HeartCry!

The Gospel holds the Power

“For I am not ashamed of the good news of the Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to every one who is believing, both to Jew first, and to Greek. For the righteousness of God in it is revealed from faith to faith, according as it hath been written, `And the righteous one by faith [in Christ] shall live,’ ”
Romans 1:16-17

Although this ministry is totally committed to carrying out good works in the name of Jesus Christ, in order that people may “see the good works and give glory to our Heavenly Father Mat 5:16” , we are totally aware that in themselves they hold no power at all, other than to divert the gaze of the outsider towards God. To think otherwise would be to allow glory to be given to man, and acredit ourselves as somehow being able to bring others to saving faith.

The verse above, along with many others too, shows that the power of God to save souls from destruction, is found in the power of the Gospel message. Though our good works may be as sign posts pointing towards the One in Whom we place our trust, His Spirit alone is able to place the gift of faith in the heart of an individual, that they may hear His voice and believe upon the One that was sent.

No man, no matter how clever, can convince someone to believe in Christ. He may have skilled language and powers of persuasion, intelligent strategies that can cause people to come to him, and even listen to what he has to say. But only the Holy Spirit alone can convict the heart of man of their wretchedness without the sacrifice of Christ to cleanse them, and only the Holy Spirit is able to grant the power for a man to truly believe upon Jesus Christ as Saviour, even to the dying to themself. Which every true believer in Christ must daily do.

It is the Righteousness of God, revealed through the undiluted Word that needs to be conveyed, Spirit to spirit. Convicting the sinner of their sinfulness, their need to repent, their need to pick up their own cross daily, and their need for the power of God’s Spirit to empower them to do so. And the only way this will happen, is when the undiluted, full gospel of Christ crucified for our sins and risen again, is preached to the lost.

I have heard many times in church that we are fortunate to live in a nation where the Gospel can be freely preached, and whilst I too am thankful to the Lord for this, I also truly believe that we may be missing the point a little. If we were faithful in preaching the true Gospel to the lost, according to the bible it would bring conviction of sin amongst those who listen. To some it will be treated as foolishness and rejected, and to others it will be the wisdom of God, and embraced unto their salvation. But if we are faithful in delivering our message, their will be a reaction, and we will face persecution as a result. Could it be in all our efforts to preach a message of our best life now, a life on earth filled with prosperity and health, and a name it and claim it lifestyle; that we have been preaching a different gospel to that which Christ commissioned us to preach?

Let us no longer deceive ourselves into thinking that our good works can draw souls to Christ, or even miraculous signs and wonders as many today place so much hope in. The only way that we can become the fishers of men that we long to be is first of all die to our own flesh daily, for the life and power of Christ to dwell within us fully. We must choose to stand alone in the place where Stephen stood, preaching the undiluted Word for all to hear, that no-one is unaware that their own sin is the very thing that nailed Christ to the tree. That each of us are by nature born an enemy of God, standing in a place that awaits the hammer of His wrath to fall without mercy, unless we accept the offer of Jesus Christ alone to stand in our place. We must be willing to see people cut to the core, that when they cry out as they did to Peter, “What must we do?!” . We must be ready to give a confident answer; that they too must repent and be baptized into His death, not just a one of dunk in water, but that their water baptism would be a daily testimony to the way they are willing to share in His death and sufferings, that they may enter into His life and glory.

I urge you, don’t cast this message aside because it makes you feel uncomfortable. If it does, it is by the conviction of the Spirit of God, that in His mercy He is calling us to repent and live our lives out on this earth in the way He has called us to, not the way we feel is best.

God bless,

John.

Originally posted 2009-04-17 03:22:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

The Gospel holds the Power