Greetings everyone.
Today, we will start examining Romans 1:16-17, a passage that Douglas Moo calls in his commnetary on Romans, "The Theme of the Letter." (Moo, 63.) Here is my translation:
16 I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of all of those who have faith, first to the Jews, and then to the Greeks, 17 for in the Gospel the righteousness of God has been revealed to the faithful from the beginning to the end, for as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”
As we move forward we will see whether or not this idea that gospel of Jesus as the power of salvation for those who believe is the theme of Romans. Moo goes on to explain that these two verses contains 4 clauses that build on the those come before. (Moo, 63-64.) We will look at two of those clauses today, and two in my next post.
“I am not ashamed of the gospel”
Paul declares that he is not ashamed of the Gospel. This clause reminds us of Mark 8:38, where Jesus says, “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Back in verse 15, Paul has just said, “I am eager to proclaim the good news to those of you in Rome.” He follows in verse 16 with a statement that he is not ashamed of gospel. It is his ambition to spread the gospel everywhere. Also, he is not ashamed as he understands the power of the Good News. It is God’s power for our salvation.
The Greek here that is translated as ‘ashamed’ is ἐπαισχύνομαι (epaischunomai). The Lexicon defines this word as ‘to experience a painful feeling or sense of loss of status because of some particular event or activity.” Paul does not fear losing status or anything else because of his association with the Gospel of Jesus. He does not fear such things because he understands its value, it is the power of God for our salvation.
We don't want to ashamed of the gospel, either. A good way to avoid being ashamed of the Gospel is to remember what the gospel does. It brings salvation to those who believe.
“For it is the power of God for salvation for all of those who believe.”
Δύναμις Θεοῦ (dynamis Theou) - The power of God. Paul declares that the gospel, or good news of Jesus Christ, is the power of God. Thomas Schreiner says this about the ‘power of God’: “The Δύναμις Θεοῦ in the gospel signifies the effective and transforming power that accompanies the preaching of the gospel. God’s power is expressed in the proclamation of Jesus as risen Lord.” (Schreiner, 64.)
More to the point the Δύναμις Θεοῦ is the power of God for a specific purpose. It brings slavation to those who believe. So there are two things in play here: God’s power and our faith.
Note: Like Galatians, the book of Romans preaches a gospel of salvation by faith, and not works. Paul does not say, “for it is the power of God for salvation for all who obey.”
John Stott, in connecting these two phrases makes the point, “In the long run, only because we have experienced its saving power in our own lives. Has God reconciled us to himself through Christ, forgiven our sins, made us his children, put his Spirit in us, begun to transform us and introduced us into his new community? Then how can we be ashamed of his gospel?” (Stott, 44-45.)
It is important to remember that salvation comes entirely due to God’s power and not any of our own. As much as I want to be saved, be righteous or be transformed into the likeness of Jesus, I remain powerless to do any of these things on my own. He is the one with the power, and my role is to trust Him.
Thomas Schreiner, Romans, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1998.
John Stott, The Message of Romans, InterVarsity Press. Downers Grove, Illinois, 1994.
