The Just Live by Faith in Christ’s Righteousness

Romans 1:1-17

1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God 2 which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. 5 Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Desire to Visit Rome

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

13 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. 14 I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. 15 So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

The Just Live by Faith

16 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. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

Paul opens this magnificent letter to the Christian community in the capital of the Roman Empire to describe all the wonder and details of their calling in Christ as saints made holy in the righteousness of Jesus alone.  Paul has the authority and insight into these doctrines of life because he was called and chosen to be an apostle who was an eyewitness of the risen Christ.  He was given understanding of the scriptures from the beginning to the words just then being finalized through him such as in this epistle to be able to define and explain the gospel that he was called and entrusted to broadcast wherever he went by God’s leading for as long as his life here endured.  Paul was careful to make his calling clear and indisputable so that the readers of the letter took them as the words of God and not his own, with the authority given (Matthew 28:18) to proclaim the good news of eternal life and the kingdom of heaven entrusted to all the apostles (Matthew 28:19-20).  He explained how the gospel of the Christ (Messiah) was as it was written already as promised through the words given the prophets before him and given through the physical lineage of King David as the promised branch of righteousness to bring deliverance from sin and death to all who He calls.  This Jesus he proclaimed as God’s Son and our Lord while also being of the divine lineage of God His Father as testified by God’s Holy Spirit and proven by resurrecting Himself from death to life which no mere mortal has the ability to do.  Jesus was then able to give certain grace and hope because He was more than just a man as only God Himself is able and who was able to call Paul as His apostle to be a messenger of grace and faith which He calls us to in trusting reception of the Son (John 1:12) as we trust His Father by the eye-opening to this gospel work of His Spirit in our minds and spirits.  We who are given ears to hear are the holy called of Christ, each and every one saints and children of God in that holy calling.  There are no saints made or identified by man’s volition, but only of God’s calling and promise as Jesus gives us enter life and holiness as we are then found in His righteousness and not our feeble efforts to earn enough good to be voted by man into sainthood.  We then are like the Roman believers in Christ in Rome to whom this letter was written and which therefore applies equally to each of us who have been reborn (John 3:3, 1 Peter 1:23) into the regeneration (Titus 3:5) to life.  We all fall under His grace and know the peace with God (Romans 5:1) which passes beyond any of our understanding (Philippians 4:7).  This introduction and standing of Paul and his readers allowed him to thank God for their faith and witness of God’s transforming work in them through the gospel applied to their lives and moved him to pray constantly for them all in response that they might increase in understanding and obedience to the truth as unto the Lord.  He expressed desire to see them in person to establish them in their faith (Romans 16:25, 1 Thessalonians 3:2, 1 Peter 5:10) and encourage their sanctification as fellow heirs of life (Ephesians 3:6) through the calling as saints through the gospel.  He made it clear that he had no shame or shirking away from the gospel but he assured them by reminder that it is God’s power to save through faith alone in God’s work alone (John 6:29) to people called out of every nation to Himself.  This call is in the righteousness of Christ and not any we can work up in our feeble attempts because Jesus is both just and the justifier (Romans 3:26) of us all.  Only His righteousness makes us righteous.  May we truly appreciate the saying of truth, “The just shall live by faith” as it is written in Habakkuk 2:4 for us to stand firm in Christ and His work of sacrifice on the cross as proven by His resurrection.  The just live forever in Christ’s righteousness as we are called holy saints by and in Him.  Amen!