This post was last updated on March 7, 2026

Day 361, Year 1

The Righteousness in the Gospel Is Received by Faith

“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.'” (Romans 1:17 NASB)

The previous verse of the day is, “it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16b NASB). We who believe in Jesus receive and learn His righteousness because of the gospel. And we change from an unrighteous life to a righteous one of God, including having life and peace by following the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:6). This change is the result of God’s powerful operation, which leads to salvation by faith. The Book of Romans explains this righteous change in believers, compared to the pollution of sin, and points out that God’s justice must be more powerful than the influence of sins and secularization. In other words, believing in Jesus’ gospel is to reject evil, sins, and everything from the devil, but to pursue and accept His justice, i.e., the power of the Holy Spirit in making us righteous.

The key of today’s text is “from faith to faith,” which can also be translated as “out of faith and into faith.” This is what it really means for us to believe in Jesus. Today’s verse is a good summary of Hebrews chapter 11, especially as a footnote for “performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises” (Hebrews 11:33b NASB). A cursory understanding of these verses can easily reach the impression that faith in God is simply about obeying Him and performing certain actions. But in my opinion, out of faith and into faith means that believers must act out of faith first, then enter into a long-lasting trust in God. This trusting state will fill us with His righteousness, enabling us to live a wonderful life because of His power and be saved eventually.

Because we need to have a proper relationship with God, we need to understand the meaning of the word “righteousness” in scripture, including the qualities of a righteous person in the Old Testament (Habakkuk 2:4b), such as integrity, honesty, humility, and wisdom. The righteous people in the scriptures not only receive salvation freely from Jesus but also have a quality of righteousness, because we have faith in God, believe in His promises, and continually receive and practice His wisdom and power. Conversely, what good is it for people to believe in Jesus but learn nothing about His wisdom and discernment and keep on sinning? Actually, the scriptures from the past hundreds of days are intended to prepare us to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ, so that the righteous power of the Lord can continually and powerfully renew our lives.

Reflection questions:

1) Have you ever acted in God’s faith? If you do, does this help you get into a long-lasting trust in God?

2) Do you feel God’s righteous power is ever renewing your life? What, if anything, have you experienced about His righteousness in you recently?