So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For in it is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:15-17 KJ2000)

We saw in the last two posts that in the Book of Romans Paul writes to Christians telling them he longs to preach the gospel to them. We must understand this fact that Paul writes to believers and not unbelievers in this book. Re-read the first eight verses of chapter 1 again if you have any doubts. Everything that Paul writes after this brief introduction explains or preaches his gospel message. This tells us that the gospel message itself is actually meant for those who already believe in Jesus.

First, which we briefly covered yesterday, Paul tells us the gospel is the power of God for salvation. We have looked at the nature of this salvation in other writings on this site and will now discuss it in more depth as we consider the second aspect of Paul’s gospel. In the past I have called this, according to Biblical language, the salvation of the soul versus the salvation of the spirit. The salvation of our soul marks our qualification for entering the Kingdom of God. Once our souls have been purified by the water of God’s Word we qualify as a son of God and may enter the Kingdom. Until then we stand as “dogs” doomed to remain outside the City walls.

Thus Paul declares that, secondly, the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel. Righteousness remains a Biblical concept which seems to affront the sensibilities of both Christians and non-Christians in profound ways. When we try to raise a righteous standard among Christians they often call us legalistic. (Unfortunately, many Christian attempts to define righteousness actually do end up being legalistic because they tend to define righteousness by their own standards rather than by God’s) And, when we speak of righteousness to unbelievers they accuse us of engaging in “hate-speech, fear-mongering, and bigotry.” Could it be that, even after all these centuries after Christ, that we have not understood righteousness and actually deserve these criticisms?

I believe we have misunderstood righteousness because we always try to replace God’s definition for it with our own. Remember, when God wants us to understand important spiritual concepts he usually uses the word or concept the first time in Scripture in a peculiar way which reveals its core meaning. Those who study the Word of God call this the principle of “first mention.” Here follows the first verse in which God uses the word righteousness:

And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15:6 KJV)

In this passage “the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision.” In a few sentences God revealed to Abram his present and his future. Abram “believed in the LORD” when he heard God’s words. And because of this belief, this faith, God “counted it (the faith) to him for righteousness.” Here then is the definition of righteousness and it is here that Paul begins his gospel. Righteousness means to believe in the LORD, that is, to believe the words of the LORD. Remember, the gospel is for believers. Now we see that understanding righteousness is only for believers too!

Part 4: From Faith to Faith