Life: A problem you can’t solve

The Bible Studies for Life lesson for Dec. 1 focuses on Romans 1:16-17; 2:5-11; 3:9-12.

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 • The Bible Studies for Life lesson for Dec. 1 focuses on Romans 1:16-17; 2:5-11; 3:9-12.

I’ve never been someone who enjoys an argument for argument’s sake. I tend to err on the side of silence. Every now and then, I find myself in situations where part of me knows I should speak up, but the rest of me feels it isn’t worth it.

What keeps me from speaking out? Sometimes I don’t come up with the right words until I’ve walked away from the conversation. Other times, I know speaking biblical truth will make the relationship take a turn. I know the other person won’t agree, and they may think less of me for what I believe. Silence becomes a habit.

Not ashamed

Silence was not one of Paul’s habits. Romans 1:16-17 sums up the theme of his letter to the church at Rome. He begins with this declaration: “I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Romans 1:16).

It wasn’t that Paul couldn’t have found reasons to hold his tongue. No one wanted to worship a crucified savior. Jews were looking for a victorious Messiah who would help them throw off the bonds of Rome, not one who allowed himself to be crucified on a Roman cross. Gentiles had a pantheon of powerful gods and goddesses to choose from. The idea of worshipping a crucified Jew sounded foolish (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Not only that, but proclaiming Jesus as Lord had seditious implications. Caesar was lord, and he didn’t allow any competition. Praising another as lord was a good way to find yourself at the wrong end of a Roman sword. There was a cost for proclaiming Christ. It was a risky, unpopular message. For the sake of the gospel, Paul was beaten, imprisoned, ridiculed and stoned. Yet he persisted. Why?

The gospel is the power of God

Paul understood the gospel was the power of God. The gospel is the good news that in the cross, God is claiming the world as his own and reconciling it to himself. The cross is God’s seal of possession on a broken and hopeless world. Through the cross, God was bringing salvation. Salvation means deliverance from God’s judgment, but it also implies redemption.


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The climax of salvation is the redemption of the created order; that mighty day when God restores the world to the condition he always meant it to be. The power of the gospel is not limited in scope—salvation is for everyone. The free availability of salvation to all people always was at the center of Paul’s gospel proclamation.

The gospel is powerful because it reveals God’s righteousness. What does Paul mean by the “righteousness of God” (Romans 1:17)? Sometimes the phrase refers to righteousness as an intrinsic quality of God’s nature. God consistently and inexorably is right. He does no wrong. It also can refer to righteousness as a status God grants.

God declares us righteous

Although we were sinners, God declares us righteous by the blood of Christ. It is a legal declaration that we are right before the Lord. The righteousness of God also can describe God’s divine action as he works to make the world right with him (Isaiah 46:13). The best answer is that it encompasses all three. Yet we must understand this phrase as more than intellectual acceptance. 

The gospel has power to help the world see and understand God’s righteousness. In the proclamation of the gospel, there is spiritual power at work to destroy strongholds and obstacles that keep people from seeing the power of the risen Christ.

Having received God’s righteousness by faith, the righteous continue to live by faith (Romans 1:17). Paul quotes here from Habakkuk 2:4. Habakkuk was a prophetic book written from the position of faith seeking understanding. It is the heartbeat of a people crying out for justice, looking for God to intervene in a world hostile to his people.

The prophet longed to see God move. In the midst of it, he declares the righteous live by faith. Faith is what we need to live righteous lives in a hostile and oppressive age.

Cling to faith

Was it any different for Christians living in Rome? Under the thumb of Caesar, oppressed by Jew and Gentile alike, at times tolerated and at others treated as enemies of Rome, the Roman church must have longed for God to move and yearned for the day of salvation. They needed to be reminded not to be ashamed of the gospel, even when evil seems to triumph. When they were discouraged by opposition, they needed to remember the power of the gospel. They needed to cling to faith as the essential quality for living righteously in an unrighteous world.

Our world is not so different from ancient Rome. The days when the gospel enjoyed general cultural approval are fading quickly. We increasingly live in a time when the gospel is at best tolerated and at worst reviled.

We need to be reminded of the power of the gospel. When we live among a people blinded by spiritual darkness, we can rejoice the gospel is the power of God for salvation for all. We can be encouraged the proclamation of the gospel can open minds and hearts to perceive God’s righteousness. Like Paul, we can live by faith and declare the gospel with power.


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