For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Romans 1:17
… from faith to faith
There are three ways to read this statement from the apostle Paul:
Throughout the history of faith, as Paul mentions elsewhere (Galatians 3 and Romans 1, 2, and 3 for example). Faith comes by man hearing the word of God and God has spoke and dealt with humanity since the creation of the world. One can find faith throughout the entirety of the Bible. Every “man of faith” within the Bible has believed God. The Bible is the record of God’s revelations to humanity and the people He revealed them to, along with their response and actions to that.
He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Galatians 3:5
Paul here in Galatians 3:5 is talking about a crucial part of his message and ministry which is that faith is the key. The faith of Christ and the faith in Christ is what is key to what saves and how it is we are to live (Heb 11:6).
Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Galatians 3:6
Paul is quoting Genesis 15 (Gen 15:6) here Galatians 3:6.
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Galatians 3:7
If one believes unto righteousness, Paul is stating, so did Abraham. He is the father of that.
And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
Galatians 3:8
God spoke to Abraham and Abraham heard and had faith in what God promised. God did not speak to Abraham at all about Jesus dying on the cross for his sins or about Jesus rising from the dead for his justification. Resurrection was certainly a known topic, but Abraham knew nothing of Jesus Christ and what His death, burial, and resurrection would accomplish. The fact of the matter is that the Bible does not record God having any discussion with Abraham about the man-God Jesus Christ and His death, burial, and resurrection.
Paul is making the point here in Galatians 3 that God new all of this information from the beginning and God spoke to Abraham, gave him a promise, and He knew that He would justify the heathen through faith, which what Paul preaches, but “in the shall all the families of the earth be blessed” is not “believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ” for your faith.
Abraham was justified by faith before circumcision, before Israel as a nation was started, and before the giving of the Law.
And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
Deuteronomy 6:24-25
The content of faith, what a Jew had to believe during Jesus’ earthly ministry, as part of the Gospel of the Kingdom was based in the identify of Jesus the Christ:
- Peter believed that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah, the Son of God – he believed in the identity of Christ:
- Mt 16:13-17 – When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
- Nathaniel believed in the identify of Christ:
- Jn 1:43-51 – The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel. Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.
- Martha believed in the identity of Christ:
- Jn 11:23-27 – Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
- Saul of Tarsus had the same testimony of Christ:
- Acts 9:3-6 – And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
- Saul believed in the identity of Christ. That was his salvation. That was what he preached immediately following his salvation:
- Acts 9:19-20 – And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
- See also: Jn 3:18, Acts 2:21, 38, 3:6, 16, 4:7, 10, 12, 17-18, 30, 5:28, 40-41, 8:12, 16, 9:14-15, 21, 27, 10:43, 48, 19:5, 22:16, 26:9
- There is a major difference between preaching the name of Jesus Christ and preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
- The faith component of the Gospel of the Kingdom focused upon the identify of Jesus Christ. The faith component of the Gospel of the Grace of God, Paul’s gospel, focused upon the finished work of Jesus Christ (His dying for our sins and rising from the dead for our justification).
Is there more than one Gospel?
Are there many Gospels in the Bible?
Although every man at any time is saved by the grace of God through faith, the content of faith differs from one dispensation to the next. That is, the message that is offered and believed for righteousness and salvation varies according to God’s progressive revelation. These different gospel messages can be understood when we carefully study what God had revealed, when it was revealed, and to whom it was revealed.
Adam
Gen 2:15-17 (via Gen 1:27-30)
Noah and Righteousness
In Genesis, Noah was counted righteous because of his obedience by faith toward God. He and his family were saved through building an ark in a world without rain. His faith and obedience was not based upon the knowledge of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:1-4), but in the living God and His promise of a flood. See Heb 11:7 and Gen 6:13-19
While Peter explains that Noah’s salvation was a figure of the salvation found in the resurrection of Christ, there is no mention of Noah’s understanding of this truth. Peter reveals that no prophet understood such a salvation through Christ until after His death. See 1 Pet 1:10-11
Abram and Righteousness
It cannot be ignored that Abram was counted righteous because of his faith in God’s promise of a mighty nation, not the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Gen 15:6). We now know that sinful Abram could be justified without works because of the then future, propitiatory work of Christ, but Abram did not know that. The word of faith that he believed was the promise of a land, seed, and a world-wide blessing. As Paul explains, Abraham was “strong in faith” (Rom 4:20).
