16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”” (Romans 1:16–17, NKJV)
The gospel of Christ reveals how God saves sinners, counting them righteous before Him. Paul’s summary statement in verse 17 is taken from Habakkuk 2:4. Simply put, the just person has life (lives) by faith. This was contrary to what the Jews believed. They thought they had life from God through the law of Moses. While the Sinai law identified their sin, it contained no redemptive ability. It could not save the transgressors (Rom. 3:19-20). The Gentiles did not believe in the true God, much less that they needed salvation because of their sins against Him (Rom. 1:18-21). Only the gospel of Christ has power to save all sinners, whether Jew or Gentile. It is “the faith” that produces personal faith. Elsewhere in the Scriptures we are taught that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead”, thus defining the faith that saves as the faith that obeys (Jas. 2:14-26). The good news of salvation from our sins in Jesus Christ is a joyful, hopeful message. Never be ashamed of the gospel.
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