Faith

Today, we begin our journey through Paul’s letter to the Jesus followers in Rome. Remember, he is writing this letter to a group that he has never met. He is laying out the foundation of what he believes and teaches in preparation for when he gets to visit them.


Romans 1
8 Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.
9 God knows how often I pray for you. Day and night I bring you and your needs in prayer to God, whom I serve with all my heart by spreading the Good News about his Son.
10 One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you. 11 For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord.
12 When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.
13 I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles.
14 For I have a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike.
15 So I am eager to come to you in Rome, too, to preach the Good News.
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes - the Jew first and also the Gentile.
17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”


Faith. For me, the most important phrase/thought comes in verse 17 ... “This is accomplished from start to finish by faith”. The reason it is so important is because it is counterintuitive to our nature, our innate desire to earn things in this life. You can’t earn a right relationship with God. You have to accept it by faith. Faith that Jesus is the Savior God had promised. Faith that what Jesus did on the cross for us was enough. Surprisingly, it is a lot harder than it sounds; but we can never be reminded of it enough because it is the heart of our salvation ... our hope.