For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. (Rom. 1:17)
Expanded Passage: Romans 1:16-17
This verse and the one before it are the key verses in Romans. One of Paul’s purposes in writing the Roman churches was to assure them that God had in fact remained faithful—both to the people of Israel and to those who had more recently come to faith from the non-Jewish world. No doubt, some Jews accused Paul of betraying his own people. Some Gentile believers probably thought themselves God’s new favorites and that God had left his earlier people for them.
In the magnificent book of Romans, Paul emphasized to Jewish believers that all have sinned and Jews and Gentiles stand equally before the cross. To Gentile believers, he reminded them that, although God grafted them into the tree, they could be cut out again. Further, Paul reiterated the fact that not being “under the law” was not a license to sin.
How easily Satan can twist a good thing! He can deceive us into thinking we are better than others without us even realizing it. Maybe I grew up following God, but am I better than someone who has just come to Christ? Maybe I am new to the church and can see places the church needs to improve, so am I better than those who seem stuck in their ways?
Wherever we came from, we all are the same—wholly dependent on Christ.
Ask for protection from thinking you are better than others.
Ken Schenck is provost with Campus EDU. He previously served as vice president for Houghton College (NY) and dean of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University.
© 2024 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
