The Gospel is the Power of God
Growing up I never knew that the gospel was defined in the bible, although years later I could see that faith was defined in Hebrews 11:1. But in I Corinthians 15:1-4 it very clearly defines what the gospel is. In verse 1, Paul states, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;" Paul declared to the Corinthians the gospel, which they had received and wherein they stood. Verse 2 - "By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain." He went on to tell them, by the Spirit of God, that they were saved, or made sound, if they held fast to the gospel, otherwise they had believed in vain. So when we receive the gospel, we must stand in it, or hold fast to it, otherwise our believing is in vain, or empty.
I Corinthians 15:3-4 goes on to say, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures." That is the gospel!
The gospel is that Jesus died, He was buried and He rose again. And the gospel is the power, or ability of God unto your salvation, if you believe, which is Romans 1:16. Those who believe the gospel will trust in, rely on and adhere to it in every situation in their life. So if you believe the gospel, you will see salvation take place in your life and that salvation is deliverance from every hindering influence. The gospel will bring salvation which will make you sound spirit, body and soul, or set you at safety.
Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." He said to repent - which is to change your will and what you believe - and believe, or trust in and rely on, the power that raised Jesus from the dead. And after you change your will to His will, then He said to do something - believe the gospel. Believe the power that raised Jesus from the dead.
When you believe the power that raised Jesus from the dead, then salvation will be manifested in your life every time. Salvation is whatever you need in your life from the time you are born again until you go to be with the Lord. It is deliverance from every hindering spirit or influence in your life, as I stated earlier.
In Titus 2:11, it says, "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,..." You know, it is God's grace that brings us salvation. And it is faith that accesses that grace - faith mixed with the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Do you have any hindrances or needs in your life? Well, the grace of God is available to bring you salvation this very day. Jesus said in II Corinthians 6:2 that now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Right this very minute - NOW- you can have salvation in your life. Whatever it is that is hindering you - whether it be fear, unbelief, unforgiveness, hatred, bitterness, an empty checkbook, sickness in your body, lack of a job - whatever it may be, now is the time for salvation to come to you, if you can dare to believe this gospel.
Hebrews 4:2 it tells us that we are to mix faith with the gospel - with the death, burial and resurrection power of the Lord Jesus, and when we do, it will profit it us. That word profit is to benefit us, or cause us to prevail. Do you want to prevail over those hindrances in your life? Well, mix faith with the gospel and you will. This is a guarantee of total victory in every area of our lives, if we will believe the gospel. We would be foolish not to want this and not to walk in this power. Jesus made it available to everyone who will believe this gospel, because He is no respecter of persons. He died, was buried, went to hell and rose again for the entire world. It says in John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." And it goes on to say in John 15:14, "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." And He commands us to 'repent ye, and believe the gospel'.
Everything that Jesus did for us when He died, was buried, went to hell and rose again, was accomplished for our lives. Jesus did a perfect, or complete work on the cross for the entire human race. He forgave all of our sins, redeemed us from the powers of darkness, sanctified us, justified us, made us righteous, made us kings and priests to rule and reign in this life through the gift of righteousness, made us rich, healed us and gave us divine health. All these things that God ordained for our lives and for us to walk in, have been accomplished through the gospel. And when we believe this gospel in our heart, we will start to see the manifestations of what Jesus did for us 2000 years ago when He died, was buried and rose again.
When Jesus was on the cross, one last statement He made was, "It is finished" and then He gave up the ghost. He finished the work that God had Him do for every single one of us. And all we are required to do is believe it. This gospel works in those who will trust in, rely on and adhere to that power that raised Him from the dead for whatever it is they need in their lives.
Jesus died, He was buried, He went to hell and He rose again for you and for me. He was a man who was made sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him - II Corinthians 5:21. What an exchange! You talk about the love of God for the human race. Jesus did everything He is ever going to do for you and me when He went to the cross and died and was buried and rose again. You may be thinking, "You sure are repeating that Jesus died, was buried and rose again alot." Well, you might as well get ready, because that is what I am going to be writing in these messages. After all, it is the power of God and that is what I am after in my life - the fulness of the blessing of the gospel. How about you? (And it does say in Romans 10:17 that faith cometh by hearing the gospel.)
Now getting back to Titus 2:14, it tells us that He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us (or loose us away) from all iniquity (all perversity or wickedness), and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. You may say, "Well, I don't have any wickedness in me. I'm born again, I speak in other tongues, I've been baptized in water and I've gone to church all my life." Well, you are just as wicked as the person who has never been born again or spoken in other tongues, never been baptized in water and has never set foot in any church! In Jeremiah 17:9 it tells us that every heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things and only God can know it. And until that heart has been purged by the blood of Jesus and purified by faith in the gospel, it is wicked - no matter how 'holy and righteous' you think you are. Jesus said that - I didn't. I've just had to come to the place, just like you will, to accept the fact that Jesus is always right and I never am or never will be. What He speaks is truth, and everything I know and say is a lie - Romans 3:4.
Most people who have been around or involved in the 'charismatic movement', have heard it said that when you're born again you're a new creature - old things have passed away. This is a lie because it doesn't agree with the word of God. II Corinthians 5:15-17 says, and you can go read it, that you are not a new creature until you are living, or walking, after the resurrected Christ.
When I was born again, and then years later after I received the baptism in the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in other tongues, all old things in me were still there. I still had the same problems and the same wicked heart as I did before I was born again and speaking in other tongues. Not until I started walking in this gospel, after the resurrected Christ, did those old things start to pass away. We have all been lied to by lying spirits in the church. We have eaten the fruit of lies (Hosea 10:13) and we need to repent of these lies and believe the gospel.
Jesus made this so easy, but it is so hard to do because of the hardness of our hearts. In Jeremiah 23:29 the Lord said His word is like a fire and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. So to break that hardness out of your heart, take the Psalms and the New Testament and read it out loud daily. And as you are reading out loud, mix your faith with the gospel - the death, burial and resurrection. You will start to see results of this Word working in that stony heart - breaking up the hardness of your heart. I have experienced this for over 14 years now and it works!
I would encourage you this day to believe this power that raised Jesus from the dead and let the light of the glorious gospel shine in your heart and deliver you from the power of darkness. God wants to turn you from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, so that you may receive forgiveness of sins. Amen.
