Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

The Power of the Gospel

1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-5 – Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.”

Theme: THE POWER OF THE GOSPEL   Ask any true Christian how a person becomes a Christian and the answer will be the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The is no other way. Becoming a Christian is not taking up religion, making a decision for Jesus, or attempting to gain God’s favor by obeying His commandments. It occurs as a person is enabled to know their hopeless condition of sin, and separation from God, leading to the exercise of the gift of faith in the Lord Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus calls it “being born again” (John 3:5-8). The Apostle Paul proclaims the power of the Gospel that brings new birth or salvation in the opening chapter of his Magnus opus, the letter to the Romans – 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 (Romans 1:16).

Now ask any true Christian how the Christian life is to be lived, what do we think might be some answers? We would hear, “by the power of God’s Spirit”, “faith”, and “obedience to God’s commands.” All those are true, but what is the foundation? The same Gospel we were saved by. Christians are never to drift away from the Gospel. As Jerry Bridges coined, “Preach the Gospel to yourselves”, we must do so. Why? Two reasons.

First, by reminding ourselves of the Gospel, we remember the source of our power for all Christian living – the crucified and risen Lord Jesus and our union with Him. This is captured well in Paul’s letter to the Galatians – I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

The second reason we are to preach the Gospel to ourselves is to prevent a cooling of our affection for Jesus. The closer we stay to His cross and empty tomb, the greater we are protected from losing our first love for Him (Revelation 2:1-8). And oh how easy to just “do” church and the Christian life externally and not have the warm affection from the heart for Christ! Keeping the power of the Gospel before our minds daily helps us to keep the flame of love burning bright.

The Gospel of our Lord Jesus. It not only saves us from our sins but empowers us to live controlled by Christ’s love which defines the Christian life.

PRAYER: “Father, I praise You for the gospel of Your Son that saves me and empowers me to live for You.”

QUOTE: “The Gospel not only gives us life in Christ but assures us of the Presence of Christ each day we live.”