What is the Gospel? – Part 1 by Greg Albrecht

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I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”—Romans 1:16-17
 
 
Paul 1) categorically states that he is not ashamed of the gospel, 2) defines the gospel as the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, and 3) asserts that the gospel inherently includes a righteousness from God—a righteousness by faith—precluding any sort of righteousness which may come, or seem to come, by some other source.
 
 
Let’s pause and consider Paul’s bold, imperative and dogmatic statement—
 
I am not ashamed of the gospel.
 
 
Are you ashamed of the gospel? Of course in order to fully answer that question we must address what the gospel is. So let’s do that first. Let’s take our helicopter of biblical understanding and hover over this passage. Let’s hover over not only the ink and paper of our Bibles, but let’s take some time to ponder and assimilate the revelation of Jesus Christ that is a part of this written message.
 
 
What is the gospel? The gospel is the power of God. It saves us from ourselves, if we believe.
 

What isn’t the gospel? The gospel is not exclusively contained within the four walls of a building, in a denomination or in a religious institution. It is not a unique set of truth claims that make one church better or special. The gospel is not a matter of memorizing doctrines or reciting a creed. The gospel is not “religious.” The gospel is not about ceremonies, rituals and prescriptions.

The gospel is not about us. The gospel is not of human origins. The gospel does not depend on human efforts. God may, through the gospel, reach out to us and allow us to be involved in his work, but we should never think that any part of the power of God depends on our power, for as soon as we do, we become fools. Eventually, if we continue to allow ourselves to think that way, we will wind up in the salt mines of some religious outpost, pounding rock salt for our religious task masters.

The gospel is Jesus. Period..

 
 

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