Romans 1:16-17
the just shall live by faith
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
In vv. 16–17 we have the theme of the letter: the Gospel of Christ reveals the righteousness of God, a righteousness based on faith and not works, and available to all, not just the Jews. Paul explains in Romans how God can be both “just and justifier,” that is, how He can make sinners righteous and still uphold His own holy law. He quotes Hab. 2:4 (see introductory notes), “The just shall live by faith.”
THEME (1:16–17)
The theme is summarized in these two verses as the revelation of a righteousness of God. “The righteous will live by faith” is as some have suggested a summary of Pauline theology as a whole.
The negative manner is a sober reflection of the reality that the gospel is something of which Christians will, while still in the world, continually be tempted to be ashamed (see Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; 2 Tim. 1:8).
The gospel is the almighty power of God directed toward the salvation of men and women. Paul’s understanding of the gospel made him not yield to the temptation to be ashamed of the gospel but live to proclaim it.
For Paul, eternal issues were at stake. Those whose minds were blinded and failed to believe and obey the gospel were perishing (2 Cor. 4:3). They would ultimately fall under the divine wrath (2 Thess. 1:9). Everyone who believes, whether Jew or Gentile, the gospel effectively becomes the power of God for salvation.
This gospel reveals “a righteousness of God.” Righteousness denotes the right standing God gives to believers. Believers are righteous (justified) through faith and by faith but never on account of faith. Faith is not itself our righteousness, rather it is the outstretched empty hand that receives righteousness by receiving Christ. Paul’s concept of righteousness or justification is a complete and total work of God, and we can do nothing to earn it. (See article on “Justification by Faith”, p. 547.)
JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
Justification is the act of God whereby He declares that a sinful person is righteous, based on a belief and trust in Jesus Christ rather than in the person’s own good works. It is a change of state from guilt to righteousness.
Biblical Overview. The concept of justification has its background in the Old Testament. The Hebrew term for to justify or to be righteous indicated that one was declared free from guilt. The idea carried legal connotations. This can be seen in usages where justification is contrasted with condemnation (see Deut. 25:1; Prov. 17:15; Isa. 5:23). It can also be found in settings that imply a process of judgment (see Gen. 18:25; Ps. 143:2).
Justification was not merely an ethical quality of character. Rather, it emphasized being righteous; that is, having a right relationship to a certain standard. This standard was God’s very own nature and person. As such only He could perfectly judge whether a person had lived up to the criterion for the relationship. Therefore justification in the Old Testament involved declaring that a person had been faithful to the requirements of the relationship in accordance to the standard given by God.
The New Testament further advances this idea, mainly in Paul’s writings. His understanding of justification is the starting place for developing the implications of the central truth of the gospel, namely, that God forgives believing sinners.
From justification flows the understanding that God gives grace and faith equally to all people (Rom. 1:16; Gal. 3:8–14). The concept of grace is defined in accordance with justification (Rom. 3:24). Paul’s explanation for the saving significance of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection arises from justification (Rom. 3:24; 5:16).
The revelation of God’s love at the cross of Jesus (Rom. 5:5–9), human liberation from sin’s bondage (Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7), a reconciled relationship with God (2 Cor. 5:18; Gal. 2:17), adoption into God’s family (Gal. 4:6–8), and assurance in the Christian life (Rom. 5:1–11) are also examined in light of justification.
Theological Considerations. Imputation is an act of God whereby He credits Christ’s righteousness to sinners who believe and accept His gift. They are then pronounced by God as righteous.
This is not to say God considers believers merely as if they had never sinned. This would only indicate they were innocent. Justification goes beyond this understanding. Christ has paid the penalty for sin and guilt and has fulfilled the just requirements of the law. God the Father applied Christ’s perfect work to the believer’s life in such a way that he or she is restored to a right standing with God. In this way God declares a person righteous.
The basis for a believer’s justification is the death of Jesus Christ. People are not able to justify themselves by performing good works (Rom. 3:28; Gal. 2:16). Christ was “made sin” (2 Cor. 5:21) in the place of sinners, dying as their substitute. God’s justice was demonstrated by punishing sin through the death of Christ (Rom. 3:21–26). In Christ’s death God justified Himself (by punishing sin), as well as justifying believing sinners (by crediting Christ’s righteousness to them).
The way a person receives God’s justification is through faith. Faith is an absolute reliance in Jesus Christ and His work for salvation. Faith should not be considered a good work (Rom. 3:28), for it rests on grace (Rom. 4:16) and excludes works (Eph. 2:8–9). Faith is a condition that has no merit in itself; rather, it rests upon the merit of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Justification is something that is completely undeserved. It is not an attainment but the gracious gift of God. Not every sinner is justified, only those who believe in Jesus Christ.
Good works do not procure justification. Works, however, are the way people demonstrate that they are justified by faith (Jas. 2:18).
Paul is the only New Testament writer to use “justify” as a term for God’s act of accepting people when they believe. When James spoke of being justified, he used the word in a general sense of proving a genuine and right relationship before God and people. James wanted to deny the character of a superficial faith that does not produce works for God’s kingdom.
Paul argued that it would be a perversion of grace to argue that since grace results in freedom and [grace] increases where sin increases, people should continue in sin so that grace can abound. Paul contended that those who have been justified by Christ have died to the power of sin, which no longer has enslaving power. Believers have been identified (“baptized”) with the death and resurrection of Christ, the source of their spiritual life. Since believers are dead to sin and its power, they must realize they have new life in Christ and not yield themselves to unrighteousness.