Romans 1:17

‘For within it is revealed a righteousness of God from faith, unto faith, as it is written, “But the righteous will live by faith.” '

We should note immediately here the co-relation between ‘salvation' and ‘the righteousness of God'. The Good News is ‘the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16) - for therein is the righteousness of God revealed (Romans 1:17)'. Salvation and God's righteousness go hand in hand. This immediately turns our minds to Scriptural passages which equate the two as God comes to His people in salvation and in His righteousness (e.g. Isaiah 46:13; Isaiah 51:12; etc). The stress is not only on the fact that God saves, but also on the fact that He does so righteously in accordance with what He is. Paul then interprets that as signifying that if God had not brought us righteousness as a gift to be set to our account there could have been no salvation. For what is being underlined is that God is righteous, and that there could therefore be no salvation without righteousness. In other words, when thinking in terms of a righteous God salvation and divine righteousness, are ‘soul-mates'. If we are to be saved it must be in righteousness, and God must in some way bring to us righteousness, because God, being God, must save righteously.

So the content of the Good News is now made clear. It reveals a righteousness of God resulting from faith (out of faith), which is offered to those who believe (unto faith). Or alternately a righteousness of God which is the consequence of ‘ever-increasing faith' (‘out of faith unto faith'). But what is this ‘righteousness of God' to which Paul refers? It clearly has in mind that God is truly righteous, that is, is fully ‘right' in all that He is and does. But equally clearly there is more to it than that. For this ‘righteousness of God' here referred to is not simply seen by Paul as an attribute of God, but as something which God actually applies to believers. This comes out in that it is immediately applied in terms of Scripture to believing man as a consequence of his faith. For Paul directly connects it with the Old Testament dictum that ‘the righteous by faith will live' (Romans 1:17; compare Habakkuk 2:4). And as he will bring out later he sees this righteousness as a gift from God associated with the grace of God (Romans 5:17). It is a righteousness which is applied to man without him having to do anything towards it, while he is still ungodly (Romans 4:6). Yet that it is somehow  God's righteousness is equally very important, for only that righteousness could be truly acceptable to God. It is in no way the righteousness of men, or indicative of or resulting from, man's actions, for if it were it would be defiled. It would come short of what God requires. Man's only part in it is to receive it.

Nor, we will learn later, does it signify a righteousness indicative of man's behaviour, a righteousness which he builds up with God's help. It is not ‘of works' (Romans 3:28; Romans 4:4). This comes out very specifically in Paul's use of the term in Romans (see note below), and in the fact that it would be contrary to the intrinsic meaning of the verb dikaio-o, together with its related nouns and adjectives, which imply a righteousness which is in some way reckoned to a man's account (see Romans 4:3), making him legally acceptable in the eye's of God's justice, not a righteousness which is wrought within him. The dikaio-o group are forensic terms speaking of how a man is looked on by his Judge, not of how he actually is in himself. Indeed the verb dikaio-o, which like all o-o verbs in the moral dimension signifies ‘to deem, to account, to reckon', can regularly be translated as ‘deem as righteous', ‘reckon as righteous' (Romans 4:5). It is describing a judicially declared righteousness, not an actual state (thus similarly ‘the wicked can be justified for a reward', they can be declared righteous by a judge even when they are not). For man's need is to be ‘put in the right with God' legally, in the eyes of the Judge of all men. And that is what this righteousness achieves.

Of what then does this ‘righteousness of God' consist? It is revealed to be the righteousness made available through Christ's sacrifice of Himself (Romans 3:24). It is in essence His righteousness. It is ‘through the one act of righteousness (of Jesus Christ)' that the free gift comes to all unto justification of life' (Romans 5:18). It is ‘through the obedience of the One' that the many can be ‘made' (constituted, designated, appointed) righteous (Romans 5:19). ‘Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to all who believe' (Romans 10:4). It is ‘the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all who believe' which results in men being freely accounted as righteous through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:22; Romans 3:24). Indeed, ‘If Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, and the Spirit is life because of righteousness' (Romans 8:10). In the words of Paul elsewhere, ‘Christ is made unto us righteousness' (1 Corinthians 1:30). We are ‘made the righteousness of God in Him' (2 Corinthians 5:21). And it is apparent from the latter that we are ‘made the righteousness of God in Him' by being incorporated into Him in all His righteousness, in the same way as He is united with our sin. Thus to put it in the simplest of terms, it is the righteousness of Christ set to our account.

