Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Verse 16 is a verse that has been changed by unbelievers. Those who love the perversions like to argue that the doctrines of the Bible are not affected by the perversions. The Bible warns us of the dire consequences to those who will add to or take away from the Word of God. Those who support the perversions accept the lies of the authors of the perversions which claim that we cannot know for sure what God said. That is a lie because God promised to preserve His Word.
Psalm 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
If we do not have a sure foundation, we have no foundation at all. God has given us a sure foundation in His Word. We can know the truth and we can know how to walk in the truth. God would be unjust in proclaiming that His children will be throughly furnished through His Word if we do not know where His Word is.
II Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
In verse 16 of our text, the apostle Paul was directed by God to declare his confidence in the Gospel of Christ. If you enjoy the perversions, you will find two key words missing in many of them. Those two words are “of Christ”. We have already been reminded that there are many false gospels today.
The Catholics have a false gospel of works. They teach that Jesus Christ plus Mary are necessary for salvation. They also teach that beyond that there are other works, some of which they call “sacraments” that are necessary for salvation.
The Lutherans, many Mennonites, Anglicans, and others also have a works salvation. They preach a false gospel. However, the apostle Paul was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. That is the only true gospel. That gospel is the power of God unto salvation. That is why there are so many professing Christians today who are crippled in their sin. They hold on to various vices because they do not have the power to let go of them.
The person that is truly saved, has been changed. Remember, Paul wrote of the powerful testimony of the saints in Rome. Their true faith was being spoken of across the world. They were changed by the power of God. They were not trying to be Christians. They were Christians and the gift of salvation had changed them and others were noticing it. That is the Biblical reality of true salvation.
The apostle Paul stated that the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. It is not that some people need to struggle and be hopelessly bound by sin until death, even though they claim to be saved. That is not God’s salvation. That is not the fruit of the gospel of Christ. That is the hype of a false teacher who is trying to get names so he can be idolized by others.
True saints exalt God, not self.
Paul further reminds us there are only two groups of people: Jew and Greek (Gentile). The world is divided by God into many nations, but there are only two major groups of people. The Bible does not divide people by colour. “Racism” is an evolutionary term designed to create hostile divisions among people. We have seen hostilities against different groups over the years. The solution to that is salvation through the gospel of Christ.
In verse 17 we are reminded that the gospel of Christ reveals the righteousness of God. This righteousness is revealed “from faith to faith.” There is only one way to be saved. All people must put their faith in the true God and in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
John 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Some people claim to believe in God but not in Jesus Christ. Others believe in Jesus Christ but not in God. It is not possible to be saved unless we believe in the God of the Bible, revealed as Father, Son and Holy Ghost (Spirit).
The apostle Paul further quoted from Habakkuk 2:4. This quotation is found 3x in the New Testament. No one is saved by works. No one has ever been saved by works. This is important to remember.
Some have suggested that Martin Luther was studying the book of Romans and came across this verse and was converted. His own testimony declares that he was never converted. His faith was in Catholicism with a few alterations. His teaching clearly shows that he believed in works salvation.
The fact is that the just, those who have truly been redeemed, live by faith. That faith is not faith in themselves. It is faith in the true God and in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Trusting in Him means there can be no trust in self or anyone or anything else. It is a complete and absolute trust in the true God. His Word shows us that we can trust in Him completely. We do not need to doubt and those who come to Him for salvation have been prepared by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit to trust in Him.
As we study the book of Romans we will see that God lays out the necessary facts needed to be able to place our complete and full trust in Him. We will also see the importance of trusting in Him and the fruit of that trust.
Today is the Lord’s Day. Those who are just and are living by faith will see the importance of being in a true local Bible believing church. The God of the Bible will show you the importance of this if you are truly just and thus living by faith.
The devil would want you to stay away from a true local church. He does not want you to believe the promise of Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:18. He does not want true local churches anywhere. Shortly after we were blessed with the purchase of our current building, some of the town folks stated that our building should not be a church. They wanted a business in there, but not a church. We pay taxes just like a business would. However, we are a light in a dark and needy area. Everyone that walks or drives past our building will see verses scrolling across our T.V. screen inside the front window. Those verses are scrolling across 24/7. We also invite people to come and we remind them of the importance of God’s truth. Not many people are interested, but God is certainly interested in them.
We continue to pray for others to come and see the importance of helping a small church in a rural area. God knows all about our needs. We are committed to walking by faith and we trust God to do His work in us and through us.
Pastor Bartel
