God's Righteousness Revealed
Paul declares in Romans 1:17 that God's righteousness is revealed in the gospel. The word righteousness, as used in various passages of the New Testament has several meanings, which I shall not attempt to enumerate in this connection. In this passage, it evidently means God's plan or method of justifying and saving sinners. If men do not confine themselves to this method or plan, then all is chaos and confusion, and this is the status of denominationalism.
In Paul's day, the unbelieving Jews were ignorant of God's righteousness, and of course would not submit themselves to it, choosing rather to cling to the law of Moses, and by doing so, they established their own, for it was no longer God's.
Evidently there are comparatively few who will submit themselves to God's righteousness in the Gentile world. Is this refusal on the part of vast multitudes anything more or less than rebellion? Few are there who teach the terms of pardon as revealed in Acts, where the righteousness of God was clearly revealed.
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is immersed shall be saved." The Holy Spirit guided those apostles in executing that commission. What enables any man to teach anything different? If the apostles did not preach God's righteousness, where shall we find it? Let those who are 'wise' above that which is written answer the question.
If we are not confined to God's righteousness in being freed from sin, to what are we confined? Let the wise answer. Will he speak where God has not? Will he speak instead of God? It is certainly disquieting to all those who value what is written to see so much confusion in the religious world, due to the unwillingness of men to submit themselves to God's righteousness, and go about to establish their own. Remember: "Many will say to me in that day, etc" (Matthew 7:21-23), and they will be religionists, of whom Jesus never approved.