The Gospel is the Power of God
The Gospel is the Power of God
Romans 1:16-17 (KJV)
16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
Back when I still thought I was a slave to the Law I missed all the goodness in these two verses. I read, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ” and immediately focused on myself and my perceived shortcomings.
My problem came from a deep-seated misunderstanding. I thought that unless I was knocking on doors, handing out gospel tracts, or pointing out other people’s sin I was demonstrably ashamed of the Gospel.
I did not understand that when Jesus said that His disciples would be His witnesses (see Acts 1:8) He meant that sharing the Good News would happen without me forcing myself into uncomfortable and awkward situations. Now that I know this, I can see the incredibly good news in these verses.
The Gospel is the power of God. That is an amazing statement. The reason it is true is because once anyone believes the Gospel, they are made righteous and fully reconciled to God. The moment they believe, they are profoundly changed. They are, in fact, born again. The Holy Spirit is given to them, a new human spirit is given to them, and their hard-hearted nature is expunged and replaced with a soft loving heart. That is power.
It is worth noting that Paul says that the Good News of Christ for salvation is “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Do not let anyone confuse you. There is one Gospel, and it is for everyone.
Verse 7 says, “the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’.” This makes it completely clear that it is by grace we are saved, through faith, (see Ephesians 2:8) and we live our lives in the same way we are saved, (see Colossians 2:6) by grace through faith.
The righteousness of God is revealed to us through the Gospel.
We receive it by faith.
The righteousness of God is revealed to others through the Gospel.
We witness it to them as we live by faith.
They receive it by faith.
And the cycle continues.
The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation.
