The Saving Power of the Gospel (Rom 1.14-17) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella December 4, 2016 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." Introduction Thus far in his salutation to the Romans, Paul has covered the OT-NT gospel of the covenant (1.1-3a), the work of Christ in humiliation and exaltation (1.3b-4), and the work of the exalted Lord among the nations through His apostle (down to v. 13). Now in 1.14, Paul tells us that he has a corresponding obligation: both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. This obligation was placed upon him by the risen Lord and it explains Paul s eagerness expressed in 1.15: so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. Moreover, his eagerness is driven by a lack of shame (1.16a): For I am not ashamed of the gospel. But why mention shame? He no doubt has the wise (v. 13) in mind, people that consider gospel preaching to be nothing more than foolishness and weakness. Surely, also in view are those at Rome who thought themselves to be morally wise (anticipating chapters 2-3, 11, 14). So, this progression from obligation and eagerness to boldness leads Paul to put a magnifying glass over the gospel. It is the gospel that gives him boldness. Accordingly, he tells us why he is not ashamed of it and why no one ought to be ashamed of it: because it is the saving power of God (our first main point) that reveals the righteousness of God (our second main point). I. First, he says, I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God Being the power of God means that the gospel saves, saves believers, and saves believers from all nations (1.16): For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. A. Thus, by its power, the gospel saves The gospel is the power of God for salvation. In one sense, gospel refers to the work done in OT fulfillment sby Christ s death and resurrection. But Paul is speaking of another sense in which gospel refers to the message that is preached about His accomplished work. The gospel word that Paul is eager to preach is living and powerful (Heb 4.12) because God exercises His divine power through it. Thus, there is a divinely established connection between redemptive events, the message about these events, and the preaching of that message. It is all the gospel as accomplishment, content, and proclamation. Remember verse 1; it is God s gospel. We should not miss this astounding truth: the power of God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and ruler of all nations, is at work in the gospel. Preaching that message, preaching that is loaded with gospel content regarding what Christ did and is doing is the power of God for salvation. Being the power of the omnipotent Lord of creation, how can it be anything less than saving; gospel power saves; God s gospel saves. It saves by the power of God. B. By its power the gospel saves believers (it is for salvation to everyone who believes) It is unmistakable that everyone who believes, Jew or Gentile, receives salvation. But this text causes us to enquire about the relationship between power and faith. Is it possible that the omnipotent power of God Almighty can be held at bay depending on a person s willingness to believe it or reject it; to obey it or not; to submit to it or not? On one hand, the idea that the Almighty can be held at bay by human weakness is strongly counter-intuitive. On the other hand, for some readers (with certain predispositions of thought already in their minds), it seems
!2 plausible, even obvious and certain, that Paul tells us that the power of the gospel is limited by human response. For example, Paul Moser, a philosopher from Loyola University and popular among Protestants, emphasizes a principle of cooperation that must be part of God s way of redemption (for God to be worthy of worship). Thus, in reference to Romans 1.5 on the Lord s bringing the obedience of faith into existence, Moser shifts to Romans 6.17 and states that people receive freedom from slavery to sin via their becoming obedient from the heart to the Good News (Moser, Severity 150). 1 For this thinker, a slave to sin is able to obey, free to obey. We might well wonder how he is a slave to sin if he can obey God, especially, given the fact that Paul says the slave in sin is free from righteousness (Rom 6.20), not for it. The apostle explains the absolute disjunction between having sin as your master versus having Christ as your master: the slave in sin is hostile toward God such that he will not and cannot submit himself in obedience to God (Rom 8.7, For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot). Yet, in Moser s view, the slave can choose to set himself free by allowing God to give him freedom; he must set God free; man must let the power of God do its work; otherwise God is powerless. This is what Moser repeatedly calls cooperation between man and God. Contrary to this philosopher, we must understand the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes in context. Here in Romans 1 the power of the gospel is defined by the fact that obedience of faith is brought into existence by the power of the exalted Lord (1.4) and by the loving call of God that causes people to belong to Jesus (1.6). This is the same call that effectively sets them apart from others as saints (1.7). It is the call that brings them into fellowship (1 Cor 1.9). Finally, God s call is a link of divine action in the golden unbreakable chain described in Romans 8 (all who are called are justified and glorified, 8.30). Thus, everyone who believes does so because the power of the gospel brought them to the obedience of faith. There is no one who believes except by the power of God. All who believe do so by the power of God. C. By its power, the gospel saves believers from all nations This speaks of national universalism, not the salvation of all people without exception. It refers to the salvation of all people without distinction as to status, race, or class. This priority to the Jews first means that the promises of the gospel of the OT flow to the nations by God s covenant fulfillment of His promises to the Jews. Therefore, even in their judgment, God is This account of faith by Ridderbos is denied by Moser: faith, however much it bears the character of obedience 1 and submission to the divine redemptive will, nevertheless does not rest on the assent of man himself but on the renewing and re-creating power of divine grace. Moser calls this a confusion. It is more confusing to hear him say that a person becomes free by obeying: he says, Paul assumes that people receive freedom from slavery to sin via their becoming obedient from the heart to the Good News (Severity 150). Being free from righteousness is a powerful expression. It speaks to the fact that there is no one on a fence in this matter of slavery; if you are a slave to sin you have no relationship to righteousness; sin is your master fully and completely. Moser has it that slavery to sin is solely volitional since a true slave cannot simply walk away from his bondage. For Moser, he can walk away in freedom and by this obedience to God, God sets him free. This way of salvation is synergistic, the work of God and man, not monergistic, one work, that of God. Moser thus is sensitive to keep defending the idea that his view is not giving in to a works righteousness. That is a separate point that should no be allowed to obscure the central point here, namely, that a slave cannot obey to become free for obedience. He must be set free. It is like the drowning man verses a drowned man; a dead but not totally dead; a blind man that is able to choose to see; a deaf man that is able to open his ears to hear and respond so that God will give him hearing ears.
