For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:16-17
Paul starts this section by announcing that he wasn’t ashamed of the gospel. But what is the gospel? The word gospel means “good news” concerning Christ and the way of salvation.
Paul says that the gospel reveals God’s kind of righteousness, which we must have and can obtain only through faith. Faith is the starting point, and faith is the goal. It is a revelation from God that we could never have attained on our own. Through this righteousness of God, we receive both “justification” and “sanctification.”
I believe the reason he is not ashamed of the gospel is his understanding of man’s deprived sinful nature. The power of God unto salvation is a pressing and constant need of our soul. Power is of God because power is life, and life is of God. It is only those who receive God’s “righteousness” who are justified and set apart from their sinful past.
It is only through the power of God for salvation that we have hope for an eternal future with our creator.
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”