Rom 4:21
Gen 12:1-3
The specific promise that God made to Abraham was not that a messiah would die for his sins, but that his wife would produce a son though she was barren and beyond her age (Rom 4:18 – > Gen 15:1-6 ).
Moses and Righteousness
While Moses was able to have personal conversation with God, he wrote about a righteousness gained from the obedience of faith in the law (Deut 6:25).
Paul expounds upon the understanding of Moses when he quotes Lev 18:5 in Rom 10:5.
This righteousness and the faith that Moses and his followers had in God’s covenant was not faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom 10:2-9). Their faith in God and His law required obedience. The requirement to do works was a product of the content of their faith in God’s revealed covenant.
John the Baptist and Righteousness
After a four-century silence in God’s plan with Israel, John the Baptist appears on the scene preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mk 1:4). The message he taught was the soon coming of the promised kingdom to Israel and the Messiah. Once again, the content of faith was changing. Those who believed his message accepted his baptism. Those who were unfaithful to God’s promises rejected his message of faith (Mt 3:7).
The result of accepting John’s baptism was a remission of sins and righteousness by the obedience of faith. Jesus demonstrated this by taking part in the baptism, although John declared that he did not need it (Mt 3:14-15).
Jesus and Righteousness
During His earthly ministry, Jesus taught the gospel of the kingdom, as John the Baptist did (Mk 1:14-15).
However, Jesus additionally taught the righteousness of the new covenant law. (Mt 5:17, Mt 5:20).
Although this standard of righteousness seemed to be stringent, they were promised the power of the Holy Ghost to help, and there were abundant rewards for those who “endured to the end” (Mt 10:22).
Mt 6:33
It should be noted that even though Jesus taught the law, coming kingdom, and His identity as the Son of God, belief in His atoning death, burial, and resurrection was not the gospel message offered for righteousness or salvation during His earthly ministry. In fact, when He did try to explain to His disciples that He had to die, they were ignorant of the matter, and the Lord let them be ignorant (Lk 18:34).
Lk 9:1-6 vs. 1 Cor 15:1-4
The Disciples and the New Covenant of Righteousness
After the institution of the New Covenant and empowerment by the Holy Ghost, Peter and John wrote about a faith in Jesus as the Messiah and His resurrection. Peter explains that remaining faithful to God and His Son through the immediate trials of tribulation would secure salvation and righteousness for believers in the end (1 Pet 1:7-9).
The content of the faith that they had to believe was preached by Peter at his Pentecostal debut (Acts 2:36).
John also writes that their faith rested in the message that Jesus was indeed the Son of God, the promised Messiah – John 20:31, 1 John 5:1, 1 John 5:12, 1 John 2:29.
This message of faith in the name of Jesus as Christ and Messiah was essential to entering the kingdom and receiving the salvation that God had promised.
Conclusion
What is not included in this non-exhaustive list is the glorious gospel of grace revealed by Christ to Paul. This short list is sufficient to see that there were separate messages offered for righteousness and salvation as God’s word was progressively revealed. The message was different, but the means of salvation has always been the same. Salvation can only ever be by God’s grace through faith. The content of their faith is what changed as God revealed His will. The message we preach for faith today is in the finished work of Christ, the grace of God. God justifies freely those that believe (Rom 3:24-25, Rom 4:5). Our faith is not accompanied by our work, because our faith is in the finished work of Christ.
Paul says that in his gospel is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith (Rom 1:17). Men are always saved by God’s grace through faith. The content of faith is what changes and with it the required response. The man of faith obeys. The Bible tells of many men of faith, but what they knew and believed was different.
Only when God’s word is rightly divided can we understand the different gospels and changing requirements in the Bible as the just sought the righteousness of God by faith in what God revealed to them.
