Not Ashamed of the Gospel
“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.” Romans 1:16
Stars or Sand: Which do you think is greater in number? How many of you would raise your hand to say that there are more stars in the sky than the grains of sand found on a really large beach along the ocean or one of the Great Lakes? Who would vote for the grains of sand?
Just to be helpful, consider this: in one cubic centimeter, about the size of sugar cube, there can be 8,000 grains of fine beach sand. Take a beach volleyball court with 20 inch deep sand, and you get more than a half a trillion grains of sand on that court (512,000,000,000). Then take a big beach, a couple miles long and seventy-five yards wide, with room for a 1000 beach volleyball courts side by side? That would give you an estimated 512 trillion grains of sand on average, or a 5 followed by 14 zeros.
Now compare the number of stars in the known physical universe? A new study suggests there are a mind-blowing 300 sextillion of them, or three times as many as scientists previously calculated. This is a 3 followed by 23 zeros. Not even a million beaches covered with a 1000 volleyball courts each would come close in comparison! The stars win this challenge, hands down.
Who is responsible for all this dazzling physical universe we can touch and see?
According to Scripture, Jesus Christ is the maker of it all. “For by him (Christ) all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17; John 1:3, etc). The greatness of God stretches our imagination to the limits, even in just the known physical universe, the visible part, in which we are often more comfortable using our five senses.
But how about the spiritual realm, the supernatural, the invisible part also named above? If the physical world blows our mind away with its magnitude, intelligent design and beauty, are we ready to explore the spiritual realm of the Gospel now?
What could possibly be as BIG as the greatness of God? Only the goodness of God.
Ironically, that may even be harder for us to comprehend, to believe it, and to act in line with the truth.
Under the inspiration and authority of the same Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul declares in Romans 1:16 that the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes, first for the Jew and then the Gentiles. Both the greatness and goodness of God are manifested in the power of the Gospel. Is it possible we may have underestimated God’s power somehow? Could we lose our grip on the truth and shrink the gospel in our hearts and lives? Is your view of the gospel too small, compared to God’s gospel?
“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. ‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The Kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (Mark 1:14) The word “gospel” means “good news” or “the good message” from God.
The whole phrase in Scripture about the gospel is: the good news that the Kingdom of God is at hand”. (Matthew 4:17, 23; Acts 8:12) This is Jesus’ big idea, the thesis statement of his preaching, the source of the parables and teachings, the thrust of all his proclamation and demonstration on earth based on his unbroken union with the Father in heaven. Jesus came from heaven, and brought his world with him. The reign of God Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, was now at hand, within reach.
Heaven was invading earth, and the greatness and goodness of God’s power to save, heal and deliver all kinds of people was getting really visible. Since Jesus is the fullness of deity dwelling in bodily form (Col. 1:19; 2:9; Hebrews 1:3), then Jesus reveals the Father best. Not only is Jesus just like God, but God is just like Jesus. In Christ, the gospel of the Kingdom of God and the reign of God come near, becoming a mind-blowing message wrapped up in the person and works of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God.
As Mark 1:1 says, “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The good news of God, the ultimate message from heaven in a bottle (or, body), is about Jesus Christ. It concerns all his incarnate life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension, his pouring out of the Holy Spirit, and his second coming. This gospel is the very great and very good power of God for salvation of all people who believe, in all times and all places.
Recovery of the Gospel is foundational to our society’s revival and reformation. Every church and every person needs to be continually gripped and renewed by the good news of the Kingdom of God at hand. The gospel is Jesus’ central theme some 82 times in the four gospels.
God wanted to communicate to his whole creation and has done so supremely in his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”
The gospel has implications of ultimate significance for every woman, man, and child on the planet. The gospel carries the power of God, our Almighty Creator and Savior, in visible form into our earthly context. The gospel message of the Kingdom has exponential potential in it, according to the parable of the soils, able to reproduce at rates 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown. (Mt. 13:19)
If we want truly relevant, enduring, and powerful life-change in our society and the ministries around us, then together, with all the saints, we need to rediscover the unfathomable dimensions the Gospel in its all its depth and breadth, all its height and width as the love of God. (Ephesians 3:18)
The hymn writer Frederick Lehman says it this way: “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star, and reaches to the lowest hell.” (1917,Pasadena, CA)