#DailyDevotion The Gospel Is The Power Of Salvation But What Is It?
Romans 1:16-17 16I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is God’s power to save everyone who believes it, the Jew first and also the Greek. 17For it reveals the righteousness which comes from God by faith to bring people to faith, as the Bible says: “The righteous will live by faith.”
The Gospel is the power of God. But what is this Gospel, what is this good news? Paul writes in chapter 3, “22This righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ comes from God to all who believe.
There is no difference. 23 All have sinned and come short of God’s glory. 24They are declared righteous freely by His grace through the ransom Christ Jesus paid to free them. 25God publicly set Him up to be the Atonement Cover through faith in His blood, to show His righteousness even though He had patiently passed by the sins done in the past. 26Now He wanted to show His righteousness, to be righteous Himself and to declare righteous anyone who believes in Jesus.”
Again Paul writes in chapter 4, “23But the words “he was counted righteous” were written not only for him 24but also for us. He had in mind already then to count us righteous on the basis of our believing in Him Who raised our Lord Jesus from the dead. 25It was He Who was handed over to death for our failures and then was raised for our justification.”
Paul writes in chapter 5, “6At the right time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7A man will hardly die for a righteous person; oh, for a kind person someone may dare to die. 8But God shows how He loves us by this, that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Now that His blood has declared us righteous, we are all the more certain He will save us from God’s anger. 10If while we were His enemies we were made God’s friends by the death of His Son, now that we are His friends we are all the more certain He will save us by His life. 11More than that, we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has now given us this friendship.” Again he writes, “18Now then, as by one sin all people were condemned, so also through one righteous act, justification which brings life came to all people. 19When one man disobeyed, the many were made sinners. So when One obeyed, the many will be made righteous.”
In chapter 6 Paul writes, “3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4Now when we were baptized into His death, we were buried with Him so that as the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead we, too, will live a new life. 5If we were united with Him in this likeness of His death, then we will be united with Him also in the likeness of His resurrection. 6We know our old self was nailed with Him to the cross to stop our sinful body and keep us from serving sin any longer. 7When we’re dead, we’re free from sin.”
So we see in this Gospel, the good news salvation is a free gift of God in Christ Jesus. In Jesus, God has done everything to save you and to declare you righteous. It is not of yourselves in anything. Even faith is a gift of God. This faith in Jesus given through the Word and Baptism declares us righteous. So as Paul says, “the righteous live by faith.” We live by faith that is we have his life as we believe what he has done for us. We also live our lives trusting this good news is true. Every aspect of our lives this faith permeates so that in all we think, say and do the free gift of God in Christ empowers, transforms, leads, and is affected by.
Heavenly Father, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to be our righteousness and justification. Grant us faith in him so we may have life in his name and live by this gospel. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.