16 That leads me to say that I very confidently proclaim [LIT] the good message about what Christ has done, because this good message is the powerful means that God uses to save from the guilt of their sins all people who trust in what Christ has done for them. Specifically, God first has saved the Jews who believe the good message, and then he has saved non-Jews. 17 By means of this good message God reveals how he erases the record of people’s sins (OR, declares people no longer guilty for having sinned); and his doing this is entirely because [IDM] they trust in Christ. This is confirmed by what a prophet long ago wrote that God said, "Those ◄whose record of sin I have erased/whom I have declared no longer guilty for sin► because they trust in me will live forever."