Romans 1:16-17
The Gospel: The Power and Righteousness of God
This morning we now come to the theme of Paul's letter to the Romans. We can all remember having to write our theme in our research papers in school. We had to summarize the entire argument of our paper in one sentence, which would latter be developed in greater detail in the body of the paper.
Similarly, Paul now reaches the introductory theme of his whole letter to the Romans, which will include the major topics he will discuss and develop in the body of the epistle. This morning we want to look closely at Paul's theme and introduce those major points he will cover next.
Paul's main statement is found in v. 15 where he reveals his desire "to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Paul now builds on this main statement 4 subordinate clauses, each developing the one before it giving us the very essence of his ministry: the good news of Jesus Christ (vv. 1, 9), the good news he now wants to proclaim in Rome (v. 15).
In vv. 16-17 Paul will tell us why he is so eager to preach the gospel in Rome: because of his pride or boasting in the gospel -- he is not ashamed of it (v. 16a). Paul's pride stems from the fact that the gospel contains or mediates God's saving power for everyone who believes (v. 16b). And the gospel brings this salvation because in it the righteousness of God is manifested through faith (v. 17).
These verses contain the essence of Paul's main themes in the letter which are the demonstration of God's righteousness in the gift of the gospel and particularly how that applies to the Jew/Gentile question that plagued the first century church. In these two verses Paul ties these two major points together in his thematic sentence.
In v. 16 Paul now explains "why" he is eager to preach the gospel in Rome (v. 15), which also ties up everything he has said thus far about the gospel (vv. 1, 5, 9, 14).
He is eager to preach the gospel in Rome because he "is not ashamed of the gospel." This is the negative way of stating that he is completely confident in the gospel. He boasts in nothing other than the cross of Christ (cf. Gal. 6:14).
Why would Paul even speak of the possibility of being ashamed of the gospel? What's there to be ashamed about with the greatest story every told to humanity?
Because as Paul says in 1 Cor. that the word of the cross is foolishness to the world:
For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18).
The idea that we would be saved by God humbling himself on a Roman cross would certainly be an embarrassment to Greeks who lusted for power, particularly in the capital of the Gentile world.
But Paul may also have in mind not only the Jews who would have viewed the idea of the Messiah being crucified on a cross under the curse of God as a scandal in their religious views, but also the Judaizers who accused Paul of truncating the gospel by not requiring Gentile believers to submit to the law of Moses.
Either way, Paul makes clear that he is eager to preach the gospel in Rome because he is in no way ashamed of the cross of Christ but rather he is completely confident in its message.
But why is he not ashamed of the cross of Christ?
Because the message of the gospel is about Jesus Christ who mediates the power of God leading to salvation. In v. 4, Paul tells us that at the resurrection of Jesus Christ God appointed or declared Him to be the Son of God with power, referring to Jesus' universal reign as the Davidic King who now sits upon the throne of God's eternal Kingdom. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because Jesus Christ reigns supreme and through Him God is bringing about the salvation He has promised.
The word "power" is used of God in the Old Testament most often to refer to the display of His power in delivering His people from danger or oppression, like in the Exodus (Ex. 9:16; Ps. 77:14-15) -- what He is often praised for as the "mighty acts of God."
Salvation in the Old Testament usually referred to God's deliverance of His people from a broad range of physical evils. But in the New Covenant, Paul uses the term "salvation" exclusively for spiritual deliverance. We have been saved from something or someone. In v. 18, Paul will reveal just who that "someone" is.
Also, Paul's focus of salvation is not only looking to the future that we will be saved from the final day of judgment, but that salvation brings blessings to be enjoyed now in the present life of all who trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior -- what we call "realized eschatology." We are already saved in this life and we are already enjoying the benefits and reward of Christ's work this side of heaven.
Finally, Paul not only views our salvation as what or who we are saved from but also that we are saved to something or someone. Paul pictures our salvation as entering or sharing in the fullness of God's glory (Rom. 3:23; 8:24). In sin we have fallen short of God's glory and have failed to glorify Him. But in salvation, God not only saves us from His wrath but also lavishes the abundance of his grace upon us so that we enter into the fullness of His joy and glory. We too, as Paul says, will be glorified and made like Him when we see Him in glory (cf. Rom. 8:17, 30; Col. 3:4).
