FAITH IN THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL

One of the most fascinating occurrences in nature is the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly through metamorphosis. This process has baffled scientists for centuries. An ugly caterpillar spins a cocoon and emerges from it as a beautiful butterfly. This transformation is a fitting object lesson to illustrate the power of the Gospel to save the lost.

Mosab Hassan Yousef can testify to the power of the Gospel. He is a recent convert to Christianity. What makes Mosab's conversion unique is that he is a former Muslim reared in a strict Islamic home and his father is an influential leader in the terrorist organization, Hamas. History is replete with evidence attesting to the power of the Gospel to save. Yet many in Christendom seem to not have confidence in the power of the simple, pure Gospel. When churches spend thousands of dollars to conduct marketing analyses and surveys to find the felt needs of weekly attendees. When they devise programs to improve the self esteem of attendees seeking a better life, this indicates a lack of faith in the power of the Gospel. C. H. Spurgeon said, "Never lose heart in the power of the gospel. Do not believe that there exists any man, much less any race of men, for whom the gospel is not fitted."

Paul, the apostle, was wholly convinced of the power of the Gospel when he wrote in Romans 1:16-17, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith ; as it is written, "but the righteous man shall live by faith." We can have faith in the power of the Gospel because the Gospel is the power of God.

This power is demonstrated three ways in Romans 1:15-17

THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD PARTICULARLY - because it is the Gospel of Christ. It is of Him, by Him and through Him. George Owen said, "The world has many religions; it has but one gospel." The power of the Gospel is derived from its exclusivity. All other messages are excluded. The moment the Gospel is made to be inclusive of other ways and beliefs, it has no power and is no longer the Gospel of Christ. (1:16)

THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD DECLARATIVELY - because God demonstrates His power by providing a means whereby the Gospel is declared despite enormous opposition, persecution and suffering. In other words, inherent in the Gospel message is the power to preach it! Paul knew that going to Rome to preach the Gospel would be met with much opposition, yet he boldly proclaims, "I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also." (1:15) Emperor Nero of Rome during the first century inflicted unspeakable cruelties against the Church. Foxes Book of Martyrs records that Nero, "contrived all manner of punishments for the Christians that the most infernal imagination could design. In particular, he had some sewed up in skins of wild beasts, and then worried by dogs until they expired...This persecution was general throughout the whole Roman Empire; but it rather increased than diminished the spirit of Christianity."

THE GOSPEL IS THE POWER OF GOD REGENERATIVELY - because it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe. (1: 16) The power to save is in the Gospel. In this verse, the word power is dunamis in the Greek. According to the NAS New Testament Greek Lexicon, it means inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature.

WHY DOES THE GOSPEL SAVE? - because in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed. (1:17) Since the righteousness of God is necessary for salvation to be obtained and the Gospel is the only place where that righteousness can be found, we have to conclude that that is what gives the Gospel its power! This is exactly what Paul is getting at. John Piper puts it this way, “What is revealed in the gospel is the righteousness of God for us that he demands from us. The reason the gospel is the power of God for salvation - the way that the gospel saves believers is that in it God reveals a righteousness for us that God demands from us. What we had to have, but could not create or supply or perform, God gives us freely, namely, his own righteousness, the righteousness of God.”

Hallelujah!

We can have faith in the power of the Gospel!