“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.” Romans 1:16-17(NKJV)
In case you haven’t paying attention lately, Christians in parts of the world are paying a high price for not being ashamed of the “gospel of Christ.” We in this country have some of our rights being challenged as our Christian voice is trying to be silenced. We may moan and groan about our rights being taken away, but we know nothing of what it is like in countries where you can lose your life just because you are a Christian and have a Bible.
In the middle of today’s chaos you will find God’s people, the Jews. Even though they were the source of Jesus’ trouble and finally His death, He has not abandoned them. Paul says above that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation for the Jew first then us who are Gentile. When it is all said and done, it was mankind that took Jesus’ life. It was through the Jewish people that God raised a Messiah to deliver them from their sins.
God made promises to the Jewish people that He intends to keep. The hatred shown toward Israel today is clear indication of man’s rejection of the Lordship of Jesus. Man rejects God’s way because he is not willing to repent and allow Jesus to be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in his life.
Man has always thought his way is better than God’s. He cannot understand how salvation is possible without his help. No one has ever been saved by anything he did for himself. It has always been the power of God and belief in Jesus’ sacrifice for the remission of our sins. Under the Old Covenant nobody was saved by keeping the law. They were forgiven their sins because of the annual blood sacrifice on the Day of Atonement. This celebration was a “faith look” forward to the time when Messiah would come and give them peace and freedom. It has always been, “The just shall live by faith.”