Study notes on Romans 1:16-17

Other notes in this series:

• Study notes on Romans 1:1-7
• Study notes on Romans 1:8-15
• this blog post
• Study notes on Romans 1:18-23

¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel,

    for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,

    to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

        ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,

                as it is written, "[But] the righteous shall live by [from] faith."

Romans 1:16-17

Summary Statement - The Gospel is the Power of God, and reveals the Righteousness of God - Do not be ashamed of it!

My Outline

• The Gospel, 16b-17
  • What it is - The Power of God, 16b
  • What it reveals - The Righteousness of God, 17
• Not Ashamed, 16a

Notes from Former Pastor's Sermons

Title - "Not Ashamed" Main Idea - Great boldness flows from a great Gospel.

Outline

• Great Boldness, 16a
  • "Paul preaches in the face of opposition"
• A Great Gospel
  • Salvation from God - The Danger, 16b
    • "When someone trusts Jesus, God powerfully saves them, bringing them to Himself"
  • Our Standing with God - The Safety, 17
    • Does 'righteousness of God' mean 'His Character' or the righteousness God bestows on believers?
      • the context of the book implies the latter, cf 3:21 ❤️

My Notes ¹

• Outlines
  • Mine (divided by the three uses of γὰρ in the text)
    • The Gospel
      • What it is - The Power of God
      • What it reveals - The Righteousness of God
    • Not Ashamed
  • Murray's Outline
    • Source - "The apostle tells us first why he is ready to preach the gospel at Rome - he is not ashamed of the gospel. Then he tells us why he is not ashamed of the gospel - "it is the power of God unto salvation." And then, finally, he tells us why it is the power of God unto salvation - therein the "righteousness of God is revealed." p 26
    • Not ashamed of the Gospel
      • Why - It is the power of God unto salvation
        • Why - In it the righteousness of God is revealed
• Observations
  • General
    • The Gospel - what it is and what it reveals
      • is the power of God for salvation
      • reveals the righteousness of God from faith for faith
    • The Gospel reveals the righteousness of God (1:17), the heavens reveal the wrath of God against unrighteousness (1:18). Wow!
    • "truth", first mentioned in passing in 1:18, develops to "truth about God" in 1:25; 2:8 is set opposite to unrighteousness.
      • "truth" must mean all revealed religion, both general and special revelation
  • 16
    • Wallace
      • τὸ εὐαγγέλιον is a par excellence use of the article, "THE gospel"
      • ἐκ πίστεως is a genitive of source, "from faith" (also 17)
  • Why does Paul need to assert that he is not ashamed of the gospel? did some think he should be?
    • cf. the foolishness of preaching, 10:14ff and 1 Corinthians 1:21
    • Murray - "The emotion of shame with reference to the gospel, when confronted with the pretensions of human wisdom and power, betrays unbelief in the truth of the gospel and the absence of shame is the proof of faith (cf Mark 8:38, 2 Tim 1:8)
      • "Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
      • "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God"
        • wow. Salvation, which is the power of God, has a connection with suffering, which is also by the power of God.
    • Calvin - Paul "prepares them for bearing the contempt of the cross of Christ, lest they should esteem the gospel of less value by finding it exposed to the scoffs and reproaches of the ungodly; and, on the other hand, he shows how valuable it was to the faithful." ❤️
      • 🤲 Lord, let me see the gospel of Your salvation as all the more precious precisely because it breeds contempt among those who are perishing.
    • What is the relationship between the gospel on its own and Paul's preaching of the gospel? He seems to equate them somehow from v 15
      • maybe his preaching is seen as an extension or continuation of the gospel? or that the gospel is manifested through the medium of preaching
    • Murray - The gospel is not the power of God unto salvation for those without faith, for it only comes in powerful salvation "to those who believe"
    • Calvin - those who withdraw from the hearing of the word "willfully despise the power of God, and drive away from them His delivering hand."
    • Luther - cf Acts 1:8 - "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you"
      • This is a forehint of how we receive this power - by the indwelling of the Spirit
  • 17
    • Wallace - ἐκ πίστεως is also a genitive of source, "from faith" (also 17)
  • Luther
    • "The righteousness of God is the cause of our salvation. This righteousness, however, is not that according to which God Himself is righteous as God, but that by which we are justified by Him through faith in the Gospel." ❤️
    • Calvin - "we cannot obtain salvation otherwise than from the gospel, since nowhere else does God reveal to us His righteousness, which alone delivers us from perdition."
    • need to understand ἐκ πίστεως εἰς πίστιν and repeated ἐκ πίστεως
      • is it first ἐκ πίστεως of God, for the faith of us? I know some wacko commentaries think so
      • is it speaking of a continuation of faith, i.e. faith begets more faith?
    • How is the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel? how does Habakkuk 2:4 interact with this?
      • Habakkuk's complaint is that the prideful live without judgement, which has something to do with Paul's assertion that he is not ashamed?
    • Murray - "The righteousness of God" is "the righteousness which proceeds from God", but also is "a righteousness of divine property and characterized by divine qualities. It is a 'God-righteousness'." ❤️
      • 🤲 My Lord, Your righteousness is from You and patterned after You. Yet You gave it to me freely! Thank You for Your Righteousness!
      • "[Consider its divine property - it is] therefore contrasted not only with human unrighteousness but with human righteousness."
• Interpretation/Application
  • What does this teach me about:
    • God and His character?
      • If God is all-powerful, then for something to 'require' His power is a big weighty thing.
        • Murray - "In order to express the thought we should have to say the omnipotence of God and, consequently, the meaning is no less than this: that the gospel is the omnipotence of God operative unto salvation."
    • Human nature, character, and behavior?
      • 'righteousness of God', as I discovered (thanks to Luther and former pastor) is the righteousness God bestows upon believers. We need a righteousness
  • Application questions (any personal examples to emulate or to avoid, for any commands to obey, for any promises to claim, and for any warnings to heed)
    • What difference does this make?
      • If Paul is not ashamed, neither should I be. He endured all manner of affliction for this gospel.
    • When I forget this, how does that affect me and all my relationships?
      • Just as Paul wants to preach the gospel to Christians, the gospel is not to be shied away from when I am with other believers.

Sources:

• Wallace's Greek Grammar
• Luther's Commentary
• Calvin's Commentary
• Murray's Commentary

¹ I use the 🤲 emoji to denote inline prayers.