"I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'" Rom 1:16-17
The gospel isn't the power of "I cleaned up my act." It's the power of God. The gospel isn't about "I now do righteous things." It's about God's very own righteousness given to us as a gift.
The gospel is contrasted with the wrath of God, of which Paul speaks for several verses following the above passage. He writes that the wrath of God is revealed against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of mankind. But, he says, the gospel is the answer to it all. The answer is not "keep the law of God," because nobody keeps it! The answer is not "change from doing bad to doing good," which, like keeping the law, is a form of self-righteousness.
The answer is the gospel, which reveals the gift of God's righteousness, given freely, "through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe." (Rom 3:22). It's for anyone and everyone, not by works, but simply by faith.
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