!3 saving a remnant. God is faithful. He is keeping His word to them and through them, even in the shift from Jewish particularism to national universalism. 2 II. Second, Paul says, I am not ashamed of the gospel because it reveals the righteousness of God Perhaps we should emphasize that Paul is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for justification, as well as salvation. Justification is a nuance of salvation. The gospel reveals the saving power of God in His justifying of sinners, as is presented in 1.17: For in it [in the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith. Here, Paul draws our attention to the righteousness of God and we have to think about what he means by it and what he means by it being revealed from faith to faith and how this accords with Scripture. Let s treat each as a question. A. What does Paul mean by the righteousness of God? If we try to understand God s righteousness in association with the saving power of the gospel (with the gospel in its saving and justifying power), then three aspects come into view. First, it is His active covenant faithfulness bringing salvation to the nations. He righteously keeps His word; He is righteous by being faithful. This aspect of God s righteousness is manifested in the power of the gospel. Second, it is His righteousness as uprightness. 3 He is just and righteous in not violating His justice but executing it in the powerful saving of sinners. Finally, it is His righteousness as His gift of His own righteousness in Christ that is required for the salvation of sinners; i.e. for their justification. Because the gospel brings salvation to people who contradict His holiness, try His patience, and need righteousness by which to stand uprightly before God, then that saving gospel reveals the righteousness of God in full perspective: He righteously keeps His covenant promises, He maintains His uprightness by the execution of justice, and He remains righteous by giving His righteousness to the unrighteous in saving them. In all these ways, the righteousness of God is revealed (made manifest in its powerful working). B. What does Paul mean by saying that the gospel reveals God s righteousness from faith to faith? Literally, Paul says, out of faith unto faith. We might simply think about our faith, say, that leads to faith; we believe and out from our believing we grow in faith. Or we might think like the NIV translators that its all about faith: by faith from first to last. It is all about our faith. However, the text accents the revelation of God s righteousness in this move out of faith and unto faith. Helpful on this point is the fact that Paul quotes Scripture (as it is written). In the OT, the equivalent for faith means faithfulness, of man or of God depending on the context. For example, Psalm 37.3 gives a call to trust in the Lord and to befriend faithfulness (to have faith and be faithful) while 33.4 speaks of God s uprightness and the faithfulness of His works. Accordingly, the meaning of faith in Romans 1.17 (used three times) could refer to either. So, we need some way to narrow down. In Habakkuk, the context of Paul s quote affirms the truth of God s saving righteousness that flows from His faithfulness when he says that what God has promised (Hab 2.3b): will surely come; it will not delay. The promise is sure; God is faithful. In His timetable, there are no delays. Therefore, in the context of the revelation of the righteousness of God in the power of His gospel, out from faith refers to the faithfulness of God that is the 2 It is to the Jew first because even in judgment God still brings the gospel to Israel with irresistible power. His work among the nations is according to Scripture but it is also to the Jew as he has promised to them but it is all as it has been, specifically, according to the principle of selection and therefore effectual. By election, a remnant has been at work throughout the Old Testament. So there is a priority to Israel in covenant faithfulness, as always since the call of Abraham. Murray s focus is too narrow when he argues that if God s attribute of justice were in view here (that He is just and 3 upright), then the thought would have to move to condemnation not salvation. Therefore, Murray restricts the reference to His righteousness given as a gift to the unrighteous by which they live, by which they are saved.
