His Covenant Faithfulness

The “righteousness of God” refers to His faithfulness in fulfilling His promises. This is demonstrated above all by the salvation He provided through Jesus.

Paul stresses the “righteousness of God” revealed when the Gospel is proclaimed. It is the “power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” It is declared on the Earth, to “Jews and Greeks” alike. Salvation is available to all men regardless of ethnicity through the “faith of Jesus Christ,” His “Righteous One” (“My Righteous One will live from faith” – Romans 1:16-17).

[Photo by Guillermo Álvarez on Unsplash]

The phrase “righteousness of God” refers to His “righteousness,” especially in providing salvation for His wayward children. The genitive construction of the Greek clause must be given its full weight. Like the “goodness of God,” it refers to something that belongs to Him, that defines Who and What He is.

His “righteousness” is demonstrated by His concrete acts of salvation on behalf of humanity accomplished through His “Righteous One,” Jesus of Nazareth, the one who was “marked out as the Son of God according to a Spirit of Holiness, from a resurrection of the dead” - (Romans 1:4).

Romans present the Gospel as the Great Equalizer. Jews and Gentiles fall short of the Law’s requirements. Both groups stand condemned under its “just sentence.” Without Divine intervention, both will suffer His “wrath” on the “Day of Wrath.”

Every man is “without excuse” because all have sinned. No one is in a proper state to judge others. Regardless of ethnicity, whether “within the law” or “apart from the law,” all men are doomed to experience His “wrath” unless God provides for their justification and salvation - (Romans 2:5-11).

Paul declared in Chapter 2 of Romans that “God will render to each one according to his works.” His emphasis is on the future aspect of God’s “wrath.” It will be unleashed on “the day when God judges the secrets of men…through Christ Jesus.”

Elsewhere, Paul links the “Day of Wrath” to the moment Jesus arrives from heaven, the “Day of the Lord,” when all men will be judged and receive their just desserts - (1 Thessalonians 1:10, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

Using a series of proof texts, Paul next demonstrates conclusively that “both Jews and Greeks are under sin” - “All have sinned and lack the glory of God” - therefore, men and women cannot be reconciled with God “from the works of the Law.”

The Law “exposes sin” for what it is, the trespass of God’s commandments and righteous requirements. However, it cannot save anyone due to human weakness and sin - (Romans 3:9-18, 3:23).

The “righteousness of God” is revealed through the proclamation of the Gospel - “through the faith of Jesus Christ for all who believe.” In Christ, God declares all who believe “righteous by His grace, through the redemption in Jesus.” All this is provided apart from the works required by the Torah - (Romans 3:22-24).

This has been done “with a view to the showing forth of His righteousness in the present season.” The stress is on the present reality of the “righteousness of God” demonstrated in the proclamation of the Gospel, clear evidence of His faithfulness to redeem men who respond to Him in faith- (Romans 1:16-18, 3:19-30).

It is not just his individual saving act when we repent that demonstrates His righteousness, but the very existence of the Gospel message provided by Him for the salvation of mankind - (Romans 1:16-18, 3:19-30).

The faithfulness of God is unveiled in the present whenever His Gospel is proclaimed, and He declares men to be in right standing through the “faith of Jesus Christ.” The salvation articulated in the Gospel demonstrates His righteousness.

Paul speaks of God’s “righteousness” from an Old Testament perspective, of “righteousness” as His faithfulness to His promises, His Covenant Faithfulness. He demonstrates His “righteousness” for all men to see in a most personal way, by providing redemption and the forgiveness of sins through the “faith of Jesus.”

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RELATED POSTS:

• Salvation Revealed - (Paul presents his gospel to the assemblies of Rome, a message about God’s righteousness and wrath for all men)

• From Faith for Faith - (Men are not set right before God from the works of the law but from the faith of Jesus Christ)

• The Message - (Jesus summoned his disciples to proclaim the Good News of his Kingdom to every inhabited corner of the Earth)