Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Romans 1:16 ¶ 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. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 1:16 ¶ I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek. |
Subject: What about those who have never heard? |
Bible Note: In Romans 1:18-32 Paul has both good news and bad news for the world. The good news is that God has provided an atonement for sin. The bad news is that all men, Jews, Gentiles, heathen -- all men need atonement for their sins. In v.16 Paul already stated where that atonement is. He said that that atonement, that power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, is the gospel of Christ (Roman 1:16) .... God does not operate with many standards or avenues for salvation. There is only one scarlet thread of redemption, the one made crimson by the blood of Christ. There is only one Way: Jesus (John 14:6); only one Name: Jesus (Acts 4:12) In an era of religious pluralism, Romans 1:16, John 14:6, and Acts 4:12 (plus many more passages of Scripture) indict this modern spirit of religious pluralism, and require all of us who profess Christ to oppose the dangerous trends which undermine the basis for global evangelism. The statement in Acts 4:12 that there is no salvation "in any other" reveals the exclusive nature of the theology of the early church. Today Christians who affirm that there is no salvation "in any other" are frequently ridiculed and scorned as right-wing, Bible-thumping bigots. Unfortunately some religious groups who claim to be Christian have compromised and no longer teach that salvation is exlusively found in the blood of Christ. But it is interesting to note that in John 14:6 Jesus called Himself "the Way" and that the early disciples are known as followers of "the Way" (see Acts 9:2; 19:9). To the early disciples, "the Way" was the only way. Regardless of what the world thinks today or what compromising churches teach, "the Way" is still the only way. --Hank |