THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

"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. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:16-17).

Devotion 21 of 27

THE POWER OF GOD TO THOSE WHO ARE SAVED

To the saved, the proclamation of the cross--or the preaching of the Gospel--is itself the power of God. That is the appointed means for bringing about spiritual change! Faith takes hold of a message, not a suggestion, not a command, not a procedure! While procedures and commands play a vital role in our life with Christ, they are not the stimuli for faith.

Law, in any form, cannot produce or sustain faith. That is the meaning of Galatians 3:12. "And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." The NIV and RVS capture the meaning even more precisely. "The law is not based on faith . . . " (NIV). "But the law does not rest on faith . . . " (RSV). The law did not require men to believe--only to DO. If you question that this is the case, I challenge you to find a single commandment to believe throughout the decalogue and its attending statues (Exodus 20-40, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy). You will read how Moses was "faithful in all" God's house (Num 12:7). Faithfulness is attributed to God in Deuteronomy 7:9. Israel is chided for NOT believing God after he had wrought great signs among them (Num 14:11; Deut 1:32). Moses was penalized for NOT believing God when he struck the rock the second time (Num 20:12). Finally, Israel was rebuked and judged for NOT believing God when He told them to go up and possess the promised land (Deut 9:23). All of these judgments were apart from the Law itself.

The Law had no requirement to believe or trust in the Lord. You could keep every ceremony with precision and regularity, and yet not believe God. The law was NOT based upon faith, but upon doing. That, of course, is the express statement of Scripture. "The law is not based on faith; on the contrary,'The man who does these things will live by them.'" (Gal 3:12). This particular facet of law is repeated numerous times (Lev 18:5; Ezek 20:11,13,21; Matt 19:17; Rom 10:5-6).

Now enters the Gospel of Jesus Christ--truly good news. The Law has already established the impotency of fallen humanity to do everything God commands. If information and direction are all we required, the Law would have met our need. The Law, however, uncovered sin rather than providing a remedy for it. It made strong demands, and did not yield a particle of strength. It was not based upon faith. It neither encouraged men to trust God, nor provided resources whereby such trust could be initiated or sustained.

The Gospel is "the record God has given of His Son" (1 John 5:10-11). It is the good news that the devil and death have been defeated by Jesus (Heb 2:14). It proclaims principalities and powers that had plundered the world, have themselves been plundered, or spoiled, by Christ (Col 2:15). The law of commandments contained in ordinances, which was against us, has been taken out of the way, being nailed to Christ's cross (Col 2:14). The preaching of the cross announces that "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them" (2 Cor 5:18-19).

And what is the appropriate response to this good news? It is to "believe the record God has given of His Son!" The message is not a message of what IS to be done, but what HAS been done. But it obtains no power for the individual until it is believed!

The power of true preaching is that it makes a way for the listener to participate in the benefits revealed in the message. The words of the NASB give us Divine perspective: "but to us who ARE BEING SAVED it is the power of God." Our justification makes us acceptable to God through Christ Jesus. However, we are not in heaven yet--we are "being saved." The grace of God is preparing us for the "salvation" that will be revealed when Jesus comes again (1 Pet 1:5). In the meantime, continued belief of the Gospel brings its power to us--power that results in our salvation.

PRAYER POINT: Father, through Jesus Christ I confess I have believed the Gospel. I consider myself to have "believed through grace," as those Gentiles who believed in the beginning.

-- Tomorrow: SOME PRELIMINARY CONCLUSIONS --