Principle Of Faith

Romans – A Treatise
Chapter One
THE PRINCIPLE OF FAITH

Scripture Reading: verses 16-17 (Darby translation)

FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GLAD TIDINGS; FOR IT IS GOD’S POWER TO SALVATION, TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVES, BOTH TO JEW FIRST AND TO GREEK: FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IS REVEALED THEREIN, ON THE PRINCIPLE OF FAITH, TO FAITH; ACCORDING AS IT IS WRITTEN, BUT THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

We are continually reminded in this Epistle that it is a legal document setting forth Divine truth. The righteousness of God is now revealed on the principle of faith, to faith. This is the groundwork on which the truth of the Gospel rests. It is the setting forth of God's righteousness, or what is right in the sight of God. Sometimes large words in the Scriptures may bewilder us, but usually they are simple in their elements. Righteousness means what is right. In the Gospel God’s requirements (what is right in His sight) for His creatures is set forth.

When one speaks of righteousness there are many who think of the Ten Commandments as setting forth God’s righteousness. The Law of Moses contained ten requirements outlining what men should do irrespective of what they might believe. In other words, they were God's legal requirements based on the principle of works.

In contrast, the Gospel is the righteousness of God based on the principle of faith, not works. It is a question of what we accept as the revealed mind of God by way of belief.

Therein the righteousness of God is revealed in two ways, first “on the principle of faith,” and secondly “to faith.” It is on the principle of faith (obedient faith, i.e., obeying the Gospel of Jesus Christ) in contrast to the principle of works; it is what one must accept as God’s truth by truly believing it. Secondly, it is revealed to faith, that is, the one who has faith in God has eyes that are open to see the righteousness revealed in the Gospel. The underlying reason for all this is given in the close of this seventeenth verse, “the just shall live by [on the principle of] faith.” The American Standard translation reads: “the righteous shall live by faith.”¹

Let us consider a little further what this means. The Gospel or glad tidings of God entails all truth that has come to light in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. This first chapter of Romans insists that it is the Gospel of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. It is not concerning the prolongation of life here on earth and the happy state of man in his present condition, such as was presented in the Law of Moses; it is not the improvement of this present world; it is not the amelioration of conditions among men by social or intellectual uplift. By way of contrast to all that, it is the glad tidings of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. In other words, in the counsel chambers of eternity, God has devised a great system of Divine blessing, of which the Lord Jesus Himself is the Center; and that as such, He is surrounded by all those whom He has redeemed by the purchase price of His own precious blood. It is that which God Himself has devised and wrought by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, His beloved Son, on Calvary’s Cross. How can man get the blessing of all this? It must be accepted on the principle of faith and not on the principle of works. We can never earn a place in that system of blessing devised by Almighty God. It is presented in the Gospel for the acceptation of faith – we must believe it and not try to work our way into it.

That glorious scheme of Divine blessing devised by God Himself, set forth in the Gospel on the ground of the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, is here called God's righteousness – what is right before God. God has not in some devious way set aside any of His own Divine attributes of glory, honor, holiness, and truth. It is not an escape route out of the realm of sin into the realm of light. The entire system of the Christian economy has been based on God’s righteousness, what is right before God. On the Cross of Calvary the attributes of the Godhead were harmonized. Not for a moment did God sacrifice His eternal holiness. On the contrary, because God is holy, the Lord Jesus became the Sufferer because of sin and He bore the penalty of a holy God against sin. By executing judgment on the head of His beloved Son, God maintained the attribute of His love. It was because of God’s love that He gave His Son as a gift. It was because of the love of God that Christ gave Himself. The economy of Christianity is not a compromise, but rather one in which God is vindicated in every attribute of His being. At the behest of Satan, man had sinfully dragged the name of God in the mire of human disdain and dishonor. On the Cross of Calvary everything was rectified. Satan was defeated and put in his place. Man was put in his place by being given the choice of accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior being blessed eternally, or refusing the grace of God in Christ and being banished from His presence in a lost eternity. The Son of God Himself was glorified because He manifested absolute obedience to the will of His Father. The Divine attributes of the Son of Man were manifested and God was glorified in Him. The Name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit was placed on the highest pinnacle of glory by the work of Christ on the Cross. On the principle of faith, God's righteousness is revealed in the glad tidings. We cannot attain our title to heaven by good works, no matter how desirable they may be. We will never get to heaven by doing the best we can. We can get to heaven only by accepting God’s righteousness as it has been declared in Christ on Calvary’s Cross – as it is announced in the glad tidings.

But many do not see this because they do not have faith. So, it is revealed not only on the principle of faith, but to faith. Faith is that which opens our eyes and makes us see God’s righteousness in Christ. In other words, it makes us come as guilty sinners before God and see that the Lord Jesus on the Cross took our place, died for us and brought us to God Himself. Thus the declaration comes forth that the just, or the one who is justified before God, will live on the principle of faith and not on the principle of works. By faith we come to God. “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6).

Footnote:
¹Regarding “From faith to faith,” Charles Hodge (Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, pg. 36) declared this to mean “by faith alone.” We should keep in mind that Paul did not write “by faith alone,” but “from faith to faith,” and any paraphrase of the meaning would have to be something that does not violate that text. The Phillips New Testament has such a paraphrase: “a process begun and continued by their faith.” Certainly, the notion that Paul meant “faith alone” by this expression should be rejected out of hand, especially in view of the fact that the expression “faith alone” never occurs in Paul’s writings and only once in the New Testament, where James declared that people are “not justified by faith alone” (James 2:24). “As it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith ...” (Hab. 2:4) is understood as Old Testament support of the principle of salvation by faith, it being the great end of the Christian religion to produce faith in all people, inasmuch as it may be possible. Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6); and the statement here that the just shall live by faith is emphasis upon the fact of man’s utter inability to live without it.