ROMANS UNWRAPPED 16

"I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek"  Romans 1 v 16

Paul has spent the last fifteen verses introducing himself to the group of people whom he calls in verse 7 "beloved of God".   He is now beginning his exposition of the gospel which will show that, completely undeserved, God loves all men and women but there are those who are "beloved" and they are those who have accepted His way of salvation.   He arrives now at the very heart of the gospel, which he summarizes in verse 16/17/18 under the headings:

THE POWER OF GOD
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
THE WRATH OF GOD

The subject matter of chapters 1 - 8 is summarized by these issues those who have preached this gospel through the years have described it as follows:

"MAN'S RUIN, GOD'S REMEDY AND MAN'S RESPONSIBILITY"

In the course of this exposition he brings before us a comprehensive diagnosis of the human condition, a declaration of the Divine provision, and a description of how, by the grace of God human beings can be radically changed.  

We look at the opening statement in verse 16 in three ways:

a.   What is the power of God?
b.   What is salvation?
c.   How do we get it?

It will take the whole of the rest of the book to explain these things, but we look at each of them in turn. 

a.   The power of God

The word used   -  dunamis  is the Greek word for dynamic power.   It means force, miraculous power, God in action.   This is power no human being can supply, it is power from a supernatural source, it is power that changes people, life-creating power , life - sustaining power;  this is no mere doctrine or ideology, it is real , it changes people and it is something for which we are utterly dependent on divine grace.   There are four distinct words in the Greek language for power:
we have ischus which means inherent power of the sum total of the power resident in anyone or anything; we have kratos  which defines the geographical boundary of any power; we have energia which is power in motion like the planets or aeroplanes or cars etc.; we have dunamis which is supernatural power, power that can only come from God.   Essentially, it is the power of the Holy Spirit of God, it is no ordinary power, it is the miraculous saving power of Jesus Christ, it is the greatest power on earth.   Please refer to the following passages to understand its meaning:

1st Corinthians 1 v 18; 1v24; 2v4/5; 4v24.

b.   Salvation

The favourite words today of a grace-rejecting world are reformation, education, evolution, development.   God says that what the world needs is none of these, but salvation.   It is not a matter of an ill person needing to be healed it is a matter of a dead person needing to be resurrected and only God can do that.   It is not a matter of a person who has gone slightly astray, it is a matter of a person who is lost and needs to be found.   The world needs salvation and the rest of Romans is an explanation of that.    When God saves a person He does it thoroughly.   We shall see in the course of the study salvation from the penalty of sin, salvation from the power of sin, and salvation from the very presence of sin.   This book does not end until it has clearly stated that God will eradicate from the universe all sin and all of sin's consequences.   All of us know of the dire consequences of sin, we live with them from day to day, and spend our lives trying to smooth the pathway amidst illness and disease and death etc.   God is dealing at the very root of sin and will eradicate it.   This is the true meaning of salvation.

c.   How do I get this power?

We won't linger on this aspect for now since the rest of the book explains it in full, but we get it simply by believing what God says.   Everything else is a lie, and there are plenty of those about.   Consider God as the doctor who has done a diagnosis on your condition and who alone knows how to fix it.   Believe God, read His word, put your trust in God and the instantaneous resulting power will immediately change your destiny, and will progressively change your life.

Tomorrow d.v. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD