¹⁵ So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ 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 1:15-17

There is no middle ground with the gospel. You’re either eager to share it or ashamed of it and keep it to yourself. But how do you sit on that which contains the power of God to save? Thankfully, there are people like Paul everywhere who unashamedly transmit the good news.

While the salvation transaction remains mysterious in light of the effectual call of God and the willful choice of man, we know that the gospel somehow gets it done. It may have something to do with its ability to reveal God’s righteousness and our sinfulness simultaneously, to which one must respond. Whatever the case, God’s been at this for some time (“from faith to faith”), and the proof is in the pudding.

Looking back, we understand that salvation is more than an acknowledgment of the man upstairs. It produces obedience, that is, righteousness. So saving faith is a miraculous experience that somehow combines our will and his—but can his will be thwarted? (Romans 8:33) Ah, now you understand why it’s best to keep one’s feet firmly planted in mid-air on this topic!

Suffice it to say, when the scales fall (Acts 9:18), we end up like the blind man not understanding what hit him, other than knowing without a shadow of a doubt, and obediently testifying thereof, that once he was blind and now he could see! (John 9:25)