Theme

Theme: Righteousness of God (1:16-17)

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

There is a lot that can be said about Romans 1:16. The first part “For I am not ashamed of this good news about Christ.” Christians were not necessarily in the limelight in Roman. Paul is saying that Jesus is Lord when the Romans were to believe that the emperor was there God. To not believe that was a death sentence. In Romans 9:3-5 Paul wished he was cut off from Christ he loved the Jews that much but he could not refute the Good News. The send part “Jew first and gentile second” points out that the Jews are supposed to be the ones to change the hearts of others to Christ.

Rom 1:17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, "It is through faith that a righteous person has life."

Life Application New Testament Commentary The message of the Good News tells us how we, sinners as we are, can be made right in God’s sight. It tells how God, who is righteous, can vindicate sinful people. Righteousness is an aspect of God’s character, his standard of behavior, and a description of all that he wishes to give to us. 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. Thus it is accomplished from start to finish by faith. Faith—unconditional trust—is the appointed way of receiving God’s righteousness. Faith in what? Faith in the fact that Jesus Christ took our sins upon himself, taking the punishment we deserved, and, in exchange, making us righteous before God. By trusting in Christ, our relationship with God is made right both for now and for eternity.

To nail his point, Paul quoted from Hab_2:4, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” Righteousness by faith was not a new idea; it is found in the writings of the prophets, with which the Jewish believers would be familiar. This expression means that Christians will live because of God’s faithfulness and because of their response of faith in God; as a result, they will have eternal life and experience fullness in life.

·Faith is personal trust in God.

·Faith is the source of the believer’s new life in Christ.

·Faith justifies us, saves us, and gives us new life and a new lifestyle.