The same gospel that proves that God is righteous to save sinners also proves that God is righteous to judge sinners. All sinners are without excuse in spite of the sinful condition into which they are born. The abomination we can see in others gives us a glimpse of the uncleanness of our own hearts, and is meant to prevent us from looking to ourselves for any hope of escaping God's righteous wrath.

Having heard about the faith of the Christians in Rome, Paul was eager to meet them. He wanted to strengthen them in the gospel he preached and to encourage more obedient belief in Jesus. His confidence in the gospel as the power of God for salvation stemmed from the demonstration of God's own righteousness in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

Summaries of the gospel may be helpful, but they can also keep us from grasping just how good the gospel is and thereby dampening our witness to the world.

God has given to every Christian everything necessary to live a life of godliness. Because we can truly know God through Jesus Christ, we must be encouraged to look for the fruit of knowing Christ in our lives now. Seeing that fruit will keep us following after him and guarantee us a lavish entrance into the fullness of his coming kingdom.