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" (Romans 1:16). In each of the Epistles in the New Testament, there is a verse that is a key to what the rest of the Epistle will be dealing with. Our verse for this devotional is the key verse to Romans. There is no other book in the Bible that does a more thorough or clear presentation of God's plan of salvation than this precious Epistle! So many (like me) have used what has been called "The Roman Road" to lead lost sinners to salvation. The verses 1:1-18 contain the introduction to the book.. Verses 1:19 - 3:20 presents why people need to be saved. From verse 3:21 through the end of Chapter 5, the way of salvation is presented. Chapters 6 - 8 present the results of salvation. Chapters 9 - 11 presents God's dealing with Israel in the past (chapter 9), in the present (chapter 10), and in the future (chapter 11). Chapters 12 -16 presents the general duties of the Christian after he has been saved. That should explain why Romans is a very special book for everyone to be acquainted with!   

            The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news that Jesus died on the cross for everyone and rose from the grave on the third day to be the Savior of all who will trust in Him. Other Scriptures clearly define it that way! "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; -- For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1, 3, 4). When a lost sinner has the Gospel presented to them, our key verse states that it becomes the "power of God unto Salvation." The word 'power' is translated from the Greek word dynamis, which gives us our English word 'dynamite'. Our verse from Romans states "to everyone that believeth". 1 Corinthians 15:4 clearly reveals that "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures", which is universal to all people. You need to understand that the Holy Spirit uses the power of the Gospel to bring conviction to the heart of every sinner and then leads them to repent of their sins and believe on Jesus Christ for His great salvation. However, not everyone believes that to be true. Many are preaching a different so-called gospel.

            While the Apostle Paul preached the Gospel that a sinner can only receive salvation through repentance of his sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, others in Galatia were preaching that a sinner also must be circumcised and live by the Law to be saved. Therefore, Paul instructed the churches in Galatia on how they should deal with the false teachers. "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:6-9). Sadly, we have to not only preach the Gospel of the saving power of Jesus Christ to all lost sinners, but we also have to confront those who believe the Gospel is not for everyone.

            Some of the greatest dangers to our nation today concern what is being taught by liberal professors in many of our Universities. This has resulted in many students having no appreciation for the greatness of the United States of America! Rather than teaching that America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth (as most of us readily believe), the students are being fed constant messages that are anti-American, anti-Israel, anti-Christian, etc. Great damage is being done to the minds of many of our young people by what they are being taught in the secular schools. However, I believe in many of the Theological Colleges and Seminaries, the true message of the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not being presented to their students as well. The message of Reformed Theology (Calvinism) is very prominently taught in so many of these institutions, including even Baptist schools. I am aware of churches seeking a new Pastor and had difficulty finding one who did not espouse the doctrines of Reformed Theology. The basic tenet of their beliefs is that the Gospel is not for everyone but only for the ones whom God has selected to be saved.

            In some recent devotionals presented on this website, I have included lessons on 'Election', 'Predestination', and the 'Sovereign will of God' that contain what I believe that opposes what is taught by Reformed Theology. (All previous devotionals are contained in the archive that can be reached by clicking on Devotional on the homepage.) In upcoming devotionals, I plan on preparing other devotionals that will deal with the five points of Calvinism they espouse. The five points are represented by the acronym T.U.L.I.P. and is frequently used in their teaching and Bible Conferences. The acronym stands for: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints. While I plan on preparing the next 5 devotionals to present what I believe in each of these areas of study, I reserve the right to digress and present devotionals on other topics as I trust the Holy Spirit to lead. Please pray for me in this endeavor as I feel the extreme importance of this study.

            Like the Apostle Paul, I am also not ashamed of the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ because I believe it is available to everyone who will receive Jesus Christ. I cannot help but wonder how our Lord feels hearing people teach that He only died for a small group of sinners rather than all the sinners in the world. Jesus said only a relatively small group would be saved in Matthew 7:14, "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." According to the teaching of the Reformed Theology believer, there will only be a 'few' because they will be the only ones whom God loves and has chosen to save!

            It is my prayer that the devotionals I will present will keep others from accepting the teaching of their false doctrines and, hopefully, help deliver any who already believe what they teach.