There are various renderings and understandings of the phrase as it is used here, "faith for faith." Both words for faith derive from pistis, with the first being pisteos (genitive) and the second, pistin (accusative). Faith, we are told, begins in faith and leads to faith. The import of this origin and fulfillment is found in the next sentence above, the righteous shall live by faith (genitive). We might word this as "already held or possessed faith will result in or lead to faith. As it is written, the one who has faith will parlay that faith into a salvific faith. Faith held by the believer will lead the believer to greater or more complete faith, resulting in her salvation.
Faith here may be understood as faithfulness, or as a follower of God, or in the case of Pagan Gentiles, those who have discerned the universal moral aspects reflected in the Mosaic Law and who live by them. In this latter category, we might include Cornelius and Lydia.
This echoes in my ear as a reprise of John's telling us that there are two kinds of people in the world. There are those who, when exposed to the Light of Jesus, move toward Him, and there are those who avoid the Light because their deeds are evil (John 3.19-21). According to John, people's responses to Jesus originated in their value systems. Jesus makes no sense to those who love darkness. Here in Romans 1, Paul has just told us that the gospel is the power of God for salvation, to the Jew and the Greek. Paul says this because this letter is intended to set the Romans straight regarding who's in and who's out (or loved better by God, or who has the right to run the church in Rome). Paul's gospel specifically is that Gentiles are acceptable to God and so he includes both groups. Certainly the gospel comes (came) first to the Jews but it is also applicable to Gentiles. Paul is telling us that those within whom Truth and Light resonate will have that faith (about what is right) unfold into salvific faith as they are exposed to the reality of Jesus. For Paul, it is important that his readers understand that God is open to not only Jews but Gentiles - anyone who acknowledges what they see and hear about Jesus and comes to follow Him as His disciple.
We can appeal for support of this Johannine echo to the next sentence, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth." (Romans 1.18, ESV) These are the people who avoid the Light, who love works of darkness. These cannot progress from faith to faith because they do not want to - whether they are Jew or Gentile. Paul goes on, "For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires,...They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts...." (Romans 2.14-15, ESV).
We might go further and acknowledge that a similar dynamic is illustrated in the Psalms. In Psalm 92, a contrast is drawn between the stupid evildoers who do not acknowledge God and the righteous who are promised deliverance and blessing because they are planted (grounded, have their foundation) in the courts of God. The Psalmist agrees with John that there are those who love evil and those who do good. It is the latter, in John and Paul, who move toward the Light and so have their faith unfold into greater, deeper, truly salvific faith in Jesus.
Of a truth, this is Abram who, when summoned by God, followed Him. His faith developed into a faith that would find him as a blessing for the world, the father of all disciples, and someone who entertained God at his tent.
The gospel is given to the world; it is up to us to do something with it.
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Other renderings of the phrase include Faith to faith (KJV, NASB), A righteousness that is by faith from first to last (NIV), Faith leads to faith (NJB)
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