Romans 1:17
January 15, 2012
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ''The righteous will live by faith."
(Romans 1:17 NIV)
It never ceases to amaze me just how gullible people are. Listen to some of the titles that have appeared in the tabloids found in grocery store checkout lines: Cow Mattresses Help Cows Produce More Milk - Mom On Diet Of Only Chicken, Lays Huge Egg - World War II Bomber Found On The Moon - Women Gives Birth To Two-Year-Old Baby: Child Walks And Talks In Three Days - Adam And Eve's Bones Found In Asia: Eve Was A Space Alien.
The sad thing is that many people believe this sort of nonsense. Gullible is certainly a word that can be used to describe many people. But gullible has also been used to describe Christians as well. Many people, enamored by the so called logic of rational thinking, believe that Christians are gullible for their faith in the supernatural. That we believe in miracles and in an unseen God is evidence of our own gullibility, they think.
The Bible, however, teaches that faith is the key to everything for the Christian. By faith we come to Christ. By faith we live our Christian lives successfully. Without faith it is impossible to please God. In other words, faith is central for Christian living. What to the world may seem like gullibility is in fact the key to unlock the door which will eventually lead us to certainty.
Vance Havner, the famous Baptist evangelist, when he was alive, used to tell the story of an elderly lady who was greatly disturbed by her many troubles both real and imaginary. Finally she was told in a kindly way by her family, "Grandma, we've done all we can do for you. You'll just have to trust God for the rest." A look of utter despair spread over her face as she replied, "Oh, dear, has it come to that?" After telling that story, Vance Havner would say, "It always comes to that, so we might as well begin with that!"
Well, let's begin with that today and see just what the Scripture has to say concerning faith as it relates to our salvation and the living of our lives.
Charles Stanley says, “Obey God, leave all the consequences to Him.”
For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed . . . (Romans 1:17a)
The apostle Paul has already made the point that God is powerfully working in the Gospel to effect the salvation of sinners. He points out the truth that everyone who believes in the message of the Gospel is saved. It is the object of this Gospel message that is the object of our faith - Jesus Christ.
When Paul writes that in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, he is really speaking of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the message of the Gospel. It is all about His sinless life, substitutionary atonement, and resurrection. He is the object of the Gospel, and the object of our faith.
So in the Gospel we see a righteousness from God centered in His Son, who died on the Cross as the sacrifice for our sins. Christ's righteousness is revealed to us in a number of ways. Two are vital to see. We must see that Christ is righteousness and that He imparts His righteousness to us.
This is what the Gospel reveals, and it is vitally important for us to see this truth. This is the function of preaching the message of the Gospel. This is why Paul emphasizes "Christ and Him crucified" in his preaching of the Gospel. It is important to understand this truth because this truth is the basis for our salvation. The Gospel is an explanation of why we can be saved.
We can only be saved because of what God has done. The Bible teaches that we are all sinners by nature and that we are totally unable to save ourselves. The Gospel is all about the intervention of God on our behalf. It is about His sovereign work in bringing us to salvation. Salvation is something God has made possible for us through His Son, Jesus Christ. And unless we understand the message of the Gospel, we will be confused about how we must be saved.
. . . a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." (Romans 1:17b)
The way that the righteousness of God is given to us is through faith. It is only Good News when we come to understand that God offers His righteousness to us through Jesus Christ. If all we understand is that Christ is righteous and we are not, that is not Good News. That is Tragic News. But the Tragic News that we are without righteousness and unable to save ourselves gives way to the Good News when we realize that Christ extends His righteousness to us.
This is, in fact, what He does. And it is offered on one basis only - by faith. In fact, we are told that this righteousness comes to us by faith from first to last. In other words, faith is how we receive the righteousness of Christ, and faith is how we walk in that righteousness.
