Paul made a statement in his letter to the Romans that has been somewhat missed when commonly referred to.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
The word “therein” refers to the Gospel of Christ and the “righteousness” of God refers to His method of saving the lost. That is what is “revealed” from “faith to faith.” The meaning behind that statement is that the faith of the old covenant has led to the new covenant; e.g. salvation has been by faith from the call of Abraham to the present. The final thought here is that the just shall live by faith with the “just” being treated as innocent.
Now the last part of the verse – the just shall live by faith – is how most of us remember this verse. Every time we exercise our faith in the Lord is another time for Him to reveal Himself to us and each time our faith builds and becomes stronger. And every new challenge He allows in our life requires a new level of faith. But there is something else in this verse that we often overlook.
As we exercise our faith in God, His righteousness is “revealed” in us. Our exercising our faith in Him is a witness to those around of the fruit of His Gospel. Go back to my life verse, Romans 8:29, and put our exercising our faith in context. We walk by faith and as we become more conformed into the image of Jesus, His righteousness that we have been given in His Spirit, is revealed to those around us. What we have on the inside becomes evident on the outside … all to the glory of God.
What an awesome opportunity we have before us in this time of crisis in the world to reveal His righteousness to those in our world. When the lost come face-to-face with the thought of impending death their priorities change and they are looking for answers. By standing if faith in our bridegroom in this dark time, we reveal His righteousness and stand with the answer they need… the Gospel of Christ.
By standing in faith and following the leading of the Holy Spirit we will not only be able to minister to the lost, we will be blessed and our faith will grow as a result. Let’s not stay focused inward during this time. We are still communicating with others, and perhaps even more in the midst of this challenge as we wait for it to pass. However, there will be a huge harvest to reap as the country faces life after the virus. Many will be searching for the answer for some time to come.
Satan brought the virus to destroy but God has turned it into an opportunity for His righteousness to be “revealed” … and we are His vessels!