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The introduction merges immediately into the great argument of the letter as the apostle proceeds from the statement of his consciousness of indebtedness and his affirmation of readiness, to the task of which the whole letter is the fulfillment, that of setting forth Christ as the Salvation of God. This he does in two main divisions, in the first of which he deals with the Gospel unto salvation; and in the second with the transformation by salvation.

In this first division of his treatise the apostle's method is characterized by absolute clearness. It is of the nature of a great argument which proceeds in definite sequence from a challenging affirmation, to a patient dealing with certain difficulties which would inevitably arise in the minds of some of those to whom he wrote. It falls therefore into these four parts, the fundamental affirmation; a discussion of condemnation as revealing the need for the Gospel; a setting forth of salvation as the subject of the Gospel message; and finally a discussion of objections.

The division opens with a statement in brief of the whole argument of the epistle; and moreover, an unveiling of truth concerning that Gospel deposit, the possession of which made the apostle a debtor.

The personal affirmation, "I am not ashamed," links the great argument to the introductory section, and indeed completes the threefold statement which unveils the secret of Paul

Concerning that Gospel of which he declared he was not ashamed, he then made his fundamental affirmation. He first described its effect. It is a Gospel of power, that is, one equal to the accomplishment of infinitely more than the presentation of an ideal, or the enunciation of an ethic. These might be given to men, and yet leave them exactly where they were; but the Gospel tells the secret of a power which enables. Moreover, it is "power . . . unto salvation." In that statement there is recognition of the fact of man's ruin, and a declaration of the possibility of his redemption.

The one condition upon which the power of the Gospel may be experienced is revealed in the phrase "to every one that believeth." Thus far he had declared that in the Gospel there is provision, which meets need upon the fulfillment of condition.

He then proceeded to announce the nature of that provision. The Gospel does not proclaim an indulgence for sin, or find an excuse for the man who has sinned. It is rather the apocalypse of a new righteousness at the disposal of unrighteous men. The revelation of the righteousness of God in the Gospel is not the declaration of the fact that God is righteous. That fact men knew by the law. It is the far more wonderful announcement that God has provided a righteousness for un righteous men. Again the condition of salvation is recognized in the phrase "from faith unto faith"; "from faith," that is, salvation obtained by faith; "unto faith," that is, power operating in the life so as to make possible the life of faith.