But what is true biblical faith? Is faith something we do? No, on the contrary, true biblical faith is never a work we perform because we are somehow good and worthy. In fact, faith is rejecting all our works and trusting completely in Christ alone. There is a little acrostic which attempts to explain this - Forsaking All I Trust Him. True biblical faith is casting oneself wholly on the Lord Jesus Christ as your only hope for salvation. Faith is trusting in what Jesus did on the Cross as sufficient for you.
FAITHFUL INSTRUCTIONS
There was a man who got lost in the desert. After wandering around for a long time his throat became very dry, about that time he saw a little shack in the distance.
He made his way over to the shack and found a water pump with a small jug of water and a note.
The note read: "pour all the water into the top of the pump to prime it, if you do this you will get all the water you need". Now the man had a choice to make, if he trusted the note and poured the water in and it worked he would have all the water he needed. If it didn’t work he would still be thirsty and he might die. Or he could choose to drink the water in the jug and get immediate satisfaction, but it might not be enough and he still might die. After thinking about it the man decided to risk it. He poured the entire jug into the pump and began to work the handle, at first nothing happened and he got a little scared but he kept going and water started coming out. So much water came out he drank all he wanted, took a shower, and filled all the containers he could find. Because he was willing to give up momentary satisfaction, he got all the water he needed. Now the note also said: after you have finished, please refill the jug for the next traveler.” The man refilled the jug and added to the note: “ Please prime the pump, believe me it works!”
When we are biblically believing in God, we are indeed trusting completely on Him.
It is by faith that we have the righteousness of Christ inputted or imparted to us. But it is also by faith that we live our lives every day. We must not only trust in Christ for our salvation, we must also trust Christ with our lives. Paul quotes from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk when he says, "The righteous will live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:4). We not only find this quotation here in Romans 1:17, but also in Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38. It is one of the great statements of Scripture.
This statement was used by God to change the life of Martin Luther, an Augustinian Monk who had been attempting to earn his salvation by doing good works. Luther had tried in vain to achieve salvation by doing these works. But he found no satisfaction. He thought to himself, "But what works? What works can come from a heart like mine? How can I stand before the holiness of my judge with works polluted in their very source?"
Luther struggled to the point of despair trying to please God. He had studied Romans, and come across this passage of Scripture: "The righteous will live by faith." And God began to use it to speak to his heart.
Doctor Paul Luther his son, told of what is now a very famous incident which is preserved in a manuscript in the library of Rudolfstadt. Luther was in the Church of St. John Lateran in Rome where there is a set of medieval stone stairs, which supposedly were the stairs leading up to Pilate's house in Jerusalem, and as such the stairs upon which Jesus walked. They are called the Scala Sancta or "Holy Stairs." Many pilgrims to Rome would ascend these steps on their knees, pausing to pray at various intervals where there were stains said to have come from the bleeding wounds of Jesus.
It was there that God brought these words of Scripture to Luther's mind: "The just shall live by faith." Luther saw clearly his superstition and shuttered at it. He realized that he could never save himself by works but that he could only be saved by the righteousness of Christ, received by faith. He descended those stairs a new man. And, of course, he became the catalyst for the greatest reformation that the church has ever known. In fact, it is known historically as "The Great Reformation of the Sixteenth Century."
But notice that the Scripture does not only say that the righteous will be saved by faith, it declares that the righteous will live by faith. Faith is not just something by which we enter into a right relationship with God, faith is also the basis upon which we live every single day. We do not come to Christ by faith and then we live by good works. Remember, it is by faith from first to last. That phrase can also be translated "from faith to faith." In other words, it is from faith to faith to faith to faith, and so on. Faith becomes a way of life for us. Faith is the principle of life for the believer.
The Bible calls all of us to trust in Christ. We are called to believe in Christ. Do you believe? Do you truly trust Christ? Have you seen, by the Spirit, that Christ is your savior? Does your heart call out to Him in childlike trust?
If you do not know Jesus, trust in Him as your only hope of salvation. If you have trusted Christ and have been made His by the power of the Spirit, cast aside trusting your own strength, or anything else, for living. Trust Him daily. He is all you need.
Thanks to Dr. D. Hoke for the basis for this text.
