Romans 1:16–17. 16 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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (ESV)
Queen Victoria (who was born May 24th 1819 and lived until January 22nd 1901) was the ruler of the United Kingdom and the British Empire from June 20th 1837 until her death in 1901. This Victoria Day weekend celebrates her birth on May 24th, 1819. Her reign of 63 years and seven months was a period of industrial, political, scientific, and military change within the United Kingdom, and was marked by a great expansion of the British Empire. At its height it was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Empire)
Yet throughout the history of time, there is one power even greater that the great British Empire. The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. The Apostle Paul explained this power to the Church in Rome. In the book of Romans, after having gained the attention of his readers by explaining the purpose of his writing and then introducing himself (1:1–15), Paul now states the thesis of the epistle. Romans 1:16-17, express the theme of the book of Romans, and they contain the most life-transforming truth God has put into human hands. To understand and positively respond to this truth is to have one’s time and eternity completely altered. These words summarize the gospel of Jesus Christ, which Paul then proceeds to unfold and explain throughout the remainder of the epistle. The introductory phrase at the beginning of Romans 1:16 “for I am not ashamed of the gospel” adds a final mark of spiritual service to those presented in verses 8–15, the mark of unashamed boldness. Paul was imprisoned in Philippi, chased out of Thessalonica, smuggled out of Damascus and Berea, laughed at in Athens, considered a fool in Corinth, and declared a blasphemer and lawbreaker in Jerusalem. He was stoned and left for dead at Lystra. Some pagans of Paul’s day branded Christianity as atheism because it believed in only one God and as being cannibalistic because of a misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper. But the Jewish religious leaders of Jerusalem did not intimidate Paul, nor did the learned and influential pagans at Ephesus, Athens, and Corinth. The apostle was eager now to preach and teach the gospel in Rome, the capital of the pagan empire that ruled virtually all the known world. He was never deterred by opposition, never disheartened by criticism, and never ashamed, for any reason, of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We think of Paul as invincible, yet he was human. Jesus anticipated that his followers might one day be ashamed to identify with him (Mark 8:38), and Peter soon confirmed that prediction by denying him three times in one night (Matt. 26:75). Even Paul himself confessed to arriving in Corinth in “weakness and fear, and with much trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3) so plainspoken did he see himself as compared to the eloquent and sophisticated Greeks. And yet Paul, in truth, was never ashamed of his Savior. He spoke before royalty, rabbis, rulers, and rabble—to him, it made no difference. As he is about to demonstrate to the Romans in subsequent chapters, all are in need of the gospel (Boa, K., & Kruidenier, W. (2000). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 30). Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Although every true believer knows it is a serious sin to be ashamed of our Savior and Lord, we also know the difficulty of avoiding that sin. When we have opportunity to speak for Christ, we often do not. We know the gospel is unattractive, intimidating, and repulsive to the natural, unsaved person and to the ungodly spiritual system that now dominates the world. The gospel exposes sin, wickedness, depravity, and lostness, and it declares pride to be despicable and works righteousness to be worthless in God’s sight. To the sinful heart of unbelievers, the gospel does not appear to be good news but bad, and when they first hear it they often react with disdain against the one presenting it or throw out arguments and theories against it. For that reason, fear of people and of not being able to handle their arguments are the greatest snares in witnessing. The unpopularity of a crucified Christ has prompted many to present a message which is more palatable to the unbeliever, but the removal of the offense of the cross always renders the message ineffective. An inoffensive gospel is also an inoperative gospel. Thus, Christianity is wounded most in the house of its friends. (Geoffrey Wilson. Romans: A Digest of Reformed Comment [Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1976], p. 24).
The Apostle Paul’s supreme passion was to see people saved. He cared nothing for personal comfort, popularity, or reputation. He offered no compromise of the gospel, because he knew it is the only power available that can change lives for eternity. In Romans 1:16–17, the Apostle Paul uses four key words that are crucial to understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ: The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of 1) Power (Romans 1:16b), 2) Salvation (Romans 1:16c), 3) Faith (Romans 1:16d), and 4) Righteousness (Romans 1:17).
