Justified by Faith: The Apostle Paul’s Presentation of the Gospel

The Bible is clear: ＂For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God＂(Romans 3:23). This means all people everywhere.

What is the result of sin? ＂The wages of sin is death＂ (Romans 6:23). What we earn for a sinful life separated from God is death.

But God has a plan. ＂But the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord＂ (Romans 6:23). Jesus paid our penalty because He died on the cross, taking our sins upon Himself. God’s grace is the gift of eternal life when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

God demonstrated His love for us when we were still in our sins and did not know Him. ＂But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us＂ (Romans 5:8).

But we must accept Jesus as Savior and Lord of our lives. ＂That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation＂(Romans 10:9-10).

God has made us the following promise: ＂For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved＂ (Romans 10:13). Romans 3:21-26gives another example of Paul’s gospel explanation.

God’s plan of salvation was to redeem us from sin by the sacrificial and substitutionary death on the cross. On the cross, Jesus declared, ＂It is finished＂ (John 19:30). Finished means ＂paid in full.＂

The perfect lamb of God was sacrificed in our place so that we might have eternal life. Our part is to receive God’s plan by faith. The noun, faith, is found thirty-nine times in Romans, and the verb, believe, is found seventeen times. Faith means to trust and obey, not just know about Jesus. Faith commits to follow Him in obedience.

Romans gives Paul’s clearest definition of the gospel message. He explained his missionary zeal when he said of the gospel, ＂It is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes＂(Romans 1:16). Paul used the Greek word for salvation that means deliverance. After Paul met Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road and was saved, he was convinced the gospel could rescue or deliver people from their sins. He believed Jesus to be the ＂author and finisher of our faith＂ (Hebrews 12:2).

The gospel is offered by God’s grace to all people on the condition of repentance of their sins and trusting in Jesus as Lord and Savior (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9, Hebrews 2:3).Through salvation, we are no longer the enemies of God but are His adopted children (John 1:22, Galatians 4:4-5, Ephesians 1:5).

Through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are accounted as righteous, ＂even the righteous of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe＂ (Romans 3:22). ＂Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; but Israel ... has not attained to the law of righteousness ... because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law (Romans 9:30-32). Jesus removes our sins when we come by faith to Him and gives us righteousness.