Note On The Righteousness of God.

In the light of Old Testament usage we are justified in seeing in the phrase ‘the righteousness of God' more than simply a description of one of God's attributes (His rightness in all that He purposes and does in accordance with the righteous requirements of His own nature), even though that must always be seen as present in the background. For in both the Psalms and in Isaiah ‘His righteousness' often parallels ‘His salvation' and appears to signify ‘righteous deliverance' with the idea probably being that He acts righteously on His people's behalf, and upon His people, in fulfilling His covenant promises of deliverance and bringing them in line with His covenant.

Consider, for example, in the Psalms:

· ‘My mouth will show forth your righteousness, and your salvation all the day' (Psalms 71:15).

· ‘The LORD has made known His salvation, His righteousness has He openly shown in the sight of the nations' (Psalms 98:2).

· ‘My eyes fail for your salvation, and for the word of your righteousness' (Psalms 119:23).

It will be observed in each case that righteousness (righteous deliverance?) and salvation are almost synonymous ideas, with the possible reservation that ‘righteousness' includes the added extra of the fulfilling of His covenant faithfulness.

Again in Isaiah we find:

o ‘Drop down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness (rain as provided in accordance with His covenant promises). Let the earth open and bring forth salvation (fruitfulness) and let righteousness (righteous provision in accordance with His promises) spring up together, I the LORD have created it' (Isaiah 45:8). Here ‘righteousness' is describing the fruit of God's faithfulness provided in accordance with His righteous promises. They are seen as God-produced and God-given. But as in Isaiah 44:3 we must also see this in terms of a spiritual application, with the ‘pouring down of righteousness' referring to the Spirit being poured down (Isaiah 44:3), and ‘righteousness springing up' referring to spiritual fruitfulness (Isaiah 44:4). These are the ways in which He brings about His righteous deliverance.

o ‘I will bring near My righteousness, it will not be far off, and my salvation will not linger, and I will place salvation in Zion for Israel my glory' (Isaiah 46:13). Here the idea of covenant deliverance on behalf of His people is central.

o ‘My righteousness is near, My salvation is gone forth, and My arms will judge the people, the isles will wait on Me, and on My arm will they trust' (Isaiah 51:5). Here God's righteous deliverance comes forth and results in ‘faith in God's arm' in those who benefit by that deliverance.

o ‘My salvation will be for ever, and my righteousness will not be abolished' (Isaiah 51:6). ‘My righteousness will be for ever, and My salvation from generation to generation' (Isaiah 51:8). Note here how the two ideas of salvation and righteousness (righteous deliverance) can be interchanged in the two verses. And both are eternal in effect.

o ‘Thus says the LORD, Maintain justice and do righteousness, for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed' (Isaiah 56:1). Here we have an important distinction between men doing righteousness and God's righteousness being revealed. The ‘revealing of the righteousness of God' is clearly a distinct idea from that of ‘men doing righteousness'. It is describing God acting in righteous deliverance in accordance with His covenant responsibility.

o ‘And He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head, and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing --- and a Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who return from transgression in Jacob, says the LORD' (Isaiah 59:17; Isaiah 59:20), and He then goes on to speak of His Spirit being upon them and His words being in their mouths (Isaiah 59:21). Here we have a linking of God's coming in righteousness with God's coming in vengeance (wrath), an idea prominent in Romans 1:17, and here linked also with the coming of a Redeemer (Romans 3:24) and of the Spirit (Romans 5:5; Romans 8:1).

o ‘I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul will be joyful in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and a bride adorns herself with her jewels' (Isaiah 61:10) with the result that ‘the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations' (Isaiah 61:11). Here righteousness and salvation are depicted as very much outward adornments with which God adorns His own as He acts in saving deliverance, and they result in righteousness springing forth. The act of clothing and covering do, however, presumably include the idea of the application of His salvation and righteousness to His people.

The central thought in all these verses is of God's righteousness being revealed in that He acts righteously in deliverance, although the detail is never specified. As we can see this is also linked with the coming of the Holy Spirit, the coming of a Redeemer, and the inculcation of faith in men's hearts in response to His activity. These are all ideas which are prominent in Romans. And it is contrasted with God revealing Himself in vengeance, again an idea found in Romans. This presents a strong case for seeing ‘the revealing of the righteousness of God' as indicating the revealing of His covenant faithfulness in His saving activity as He acts to save and vindicate His people.

On the other hand the final verse in the series does add a new dimension in terms of the thought of His people being ‘clothed with the garments of salvation' and ‘covered with a robe of righteousness', with the idea of this being that they are adornments which reveal celebration because of their new relationship.

To these verses may then be added the following:

· ‘In the LORD will all the seed of Israel be declared (or accounted) righteous, and will glory' (Isaiah 45:25).

· ‘Their righteousness which is of Me' (Isaiah 54:17).

· ‘From the travail of His soul He will see (light) and will be satisfied. By His knowledge (or humiliation) will My Righteous Servant make many to be accounted righteous, for He will bear their iniquities' (Isaiah 53:11 MT). The addition of ‘light' is found in LXX and in the Isaianic Hebrew scrolls at Qumran, although LXX differs from MT in other ways.

In these verses we have specific reference to the ‘accounting as righteous' of His people, rather than to their specifically being delivered, although no doubt as a part of their deliverance.

At first sight the idea of ‘God's righteous deliverance' might appear to fit excellently with the words, ‘therein (in the Gospel) is the righteousness of God revealed out of faith unto faith' (Romans 1:17). For Paul is about to outline aspects of that deliverance. But we must immediately enter a caveat. For in Romans 1:17 Paul immediately defines his meaning in terms of the Scriptural citation, ‘the righteous out of faith will live' (or ‘the righteous will live by faith'), and this fairly and squarely equates ‘the righteousness of God out of faith' with a righteousness which is bestowed in some way on those who believe. Thus he is incorporating the ideas in Isaiah 45:25; Isaiah 54:17; Isaiah 53:11.

What is more this distinction continues to be made throughout Romans. For this ‘righteousness of God' which is shown forth is stated to be ‘the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all those who believe' (Romans 3:22) as a result of their being ‘accounted righteous freely through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through His blood' (Romans 3:24). It is thus a bestowed righteousness. And by it God reveals His own righteousness in passing over ‘sins done aforetime', and in accounting as righteous those (of the ungodly) who believe in Jesus whilst Himself still being seen as righteous (Romans 3:26).

This idea of men being ‘accounted righteous' or as having ‘righteousness imputed to them', is then illustrated in the life of Abraham and in the words of David, and is prominent in the verses that follow. See Romans 4:3; Romans 4:5; Romans 4:9; Romans 4:22. That this righteousness is ‘from faith' comes out in Romans 3:22; Romans 3:26; Romans 4:3; Romans 4:9; Romans 4:11; Romans 4:13. That it is apart from works comes out in Romans 4:5. It is ‘accounted' by grace, not merited. Thus what is prominent in Romans is a bestowed righteousness which is received by faith and apart from works, in line with the Hebrew text of Isaiah 53:11. This is doubly emphasised by the fact that those who are accounted as righteous are ‘the ungodly' whose faith is counted for righteousness (Romans 4:6). They can be accounted as righteous even while they are ungodly, because it is on the basis of the sacrificial death of Christ (Romans 3:24). For ‘while we were yet weak --- Christ died for the ungodly' (Romans 5:6).

