Romans 1:16-17 (NKJV) For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
The gospel reveals a key attribute of God: righteousness. Righteousness is the character or quality of being right or just, without prejudice or partiality. To address the sin issue that separated us from Him, God intentionally established the unconditional Abrahamic Covenant. This demonstrated His righteousness despite mankind’s rebellion and sin. God was just in His dealings because He didn’t forcibly reclaim the authority to rule the earth after Adam and Eve had handed it over to Satan when they sinned. If God had done that, He would have abused His authority and supreme position. Therefore, He chose not to because He will not act contrary to His character of being just, righteous, and holy. Instead, He had a plan to defeat Satan and redeem mankind in a just and righteous way, as revealed in the gospel.
Salvation encompasses the ideas of deliverance, safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. It includes salvation for the spirit, deliverance from Satan’s bondage, the bondage of sin, and spiritual death, and healing for the physical body.
Those who are not children of God belong to the kingdom of darkness. The sin nature controls their lives, and they are susceptible to demonic influence depending on the extent to which they have opened themselves to the spiritual realm. They will not be able to break free from bondage until they receive Jesus Christ and enter the kingdom of light. In contrast, Christians are liberated from the power and oppression of the devil. We have the authority in the name of Jesus, are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6), and have the devil under our feet as Christ is the head of the church.
Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
However, we are free moral agents who have been given the right to choose by God. Therefore, we need to confess with our mouths because it releases the authority of our lives to Jesus, the one in whom we profess our faith. By accepting Him as our Saviour, we have chosen to believe that Jesus took our sins on the cross, was tortured, took the curse of the law for us, died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead. We receive salvation by believing in our hearts and confessing with our mouths. Jesus has become our Lord, and we have given Him the authority to reign in our lives. We have moved from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.
When you receive Jesus, you receive the position of righteousness, which causes you to become God’s righteousness in Christ and places you in a right relationship with God.
Sermon Series: Righteousness: Religion or Reality
救恩临到一切相信的人
罗马书 1:16–17 我不以福音为耻，这福音本是神的大能，要救一切相信的，先是犹太人，后是希腊人。因为神的义正在这福音上显明出来；这义是本于信，以至于信，如经上所记：‘义人必因信得生。’
福音启示了神一个极其重要的属性——义。义的意思是正直、公正、无偏见或偏袒。为了处理因罪所带来的人与神之间的隔绝问题，神主动设立了无条件的亚伯拉罕之约，藉此彰显祂的公义，尽管人类陷入悖逆与罪中。神在一切作为上都是公正的，因为当亚当和夏娃犯罪，将统治权交给撒但之后，神并没有强行夺回对地的主权。若祂那样做，祂就会滥用祂的权柄与至高地位。因此，神选择不那样行，因为祂绝不会违背祂公正、公义、圣洁的本性。相反，祂早已预备了一个计划，要以公义和正直的方式战胜撒但、救赎人类，而这计划正是在福音中所启示的。
“救恩”一词包含了拯救、安全、保全、医治与完全的意义。它不仅包括灵魂的得救，也包含从撒但的辖制、罪的捆绑和属灵的死亡中得释放，并且包括身体的医治。
凡不是属神儿女的人，仍属于黑暗的国度。罪性掌管着他们的生命，他们会因自己向灵界的开放程度而受到不同程度的邪灵影响。唯有当他们接受耶稣基督，进入光明的国度，才能真正脱离那种捆绑。相对地，基督徒已经从魔鬼的权势和压迫中得释放。我们在耶稣的名里拥有权柄，与基督一同坐在天上（以弗所书 2:6），魔鬼在我们的脚下，因为基督是教会的头。
罗马书 10:9–10 你若口里认耶稣为主，心里信神使他从死人中复活，就必得救。因为人心里相信就可以称义，口里承认就可以得救。
然而，我们是神所创造的自由道德主体，祂赐给我们选择的权利。因此，我们必须用口承认，这是一种将我们生命的主权交给耶稣的行动，也表明我们信靠祂。当我们接受耶稣为救主时，我们选择相信——耶稣在十字架上为我们担当了罪，受了刑罚，替我们承受了律法的咒诅，死了、埋葬了，又从死里复活。我们因心里相信而得称为义，因口里承认而得救。耶稣成为我们的主，我们也把生命的主权交给祂来掌管。我们从黑暗的国度转移到光明的国度。
当你接受耶稣时，你同时也接受了“义”的地位，成为“在基督里神的义”，并且进入了与神正确的关系。
讲章系列：公义：宗教要求，还是救恩的确据？