Marginal Christianity

16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”   Faith is another of those religious words we throw around but aren’t very clear about what they mean.   And in Christianity faith has a particular meaning. Paul uses “faith” four time in these few verses.   Faith is the way human beings find salvation (v.16).   Whatever exactly the phrase “through faith for faith” means, it is clear that faith is intimately tied up with God’s passion to set all things right (the “righteousness of God,” v.17).   And faith is the means of living out that same passion (v.17). But what does Paul and the other biblical writers means by faith?   Faith means:           -reaffi...

16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”   To not be “ashamed of the gospel” means that we know what the gospel is.   One way I remind myself of the gospel I believe is to spell it out:   G-O-S-P-E-L.   I try to define it by using each of the letters of “gospel.”   Here’s one way it might look.   I assume that God is the author and prime reality of the gospel so I don’t use the “G” to refer to God – that’s too easy! J   But you can use it if you like.   (Makes for a good sermon or educational exercise.) G – Good News   The gospel is the announcement of what God has done to set right what is wrong in the cosmos through Jesus Christ.   It belongs on the front page of the new...