Romans 1:16-17 (NIV) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”
The gospel is good news which is powerful. It is the power for salvation from the eternal consequences of sin. It is also the power of God for salvation from the daily effects of sin. The fact that the effect of the gospel lasts for all eternity therefore makes it more powerful than any forces of creation or human power since these do not last forever. Yet, how can words alone bring about the kind of power that these verses talk about? It is because they reveal the righteousness of God. This righteousness is not simply a description of God. It is the demonstration of God’s righteousness in human beings! It is the revelation that righteousness, or right standing before God, comes not from obedience to God’s commands, which is impossible, but from trusting dependence on Jesus’ sacrifice and resurrection. It is also the revelation that righteousness, which is also right living before God, comes from trusting dependence on God throughout our lives.
That’s a lot to chew on. Let me break it down in an example. This morning I came to the place where I realized I was trying to obey God without depending on his help for a specific area in my life. Typically my approach has been in my self-talk, “I can do this. I can do this,” when the reality is that I can’t. To live by faith is to admit to him that without his help I am toast! Salvation is not only a one-time event but an ongoing reality in those who follow Jesus. If we are to be righteous (that is - doing what is right), we must live by faith or by trusting in the Lord to release his power in our lives to do the right thing. The danger that we face is when we trust Christ for eternal salvation (right standing before God) but do not trust him for daily salvation or deliverance from sin (right living before God). The first step is to daily admit in the middle of our temptations and struggles that part of us would really rather sin than do what is right. The next step is to ask him to give us power to do what He is asking us to do. The last step is to trust Him to come through with His power. When we trust Him in this way we will see that the gospel has power both today as well as for eternity.
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