Romans 1:16-17 FAITH

The only “work” necessary for salvation is that we believe in Jesus whom God sent.

John 6:28–29 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

By faith we believe that Jesus died for us on the Cross and rose again. He is now resting at the right hand of the Father. In Him and with the unity of Holy Spirit we live for God and fulfill His commands to love God above all and our neighbors as ourselves. It is the miracle of God to those who believe in the perfect blood sacrifice offered in Jesus.

1 Corinthians 1:18 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.

Faith plus nothing!  God’s unmerited and undeserved gift to mankind.

Romans 1:16-17

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.” The New King James Version

Eye has not seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love Him!

1 Corinthians 2:13-14 

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Without the Holy Spirit it is impossible to fully understand the Scriptures. Man’s wisdom is fleshly but the Spirit takes the word of God and allows us to understand it. 

Genesis 4:2 Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering

It took a blood sacrifice to offer the perfect sacrifice for sin. God’s way is the only way. Today we believe with everything that is in us in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the Cross to redeem us from sin.

Hebrews 11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

We must trust in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ by faith. His blood sacrifice is the only way to the Father. By faith Abel offered his animal sacrifice.

Hebrews 9:22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. In the Old Testament it was the sacrifice of the perfect spotless lamb for sins committed. In the New Testament  it is the perfect spotless Blood of the Lamb of God…Jesus Christ. He is the High Priest who offered His blood and entered into the Holy of holies and did what the blood of animals could never do. He purged us and allowed us to enter into relationship with God through Him. The Old Testament from beginning to end was a foreshadowing of the coming of the Christ and the mercy and grace God gifted to His creation. Carla

Not ashamed expresses a high degree of confidence in the gospel. Paul is confident that the hope he has placed in the gospel message will not be disappointed. The Greek for power used here, dynamis, often refers to miraculous works. Here, it refers to God’s ability to deliver His people from sin and future judgment. 

God’s power also relates to the power of the Holy Spirit. The Greek word used here, sōtēria, refers to deliverance from the final judgment. It also might refer to deliverance from sin and the results of sin: death and alienation from God. 

Paul uses references to both Jews and Greeks (or Gentiles) to encompass all of humanity. Although the gospel message applies to all people, Paul describes it as being directed first toward the Jew because God gave the Jews the covenants and promises to which the gospel refers. The priority of the Jews in God’s plan of salvation also anticipates the discussion of Israel’s future role. 

The righteousness of God is one of the key phrases in Romans and Paul’s other letters. It could refer to righteousness that comes from God—that is, the righteous status or right standing that God grants to those who have faith in Jesus Christ. Alternatively, it may refer to God’s own righteousness and His saving work. 

It’s also possible to combine these possibilities: Righteousness is an attribute of God that is manifested in His provision of salvation. As a result, those who believe are granted righteous status before God, who is himself righteous. God reveals His righteousness in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

This good news about Jesus Christ—the gospel message—also might be the way that the righteousness of God is made known. Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 to support his position that righteousness before God is only by faith. In the original context of Habakkuk 2:4, faith in God sustains a righteous person through hardship. This same faith in God—which relies on God’s promises for deliverance—is applicable to salvation. Will live probably refers both to a life of trust in God and to the eternal life which God grants believers. Faithlife Study Bible

The New Testament speaks of salvation in the past tense, the present tense, and the future tense.

In the past, the believer has been saved from the penalty of sin. In the present, the believer is being saved from the power of sin. In the future, the believer will be saved from the very presence of sin.

From faith to faith means faith is at the beginning of the salvation process, and it is the goal as well. When a person first exercises faith in Christ, that person is saved from the penalty of sin and declared righteous. As the believer lives by faith, God continues to save him or her from the power of sin to live righteously. The NKJV Study Bible

Habakkuk 2:4 

“Behold the proud,

His soul is not upright in him;

But the just shall live by his faith.

Romans 2:9–10 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Acts 3:26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

Ephesians 1:13-14 (CSB) "In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory." 

The Holy Spirit is the first installment of the Christian's inheritance. Paul borrowed this language from the commercial world to describe the Holy Spirit as a first installment of believers' eternal inheritance in Christ. And this terminology was also related to betrothal in Paul's day, similar to how modern engagement rings promise a wedding to come: The ring represents a commitment that is already real but not yet fully realized. God has already promised us His Spirit today, and at the end of the age, He promises to open the treasuries of heaven to all who are in Christ. Until we reach heaven, we live in an exile of sorts on earth. We are saved from the penalty of sin, and we are being saved from the power of sin through a lifelong process Scripture describes as "the sanctifying work of the Spirit" (1 Peter 1:2, CSB). However, we are not yet saved from the presence of sin. We feel the effects of sin in the world as well as in our own daily battles against temptation. 

…during our exile on earth, we can pray as Jesus taught us, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10, CSB). One day this line from the Lord's prayer will no longer be a request but a reality. God's Kingdom will fully come, and His plans will be fully accomplished on earth as in heaven. He will bring everything together, and the total at the top of the page will be Christ. First5

Speaking of uncertainty and parts of our world (life) out of control, there are so many now affected by the two recent hurricanes, and it is easy to see how parts of us can be shell-shocked (yes, frozen), not sure how to navigate. And while we may not be able to solve all the problems or heal all the wounds, let us begin here: we can hold space for both gratitude and concern in our heart, trusting that this balancing act is a part of the human experience. Knowing that grace is real in a world where we can be absolutely disheartened and absolutely grateful at the same time.

“You become freer to be yourself,” Poet Kim Rosen writes, “not because you finally found a place where you are protected from feeling what you don't want to feel, but because you welcomed those unwanted feelings and lived to tell the tale. Maybe your idealized image of yourself didn't survive, but you did.” Sabbath Moments