#17. Romans 1:17 - First Impressions Heading Into Doctrine

 Part II: The Conduct of Humanity

For not ashamed am I of the evangel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who is believing – to the Jew first, and to the Greek as well. For in it God’s righteousness is being revealed, out of faith into faith…

Up until this moment in our study, I have been purposefully and intentionally hiding the exact contents of the evangel from you.

Well… okay, not “hiding,” exactly, but I’ve certainly not been going into great detail on it. Don’t worry! There will be plenty of time for that. Right now, we’re getting a feel for Paul, his writing style, discerning whether or not we can trust him, and gaining our bearings on exactly where we are reading in Scripture (in a structural/timeline sense of the word.)

This verse here finally brings us into the literal content of the evangel; not that it tells us the evangel, but that it gives us more concerning the purpose of the evangel. The “good news” reveals “God’s righteousness.” This is the perfect transition from the theme of Romans, into the beginning of the doctrinal portion of the letter, demanding our utmost attention.

For starters – it is connected to the theme and its preceding clause in the sense that “God’s righteousness” is nothing to be “ashamed” of. Yes, on the surface it’s a devastatingly tragic event – the death of the only One worth calling “innocent.” The account of His graphic murder far outshines that of George R.R. Martin’s best prose. Yet Paul’s attitude is not simply “unashamed,” but “eager” to share it. This clearly shows that Paul saw more than a simple regurgitation of a pointed message concerning Christ and those that believe Him. Paul shows, at the beginning of this transition, that He is not merely fascinated with the evangel, but what the evangel (concerning God’s Son) points to – a critical, and much debated, aspect of God’s character: His righteousness.

It’s important to note that this evangel isn’t telling us that there is a God. For the purposes of this study, I am walking us through an argument that is most assuredly supernatural in scale, consistency, and continuity with previous Scriptural writings, which will enable us to consider many arguments brought about by atheist objectors.

Yet atheist objectors, even in disbelieving God, will likely find upon an honest reflection of this letter that Paul’s argument does indeed contain fundamental, universal truths (especially in the first few chapters, here.) But the literal evangel that Paul is speaking of will not be fully displayed until Romans 3:21-26 – meaning that Paul is already talking about God. The evangel will not arrive mid-Romans 3 just to say, “Hey, I know we’ve been talking about God’s character by contrasting it with man’s character and all that, but here’s your brief affirmation that God exists! Dippy doo!” As comedic a notion that this may be, it would be a rather shallow declaration, after all this groundwork has been laid.

No, the evangel doesn’t simply reveal “God,” but the qualities of God. This is the evangel of God. Again, this does not simply mean “Sourced in God,” true as that is, but reflective of His very essence. His entire character, His decision-making capabilities, His declarations, His methods, all hinge on one fundamental question: “Is the One that calls the shots worthy of calling the shots?”

It’s thought provoking, because, at a glance, man doesn’t really think God deserves to rule. They point at the genocide of previous races (the Amalekites, if you’re interested,) the continual lack of explanations, the rampant sin pervading creation, and, of course, the abhorrent death of His Son, as critical proof – either that God is fantasy, or that God is more of a divine Douchebag than a loving Guide.

The burden of proof, as we say, is left to the One that made the claim. Well, shit. God said He’s righteous. Millions argue with this assertion, so… can you explain, God? This is what He seeks to do throughout Romans 1:18-4:25– display His righteousness. By the time the evangel is fully unveiled to us, we will be able to see whether or not His argument is seamless.

Let’s take a brief break for some goodies from the Greek language. This is the first time that we see the word “righteousness” in Romans. The Greek word here is dikaiosune, and its elements are “JUST-TOGETHERNESS.” It represents the quality, or, literally, the state, of being just. The word is used 35 times in this letter between the oldest three manuscripts. This is substantial, as, by my (probably slightly incorrect) count, this term “righteousness” is used 95 times throughout the entirety of the New Testament. This means that more than a third of each use of this word is found here in this letter alone.

What am I saying with all that?

I don’t know.

What? I simply don’t think a real “claim” needs to be made with this strange disparity, though it is undoubtedly intentional. The topic of righteousness pervades Romans, as it is displayed in the power of God into salvation for those who are believing.

The word “righteousness” is literal. We have 0 reason whatsoever, grammatically or thematically, to assume at this point that when Paul says “righteousness,” he is somehow referring to something else. This aspect need not be theorized on prior to Paul’s unveiling of the evangel. He is telling us that the evangel unveils this righteousness, so… why would we assume that we know the characteristics of a “righteous” God, if we have not yet been given the information to comprehend them?

