[Romans Study 4-1]
The Righteous Will Live By Faith [Romans 1:8-17]
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you 10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you. 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. 16 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. 17 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.
Paul’s Burning Desire For Roman Churches In The Grace of God
As you read this letter, especially through today’s passage, do you feel the glowing love that binds Paul in heart with the Christians in Rome?
After almost nineteen hundred years, the warm affection of this passage still breathes through it, and we can feel Paul’s great heart throbbing with love for the Church that he had never seen.
Paul now begins with a commendation to the Christians in Rome. It was easy to have faith from Jerusalem, where Jesus was present and teaching, but it was a different matter to have faith in Rome where Caesar was seeking Christian victims for his Christian spectacles. Paul, in wisdom and love, began with a compliment. A man of faith will always see all things at their best, whether in situations or people, and they also receive the best from them. It is none other than the power of faith that enables you to see the future in advance. And the power of faith births out the trust from love. Surely, this trust is from conviction in the love of God. Just as Jesus trusted God and His disciples with absolute faith and love, we too must go forward with the same confident trust in God and in men. If we believe in God and in men, we will never be pessimists, because with these two centers secured, the possibilities for the future are infinite.
Paul had been continually praying for those in Rome with the burning desire and longing to come to them. Once he gets there, he has a spiritual gift to give to them and to make them strong; that is in other words, to ‘establish’ and ‘strengthen’ them. Blessed are you when you have something or anything to give to others.
Indeed, Paul had something special in him that never ran dry, even after giving it out again and again. What did Paul have in him? He had the grace of God, and this grace never ran short. Rich and genuine grace was inexhaustibly overflowing from within him. He always rejoiced and lived in the grace of the Lord. With this, he imparted the vision, dream, and joy of the Lord unto those whom he encountered.
A Debtor Of Love And Grace Of God To All Men
Paul identified himself as a debtor, and this debt is not of financial things, but a debt of love and grace. He knew where he came from and never forgot how he was called. He confessed that he was the worst of all sinners. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15) Nonetheless, through Jesus Christ, God approached him and lavished upon him a surprising love, regardless of his past actions.
Being loved so much, he felt the burden of reciprocation: ‘I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the non-Greeks; both to the wise, and to the foolish. I am under an obligation. I am obligated to all of you and am ready to preach the gospel to the whole world!’
Now let us ask this question once again: What was it that Paul had within in him? He had the ‘gospel’ – the gospel that he cannot keep within himself but was bound to give and impart to everyone he sees.
‘For Christ’s love compels us’ (2 Corinthians 5:14), says Paul. What is pressing upon the Apostle? The love of Christ! This amazing thing! This gospel of reconciliation! This love of God! This love of God that sends His only Son, and even makes Him to bear sin for us! Paul has seen it, and he wants everybody else to see it and to rejoice in it, and to participate in it. The wonderful, glorious character of the gospel itself had made him confess: “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
Who Is A Christian?
A Christian, says Paul, is the man who has received something, and he can thus give it to another. He has received knowledge. He understands. He can speak to the soul in such a way as to give rest and peace. This knowledge that Christians have is the knowledge of the Lord, the knowledge of the gospel.
Remember, Apostle Peter said: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15) What Paul and all Christians have is the gospel. Do you know this gospel, and are you prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in you? Do you truly know whom you have believed and what you have believed? Do you have this knowledge to impart to others? It is ‘the gospel of His Son’— justification by faith.
Republished with permission from Dr. Christy Tran, the author of “The Epistle to the Romans: Paul’s Love Letter from God.”
