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The Third Sunday After Epiphany, January 26, 2025

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The Third Sunday After Epiphany, January 26, 2025

Paul shocks the Romans to whom he is writing. The Greeks and Romans—merely stand-ins for the civilized world—would have understood that righteousness, especially a righteousness like that unto God’s, was something humans could achieve. Plato exemplified this doctrine, which has held hold of the human race since it ate the fruit of that deadly tree. Paul simply declares that righteousness belongs to God alone. With such a declaration, Paul stands counter to the prevalent belief both then and now. Such a claim reduces human enterprise to the mere penultimate. Its reasoning goes like this: when righteousness is God’s alone, all other persons must be unrighteous, making salvation a gift to the unrighteous or impious. Only the godless have a place with God. Think of Jesus’ words here: “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Lk. 5:32).

Paul moves from this shocking declaration to how his hearers might come to know God’s righteousness: It is revealed in the Gospel. That means the revelation itself is the exercise of God’s power… God’s specific power for salvation (vs. 16). The revelation of this power for salvation is given to all who believe. You must not assume here that belief is a work of yours that is traded in some transactional manner to God, and the revelation is what God gives you in return. Cast that assumption aside. The revelation creates the belief that receives it. This belief… this faith created by the gospel… is the life of the righteous because it has been as of old, “The righteous by faith will live” (vs. 17).

Paul is eager to preach the gospel to those in Rome (vs. 15). Paul desires mutual comfort that comes from one faith and is shared by another (vs. 12).  In this mutual comfort, one faith to another faith, the power of God is at work through the gospel. Here, you can discern the origins of Luther’s “conversation and consolation of the saints” as a means of grace. The gospel moves from faith to faith and then back again, faith to faith. The power of God… the salvation of God… and indeed, the gospel of God… all come together in that mutual comfort when the saints converse and console one another with the gospel.

Table Talk: Discuss the distinction between living by faith and living by works.

Pray: Heavenly Father, grant me the enjoyment of being mutually comforted by one another’s faith. Amen

Romans 1:8-17 (ESV)

8 First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, is my witness that I continually remember you, 10 and I always ask in my prayers if, perhaps now at last, I may succeed in visiting you according to the will of God. 11 For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12 that is, that we may be mutually comforted by one another’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that I often intended to come to you (and was prevented until now), so that I may have some fruit even among you, just as I already have among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 Thus I am eager also to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from faith to faith, just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.”