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him (Rom. 8:17).
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col. 3:3-4).
In v. 16, Paul introduces some key themes that he will develop in greater detail in the letter.
First, God's salvific power is available to everyone who "believes."
"Belief" or "faith" are key words in Romans (cf. 3:21-4:25). For Paul the focus however is not on the act of faith, but the object of faith -- the centrality of Jesus Christ so that he can use faith almost as synonym for the salvific work of Jesus Christ.
To believe is to put your full trust in God who "justifies the ungodly" by the work of Jesus' cross and resurrection.
Note that for Paul, faith is not simply the intellectual assent or agreement of set of doctrinal statements about the work of Christ but about trust in a person. While we must believe certain historical events took place faith not only believes those things but then faith rest on the person who has accomplished that work. The gospel or good news is about a person, Jesus Christ and faith rests or trusts Jesus Christ.
Also, Paul is going to latter stress that even faith is not our work. Faith is not something we do but rather it is the God's gift to us.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, that no one should boast (Eph. 2:8-9).
Faith takes place when God sovereignly changes our hearts so that we now receive or accept what God holds out to us by His grace. From beginning to end, our salvation is Christ's work give to us as a free gift by God's grace.
Second, Paul will latter stress what he says here that God's salvific power is available to "all" who believe. Paul uses this world "all" 4 other times in Romans (3:22; 4:11; 10:4, 11) and in each case Paul is dealing with how the gospel breaks down the barriers between the Jew and Gentile believers. For Paul, Jesus Christ is God's promised Son who fulfills all the promises of the Old Testament by extending God's Kingdom reign over all humanity. And that universal reign must eliminate all the previous barriers between Jew and Gentile which were erected through the law.
This conflict between the Jew and Gentile believer is the major source of tension that Paul is addressing in Romans to which the gospel is going to be applied as the only antidote for the disease. And while these gospel promises were first given to the Jews, the floodgates of God's blessings have now opened wide so that all people will have equal access to God through faith alone in Jesus Christ.
Now, so far Paul has said in v. 15 he is eager to preach the gospel in Rome, because he is completely confident in the message that it is good news about Jesus Christ who is the sole mediator of God's power of salvation everyone who trusts Jesus Christ. Now, in v. 17, Paul shows us why the gospel is God's saving power to everyone who believes. He says in it, the gospel -- the good news of the work of Jesus Christ -- the righteousness of God is being revealed.
Paul tells us that the gospel is God's saving power because in it something about God is being revealed. Paul is referring to the revealing or uncovering of God's plan of salvation in human history. In eternity, God set forth a plan to save you from eternal destruction. While He has been executing that plan perfectly in history, God has not yet revealed how He is saving you. But once He sends His Son, Jesus Christ into the world to live a perfect life and yet to die in your place on the cross, suddenly that plan to save you was uncovered or revealed for the whole world to see.
Further, in some way, when Jesus Christ performed the work of salvation (3:21) and now that the good news of that work is being proclaimed throughout the world God's righteousness is being revealed. But just what does Paul mean?
The words "the righteousness of God" occurs 8 times in Romans and Paul uses this phrase specifically in places where he is focusing on the central theme of Romans (1:16-17; 3:21-26). To understand this phrase we must look in greater detail to this group of words ("righteousness" and "justification"), which are at the center of Paul's theology and no words are more important to understanding Paul's letter to the Romans.
The words "righteousness" or "to justify" are used in the Old Testament to refer to conformity to the obligations of the covenant relationship between God and His people. For instance, for an Israelite to be considered "righteous" means that he is fulfilling his obligation of obedience to all of God's commands. He is fulfilling his covenant faithfulness in keeping the ordinances of God.
But God is also said to be righteous or to have righteousness. This means that God also is fulfilling His covenant promises to Abraham (the blessings of the name, the presence of God, the land, the people, etc.) as well as the promise of the covenant curses of judgment upon those who do not keep God's commandments.
When the Old Testament says that God "justifies" someone as righteous it means that God is acting as the judge of the universe and he pronounces someone righteous or acquits them of guilt those who have kept God's commandments.
