"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
Romans 1:17
Faith is vital for the child of God, for, without it, a man or woman could never have salvation. And faith also plays a crucial role in the believer’s sanctification as seen in our verse for today.
“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed”
The phrase “for therein” is pointing back to verse 16. This is where the “righteousness of God [is] revealed” to man.
“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” (Romans 1:16).
“His righteousness” is revealed to man in the “Gospel of Christ.” There is no other way for a sinful human to receive “God’s righteousness” than by trusting in this Gospel. The Gospel is believed by faith.
Notice that salvation by faith provides the only way possible to receive the “righteousness of God.” This is vital because only “His righteousness”1 can provide cleansing for our sin and make us ready to meet Him in heaven. Man’s “righteousness” is worthless for salvation!
“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” (Isaiah 64:6).
“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” (Romans 10:3-4).
A man’s salvation comes by “submitting” to “His righteousness.”
“From faith to faith:”
We need faith and faith. To become a child of God, one must have salvation by grace “through faith” (Ephesians 2:8-9), in Jesus’ work on the cross for us. And a believer’s life is to be a life of sanctification driven by faith, for “the just shall live by faith.” We need both saving faith and sanctifying faith.
“As it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
The “redeemed,” the “righteous,” the “just” live by faith. What a significant few words these are to describe the life of a true believer. These words are repeated four times in the scriptures (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; and Hebrews 10:38). When God speaks once we must listen and do what He says. When He says the same thing four times, we had better pay extreme attention to what He is saying! If we desire to please God with our lives, we must be the people of faith.
Believer, is your faith vital and growing?
1. Paul speaks of the righteousness which belongs to God, at least seven times in the book of Romans (Romans 3:5; 3:21-22; 3:25-26; and in Romans 10:3 twice).