The Just Shall Live by Faith: A Reflection on Romans 1:17
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’”
— Romans 1:17, NKJV
The epistle to the Romans stands as the theological Everest of the New Testament, and nestled within its early verses lies a single line that has changed the world. Romans 1:17 is not merely the continuation of Paul’s thesis; it is the heartbeat of his Gospel message. Here, in a phrase, Paul captures the core of Christian life and salvation: "The just shall live by faith." This is no pious platitude—it is a revolutionary declaration of how righteousness, life, and faith intertwine in the economy of God.
The Righteousness of God Revealed
Paul begins the verse by declaring that in the Gospel, “the righteousness of God is revealed.” This phrase has sparked centuries of theological inquiry. What is this righteousness? Is it God's justice? His covenant faithfulness? Or the righteousness He imparts to sinners by grace?
In the context of Romans, and particularly in view of verses 16–17 as a unit, the righteousness of God refers not only to His holy character but to the saving action He undertakes on behalf of sinners. It is God’s righteousness in motion—His act of declaring sinners to be righteous by grace through faith. This righteousness is not earned; it is revealed. It is unveiled, not achieved. It is a divine attribute made available to humanity through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
The Greek term apokalyptetai (ἀποκαλύπτεται) — “is revealed” — implies an unveiling, a pulling back of the curtain. The Gospel, Paul says, uncovers what had long been hidden: that God's way of making men right is not through law, merit, or ritual, but through faith.
From Faith to Faith
The phrase “from faith to faith” has puzzled commentators. Is Paul speaking of degrees of faith? Of faith beginning and ending with God? Of faith passed from Jew to Gentile, or from Christ to believer?
The ambiguity of the phrase is not a weakness but a richness. In a phrase so compact, Paul may well be layering meaning. At the very least, we can say this: the righteousness of God is revealed on the basis of faith, and it is unto faith—from the inception of our walk with Christ to its consummation. Faith is both the starting line and the path; the seed and the fruit.
Augustine read this as the unfolding of the spiritual life, in which faith leads to deeper faith, as the believer grows in grace. Luther, wrestling with a conscience inflamed by law and guilt, saw here the entry point into peace with God—not by works but by believing. And so this single phrase became the lightning rod for the Protestant Reformation.
The Just Shall Live by Faith
Here Paul quotes from Habakkuk 2:4—“The just shall live by his faith.” In its original setting, Habakkuk was calling God’s people to trust in divine justice amid national crisis. Babylon was coming; the proud would fall, but the faithful would endure.
Paul seizes this verse and gives it new depth. No longer is it merely about surviving political chaos—it is about being spiritually alive before God. Justification—being declared righteous—is by faith. And the life that flows from this justification is sustained by that same faith.
This is not a call to a one-time belief, but to an ongoing trust. It is faith not only as assent, but as dependence. The just are not only those who have once believed, but those who continue in the life of faith. This makes faith not an abstract concept, but a living, breathing posture of the soul.
The Implications for the Church Today
In a modern age obsessed with self-sufficiency, Romans 1:17 is a rebuke to our pride and a balm to our despair. It tells the striving soul: You are not justified by effort, by perfection, by religious performance. You are justified by faith. It tells the anxious believer: The same faith that brought you to Christ will sustain you in Him.
Anglican theology, rooted in the English Reformation, has always held this verse in high regard. Article XI of the Thirty-Nine Articles states, “We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own works or deservings.” Here the echo of Romans 1:17 resounds.
Yet we must also remember that Paul’s aim was not only to speak of individual salvation but of the righteousness of God breaking into a fallen world. This is a cosmic, covenantal, Christ-centered righteousness. It is the announcement of a kingdom in which grace reigns, faith lives, and justice is no longer theoretical.
Living by Faith
Romans 1:17 is not merely doctrinal; it is existential. It answers the most fundamental question: How shall I live? The answer is clear: By faith. Not by fear. Not by works. Not by perfection. But by believing—again and again—that God is who He says He is, and Christ has done what we could never do.
This is the message we must preach. This is the foundation on which the Church stands. This is the hope that sustains us in the ruins of a fallen world.
Let the righteous not only believe—but live—by faith.