Therefore, God is righteous and man is only righteous as he conforms to God-likeness or is godly. According to the Old Testament, when our character, attitudes, emotions, etc. are like God we are considered righteous and God justifies us or declares us to be righteous as we conform to His likeness.
So there are at least two ways of understanding what Paul means when he speaks of the "righteousness of God." Either Paul is speaking of an attribute of God that is being revealed or Paul is speaking about something God is saying about us. Either Paul is speaking of God's faithfulness to His covenant promises (attribute) or Paul is speaking of the declaration God is making of us.
Paul is most likely including both ideas. In the gospel, God is revealing his righteousness or faithfulness in saving you AND He is declaring something true about you, that you are righteous or that you have fulfilled all your covenant obligations. In this God justifies you or declares you are right with Him, which is the opposite of condemns you.
But how can God "justify" or declare sinners to be right with him? Wouldn't that make God unjust if he declared that sinners were righteous? Shouldn't God first truly make us righteous before He calls us righteous? Shouldn't we first have to live up to our covenant obligations before God can say we are right with Him?
It is this problem and the answer to it that separates Protestants from Roman Catholics. Roman Catholics would agree with us that God justifies or declares that we are right with him and are righteous. But they would say that we don't go far enough. If you leave justification here then all you have is what is called a "legal fiction." Not only does God declares us righteous but he also makes us righteous. Roman Catholic would include moral transformation to God's character as well, which of course is the way the Old Testament spoke of righteousness. Remember in the Old Testament we are righteous only if we conform to God's will.
But Paul's definition of righteousness differs significantly from the Old Testament view of righteousness, as well as the Roman Catholic view of righteousness, in at least 3 ways:
First, in the Old Testament, the verdict pronounced by the judge had to be in accord with the facts. But Paul says that God justifies the un-godly, not the godly (Rom. 4:5). Paul will explain latter how it is possible that God can be both just and at the same time justify the ungodly but here's a hint to his argument. It is not that God acts "unjustly" by ignoring or acting against the facts that we are ungodly. Rather, it is that God takes new facts into consideration which now includes the meritorious work of Jesus' active and passive obedience. In other words, God now looks at us as sinners through our mediator and He judges us based upon the work of Christ.
Second, the Old Testament view of the verdict of justification would be pronounced only at the last day of judgment. But Paul transfers that final verdict into the present for believers. The moment a sinner places his or her faith in Jesus Christ, he or she is justified -- the final verdict is read back into your present experience and you are already receiving the benefits and blessings of your eternal life.
Finally, justification in the New Covenant goes far beyond mere acquittal. The gospel doesn't simply say we are forgiven but it puts us into a relationship with God in which not only all of our sins are forgiven, in the past as well as in the future, but we are reckoned or declared by God that we have perfectly fulfilled all of our obligations of the covenant solely because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.
Now already in v. 16 Paul tells us that God's declaration of us or salvation comes to those who believe but now in v. 17 he tells us that God's saving power is applied from "faith to faith." Paul is simply stressing or emphasizing the fact that we are saved or declared right with God "through faith and nothing but faith." Whenever Paul uses "righteousness" he always connects it with "faith" because it is only through trusting the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf that forever puts us into a right relationship to God.
Finally, Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 to establish the truth that our righteousness before God is only ours on the basis of faith alone.
In Hab. 2:4, God is responding to the prophets cry that God has not acted in destroying the evil deeds of man, but rather it seems that evil men are blessed while the godly are suffering. God answers only that the righteous man can only live in those troubling times by faith. God doesn't explain Himself to Habakkuk but only tells him how to face the difficulties of life and the apparent contradictions between God's promises and what sometimes actually happens in life: He must live by faith. The point of Habakkuk then is that we can only relate to God through a life of faith -- and for Paul that is faith in Jesus Christ.
So, in vv. 16-17 you see Paul's reason for why he is eager to preach the gospel in Rome as well as a few hints to the wonderful themes that he is planning to cover in this masterful epistle. What Paul has to tell us about is the gospel -- the good news of Jesus Christ and he is more than confident in Jesus Christ because through Him God's power to save you is wonderfully displayed to all who trust in Jesus Christ alone.
Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness (Rom. 4:4-5).
Amen!
-SDG-