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of:
1) Power. (Romans 1:16b)
Romans 1:16b. (16 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). (ESV)
First of all, Paul declares, the gospel is the power of God. Dunamis (power) is the Greek term from which our word dynamite is derived. The gospel carries with it the omnipotence of God, whose power alone is sufficient to save His people from sin and give them eternal life. People have an innate desire to be changed. They want to look better, feel better, have more money, more power, more influence. The premise of all advertising is that people want to change in some way or another, and the job of the advertiser is to convince them that his product or service will add a desired dimension to their lives. Many people want to be changed inwardly, in a way that will make them feel less guilty and more content, and a host of programs, philosophies, and religions promise to meet those desires. Many human-made schemes succeed in making people feel better about themselves, but the ideas promoted have no power to remove the sin that brings the feelings of guilt and discontent. Nor can those ideas make sinners right with God. In fact, the more successful such approaches are from their own standpoint, the more they drive people away from God and insulate them from His salvation. The gospel is the power of God that “results in” (e??, eis) salvation. The d??aµ?? ?e?? (dynamis theou, power of God) in the gospel signifies the effective and transforming power that accompanies the preaching of the gospel. (Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 60). Baker Books.)
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 1
Scripture certainly testifies to God’s glorious power (Ex. 15:6), His irresistible power (Deut. 32:39), His unsearchable power (Job 5:9), His mighty power (Job 9:4), His great power (Ps. 79:11), His incomparable power (Ps. 89:8), His strong power (Ps. 89:13), His everlasting power (Isa. 26:4), His effectual power (Isa. 43:13), and His sovereign power (Rom. 9:21). Jeremiah declared of God, “It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom” (Jer. 10:12), and through that prophet the Lord said of Himself, “I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm” (Jer. 27:5). His is the power that can save. Paul does not say that the gospel brings power but that it is power, and God’s power at that. When the gospel is preached, this is not simply so many words being uttered. The power of God is at work. When the gospel enters anyone’s life, it is as though the very fire of God had come upon a person. There is warmth and light in one’s life (Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 67). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.).
In 1 Corinthians 1, Paul reminded the church at Corinth:
1 Corinthians 1:18-25. 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (ESV)
• What to the world seems to be utter absurdity is in fact the power by which God transforms His people from the realm of darkness to the realm of light, and delivers them from the power of death and gives them the right to be called the children of God (John 1:12). The Bible makes it clear that people cannot be spiritually changed or saved by good works, by the church, by ritual, or by any other human means. People cannot be saved even by keeping God’s own law, which was given to show people their helplessness to meet His standards in their own power. The law was not given to save but to reveal their sin and thus to drive His people to God’s saving grace.
Illustration: Gospel the Power of God (Romans 1:16)
Some years ago a woman delivered a lecture in Lancashire in the UK against Christianity, in which she declared that the gospel narrative of the life of Christ is a “myth.” One of the mill-hands who listened to her obtained permission to ask a question. “The question I want to ask the lady is this: ‘Thirty years ago I was a curse to this town, and everybody shrank from me that had any respect for himself. I often tried to do better, but could not succeed. The teetotalers got hold of me, but I broke the pledge so often that they said it was no use trying me any longer. Then the police got hold of me, and I was taken before the magistrate, and the wardens of the prison all tried me in vain. Then Christ took hold of me, touched my heart, and made me a new man. And now I am an honored and respected fellow-worker in gospel and Sunday school work with many dear to me. And I ask, if Christ is a myth, how is it that this myth is stronger than all the others put together?’” The lady was silent. “No, miss,” he said, “say what you will, the gospel is the power of God unto salvation” (AMG Bible Illustrations. (2000). AMG Publishers.).
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of:
2) Salvation. (Romans 1:16c)
Romans 1:16c. (16 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). (ESV)
Surely the greatest manifestation of God’s power is that of bringing His people to salvation, of transforming their nature and giving them eternal life through His Son. We learn from the psalmist that, despite their rebelliousness, God saved His chosen people “for the sake of His name, that He might make His power known” (Ps. 106:8). As God incarnate, Jesus Christ manifested His divine power in healing diseases, restoring crippled limbs, stilling the storm, and even raising those who were dead. Paul uses the noun soteria (salvation) some nineteen times, five of them in Romans, and he uses the corresponding verb twenty-nine times, eight of them in Romans. The point here is that the power of God in salvation rescues people from the ultimate penalty of sin, which is spiritual death extended into tormented eternal separation from Him. “Salvation” therefore as an all–inclusive term of the gospel, signifies “deliverance.” It embraces everything from justification through sanctification to glorification. It is both an act and a process. It is equally true that I have been saved, I am being saved, and I shall be saved. (McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (Romans 1-8) (electronic ed., Vol. 42, p. 32). Thomas Nelson.)