This idea of the bestowal of righteousness is further emphasised in Romans 5:17 where Paul speaks of ‘receiving the gift of righteousness', something amplified by the words, ‘even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came on all men unto justification of life' (Romans 5:18). which is further amplified by the words, ‘so by the obedience of One will many be made righteous' (Romans 5:19; reflecting Isaiah 53:11). The righteousness that is gifted and received is the righteousness of ‘the One', and it is the righteousness of One Who was fully obedient, the One clearly being the Lord Jesus Christ. And it should be noted further that what parallels ‘reigning sin' in Romans 1:21 is NOT ‘reigning righteousness', but ‘reigning grace through righteousness', the righteousness of the One previously described.

In this regard it should be noted that the main verb rendered as ‘account as righteous' is dikaio-o, which in all its uses is a forensic term and refers to how a man is seen in the eyes of a court when pronouncing judgment. It says nothing about whether he actually is ‘righteous' and nowhere means ‘to make righteous'. It signifies rather being seen as righteous from a legal point of view (whether righteous or not). And it is significant in this regard that men can be ‘justified' (‘accounted as righteous') by the wicked for a reward (Isaiah 5:23 LXX; Proverbs 17:15 LXX), just as God Himself can account as righteous those who are ungodly (Romans 4:5; Romans 5:6), although in His case on the righteous grounds of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.

So what is primarily in Paul's mind when he speaks of the righteousness of God is the means by which men can be accounted as righteous and seen as judicially acceptable to God when they receive from Him the gift of righteousness, which is received by faith (Romans 1:17; Romans 3:22; Romans 3:25; Romans 3:28; Romans 3:30; Romans 4:3; Romans 4:5; Romans 4:9; Romans 4:11; Romans 4:13; Romans 5:1), and bought for them through the shedding of His blood (Romans 3:24; Romans 5:9). And he underlines the fact that it has nothing to do with how a man behaves (Romans 3:28; Romans 4:2; Romans 4:4). It has nothing to do with his ‘works'. To seek to distinguish between ‘faith works' and ‘law works' has no support in Romans 1-5. It has in mind all works. All works are excluded. In Romans 1-5 a man can be accounted righteous solely on the basis of the work and righteousness of Christ, appropriated through faith, and not in any other way.

What, however, must be accepted, and is positively stated by Paul, is that once a man has been accounted as righteous by faith in Jesus Christ, it must result in a life of righteousness, as chapter 6 makes clear. And we may call these ‘faith works' if we wish. But what is equally made clear by Paul is that this righteousness of life follows on from ‘justification', and is not a part of it. It comes to us ‘having been justified by faith' (Romans 5:1). It is a consequence of justification not a grounds for it. Thus in Paul's argument from chapter 1 to chapter 8 the idea of justification (being accounted as righteous) and of ‘the righteousness of God' does not appear after chapter 5 (except in the concluding remarks in Romans 8:30; Romans 8:33) simply because what he is describing in terms of the righteousness of God is the way of being ‘justified' (fully acceptable as ‘in the right') in the sight of God. With regard to what is described in chapter 6 onwards other terminology is used.

So we may conclude this note by stressing that while the idea of ‘His righteousness' (the righteousness of God) in Isaiah was possibly of wider scope, probably on the whole including within it not only the making acceptable of Israel before God, but also their final actual transformation resulting from it, in Romans the idea is mainly restricted to the idea of the ‘justification by faith' (Romans 5:1) which takes place at the beginning stage in the salvation process (Romans 8:29) prior to that transformation. Paul's concern is with how the righteousness of God can bring about our acceptability with God now, in the light of the judgment to come. What follows that in sanctification and glorification he deals with using different terminology. This can only be seen as deliberate.

End of Note.

This righteousness of God is ‘from faith -- to faith.' Many interpret this as signifying ‘the righteousness of God out of faith (resulting from faith)' which is ‘revealed to faith'. For the phrase ‘the righteousness of God out of faith' compare Romans 9:30. However the closest parallel to the whole phrase is found in 2 Corinthians 2:16 where ‘from death unto death' and ‘from life unto life' may be seen as presenting the repetition of the words ‘death' and ‘life' as indicating a growth in intensity. If we apply that here we have the meaning, ‘from an evergrowing faith'. It makes little difference to the overall meaning. On the other hand, the uses in 2 Corinthians are not exact parallels with here. In ‘the savour of death' the emphasis is on death as explaining savour, whilst in ‘the righteousness --- of faith' the emphasis is on righteousness, not on faith as explaining righteousness. Thus we may well feel that the first interpretation fits the context better. What is of vital importance is that we see the connection between the righteousness of God and its reception by faith.

The Righteousness Of God And The Wrath Of God.

In the movement from Romans 1:17, dealing with the righteousness of God, to Romans 1:18, dealing with the wrath of God, we are faced with the starkest of contrasts. We move from brilliant light on the one hand into awful darkness on the other. In Romans 1:17 all is light. Those who believe partake in and experience the righteousness of God. They are seen as righteous in His sight. Their future is bright and secure. And this partaking in His righteousness will form the basis of Romans 3:24 to Romans 5:21. In contrast those who do not believe are guilty of ungodliness and unrighteousness, and they are subject to the wrath of God. They walk in darkness. They have no light. Their future is bleak indeed. And this is because God has not come to them in righteousness. A description of their state forms the basis of Romans 1:18 to Romans 3:23.

We have already seen that in the Old Testament the righteousness of God is constantly placed in parallel with the salvation of God (e.g. Isaiah 45:8; Isaiah 46:13; Isaiah 51:5; Isaiah 51:8; Isaiah 56:1; Isaiah 61:10). As He comes to save He also comes to ‘rightify in His sight', if we may coin a word. And this righteousness is something that God applies to the believer (which is necessary, unless they are seen as righteous He cannot have dealings with them), and implants in the believer as He comes to save, for they become ‘trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord' (Isaiah 61:3), and that not as a result of their own activity, but of God's. It is all of God. We can compare the idea in 2 Corinthians 5:21 where Jesus is ‘made sin for us' so that we might be ‘made the righteousness of God in Him'. We cannot define how Jesus could be ‘made sin'. It is beyond our conception. Certainly it did not mean that He had sinned. But it did mean that He was made deserving of punishment (even though we must accept that it was in our place). It suggests that it was more than imputed. It became a part of Him to such an extent that God had to treat Him as though He was sinful. And in the same way God's righteousness becomes a part of us when we believe. It is not our righteousness that is in mind, and it does not mean that we can say that we are wholly righteous in practical terms, for we are not. But it does mean that God sees us in every way as righteous, because He sees us in terms of the righteousness of Christ (Romans 5:18), and that He then commences the work of making us righteous. This was the significance of the Old Testament ‘righteousness of God'. But it must be stressed that Paul never applies the term ‘the righteousness of God' to God's work of making us righteous. He limits it to God accounting us as righteous. God's work of making us righteous is explained in terms of our dying with Christ and living in Him and of the work of the Holy Spirit (6-8), not in terms of justification and the righteousness of God.

In contrast to the righteousness of God is man in ungodliness and unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). As ungodly and unrighteous man is subject to the wrath of God (i.e. God's response to sin as a result of His total aversion to sin), and Paul then goes on to detail how man's state of ungodliness and unrighteousness came about. It came about because they did not believe, and it had awful consequences, for it resulted in God giving them up to uncleanness (Romans 1:24) and to an unfit mind (Romans 1:28). Yet in spite of this man did not see himself as unrighteous, and so Paul sets about demonstrating that he is.

The theme of ungodliness is especially apparent in Romans 1:21, and is taken up in Romans 4:5; Romans 5:6 where we learn that it was while we were ungodly that Christ died for us. The theme of unrighteousness is taken up in Romans 1:29, where it is specifically amplified in terms of a long list of sins; in Romans 2:8 where it is contrasted with truth; and in Romans 3:5 where man in his unrighteousness is compared to God in His righteousness. But we must not differentiate the terms too specifically. Ungodliness includes unrighteousness, and unrighteousness includes ungodliness. They are different sides of the same coin.