Are you trusting in God’s righteousness, or in your own?
Paul continues his letter to the Roman believers – “Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. 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. 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: 13-17)
After God blinded Paul on the road to Damascus, Paul asked Jesus – “Who are You, Lord?” and Jesus responded to Paul – “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.” (Acts 26: 15-18)
Paul became an apostle to the Gentiles, and he spent years doing missionary work in Asia Minor and Greece. However, he always wanted to go to Rome and proclaim the good news of Christ. The Greeks saw all non-Greeks as barbarians, because they were not believers in Greek philosophy.
The Greeks considered themselves wise because of their philosophical beliefs. Paul warned the Colossians about thinking this way – “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” (Colossians 2: 8-10)
Paul knew his commission was to the Romans, as well as to other Gentiles. His gospel message of faith in the finished work of Christ was what all people needed to hear. Paul boldly stated that he was not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Weirsbe points out in his commentary – “Rome was a proud city, and the gospel came from Jerusalem, the capital city of one of the little nations that Rome had conquered. The Christians in that day were not among the elite of society; they were common people and even slaves. Rome had known many great philosophers and philosophies; why pay any attention to a fable about a Jew who arose from the dead?” (Weirsbe 412)
Paul had taught the Corinthians – “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.’ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1 Corinthians 1: 18-25)
Paul pointed out in his letter to the Romans that the gospel was the ‘power’ of God to salvation to everyone who believes. The gospel is ‘power’ in that through faith in what Jesus has done people can be brought into an eternal relationship with God. When we give up our own religious pursuits of self-righteousness and realize we are hopeless and helpless apart from what God has done for us in paying for our sins on the cross, and turn to God in faith in Him alone, then we can become spiritual sons and daughters of God destined to live with Him throughout eternity.
How is the ‘righteousness’ of God revealed in the gospel? Weirsbe teaches that in the death of Christ, God revealed His righteousness by punishing sin; and in the resurrection of Christ, He revealed His righteousness by making salvation available to the believing sinner. (Weirsbe 412) We then live by faith in what Jesus has done for us. We will be disappointed if we put faith in ourselves to somehow merit our own salvation. If we are trusting in our own goodness, or our own obedience, we will ultimately come up short.
The true New Testament gospel message is a radical message. It was radical for the Romans in Paul’s day, and it is radical in our day also. It is a message that makes null and void our own vain efforts to please God in our fallen flesh. It is not a message that tells us that we can do it, but a message that tells us that He did it for us, because we could not do it. As we look to Him and to His amazing grace, we can more fully understand how much He truly loves us and wants us to be with Him forever.
Consider these words that Paul would later write in his letter to the Romans – “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a great zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10: 1-4)
RESOURCES:
Weirsbe, Warren W. The Weirsbe Bible Commentary. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007.
