From Faith to Faith
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:16-17
Romans 1:16-17 stands as one of the most important statements in Scripture. And while there’s a lot to unpack in this passage, especially salvation by faith alone for all without distinction, the focus of this article and a common question concerning this passage is: what does it mean that the righteousness of God is revealed “from faith to faith”?
The Gospel Reveals God’s Righteousness
The righteousness of God is not found in human effort or religious performance. It is found in the gospel of Christ, the good news of His death, burial, and resurrection for the forgiveness of our sins (1Co 15:1-4). God offers His righteousness freely to all who believe this good news (Rom 3:21-28). Salvation is not about establishing our own righteousness, but receiving His by faith in His finished cross-work (2Co 5:21).
God’s righteousness is declared through the gospel because through Christ’s perfect life, substitutionary blood sacrifice, and resurrection to conquer death, He can not only be just, by paying for sin so that our crimes do not go unpunished, but also the justifier, by offering free salvation to those who believe in what He has done, since He has already accomplished everything necessary for it. As Paul explains in Rom 3:21-28, the righteousness of God is revealed apart from the law, witnessed by the law and the prophets, and given freely to all who believe. It is grounded not in our performance but in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, who was set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood. In this way, God remains perfectly righteous while also justifying those who trust in Jesus.
Through this blood sacrifice, He is also able to justly justify sinners in every age by faith, even if their faith was not in the gospel of Christ, which gets to the heart of what Romans 1:17 is describing.
Salvation Has Always Been by Faith
When Paul says the righteousness of God is revealed “from faith to faith,” he is affirming that salvation has always been by faith. The gospel of Christ explains how the righteousness of God is maintained across every “faith” throughout history. Whether in past dispensations or today under grace through the revelation of the mystery revealed to Paul, justification has never been by works, but by trusting in God and His Word because no one is ever righteous (Hab 2:4, Heb 11).
The difference lies in the content of that faith, what God revealed for people to believe for salvation in each dispensation. For example, under the Law Israel was told that keeping the commandments would be counted to them for righteousness (Deu 6:24-25). The problem was that no one could keep God’s perfect standard, for all fall short. God therefore provided animal sacrifices as atonement for sin, but these were only temporary and foreshadowed the perfect sacrifice of Christ’s blood (Heb 10:4). In that system, faith meant believing God’s instructions, which included works of the law, because that was the revealed message at the time.
Yet those sacrifices could never remove sin permanently. It is only through Christ’s blood that God can righteously forgive sins in every age. Thus the faith of saints before the preaching of the cross was still counted for righteousness, because of what Christ would ultimately accomplish. This excludes any boasting for any saint in any age and establishes the rule that the just shall live by faith (Rom 3:25-28).
The sins of past saints were forgiven on the basis of God’s forbearance: He credited Christ’s future payment to them until the cross was complete: “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Rom 3:25). A helpful way to picture this is to say they were saved on “credit,” while now we are saved on “debit,” since the payment has been made in full.
Today, the content of our faith is clear: we trust in the finished work of Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. The message we trust for salvation also includes the same work that secures justification for all believers in any age. In every case, faith is required, and faith always has a substance: trusting God at His Word (Heb 11:1, Rom 4:18-25). Today, the content of faith does not require work as it did before, and obeying that faith would mean trusting in Christ's work alone to save you, not works of righteousness.
"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." - Romans 4:4-5
Living by Faith Today
The phrase “from faith to faith” also highlights that the Christian life begins and continues by faith. We are saved by faith in Christ, and we walk by that same faith day by day (2Co 5:7, Gal 2:20-21, Col 2:6-10). From the first moment of belief to our daily walk with Christ, faith is the principle by which we live.
Romans 1:17 concludes with the quotation: “The just shall live by faith.” This truth, first written in Habakkuk 2:4, runs through all of Scripture. Justification is by faith, and the life that pleases God is lived by faith. Our salvation, our service to God, our endurance through trials, and our growth in Christ all flow from trusting Him at His Word.
Conclusion
The righteousness of God is revealed “from faith to faith”, from the initial act of trusting Christ for salvation to the continual walk of faith in the believer’s life. Salvation has always been by faith, and the life God calls us to live is sustained by faith. The gospel gives us not only eternal life but also the framework to live daily, trusting in God’s promises and walking by faith in His Son.
