For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. 17 For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.” 18 The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them. 20 Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse; 21 for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 While claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.
Paul declared his unwavering commitment to the Gospel which, he said, is not a human invention. The Gospel is empowered by God to effect universal salvation for all who believe regardless of their cultural or ethnic background. Paul could speak with confidence because of his personal experience with the transformative power of the Gospel (Gal. 1:11-12). The Gospel message, which is received by faith, reveals the righteousness of God as testified to in the OT (Hab. 2:4) highlighting the continuity between the Old and New Testaments regarding the importance and necessity of faith for righteousness. Paul’s point to the Romans is that righteousness is not achieved by adherence to the law but is a gift from God received through faith.
Paul addresses the consequences of rejecting the Gospel. God’s judgment upon sin and unrighteousness is being revealed from heaven upon those who suppress the truth not out of ignorance but from a conscious and deliberate rejection of God's revelation. Such rejection leads to moral decay and spiritual blindness. God’s existence, divine attributes, and power can be perceived by faith and by human reason through what God has created, so no one can claim that they do not know Him. God has made it clear to them in their mind and their conscience. God’s revelation is universal and extends to all people throughout history. Despite the knowledge of God that is available through creation which leads to true wisdom, humanity chooses to ignore or distort this truth. Instead of acknowledging and worshiping the Creator, in their folly they worshiped created things, leading to moral and intellectual decline. Love of God and reverence for God result from knowledge of God, so those without the Gospel can neither acknowledge God nor reverence God. The world with all of its wisdom did not come to know God (1 Cor. 1:21).
Almighty God, thank you for the Gospel, which is the power of salvation for all who believe. Open our hearts to your truth revealed in creation and grant us the wisdom to worship you alone. Help us to embrace the Gospel and live by faith, reflecting your righteousness in all we do. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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