If we start messing with Paul’s logic at any point, we run the great risk of losing a valuable piece of the argument; let’s simply let Paul explain himself, and dwell on it as the verse arrives, as we are doing now. If we assume what we think the righteousness of God is before reading it, then we could become so focused on our thoughts on the matter instead of reading what it truly is. This would be dangerous, for Paul noted already that this evangel is God’s power into salvation for those who are believing. If we pre-suppose our thoughts, then we are not believing God’s thoughts.

The righteousness of God will be unveiled through descriptions of the death, entombment, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:3, 1 Cor. 15:1-4.) These three succeeding events underlie all of Romans, from the evangel of justification by faith, the righteousness itself and where it is (yes, where it is,) and how and why God’s righteousness even matters to the likes of you and me in the first place.

In retrospect, I find that the righteousness of God simply is, whether I immediately accept it or not. It’s not something that has changed or grown; “righteousness” is “righteousness.” Righteousness itself is nothing other than righteousness, and, assuming that this is a fundamental aspect of God’s character, we should not assert that an undying, coherent Creator can somehow be unrighteous at the same time. With this kind of righteousness, there is no in-between. Though we are flawed, tiny little creatures with skewed beliefs on morality, God’s moral compass cannot be twisted or bargained with. If He is righteous, then it cannot (and should not) make any difference as to what I personally think about it. Knowing, as well, my need of salvation, I conclude that knowledge of His righteousness increases my understanding of my reliance on this righteous God, for no other should be my guide.

What better way to learn of God’s righteousness than to learn of His method of dealing with sinners at this moment? Everyone and their mother has their own conception as to what God will do with sinners, and it begs a few questions. First: what the hell is a sinner? And two: what is the righteous method to dealing with one? Both of these questions demand answers, and both are found in this letter (within the first 3 chapters, too.)

The inciting thought Paul gives, after explaining what the evangel does (save those who believe,) is to provide its function (revealing God’s righteousness.) Paul directly follows this by explaining how the evangel does this – out of faith, into faith. I’ll dwell on those more in a moment, but I want to show you a necessary pattern that will be rearing its head all throughout Paul’s evangel:

1.    God

2.    Christ

3.    Man

This is the divine order. We can see it in the first seven verses of the letter; God (1:1,) Christ (1:3,) man (1:5-6.) We are now observing it here, in this verse. Righteousness (of God,) out of faith (of Christ,) and into faith, (of man.) The “righteousness” is of God, the “faith” of Christ, and our faith the effect (highlighted by the quote Paul gives in the second half of the verse, which we will cover two articles from now.)

This is critical to the evangel, which makes each of these points distinctly different. “Righteousness” is not “faith,” “faith” is not “life,” and “life” is not “righteousness.” Similarly, “God” is not “Christ,” “Christ” is not “man,” and “man” is not “God.” The idea that these must be mixed has not been made clear to us at this point in the letter. If we do find a verse that tells us to mix these ideas, then we will! But we haven’t yet. So we won’t.

The evangel itself (beginning on Rom. 3:21,) follows the same pattern that Romans is establishing here, which is why it is critical: God (3:21,) Christ (3:22,) and then man (3:22-23.) When we reach the evangel itself, I will be speaking a great deal more on this lovely repetition and what it means about God’s sovereignty.

This beautiful hierarchy highlights where we stand. Religious institutions proclaim that we are the ones in control of our own salvation, when the pattern presented by God begins with Him.

It’s understandable! Don’t get me wrong, like… I’m human too, so I understand the inherent desire to drive your own destiny. If this is your first consideration of a properly-translated Romans, then I understand that you are not looking at the evangel with intent to realize God’s righteousness. There are millions of reasons that one opens the Bible, but God’s righteousness is hardly ever one’s focal point. Usually it’s, “how do I do this,” or “how do I handle that?”

We think of ourselves when reading Scripture. “What makes sense to me?” “What does this mean to me?” A genuine curiosity has given way to “how can I use this book to my advantage?” While there are many advantages and blessings imparted to a believer, the blessing is not imparted without apprehending why those advantages and blessings exist, and Who is the One imparting them.

This attitude has led to this great sectarian strife between each institution, and thus hidden the beauty of the revelation on display. To know God is to know the reason for existence. This heavily debated concept has a conclusion, and that is what the evangel is driving at. Trust the One telling the story, for He unveils His righteousness through the evangel to do so. It is on this evangel that we will be given the ability to apprehend the full scope of the story He is telling (5:1.)

The evangel itself, being the word of the cross (1 Cor. 1:17,) is the foundation. The story of creation is presented by Another on paper, told through faith, and will come to be appreciated by all.

- GerudoKing