Title: The Power of the Gospel
Contents Dear brothers and sisters, last week, we looked at Romans 1:16, which says that the gospel is the power of God to save us. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. Therefore, I hope that you will receive the gospel as the power of salvation. I hope you will experience the gospel as God's saving power. I hope that those who experience the saving power of the gospel will believe that they are true Christians.
We can experience the saving power of this gospel in three dimensions over time. First, the gospel is God's power to save us from all our past sins and to save us from our guilt. Second, the gospel is God's power to save us from God's wrath and judgment in the future and enter into the eternal kingdom of heaven. The gospel is the saving power that leads us from hell to heaven. Finally, present salvation. We can experience and experience the power of the gospel in our lives now. The present meaning of the gospel is victory. is to win. It is the power of God that makes us victorious in all circumstances.
I hope you believe that pain, suffering, sorrow, and pain will be overcome through the power of the gospel. I hope you believe that you can overcome sin, death, and the powers of the devil through the power of the gospel. I hope you believe that you will overcome despair, discouragement, and feelings of defeat with the power of the gospel. This is the content of Romans 1:16. Hallelujah!
Brethren, we have to ask a question here. The gospel is God's power to save those who believe, so how is the gospel God's power to save? Apostle Paul, He answers your question in Romans 1:17.
Dear saints, first of all, I would like you to take a look at the structure of today's text, Romans 1:16-17. It is omitted in our Bible. However, between verses 16 and 17 there is a conjunction “gar,” which means “because”, connecting verses 16 and 17. “The gospel has the power of God to save. Because in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed.” They are connected like this. Romans 1:17 explains and confirms verse 16.
Everyone, I ask you to show your interest in today's verse, Romans 1:16-17. The gospel is the power of God for salvation. If you want to experience the power of the gospel, if you want to live a victorious Christian life with the power of the gospel, if you want to experience the mystery of the work of the gospel, it is important to understand Romans 1:17 clearly. Required.
Martin Luther even said that he hated Romans 1:17 until he understood it correctly. “I have been trying to understand Paul in Romans. However, Romans 1:17, ‘the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel,’ was hindering me. I hated the word “righteousness of God.” I have been taught to understand it as the ‘righteousness of God’ that judges the unrighteous sinner.”
As such, Luther at first saw the manifestation of God's righteousness as not good news, but very bad news. We knew it as the righteousness of God that brings judgment and curses upon us. Since we are sinners, we knew that when God's righteousness was revealed, the end would come to an end. On the one hand, you are right. God requires of us perfect righteousness like Himself. This is the character of God, and his law requires us to be perfect in righteousness. But we don't have it. We are sinners, the object of God's wrath, and we have been abandoned by God.
Then, what is the righteousness of God in the gospel?
There has been much discussion about what the righteousness of God means. It can be summed up in roughly three comments. The first is the claim to understand God's righteous disposition. The second is the claim to understand God's righteous deeds. This understanding is to understand the word “of God” as possessive. Third, to understand the word “of God” as an object, not a possessive. It does not belong to God, but comes from God. It means the righteousness of God given as a gift to those who believe in the gospel.
The Apostle Paul, quoting the Old Testament, confirms that the righteousness of God is revealed to those who believe. In Hab 2:4, it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.” Here, “by faith” can be understood by connecting it to the noun “the righteous” or the verb “to live”. Connecting the noun “the righteous” means “the righteous one who is justified by faith will live.” Connecting the verbs means “but the righteous will live by faith”.
Dear brothers and sisters, in Romans 1:17, we must first connect with a noun to understand it. We are made righteous only by faith. God's righteousness has been given to us as a gift only through faith. Martin Luther, who at first hated Romans 1:17, when he came to understand, he exclaimed: “We are beginning to believe that the righteousness of God is the righteousness of a merciful God who justifies us by faith. I felt reborn and was convinced that I had entered heaven through the wide open door.” That's right. Everyone, I hope you believe that only the righteousness of God is given to those who believe. I want you to believe that you are made righteous only by faith. I hope that those who have received the righteousness of God only through faith believe that they will live forever.
Therefore, we should not think that we are punished and cursed just because we have committed a crime. I hope that no matter what we do, we believe that we will receive God's blessings as righteous people. We want you to believe that we are the ones who will be loved by God as children of God no matter what we lack.
Saints, you and I are still sinners. But we are righteous because we believe in the gospel of the cross. We are sinners and righteous at the same time. Guys, which one would you argue? We always claim by faith by relying on the cross. Whether we live or die, we always depend on the cross to live. You must not promote your own righteousness. You should not boast or trust anything of yourself. I hope you will depend only on the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel. May we, as sinners justified of God by faith, be assured that we will live forever.