation Day. It recalls 1517, when Martin Luther called for a debate on church practices with his Ninety-five Theses. Later in life Luther wrote that it was this very verse, Romans 1:17, that opened the gospel to him.
Whatever your church background, the heart of it is the same. We are not saved by what we earn. We are saved by grace, through faith. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.
If you've been trying to earn God's favour, you can rest. Christ has done it. And the just shall live by faith.
Cross-references
Prayer
Lord, thank You for the gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation. I can't make myself right with You. I trust in Jesus and His righteousness alone. Help me not to be ashamed of the gospel, and teach me to live by faith every day. Amen.
For today: Rest today in what Christ has done, not in what you can earn, and live this day by faith.