Extending Hope: God's Part (Part VII)

The Blood-Empowered Word
What is it about the Word of God that is able to give me such hope? It is the message of the gospel, the good news of the saving power of the blood of Jesus Christ. In Romans 5:9, Paul said, "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." The blood of Christ has the power to justify and to save. Why do I need justification? Because I have sinned and God reveals in His Word that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). There is a penalty to be paid for my sins . . . but Jesus paid that penalty for me and I can stand justified before God. If I stand justified, then I can have salvation.

In Ephesians 1:7, Paul says, "In Him [Christ] we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Those who have been obedient to the gospel of Christ have been redeemed through His blood. The idea of redemption is of "buying back." All those who are lost in sin have sold themselves into slavery to sin (Romans 6:16). Through the blood of Jesus Christ, one can be "bought back" out of that slavery and receive the forgiveness of those sins.

So how does one come to know about the life-saving power of the blood of Christ? God is not going to reach down and "zap" someone with the knowledge of how to be saved from sin. It is only through the Word of God and the preaching of that Word that one can come to that knowledge.

When God made the gospel available to the Gentiles in Acts 10, Peter acknowledged that "God is no respecter of persons" (verse 34). In the context, he was saying that God had made the gospel available to all people. The same is true of the method by which God has chosen to disseminate that gospel. Consider:

• Jesus told his disciples in Mark 16:15 to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every living creature."
• In Acts 8, when the Ethiopian eunuch was searching for the truth, God did not "zap" him with knowledge, he sent him a preacher (Philip).
• In referring to the Jews' need to hear the gospel in Romans 10:14, Paul asked, "How shall they hear without a preacher?"
• In 1 Corinthians 1:18-25, Paul refers to the preaching of the gospel as "foolishness" to those who perish, but as "the power of God" to those who are saved.

It is abundantly clear that God has done much in extending hope to mankind. The next logical step is to examine man's part in laying hold of that hope.

Extending Hope: God's Part (Part VI)

A Power Unto Salvation
Just how powerful is the lasting record that God has given to mankind? Consider what Paul says in the beginning chapter of his letter to the Romans: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16). The word of God has the power to save my soul.

As Peter preached to the multitude of Jews on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2), what was it that caused them to cry out to the apostles, "Men and brethren what shall we do?" It was the words that Peter spoke through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for it says "when they heard this, they were cut to the heart . . .". (Acts 2:37). Those were some powerful words that Peter spoke.

Later, when the doors of the kingdom were opened to the Gentiles, Cornelius was told by an angel of God that Peter would tell him "words by which you and all your household will be saved" (Acts 11:14). It was the power of the Word of God that led to their salvation.

In Acts 28, as Paul was speaking to the leaders of the Jews in Rome, he told them, "Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” (Acts 28:28). What salvation was this that they would hear? Verses 30-31 tell us: "Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him."

But is the written word as powerful as those words spoken by the apostles? Absolutely, and the Scriptures bear witness of this. In 2 Timothy 3:15, Paul told Timothy that his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures (those things that were written) were "able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

Consider how Jesus responded to Satan as he was being tempted in Matthew 4. How did Jesus answer each and every temptation thrown His way? "It is written . . ." And what was the end result? "Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him" (Matthew 4:11). You see, Jesus knew the power of God's Word, whether spoken or written. If an "it is written" is powerful enough to make the devil flee, how much more is its power to save my soul from the clutches of the devil?

Extending Hope: God’s Part (Part V)

A Lasting Record:
As Jesus was praying in Gethsemane, He prayed to the Father: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:20-21). Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to aid the apostles in preaching the Gospel to their generation and to inspire them to write it down for generations to come.

Until the Word could be provided in written form, the apostles were to preach the gospel to any who would hear it. Jesus told them in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” As the apostles preached the Gospel and people responded, these new converts would in turn spread the Gospel to others (see Acts 8:1-4). How wide did this word-of-mouth preaching of the Gospel spread? Paul tells us in Colossians 1:23 that “[the Gospel] was preached to every creature under Heaven.” This means that, at the time Paul wrote the letter to the Colossians, the Gospel had been preached in all the known world.

So what about those of us who did not have the benefit of the words directly spoken by the apostles? God made provision for us, as well, by giving us a written record of their teachings. In Ephesians 3, Paul makes reference to his having received the “mystery of Christ.” What was this mystery? He goes on to say that it was “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6). I can’t speak for all who read this, but I know that applies to me since I am not a Jew. How could the Gentiles learn about this “mystery of Christ”? Paul tells us that, too, if we go back and read verses 1-4 in their entirety (emphasis mine): For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) . . .”. This same principle applies to all of the writings of the apostles since they all wrote of the same hope that is available through Jesus Christ.

How comforting it is to know that I have a lasting, God-breathed record of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even more comforting is the hope that this record gives me because of its power to save.