SUMMARY
The gospel proclaimed is the power of God for salvationSalvation can mean saved from something (deliverance) or for something (redemption). Paul preached that salvation comes through the death of Christ on the cross which redeemed sinners from death and for a grace-filled life. More.
ANALYSIS
These two verses are often considered a brief summary of what is to come in the rest of the letter. They may, therefore, be considered as presenting the “thesis” of the letter. Paul considers the gospel (meaning “good news”) to be a power (dynamis in Greek, from which such English words as “dynamic” and “dynamite” are derived). The gospel is not, then, simply information, but the good news that humanity has been set free from condemnation in the last judgment because of God’s redeeming work in the death and resurrection of Christ. To hear such news is itself an event of being set free. The “righteousness of God” (God’s saving power) is revealed in the gospel concerning Jesus Christ. As anyone grasps the good news, there is salvation; the person “shall live,” as Paul puts it.