!4 source of a righteous person s faith in God. Thus unto faith is the product of God s powerful faithfulness bringing the obedience of faith into existence among the nations (1.5). This is from source to experience; from God to man; from God s righteous faithfulness in the powerful production of faith by which people are saved. Therefore, Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. C. How does this revealing of God s righteousness accord with the OT? The apostle quotes Habakkuk and presents an interplay between faithfulness and faith. In contrast to unrighteous puffed up souls, the Lord through Habakkuk gives the promise that the righteous shall live by his faith (2.4b). Despite the pressing trials and tribulations, despite the brutality of the Babylonians of Habakkuk s day, the one who is righteous has the sure promise of life: he shall live. Whatever comes in the near future and no matter how much it appears contradictory, the righteous shall live because of the faithfulness of God. Paul s use of this text guides our understanding of the reference to his faith in Habakkuk 2.4, which Paul omits (Rom 1.17, the righteous shall live by faith). The apostle is developing the truth of God s power in the gospel that reveals His faithfulness: the righteous shall live by the faithfulness of God. Therefore, his faithfulness in Habakkuk refers to God s faithfulness that guarantees that the righteous shall live. They come to the obedience of faith by God s efficacious power (His faithfulness is unto their faith, as 1.6-7 on his call) and they live by His efficacious power (they have a share in salvation that rests on the firmest of foundations). Salvation rests on the power of God s gospel by which He faithfully demonstrates His righteousness in saving people in need from Israel and the nations. Application My response to this text is to say, such thoughts about God and His gospel are too wonderful for me; they are high and lifted up, I cannot attain unto them. So, I struggle for words of application. This text reminds us that Paul carries out his slave work under the authority of the Lordship of Christ with boldness and confidence. This is the angle on the gospel that Paul develops in 1.16-17, namely, that he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the saving power of God that saves and justifies. So, the preaching of the work done by Christ is the word of God through His commissioned apostle. This preaching is the power of God; it is His living and powerful word (Heb 4.12). We need never be ashamed of it before God-opposing sinners because it is the means by which God replaces hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. To be sure, it is not absolutely universal; it is efficacious to all who believe. With the power of the Almighty Creator, the gospel is commanded to shine in rebellious human hearts. It can no more be prevented by darkness within from enlightening the heart, then light can be prevented by darkness from enlightening the world on creation morning. The call of God creates irresistibly. If there is faith, then there the power of the gospel has done its work. We need never be ashamed of the gospel before the self-righteous, the worldly wise, or the blatantly unrighteous of this present evil age, because it is the means by which God savingly gives righteousness, His righteousness, so that sinners can be righteous and have life by faith. Notably, they are justified and have life by faith that God gives to them. More fully then, the text is telling us that there is no reason to be ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God that is instrumental in His call to faith that opens the door of salvation and all that goes with it including justification. Thus, the just have God s righteousness given to them by faith and the just have life by faith. More deeply, they have faith by the power of the gospel, faith that gives life and justification. The gift of salvation and all it entails is by faith and faith is itself the gift of God. This interconnection can be illustrated by comparing salvation to a house with a door. Faith
!5 is given with the gift of salvation and faith is the door by which the house of salvation is entered to receive justification, forgiveness, eternal life, and so forth. So, 1.16-17 give us the gospel of which Paul is not ashamed as equivalent to OT gospel concerning God's Son, that is now the gospel in the NT fulfillment in His work of humiliation and exaltation. Thus Paul is giving us his theme for the book in terms of his work as a bold preacher. The theme is now seen through the prism of his apostolic ministry (through which the exalted Christ is working, 5-13). He preaches boldly because the message he preaches is the power of God, the saving power of God. In the accent on deed relative to word, he proclaims the message and does so boldly because it is the means that God uses to call people to salvation (the elect are called to saving faith by the gospel, 2 Thess 2.13-14). He is confident, bold, without shame before the hostility of hard hearts because God is at work through the very gospel message preached. He thus persists in earnest to fulfill his calling as a slave of Jesus Christ the Lord. He is also not ashamed because the gospel he preaches reveals the righteousness of God that is disclosed in the sense of made manifest with saving effect; it is actively and dynamically brought to bear upon man's sinful situation; it is redemptively active in the sphere of human sin and ruin. So hear this word and embrace the promise. Your salvation does not depend on anything you do, not on your obedience and not on your faith. Your faith itself rests on the power of the gospel that saves and justifies. Despite all appearances, God is faithful and He will do it as He said to Habakkuk (2.2-4): Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. 3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end-- it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. 4 "Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith [by the faithfulness of the Lord who will not lie]. May we fall down before the power of God who is righteous in saving the unrighteous through the faith that He gives them; may the Spirit give us understanding to grasp the wonderful truth that even our faith rests on His power and therefore on the firmest of foundations in His most excellent gospel word, to the glory of the triune God, now in His church and forever, amen.