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. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Romans 1:16-17
The revelation of God’s righteousness is in the gospel of Christ. Therefore, when one hears the gospel, the knowledge of righteousness is imparted to him. In other words, he is made righteous by believing the gospel of Christ.
Our opening verses depict the fact that the gospel saves and makes righteous.
The knowledge of righteousness is communicated by the gospel.
A man who knows righteousness has been made righteous.
Moreover, in the gospel of Christ, righteousness is revealed from faith to faith.
In Romans 10:1-4, the apostle Paul said, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth”
Here, Paul was saying that the Israelites’ zeal was void of knowledge. Paul could testify of their zeal, only that they lacked knowledge.
These people had the zeal to serve God, but they did not have precise knowledge due to their ignorance of God’s righteousness.
They were ignorant of God’s righteousness because they lacked knowledge; they did not obey or believe the gospel, which imparts the knowledge of righteousness.
Instead of submitting to God’s righteousness by simply hearing and honouring the gospel, they went about trying to establish their righteousness.
They wanted to do good works on their own in order to gain God’s acceptance.
They wanted to become righteous through their good works and not by trusting in the finished work of Christ.
It is said in Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away”.
All a man needs to do to be righteous is to submit to the righteousness of God by believing the gospel of Christ, which conveys the knowledge of God’s righteousness; when one honours that message, the righteousness of God is imputed to him.
God is not saying that you should come and please him by trying to live right; rather, He says you should come and receive His righteousness that empowers you to please Him.
Once you receive God’s righteousness, then He declares you righteous.
To be made righteous is to be justified from all things; you are not guilty of any offense, and that is the case of every believer.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” The gospel makes all these possible. Glory to God!
Confession
The gospel of Christ has saved me from sin and made me righteous. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
