The previous 3 studies looked at some of the theology of the gospel, we can now begin to look at its significance and importance for all of mankind.
Not Ashamed
The Power of God
Revelation
We have seen in this study that the gospel is God's way of bringing men to a point where they have sufficient understanding that they may have an opportunity to respond to it by believing in Christ, repenting of their sin and starting out on the walk of faith. There is no other means of salvation given to mankind, if people are to be saved they must hear the gospel for "how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard" (Rom.10:14). The great need of our age is that the people of our land would hear the gospel preached with the conviction and power that the Holy Spirit supplies. We may not all be preachers but we can all be prayers, so "pray the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into His harvest" (Mt.9:38). In so praying you may find that you are one of those that He would send!
Rom.1:16,17
These 2 verses have been called the "text" of Romans, the basic tenets upon which Paul expounds his doctrine in the epistle.
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."
His great apostolic calling gave him such a clear understanding of the gospel and the way of salvation that he was ready to preach wherever he went, he understood his apostolic calling as a separation to the gospel (1:1). From the time of his conversion on the road to Damascus his life was consumed with the preaching, teaching and protection of the truths of the gospel:
1Cor.9:16-18
What is it about the gospel that has caused men and women throughout the ages to be so consumed that they are willing to give up everything, suffer every kind of discomfort and even lose life itself, in order to make it known to all and sundry?
For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes; woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.
In this and the next study it is hoped to go some way to answering that question.
It might appear strange that Paul should state that he is not ashamed of the gospel, after all why would he have any reason to be ashamed? We only need to consider the way in which the world perceives the gospel to understand this.
Read:
1Cor.1:18-25
Acts 17:32
2Tim.8:12
Mk.8:38
The world considers the gospel a foolish thing, those who preach it are likely to be mocked and laughed at. Every preacher must be prepared to become a fool in the eyes of the world, he cannot expect popularity, riches and fame from his endeavours.
Some believers end up in prison for the sake of their testimony, yet it is from prison that Paul writes to Timothy and encourages him not to be ashamed of the testimony of the Lord and Paul can say that even though he is suffering in prison he is not ashamed.
How easy it is for any of us to be ashamed of the Lord and of the gospel message, rather than being mocked or persecuted we keep quiet about our beliefs. Can we really say with Paul that we are not ashamed of the gospel and not ashamed to associate ourselves with our suffering brothers and sisters?
The antidote to being ashamed of the gospel is to have a good understanding of its power and purpose. All the best preachers, evangelists and missionaries have been motivated by this point, like Paul their understanding of the gospel so consumed them and so stirred up their passions that they could not help but to go out and preach it.
Salvation
The great and miraculous power of the gospel lies in the fact that it is God's ordained method of saving sinners. That power is particularly manifested in the preaching of the gospel:
1Thess.1:5
For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance.
1Cor.2:4
Such scriptures serve to remind us that effective preaching of the gospel is not something that can be accomplished through human wisdom or endeavour alone. True preaching is that which is inspired and anointed by the Holy Spirit, it is a spiritual work, not an intellectual work. We can understand this point more clearly when we realise that the purpose of the gospel is not to educate human intellect but to open the spiritual understanding to the truths of God's word. We must be very clear on this point, sin brought the human race into a state of spiritual darkness, so that there is a failure to believe the truth of God's word; Satan adds to this unbelief by further blinding people's minds to the truth of the gospel (see 2Cor.4:3,4). It is inconceivable that any human effort could break through such an obstacle, it is the work of God, and can only be accomplished through those who are led and empowered by the Holy Spirit who gives conviction of truth to the world (Jn.16:8).
My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
The effect of true preaching is that it brings revelation of the truth to the minds of blind unbelievers, this is the first step to salvation. Look at Romans 10 where Paul is emphasising that those who call on the Lord will be saved, and that it is preaching about Jesus that gives people the opportunity to believe in Him (10:13,14), he further states in v.17 that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God". The word of God is His ordained method of revealing His truth to the world and of bringing the hearers to faith in His Son, Jesus. Note too that in Rom.1:16 Paul says that the power of God unto salvation is for those who believe, it is only after the barrier of unbelief is broken that a person can begin to realise the power of God working in his or her life. Compare this with John's assertion that he wrote his gospel that "you may believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in His name" (Jn.20:31).
It is no coincidence that in these days of intense unbelief in the Bible there has also been a great decline in the teaching of Biblical stories and concepts throughout our schools and other institutions, when the teaching of the word of God is taken away then the (God-ordained) means of bringing people to faith is also done away with.
Paul tells us in Rom.1:17 that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel, this is a big subject which will be looked at in detail later in chapter 3; what he is saying is that the gospel reveals God's righteous way of dealing with sin and providing the way of salvation for sinful mankind, and this is done in such a way that God's holiness and righteousness is in no way compromised. In 1:18 he tells us that the "wrath of God is revealed" and this will be the subject of the next study, but the 2 subjects are closely linked and if we are to fully appreciate the importance of the gospel we must see it against the background of God's wrath against sin.