Thursday, July 31, 2014

Romans 1:17

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely
Romans 1:17

17 For [gar] therein [en] [autos] is [apokalupto] the righteousness [dikaiosune] of God [theos] revealed [apokalupto] from [ek] faith [pistis] to [eis] faith [pistis]: as [kathos] it is written [grapho], [de] The just [dikaios] shall live [zao] by [ek] faith [pistis].    KJV-Interlinear

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "But the righteous man shall live by faith."   NASB

Most Christians want to believe that faith is a mindless wish or hope wherein the person doesn’t have to do anything, and that is what leads to utter failure.  Faith, the single most misunderstood word in all of Christianity, is the result of spiritual growth, not the cause of it.  And Paul makes it clear here.

In the gospel, mentioned in verses 16 and 15, which is a reference to the entire realm of doctrine, not just to the gospel of Christ on the Cross.

For Paul is speaking to believers, or people who have already heard the gospel for salvation, therefore what they need to learn now is the doctrine or principles of Christianity for growth after salvation.

In it, which refers to the gospel, or Bible doctrine, or the content of the Bible, is righteousness.

In doctrine, is righteousness.  And it is revealed or made known.

Righteousness is the intrinsic meaning of Gods plan in reconciling the world to Himself, through Christ.

Man, through all of those religions that exist out there, wants to reconcile himself to God, to nature, to the universe, to time and space, and whatever else man can invent through his imagination.  But man in his own mind, is doing all of the work by either being good or better, or by killing the infidel, or by doing whatever it is that seems fair and just and proper at the time.  But all of this is driven by mans sin nature, not by Gods righteousness or justice.

There is good and there is evil and God deals only with good, His good, not mans good.  Human good is just another aspect of mans arrogance and evil.

Man invents his own set of rules which are arbitrary at best.    That is why there are so many religions and philosophies.  They all contradict one another, but they do have one thing in common, which is they are all false.

God discloses His rules through Bible doctrine.  And doctrine has been around since Adam and actually doctrine has been around since eternity past, for God is the Word, which is Truth, and Truth is the Word and it is also God.  They are all closely integrated within each other.

Even from the Old Testament, Hab. 2:4, it is written that man lives by faith.  And faith is constructed by doctrine learned.  It is not an empty hope or wish based on nothing.

Faith to faith, means simply your faith (the end result of study) is constructed by faith (the content of Bible doctrine).

When you figure this out within your own mind, and you get with a daily study, then your life will become more meaningful and fulfilling and certainly happier.  And you will live by means of faith, or by Bible doctrine that resides within your own soul.

What you think, is what you are.