<\/p>\n
\u201cFor in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, \u2018The righteous shall live by faith’\u201d (Romans 1:17).<\/p>\n
PAUL WANTED IT UNDERSTOOD THAT HE WAS NOT RELUCTANT TO COME TO ROME. Rome might have been the most powerful and prestigious city in the world of that day, but Paul was just as willing to preach the gospel of Christ there as he was anywhere else. \u201cI am not ashamed of the gospel,\u201d he wrote to the church in Rome, \u201cfor it is the power of God for salvation\u201d (Romans 1:16).<\/p>\n
And then, still speaking of the gospel, Paul said, \u201cFor in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, \u2018The righteous shall live by faith\u2019\u201d (v.17). It is in the gospel that the righteousness of God is revealed. That sounds important, obviously, but we need to know what Paul meant by \u201cthe righteousness of God.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the context of Paul\u2019s letter to the Romans, the phrase does not refer to God\u2019s personal righteousness but rather His way of making sinful man righteous \u2014 that is, God\u2019s chosen means of reconciling us to Himself, as opposed to any system of righteousness or plan of salvation by which we might try to save ourselves. <\/p>\n
This contrast is clearly seen in Romans 10:3: \u201cFor, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God\u2019s righteousness.\u201d Paul was speaking here of the Jews who had rejected the gospel. It grieved him, as a former rabbi, to point out that by preferring a Jewish system of moral credits to achieve their own salvation, his Jewish brethren had turned away from God\u2019s salvation: the plan that He had provided for all mankind, one based on faith rather than Jewishness.<\/em><\/p>\n God, as the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, has the right to set the criterion separating those who will be saved from those who will not, and it is in the gospel that He has revealed His choice. The righteousness that He is willing to provide is based upon faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. We might have devised some other plan, but God\u2019s plan is what it is \u2014 and it is in the gospel that He makes it known. The \u201cgood news\u201d is that, because of Christ\u2019s death, the door of forgiveness is open to the entire world. Only God could have opened this door. The wonder is that He did so.<\/p>\n \u201cChrist died that we might live \u2014 but live as he lives, by dying as he died who died to himself\u201d (George MacDonald).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n