Romans

The dynamic of the gospel is the revelation of God's faith as the only valid basis of our belief (from faith to faith). Paul quotes Habakkuk who prophetically introduced a new era when he realized that righteousness would be founded in what God believes and not in mankind's clumsy ability to obey the law.

From now on righteousness by God's faith defines life! (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17, 3:27).

Instead of reading the curse when disaster strikes, Habakkuk realizes that the Promise out-dates performance as the basis to mankind's acquittal! Deuteronomy 28 would no longer be the motivation or the measure of right or wrong behavior! "Though the fig trees do not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like hinds' feet, he makes me tread upon my high places." (Hab 3:17-19 RSV).

For salvation to be relevant it has to offer mankind a basis and reference from which their faith is to be launched. It has to offer a conclusion of greater implication than the stalemate condition they find themselves in under the dispensation of the law.

Paul is convinced that whatever happened to the human race because of Adam's fall is far superseded in every possible proportion by the revelation of mankind's inclusion in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He places the fall of Adam and every act of unrighteousness that followed against the one act of righteousness that God performed in Christ as proof of mankind's acquittal.

This is the message that Paul says he owes to the entire world!

"I proclaim Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which was concealed in silence in the sequence of timeless ages, but now is made publicly known, mirrored in prophetic Scripture." ("Surely he was wounded by our transgressions; he was bruised by our iniquities. The chastisement that brought us peace was upon him and by his stripes we were healed." [Isa 53:4, 5]) And now the God of the ages has issued his mandate to make the mystery known in such a way that all the nations of the earth will discover the lifestyle that the hearing of faith ignites." (Rom 16:25, 26) Paul gives new definition to obedience when he calls it "the obedience of faith." Romans 1:5.

"The conclusion is clear: it took just one offense to condemn mankind; one act of righteousness declares the same mankind innocent. The disobedience of the one exhibits mankind as sinners, the obedience of another exhibits mankind as righteous. Romans 5:18, 19.

Just as all mankind became exceedingly sinful through one person's disobedience but did not know it until the law revealed it, so all mankind became exceedingly righteous through one act of righteousness but they do not know it until the gospel reveals it. The principle of faith is to see what God sees. God calls things that seem not to be as though they were. Romans 4:17.

Romans 4:17 finds its context in Romans 1:17 and Rom 10:17, "It is clear then that faith's source is found in the content of the message heard; the message is Christ. (We are God's audience; Jesus is God's language!)"

Author: Francois Du Toit
Publisher: Mirrorword Publishing
Published: 06/14/2019
Pages: 122
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.34lbs
Size: 8.27h x 5.83w x 0.26d
ISBN: 9780992223649

About the Author
Du Toit, Francois: - Lydia and Francois met on the 25th of August 1974, while he was working with Youth For Christ. She was sixteen and he nineteen! The following year he studied Greek and Hebrew at the University of Pretoria for three years while Lydia completed her nursing training. In 1978 Francois also spent a year with Youth with a Mission. They married in January 1979 and are blessed with four amazing children, Renaldo, Tehilla, Christo and Stefan; also, two darling grandchildren Nicola and Christiaan. They worked in a full-time mission for fourteen years, during which time they also pastored a church and led a training facility for more than 700 students over a five-year period. They then left the ministry and for ten years did business mainly in the tourism industry. They built and managed a Safari Lodge in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve and eventually relocated to Hermanus where they started Southern Right Charters boat-based whale watching. In December 2000 Francois began to write the book, "God believes in You" which led to him being invited to speak at various Christian camps and churches. Since February 2004, they travelled regularly abroad and into Africa as well as South Africa. Francois has written several books in both English and Afrikaans, including God Believes in You, Divine Embrace, The Logic of His Love and The Eagle Story; these are also available on Kindle. Also Kant En Klaar [Done!] In order to focus their time on writing and translation, they relocated from Hermanus in 2015 to a remote farm in the Swartberg Mountains. They have also stopped most of their travelling. Lydia already wrote 5 amazing children's stories of which one, Stella's Secret is already published in print and on Kindle. Francois continues to be passionately engaged in his translation of the Mirror Bible, which will eventually include the entire NT as well as select portions of the old. The 1st 200 page Edition was published in 2012. The most recent 8th edition Mirror Bible is now almost 800 pages of bliss! This will also be available in a special hardcover edition. Until the completion of the New Testament, future editions will only be added as separate books as well as a 3-Volume edition Mirror Bible. The current 8th edition will still be available as a one volume book. Some of his work is being translated into several African languages as well as Chinese, Russian, Hungarian, German, French, Polish, Portuguese, Dutch and Slovakian. The Mirror Bible is already up to date in Spanish, Shona and Xhosa and large portions in German. Thousands of people subscribe to their daily posts on Social Media; Lydia has her own fb page and Francois has 5 English pages on Facebook. You can get more detail about them on www.mirrorword.net.

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