Friday, November 13, 2015

The Power of the Gospel

The “Gospel” that Christians refers to is the “good news” that Jesus our Lord died to pay the penalty for our sin. He paid for our sins so that we become part of God’s family, and it is only through faith in Him alone. Thus, “the Gospel” contains what every individual need regarding the plan of God’s salvation for mankind that has lost its way and revealed in Jesus Christ His Son. No one can dispute the fact that the clearest argument for the Gospel of Christ's power is the testimony of changed lives and those continually changed and impacted by its power.

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According to the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, “In the Greek New Testament, gospel is the translation of the Greek noun “Evangelion” (occurring 76 times) “good news,” and the verb “evangelize” (occurring 54 times), meaning “to bring or announce good news.” Both words are derived from the noun “angelos” and “messenger.” Thus, the power of the gospel was the reason that the apostle Paul strongly passionate about sharing the gospel. He knew first-hand what it could do because he was the primary recipient of its power to change lives.  After being transformed by the gospel, he became a tenacious messenger: “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 for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17 ESV).

One of the important issues about the gospel message has to do with how one receives the salvation offered in the gospel. It is an undeniable fact that God offers us salvation from sin’s penalty and power that concludes with the glorious promise that one day it would result in the glorious reign of Christ on earth. Also, the power of sin, death, and Satan are vanquished and eternally defeated. God offered us salvation, as a gift through faith in Christ is indeed good news beyond description.

The gospel of Jesus, when preached, holds the greatest news that humanity needs to hear. It negates the bad news of hopelessness and fear that this world dispenses. One just needs to take the time to listen intently to what the gospel offers and allow God’s power to do His work. Jesus completed everything that is considered incomplete in our lives. He is sufficient to fill all our needs and provide them with an eternal perspective.

This world offers nothing compared to what the gospel of Jesus offers. It has the complete package, and there’s nothing more to add. Everything is guaranteed and completed for our benefit throughout eternity. Don’t miss the opportunity of seizing the moment of receiving the greatest news that anyone can hear. There’s only one person that died for our sins and waiting for us to respond with faith in His saving work. You got nothing to lose except what causes despair and fear in our lives.

Here’s an interesting comparison of the gospel message from an ordinary soap: “A soap manufacturer and an evangelical preacher were walking along together, the former not being a Christian. The soap maker said, "The Gospel you preach has not done much good, for there is still a lot of wickedness and thousands of wicked people." The preacher was silent awhile, and in a few moments they passed a child making mud pies in the street. He was exceedingly dirty. Then the preacher's turn came. "Soap has not done much good in the world, I see; for there is still much dirt, and ever so many dirty people!" "Oh, well," said the manufacturer, "soap is only useful when it is applied." "Exactly," replied the other, "so it is with the Gospel." (Family Herald and Weekly Star)

Remember that the power of the gospel can only be experienced when we allow the message to saturate every aspect of our lives. Unless the message is received, it will not do its mighty work. Each day, we are bombarded by numerous messages selling their products with an expiration date. But in the past two thousand years, the gospel’s message and its power changed many lives and still changing lives today. My challenge is this: would you take the time to hear and receive its message and power today? I urge you to do so in the soonest possible time, and I assure you that you will never be the same again.

Let’s talk again!