Subscription Lists
Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
"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." (Romans 1.16).
The gospel which Paul preached to the Corinthians could save them as long as they held firmly to it (1 Corinthians 15.2). The perverted gospel that was being preached in the regions of Galatia was without God's authority and hence had no power to save anyone; in fact it had the potential for the opposite effect (Galatians 1.6-9). The gospel which Paul preached to the Romans was a singular gospel; it was THE gospel of Christ. It was THE power of God to save all of humanity. He preached this same gospel in Corinth and in Galatia, and in Rome.
It is amazing that some find two gospels in the book of Romans -wow one for the Gentiles and one for the Jews! Think about it! The stated premise of the book is to declare THE gospel which is THE power of God to save. And lest one miss the implications of this statement, inspiration explicitly stated that this singular gospel is the means by which both Jew and Gentile are saved! How one can miss this point is absolutely astounding. Someone is simply not paying attention if he finds a gospel for the Gentiles in the early part of the book and another plan of salvation for the Jews in Romans 11.26. If Israel is saved she will be saved in exactly the same manner as the Gentiles. If Israel is lost she will be lost because she has rejected the gospel, the only means by which the righteousness of God is revealed (Romans 10.1-4).
There is power in the gospel and there is power in truth. The gospel and the truth are synonymous! The truth sets free (John 8.32) and so does the gospel. The gospel saves, sets free, makes righteous, gives hope, reconciles, sanctifies, and provides spiritual blessings to those who believe its message. The same can be said for the truth. As a culture we used to realize that truth and gospel were synonymous. From this realization came the expression which might be applied to any factual statement: "Now that's the gospel truth!" Somewhere along the way error crept into our religious thinking and the gospel and the truth became two separate entities. Religiously speaking, we came to believe that the gospel was a core nugget of facts but the truth was a much larger set of doctrines. The Scriptures simply do not support such a conclusion.
The gospel was and is God's power to save. However the gospel can be perverted and people can cease to stand in the gospel. When either of these two things happens, a soul is in danger. God's plan was for all of humanity to hear the gospel message and to cling to its precepts by embracing them in their lives. By so doing, the gospel becomes a way of life and not just facts to be believed. That was Paul's intent when he penned Romans 1:17 saying, "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The just shall live by faith.'" The just shall live by faith! It is not just something to be believed; it is something to be lived!
If you knew that only one boat would be coming to rescue you from a flood, which boat would you take? What a ridiculous question! If you knew that only one gospel would be offered to humanity, which gospel would you take? It doesn't take a Solomon to answer this question!
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "Today's Little Lift" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.