Romans 1:17

Righteous by Faith

A core component of the Gospel message is the righteousness of God— which essentially means that God acts rightly toward humanity.

Romans 1:17 introduces this theme that Paul, the writer of Romans, covers in the rest of his letter. For Paul, this verse is the premise for the arguments that he will make in the following chapters.

Paul says in Romans 3:23 that all of us have turned our back on God, and that sin is what separates us from Him.

Since God is righteous and holy, and we are not, we couldn’t approach God on our own. There needed to be a solution to bridge the gap between us. God sent Jesus in our place to be that bridge. This way, Jesus could make a way for us to have a relationship with Him again, and God would still be righteous.

That is why Paul says God’s righteousness is revealed through the Gospel. But, he clarifies that it comes through faith. Paul says, “The righteous will live by faith” (Romans 1:17). Righteous living, or living our life according to God’s way, begins with faith, which is believing in what Jesus has done for us. 

There is no amount of good work we can do to earn a relationship with God. Instead of measuring righteousness by good deeds or some other metric—God looks at our hearts. He looks to see whether or not we have faith in Jesus. 

Everyone who comes to God must do so through faith.

We can have a relationship with God if we believe in Jesus and walk in faith. As we do that, we are made new in Christ. Our old ways and old habits are gone, and we can now walk in newness of life with Jesus. 

Spend some time today thinking about what Jesus has done for you on the cross where He gave His life on your behalf. What areas of your life can you live by faith, rather than trying to earn God’s favor? Rest in His presence knowing that you are accepted and made new because of your faith in Jesus.