The Just Shall Live By Faith
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." Romans 1:16-17
The passage before us is the hub of the wheel of Romans. It answers the questions how does a person become righteous and how does a righteous person live? The answer is by faith!
I. I AM NOT ASHAMED. The power of the gospel of Christ when proclaimed and believed stands in contrast to the world of Roman power at the time. Rome had political, economic and military power but it could not save. Today we have harnessed electrical, nuclear and chemical power, but we cannot solve our spiritual ills. We, like the disciples, ask,
“Who then can be saved?” Jesus answers, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26
Years later, Paul would sit in prison in Rome awaiting execution by the order of Nero. He would write his last letter to Timothy to be bold in his proclamation of the gospel. Paul has spent years being unashamed and boldly speaking in Jewish synagogues, Greek lecture halls of philosophy, Roman universities and public marketplaces about the Lord Jesus Christ. To Timothy he wrote:
“So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me His prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God… Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” 2 Timothy 1:8, 12
II. POWER TO SAVE.
Salvation (soteria, Greek): deliverance; freedom; wholeness; well-being. Power means ability. Who or what has the ability to deliver us from the principle, penalty and power of sin and guilt? This is the question the gospel of Christ alone answers. Look how the word salvation is used in the New Testament to give us a full understanding of what it means to be saved.
1. Saved from illness of body and mind:
for she thought, "If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.
"Matthew 9:21
2. Saved from danger:
But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!" Matthew 14:30 and The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18
3. Saved from secular influence:
And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" Acts 2:40
4. Saved from being lost:
"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10
5. Saved from sin and its consequences
"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Matthew 1:21
6. Saved from wrath:
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:9
7. Saved for eternity:
who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5
III. RIGHTHEOUSNESS FROM GOD
1. Righteousness: justification; a judicial term meaning to declare one in right standing; to pardon from guilt; to acquit.
2. “From God” not from self-effort. Righteousness is a gift received by faith
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Romans 5: 1 and 17
2. “For the Jew first and also to the Greek:” Salvation came through Israel to Israel and the whole world. God is no respecter of persons:
Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." Acts 2:38-39
Opening his mouth, Peter said: "I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. Acts10:34-35
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. "And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, `John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' "Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?" When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life."
Acts 11:15-18
"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. Acts 13:38-39
After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me. "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. "With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, `AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT, SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE LORD, AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME,' SAYS THE LORD, WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO. "Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, Acts 15:13-19
4. This righteousness is revealed in the Old Testament
Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. Romans 3:20-21
5. This righteousness is revealed in the gospel
"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. John 16:8-11
6. You have to give up self-righteousness to receive “the gift of righteousness” from God
But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:7-11
IV. LIVING BY FAITH.
The whole Christian life hangs on four words – by grace, through faith”
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
1. “By faith” Acknowledgement of the truth of Christ
2. Belief – mental and emotional trust Christ as Savior
3. Commitment – surrendering the will to Christ
4. “As is it written”:
Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6
"Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith. Habbukuk 2:4
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE. All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, "IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace. And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.
Hebrews 11
5. OT believers looked forward to the cross
6. NT believers look back at the cross
7. We continue the way we began
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. Colossians 2:6-7
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, Jude 24
8. Don’t get off track and allow yourself to enter into legalism and works of righteousness, being led astray by false teachers and heretics who teach self-righteousness as the way to salvation:
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Galatians 2:21
You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain? So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Galatians 3:1-5
Where then is that sense of blessing you had? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. Galatians 4:15
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? Galatians 5:1 and 7