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 

It’s the best news that mankind has ever and will ever receive. God, because of His love, mercy, and grace has given us a gift. This gift is His Son, who came to take our place and to incur the wrath that is justly due us for our sin and rebellion. In exchange, by faith in Jesus, we are now made right with God, saved, redeemed, forgiven, and reconciled to Him. In Christ, we are now considered friends of God, sons and daughters of the Most High, and fellow heirs to His kingdom. And all of this comes by faith (trust) in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. This is the gospel and for those of us who have been affected by the love of God in our lives, it is not something of which to be ashamed rather it is truly something to be celebrated.

The gospel means “good news.” In fact, the very name of Jesus means “God saves.” That is why there is so much power in His name. Whenever our spiritual enemy speaks to us in accusatory tones, we can remind him of who we are in Christ and that our standing with God is fixed and firm. When we look at the cross of Christ, we are reminded that this is where the justice and love of God collided. These two characteristics of God must always be kept in balanced for us to fully realize what was done for us on the cross some two thousand years ago.

For some, there is an over emphasis on the love of God to the exclusion of His justice. This is the position in which God is viewed as some sort of grandfatherly type, winking at sin, and telling us that everything is fine and that we need not be concerned about evil, sin, and depravity. This is the gospel without justice in which God simply does not care about doing what is right, which of course is no gospel at all. In this view, the cross really is an unnecessary reality since God doesn’t ultimately care about sin but just “sweeps it under the rug.”

But equally true are those who place an over emphasis on God’s justice to the exclusion of His love. In this scenario, God is just as happy at condemning mankind as He is in saving us. This view is usually accompanied by a constant reminder of our unworthiness of this great salvation, leading many to question whether or not they can rest in the completed work of the cross. This is the gospel without love in which God simply does not care about those He has created, which of course is no gospel at all.

What we must have in order to fully appreciate the work of the cross is a balance between understanding God’s justice and His love. Sin is real and the consequences for an unredeemed person is eternal separation from God. But the love of God is equally as real and for all who will call upon the name of the Lord, there is deliverance from this condemnation and a promise of eternal life with God. This is what Paul speaks of in today’s passage.

For someone who has been saved, the gospel is not something in which to be ashamed rather it is something that we celebrate every day. Consider this passage regarding this declaration of God’s goodness:

Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. 

                                                                                                   1 Chronicles 16:23-24

The gospel is the power of God to save everyone who believes. Because of His love, He sent Jesus to become our substitute, fully satisfying His justice at the same time. So the cross is the ultimate demonstration of God’s love for mankind and His commitment to save and redeem everyone who will receive this gift of salvation by faith. The spiritual transformation that we receive by faith is what motivates us to spread this good news to others. Consider John’s words regarding the gospel:

 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  

                                                                                                                   1 John 4:10-11

This gospel has now been extended to all people Jews and Gentiles alike. We have been given everything necessary to be brought back into right relationship with God but this righteousness must be on the basis of faith in Jesus and not on our works, something Paul will cover a little later on in this letter (Romans 4:4-5).

So as we move through this most powerful letter of Paul, two questions will continually need to be asked:

1. Have you received salvation by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross?
2. Are you sharing this amazing news with everyone in whom you come into contact?

Life is good! An abundant life on earth and eternal security are both ours to enjoy and it is all because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. As believers, let’s live in the grace that comes from the power of the gospel!