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. (Romans 1:16)
What is the salvation that Paul has in mind in Romans 1:16 when he says, "For [the gospel] is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes"? I think he has in mind not primarily the first event of conversion, but primarily the final triumph of the gospel in bringing believers to eternal safety and joy in the presence of a holy and glorious God. There are four reasons why I think this is what he means. Looking at these reasons is the best way to unpack the meaning of the verse.
1. The power of the gospel is what frees us from being ashamed of the gospel.
The first reason is that the power of the gospel to bring about salvation is what frees us from being ashamed of the gospel. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation." But if this meant only that the gospel has the power to make converts, why would that solve the shame problem? Lots of religions make converts. Lots of different religious and secular movements win people over to their faith. When Paul said that the gospel has such a powerful effect that you don't have to be ashamed of it, did he simply mean that it does what other religions do: win converts? I don't think so.
Jesus triumphed over shame by looking at the future joy that was set before him as he died. I think this is what Paul, as well, has in mind in Romans 1:16. You don't have to be ashamed of the gospel because it doesn't just make converts; it saves those converts utterly. It brings them to final safety and ever-increasing joy in the presence of a glorious and holy God forever and ever. This is what makes us bold with the gospel-not that it can make converts; any religion can do that-but that it is the only truth in the world that can really save people forever and bring them to everlasting joy with God.
2. "Salvation" is future-oriented elsewhere in Paul and the New Testament.
The second reason I think "salvation" in verse 16 refers to the final triumph of the gospel in bringing believers to eternal safety and joy in the presence of a holy and glorious God, is that the phrase "for salvation" or "unto salvation" has this future-oriented meaning elsewhere in Paul and other New Testament writers.
For example, in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul says, "God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." Now here, salvation is not just what happens at conversion, which leads to sanctification, but salvation is what comes later "through sanctification," and is in the future. In other words, salvation is the future triumph that brings the saint into God's presence with everlasting joy.
Or again, in 2 Corinthians 7:10, Paul speaks to Christians who are already converted and saved, but need fresh repentance for their sins: "The sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, unto salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death." Here again "unto salvation" refers not to conversion, but to the final, future state of safety and joy in the presence of God. (See also 2 Timothy 3:15.)
Similarly, Hebrews 9:28 says, "Christ … will appear a second time for salvation … to those who eagerly await Him." This final, complete salvation happens at the Second Coming. 1 Peter 1:5 says, "[Believers] are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." This salvation is "ready to be revealed in the last time." It is not conversion. It is the last great work of God to rescue us and bring us to safety and joy in his presence forever.
In Romans 5:9-10, Paul talks about this future salvation as rescue from the final wrath of God:
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood [that's the present reality of salvation!], we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son [here again is the present reality of salvation!], much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
In other words, the full experience of salvation, in Paul's thinking, is still future. Romans 13:11, "Salvation is nearer to us than when we believed."
So when Paul says in Romans 1:16 that "[the gospel] is the power of God unto salvation," I take him to mean that the gospel is the only message in the world that can powerfully bring a person not just to conversion, but to everlasting safety and joy in the presence of a holy and glorious God.
3. Ongoing belief is the condition for this salvation.
The third reason I think "salvation" in Romans 1:16 is the final triumph of the gospel in bringing believers to eternal safety and joy in the presence of a holy and glorious God is that ongoing belief is the condition for this salvation. Notice that verse 16 does not say, "The gospel … is the power of God to bring about faith and salvation." It says, "The gospel is the power of God for [unto] salvation to everyone who is believing [present tense in Greek, signifying continuous action]." In other words, Paul's point here is not that the power of the gospel creates faith, but that, for those who have faith, the gospel brings about salvation. So the point is not that the gospel is the power for conversion to faith; the point is that the gospel is the power to bring about future salvation through a life of faith.
The tense of the verb "believe" here is crucial. It signifies ongoing action, not just the first act of faith when you were converted: "The gospel … is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who is believing"-who goes on believing.
It's the same as 1 Corinthians 15:1-2 where Paul says, "I preached to you [the gospel], which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are being saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain." Faith that does not persevere is a vain and empty faith-what James calls "dead faith" (James 2:17, 26).
So the point of Romans 1:16 is that you don't have to be ashamed of the gospel, because it is the only truth in the world which, if you go on banking on it day after day, will triumph over every obstacle and bring you to eternal safety and joy in the presence of a holy and glorious God.
4. Paul says the gospel is for believers, not just unbelievers.
The last reason I think this is what "salvation" means in verse 16 is that the verse is given as the reason Paul wants to preach the gospel to believers (not just unbelievers). We've seen this, but look again. In verse 15 Paul says, "I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." He is eager to preach the gospel to "you"-you believers-not just unbelievers. Then he gives the reason: "because I am not ashamed of it, because it is the power of God unto salvation to all such believers."
So I conclude that the reason Paul is not ashamed of the gospel is that it is the only truth in all the world that will not let you down when you give your life to it in faith. It will bring you all the way through temptation and persecution and death and judgment into eternal safety and ever-increasing joy in the presence of a holy and glorious God. All the other "gospels" in the world that win so many converts will fail you in the end. Only one saves from the final wrath of God and leads to fullness of joy in his presence and pleasures at his right hand forever. Therefore, there is no need to be ashamed of it, no matter what others say or do. And oh how eager we should be to speak this gospel to believer and unbeliever alike!
Do you feed your faith day by day with the promises of this triumphant gospel? Do you, as a believer, go to the gospel day by day and savor its power in verses like Romans 8:32, "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" The gospel is the good news that God gave us his Son, so as to obtain for us everything that would be good for us. Therefore the gospel is the power that gives us victory over temptation to despair and to pride and to greed and to lust. The gospel alone can triumph over every obstacle and bring us to eternal joy. Whatever it costs, stand in it, hold it fast, believe on it, feed on it, savor it, count it more precious than silver or gold. The gospel will save you. And it alone.