Please turn to Romans 5
Salvation through Christ is God’s powerful hand, as it were, that He has let down to lift His people up. His salvation brings deliverance from the spiritual infection of “this perverse generation” (Acts 2:40), from lostness (Matt. 18:11), from sin (Matt. 1:21), and from the wrath of God (Rom. 5:9). It brings deliverance to people from their gross and willful spiritual ignorance (Hos. 4:6; 2 Thess. 1:8), from their evil self-indulgence (Luke 14:26), and from the darkness of false religion (Col. 1:13; 1 Pet. 2:9), but only for those who repent of their sin and trust in Christ for eternal life. “Salvation” often has a negative meaning—deliverance from something—but positive nuances are present at times also, so that the term can denote generally God’s provision for a person’s spiritual need. Particularly, in light of Rom. 3:23 and the use of “save” in 8:24 (cf. vv. 18–23), “salvation” here must include the restoration of the sinner to a share of the “glory of God.” (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 67). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Paul explained the Gospel of Jesus Christ in His work of Salvation in Romans 5
Romans 5:1-11. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (ESV)
Illustration: We can understand why one might hesitate to convey bad news, of course. We can imagine a police office who must tell a father that his son has been arrested for breaking into a neighbor’s house and stealing her possessions. We can understand how he might be distressed at having to communicate this sad message. Or again, we can imagine how a doctor might be dismayed at having to tell a patient that tests have come out badly and that he or she does not have long to live, or how a person involved in some great moral lapse might be ashamed to confess it. But the gospel of Salvation is not like this. It is the opposite. Instead of being bad news, it is good news about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. It is the best news imaginable (Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, pp. 112–113). Baker Book House.).
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of:
3) Faith. (Romans 1:16d)
Romans 1:16d. 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. (ESV)
The fourth key word regarding the gospel is that of faith. The sovereign power of God working through the gospel brings salvation to everyone who believes. Pisteuo (believes) carries the basic idea of trusting in, relying on, having faith in. When used in the New Testament of salvation, it is usually in the present, continuous form, which could be translated “is believing.” Daily living is filled with acts of faith. We turn on the faucet to get a drink of water, trusting it is safe to drink. We drive across a bridge, trusting it will not collapse under us. We trust pilots to fly us safely to our destination. People could not survive without having implicit trust in a great many things. Virtually all of life requires a natural faith. But Paul has in mind here a supernatural faith, produced by God—a “faith that is not of yourselves but the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8). The preaching of the Word does not merely make salvation possible … it effects salvation in those who believe. (Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 60). Baker Books.)
Please turn to Ephesians 2
Salvation comes through giving up on one’s own goodness, works, knowledge, and wisdom and trusting in the finished, perfect work of Christ. Instead of falsely believing that we are basically good, salvation is trusting the one who is perfect and thereby meeting God’s standard for salvation. Salvation is trusting in the one who is the Savior which means submitting to Him as Lord.
Paul explained this to the Ephesians in Ephesians 2
Ephesians 2:1-10. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (ESV)
• Eternal life is both gained and lived by faith from God in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8). God does not first ask people to behave (that’s religion) but to repent and believe. People’s natural efforts at right behavior always fall short of God’s perfect standard, and therefore no one can save themselves by their own good works. Good works are the product of salvation (Eph. 2:10), but they are not the means of it.
