GOD’S POWER FOR SALVATION

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the POWER of GOD to SALVATION for everyone who believes…” – Romans 1:16a

Believers should be continually confident in the Gospel as GOD’S POWER for SALVATION: “For 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). Christ modelled this attitude for us: “For the joy that was set before him [Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame.” (Heb.12:2). The assured triumph of His death and resurrection to save sinners and vindicate His righteousness and bring Him home to God kept Him from being ashamed. When He was tempted to feel ashamed, He focused His mind on the joy set before Him. He endured short-term pain because of long-term gain.

Paul, the Apostle also declared that he was not ashamed of the message and the reality of Christ crucified for sinners and raised with power and saving all who trust in Him. This was because the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. This is the same way that Jesus overcame shame when He was sacrificed for the gospel. Jesus looked to the joyful triumph of His cross and resurrection. Paul looked to the joyful triumph of the gospel in eternal salvation. Paul had full confidence in the Power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to transform people positively wherever it was declared.

We must never fall to the temptation to alter the gospel to make it popular and inoffensive (1Cor.1:18). The Gospel will always be vindicated in the end. The Gospel alone brings forgiven sinners to final, everlasting joy. Nothing in the world can do this except the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All other religions do not have a Saviour who can solve the problem of separation from a holy God through sin, and offer sinners hope by grace and not works. Only one message saves sinners and brings them safely into the presence of God: the gospel of Jesus Christ. It alone is the power of God unto salvation.

The Gospel possessed more than enough power to blow open the capital city of Rome as well as the entire Roman Empire. Paul grasped that the call of God on his life was to present the gospel throughout the earth. Perhaps it was for that very reason that God was able to use him in the three greatest cities of the then known world: He proclaimed the gospel in Jerusalem, the religious centre of the world; in Athens on Mars Hill, the intellectual centre of the world; and in Rome, the political and military centre of the world. The gospel of Christ is just as powerful today as it was in the days of the apostles.

Typically, believers, have a tendency to look at impactful persons like Paul and become discouraged that our own service for God doesn’t seem as astounding. But the Bible does not present heroes and heroines of the faith only at their best but also at their worst. Moses was a great leader but also a confirmed murderer. David sang many psalms but also committed the most often referenced adultery in human history. This pattern of full disclosure continued into the New Testament as well. Peter denied Jesus, and James and John selfishly competed for the greatest position in Jesus’ kingdom. Even Paul wrote that he once despaired of life itself (2Cor.1:8). These should give us hope for our own faltering attempts to serve God.

We must never forget that it isn’t about us, but God’s power through us. God isn’t looking for superstars, but for people who are not “ashamed of the gospel of Christ,” and who still believe that “it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes.” Then, God can overshadow and use our stuttering steps and faltering attempts to further His Kingdom on earth.