Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began (26) but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all the nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith – (27) to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

The letter to the Romans, the greatest doctrinal and theological letter in the New Testament was written by the apostle Paul. The verses we study today are at the end of the letter in chapter 16 and Paul has spontaneously broken out in a doxology (words of praise to God) which he often did when overcome with the truth of God. In our verses he is referring to a mystery prophesied in some obscurity in the Old Testament; that the Gentiles are also called as fellow heirs to the Jews in Christ. This had been concealed not through the doing of man or through chance but as part of God’s eternal plan. It was not random. Paul is writing to the church at Rome which was composed of many Gentiles.
The ultimate goal of the gospel is not about man but about God’s eternal glory. The crucial idea here is a shift away from the idea the gospel is about us. It is not incompatible with our happiness because God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in Him. The emphasis in our verses is on God, not our reaction to the gospel; before we can be established we must believe the gospel – in Christ and His sacrifice as the only payment for our sins – realizing our good works contribute NOTHING to our salvation. We know we are established in faith – not faith plus good works – when we cannot live other than holy lives. The plan of redemption was formed from eternity; no eye could discover and no heart conceive of this. Paul addresses his praise to the author as the only wise God. Man is not competent to sit in judgment on the truth of His declarations or the wisdom of His plan.
I am so often struck by the similarity of this theology to the first three steps of Alcoholics Anonymous which reveal the unknown mystery of alcoholic recovery – and it only works if we are all in.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable. 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

It’s not the gospel but the principal is God alone is the author of salvation.