Salvation has no national, racial, or ethnic barrier but is given to every person who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. It was to the Jew first chronologically because Jews are God’s specially chosen people, through whom He ordained salvation to come (John 4:22). The Messiah came first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt. 15:24). Quote: The great Scottish evangelist Robert Haldane wrote, “From the days of Abraham, their great progenitor, the Jews had been highly distinguished from all the rest of the world by their many and great privileges. It was their high distinction that of them Christ came, “who is over all, God blessed for ever.” They were thus, as His kinsmen, the royal family of the human race, in this respect higher than all others, and they inherited Emmanuel’s land. While, therefore, the evangelical covenant, and consequently justification and salvation, equally regarded all believers, the Jews held the first rank as the ancient people of God, while the other nations were strangers from the covenants of promise. The preaching of the Gospel was to be addressed to them first, and, at the beginning, to them alone, Matt. 10:6; for, during the abode of Jesus Christ upon earth, He was the minister only of the circumcision, Rom. 15:8. “l am not sent,” He says, “but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”; and He commanded that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, “beginning at Jerusalem.” … Thus, while Jews and Gentiles were united in the participation of the Gospel, the Jews were not deprived of their rank, since they were the first called. The preaching of the Gospel to the Jews first served various important ends. It fulfilled Old Testament prophecies, as Isa. 2:3. It manifested the compassion of the Lord Jesus for those who shed His blood, to whom, after His resurrection, He commanded His Gospel to be first proclaimed. It showed that it was to be preached to the chief of sinners, and proved the sovereign efficacy of His Atonement in expatiating [sic] the guilt even of His murderers. It was fit, too, that the Gospel should be begun to be preached where the great transactions took place on which it was founded and established; and this furnished an example of the way in which it is the will of the Lord that His Gospel should be propagated by His disciples, beginning in their own houses and their own country”. All who believe may be saved. Only those who truly believe will be. (An Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans [MacDill AFB, Fla.: MacDonald Publishing Co., 1958], p. 48)
Illustration: 7-235. The Truth Is on Your Side
Unbelievers consider you a fool if you believe the gospel. But the Bible clearly states that those who reject the gospel are the foolish ones. Dwight L. Moody was preaching when someone passed a note to him through the usher. It had only one word: “Fool.” Moody looked at it and said, “I’ve often received notes that weren’t signed. This is the first time I’ve received a note that someone forgot to write, but signed.” Do not be intimidated by people who speak or write in ignorance or denial. Remember: if you are a believer in Christ, you have the truth on your side. (Leadership Ministries Worldwide. (2004). Practical Illustrations: Romans (p. 101). Leadership Ministries Worldwide.)
Finally, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is a message of:
4) Righteousness. (Romans 1:17)
Romans 1:17. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” (ESV)
Please turn to Philippians 3
The fourth key and final word Paul uses here regarding the gospel is righteousness, a term he uses over thirty-five times in the book of Romans alone. Faith activates the divine power that brings salvation, and in that sovereign act the righteousness of God is revealed. We can say that it is a righteousness from God, indicating that He imparts His own righteousness to those who believe. It is thereby not only revealed but reckoned to those who believe in Christ (Rom. 4:5). Paul uses the word revealed to denote the “uncovering” of God’s redemptive plan as it unfolds on the plane of human history. That it is expressed in the present tense suggests that Paul is thinking of an ongoing process, or series of actions, connected with the preaching of the gospel. Wherever the gospel is being proclaimed, the “righteousness of God” in its eschatological fullness is being disclosed. (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 69). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
In Philippians 3, Paul confessed to the Philippians,
Philippians 3:7-11. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (ESV)
• As we shall see in Romans 3: “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:21–24).
Paul’s reference here in Romans 1:17 “From faith to faith” seems to parallel “everyone who believes” in Romans 1:16 as if Paul were singling out the faith of each individual believer. Therefore, one may take from faith to faith to mean, “on the basis of faith directed by faith” to describe not only the forensic aspect of “the righteousness of God,” but the life that stems from that righteousness on the basis of faith (cf. 6:12–13; 10:5–8). That is, God justifies the ungodly on the basis of faith from beginning, and continues to aid the believer in sanctification directed by faith, to the end (cf. 10:5–21). Hence faith becomes the sole means for justification and the life-blood for sanctification (Lopez, R. A. (2005). Romans Unlocked Power to Deliver (p. 41). 21st Century.).
Salvation by His grace working through faith was always God’s plan, as Paul here implies in quoting from Habakkuk 2:4, as it is written, “But the righteous shall live by faith.” Abraham, the father of the faithful, believed, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness (Rom. 4:3), just as every person’s genuine faith, before and after Abraham, has been reckoned to them as righteousness (cf. Heb. 11:4–40). Our righteousness begins because of God’s faithfulness to his promises; it moves on in our response of faith and is a continuing process through life (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1992). Romans (p. 22). Tyndale House Publishers.).
This can all be summed up through the German pietist Count Zinzendorf who wrote, in a profound hymn: “Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; ’Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head. Bold shall I stand in Thy great day, For who aught to my charge shall lay? Fully absolved through these I am, From sin and fear, from guilt and shame”. Here in Romans 1:16-17, there is emphasis on the continuity of faith. It is not a one-time act, but a way of life. The true believer made righteous will live in faith all their life. This is “the perseverance of the saints” (cf. Col. 1:22–23; Heb. 3:12–14).
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 49–57). Moody Press.)
